Jimmy Somerville Review

Jimmy Somerville was never a pop star who inspired half-measures: you either loved him or loathed him. It’s a surprise then that his comeback album, Home Again seems determined to occupy an inoffensive middle ground. He’s been sanitised, desexualised and depoliticised to the point of blandness

‘Could It Be Love’ is a lame dancefloor number which is as cutting edge as a song resembling Cher’s ‘Believe’ - with the hooks taken out - can be. But at least he still sounds like himself; unlike ‘Under A Lover’s Sky’ where he’s limited to singing uncomfortably in his lower register. On the odd occasion when the familiar Somerville falsetto makes an appearance, it is immediately fed through a vocoder to render it unrecognisable.

What is the point of trying to disguise Jimmy’s distinctive high-pitched singing style? It’s like asking Davina to present Big Brother without shouting. And more importantly, who actually uses a vocoder these days?

If gay disco were a genuine musical genre, ‘Come On’ could be easily utilised to illustrate it. Unfortunately, most gay discos stopped playing hi-energy rot like this over a decade ago and wisely moved on, but at least we are treated to a nostalgic reprise of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’s’ group squeal.

More pleasing is the dance-lite number ‘It Still Hurts’ which has a haunting melody and well-rendered harmonies. ‘It’s So Good’ slinks along with a funked-up beat however its lyrical banality prevents it from really going anywhere.

You would think that covering a song like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ would now be strictly the domain of crass X-Factor wannabes, but sadly no. It’s hard to imagine a less-inspired choice of song and Jimmy takes the 1970 Diana Ross hit and tries to sing as little as possible. It’s all backing vocalists and karaoke instrumentals which is rather strange from a solo singer.

Finally, with ‘I Will Always Be Around’, Somerville abandons the dancefloor for the richer pastures of a reggae-fied ballad, the sort of song that Culture Club used to do well.

Another 80s act, Depeche Mode, brings the inspiration for the album’s best song. ‘But Not Tonight’, from DM’s Black Celebration album, was always a great underrated track ripe for the cover and Jimmy emotionally connects with lines like, “And I haven’t felt so alive in years”. Lively, relentless synth percussion and an energetic arrangement afford a glimpse of what Home Again might have been.

A hint of politics emerges from the anti-war song ‘What’s Your Game’. Despite Jimmy’s protestation, “I have so much anger” about the “war you begun in my name” “for black gold”, it doesn’t convince.

The blistering sincerity of songs like ‘Read My Lips’ and Bronski Beat’s ‘Why?’ feels lacking. When Jimmy Somerville first grabbed the public’s attention with the timeless ‘Smalltown Boy’, he had a message that resonated with many smalltown boys across the country. It was a song that dared to speak of homosexuality and possibly changed many lives. To hear the same man chanting “I’m calling you to now to disarm!” to a disco beat seems toothless and disheartening.

From the opening strings of ‘Selfish Days’, there is a wintry ache, a mournful air that perfectly compliments Somerville’s delicate plaintive sound. The track’s maturity belongs to another album – an album worth having!

After holding himself and all emotion in check throughout Home Again, the album finally sparks to life as Jimmy lets rip on ‘Stay’. Huge, thunderous beats, the likes of which are rarely heard outside a Jim Steinman studio, announce The Big Finale (not including the pointless secret track). It may be high on the histrionic scale but to hear Jimmy unleashed is such a relief. He may sound like Miss Piggy having a psychotic episode as the song builds to a climax, but finally the real, passionate Jimmy Somerville has stood up.

As we all thought Jimmy, better out than in.

Originally published 21st February 2005

I never listened to this one again....