Album Review by Mark Bayross
After, oh, aeons, Culture Club return with a brand spanking new collection of songs. Much has changed since KARMA CHAMELEON minced its way into the charts way back when. “Boy” George O’Dowd has transformed himself from androgynous girlie pin-up through wasted junkie to reborn DJ of some repute. And while his pie intake seems to have increased over the years, he has lost none of his charm – he has had no shortage of TV appearances throughout the 90s.
As the curious ragga intro on I JUST WANNA BE LOVED kindly points out, this is the same Culture Club line-up we know and love, ready to wow us again and make us forget Nirvana or The Spice Girls ever happened. Do they succeed? Well, the aforementioned opening number has that familiar reggae-lite sound, with organ, a brass section and a bouncy 80s feel to it. Second track, COLD SHOULDER, is a bit more acid jazz, which is a shame because I hate acid jazz. After that the lush strings, soulful vocals and twinkly keyboards throw up an unforgivable comparison: this sounds like Simply Red!
I know George and pals are of an older generation now, and so are their fans, but come on! This is soporific, sub-Take That trite. They also can’t resist jumping onto this year’s Latino bandwagon: BLACK COMEDY flaunts some unbelievably cheesy samba rhythms and Spanish guitar. By the time we get to current single STRANGE VOODOO the Simply Redisms are in full flow – Boy George even starts to sound like Mick Hucknall.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh – this album does have its moments: SIGN LANGUAGE has some dramatic Massive Attack-style strings and a twangy guitar; while latest single YOUR KISSES ARE CHARITY is pleasingly melodic with soulful backing vocals.
The album almost makes up for its MOR misdemeanours with the final triptych of songs: CONFIDENCE TRICK is a minor chord slow-burner which erupts into shimmering guitar and gospel choirs; the cover of Bowie’s STARMAN is well executed; and the closing LESS THAN PERFECT is so good it actually reminds me of Radiohead.
So, what can I say? There’s nothing here that’s particularly bad, in fact a couple of songs are actually rather good. It’s just nothing on here particularly excites me. The group has made no attempt to hide the fact that middle age is upon them, and maybe that’s deliberate. I’m no Culture Club fan, but I’m certainly no Simply Red fan.
