There seems no greater match than John Howard and the label of Ex Norwegian's Roger Houdaille, Think Like A Key. The First Release is a Remaster of John's 2019 album, Cut The Wire and released on Vinyl. There is also a download version.
Cut The Wire was in the Top 40 IDHAS Best Albums of 2019 and this is a wonderful remaster by Prof. Stoned. I compare Howard to Ian Hunter a lot. Both are very different artists, but both have aged gracefully and are producing exceptional recent albums, which are very different from what they became famous for.
John has never stood still from his early days comparisons as a Man With A Piano and the endless Elton John comparisons to the modern day reflective Singer Songwriter tag that he masters with ease. Cut The Wire doesn't disappoint. It's beautifully written and performed.
Cut The Wire revealed a mire mellow feel to John's work but that doesn't bury the sheer splendour of his songwriting. Here, he seems far more pensive, but at the same time, very optimistic. Keep Going Angel is an absolute singalong joyous affair and stands up with anything that he's produced.
Cut The Wire, as a title track, is also incredibly moving and this is counter balanced by the jauntiness of Idiot Days. So Here I Go is a jaunty singalong, almost an "all together now" whilst retaining its slight autobiographical, lessons learned lyrics. Pre-Dawn is yet another fine example of his mastery of storytelling.
John has never stood still from his early days comparisons as a Man With A Piano and the endless Elton John comparisons to the modern day reflective Singer Songwriter tag that he masters with ease. Cut The Wire doesn't disappoint. It's beautifully written and performed.
Cut The Wire revealed a mire mellow feel to John's work but that doesn't bury the sheer splendour of his songwriting. Here, he seems far more pensive, but at the same time, very optimistic. Keep Going Angel is an absolute singalong joyous affair and stands up with anything that he's produced.
Cut The Wire, as a title track, is also incredibly moving and this is counter balanced by the jauntiness of Idiot Days. So Here I Go is a jaunty singalong, almost an "all together now" whilst retaining its slight autobiographical, lessons learned lyrics. Pre-Dawn is yet another fine example of his mastery of storytelling.
We Are is in McCartney ballad territory and Long Since is pure Al Stewart. The song craft here is gobsmacking in it's scope. There's a lot of admiration for 70's Singer Songwriters, but the few who still perform are largely on Greatest Hits Tours.
I defy any of these peers to write an album as good as this and to be as relevant. It would be easy for John Howard to dine out on occasional performances of Kid In A Big World. Why the hell should he, when he still writes albums as good as this?
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