Mo's Barbeque - Bowes & Morley

After their 2002 album "Moving Swiftly Along" proved that Danny Bowes and Luke Morley could still work together, still enjoyed working together and still produced damn good music when they work together, it made the Thunder reunion that happened that year a little less of a surprise. What did come as a surprise, however, was the news that they would release a second album as Bowes and Morley in 2003.

Whether this was because ...
...more is possible, although perhaps a little unlikely. My guess would be that they had already started work on it and the songs didn't fit in with what they were now back doing with Thunder. While their debut "Moving Swiftly Along" was a finely crafted album with some decent pop-rock tunes, it had more of a soul and funk influence than Thunder's material and might not have been a direction either the band or the fans particularly wanted ... more

After their 2002 album "Moving Swiftly Along" proved that Danny Bowes and Luke Morley could still work together, still enjoyed working together and still produced damn good music when they work together, it made the Thunder reunion that happened that year a little less of a surprise. What did come as a surprise, however, was the news that they would release a second album as Bowes and Morley in 2003.

Whether this was because the album sold so well and the record company wanted more is possible, although perhaps a little unlikely. My guess would be that they had already started work on it and the songs didn't fit in with what they were now back doing with Thunder. While their debut "Moving Swiftly Along" was a finely crafted album with some decent pop-rock tunes, it had more of a soul and funk influence than Thunder's material and might not have been a direction either the band or the fans particularly wanted Thunder to go in.

Whilst I can't say for sure that this latter option is the truth, I can certainly see how it may work. Some Thunder fans were upset by how unlike the untraditional Thunder sound "Moving Swiftly Along" sounded, which was to miss the point - it wasn't a Thunder album! But if those fans didn't like that album much, they're really going to hate "Mo's Barbeque"

They're going to hate it from the opening bars of "Desire", where the horn intro sounds like it would have been right at home on the soundtrack to "The Commitments". It's got a sound very much like some of the old soul classics with the horns and piano and you'd be pretty hard pressed to tell that this band are more used to playing pop-rock music until a couple of minutes in, where there's a guitar section that sounds like it could have been on Thunder's "Laughing on Judgement Day" album.

OK, let's have a show of hands. You've got two guys who usually play in a rock band and they're covering Stevie Wonder's "Living For the City". Hands up who cringed at the thought? I'll admit that I would normally have done, as the original is probably my favourite of Stevie Wonder's songs. However, they are pretty true to the original and the overall effect is of a soul song with a slight rock edge, rather than a rock cover version of a soul song. That said, having seen Bowes and Morley play the song live, it does work both ways, and I thought it was a better version live, as they had better backing vocalists than on the album recording.

The introduction to "On a Day Like Today" reminds me very much of the Black Crowes' "Diamond Ring", but this track is mostly a disappointment compared to what has come before. It's essentially little more than a pop ballad, although it does have a slightly Latin feel to it in some points. Following the up-tempo soul of the previous couple of tracks, the change of pace and style are a slight disappointment.

Never having heard of 1970's blues-rock band Stretch, I didn't immediately realise that "Why Did You Do It" was a cover. Not that I'd have been all that worried either way, as it's a beautiful mid-tempo funky blues number that grooves along wonderfully. Even the guitar solo has a raw and dirty funk feel to it and Danny's voice is perfect for this kind of music.

The intro to "Since I Left Her" makes it sound like a fairly standard Thunder song, with maybe a little more of a Blues edge than usual. But the song itself is a mid-tempo song with quite a summery feel, which a band like the Thrills might have been happy with. The song itself doesn't seem to do much and doesn't grab the attention, but with the sun streaming through the window as I write, it's the perfect accompaniment to the weather.

"Come Together in the Morning" is another cover, this time of the Free song. This version seems pretty much the same as the original version, both musically and vocally. Both Danny Bowes and Paul Rodgers are great vocalists and you can feel them both holding back on this song in their respective versions. It's got a nice gentle funk bass line and the backing vocals give the song a sort of gospel feel that means it's the perfect track to follow on from "Since I Left Her", especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The introduction to "Waiting For the Sky to Fall" immediately makes me think of "Go With the Flow", from Luke Morley's solo album, but the verses, both musically and lyrically make this song sound a lot like the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running". The chorus is more like a straight pop-rock song with a slightly funky edge to it, but the combination of three slightly different parts works so well that it's almost impossible not to dance.

"Illogical" starts off very much like many a rock ballad. Thunder have always done ballads very well and this one, despite having the Bowes and Morley name to it, is very much a Thunder ballad. It's perhaps closer in sound to one of their later one, with the backing vocals being similar in sound to "Numb", from their "Giving the Game Away" album. That said, if you dropped it in next to Thunder's cover of the Faces' "In a Broken Dream", you'd struggle to tell the difference without concentrating. This is, quite simply, a beautiful soft rock ballad.

Both the tempo and the funk levels pick up for "How Could You?" There are a strange mixture of influences on this one, with the female vocals sounding a little like Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know", but with more of a soulful edge and Danny's vocals on the chorus sounding a lot like Alexander O'Neal's "Fake". It's a song with a fair amount of funk and attitude which would be ideal in any other situation, but it's all a bit of a mess. It sounds more like the different parts have been thrown together to make a song, rather than it being a song with different influences.

"That's Not Love" was supposedly originally written for Terraplane, Bowes and Morley's band before they became Thunder. I can see why they didn't record it then, as it wouldn't have fitted with what they were doing and it's about as far away from Thunder's sound as it's possible to get. It's a pretty standard pop ballad, that had they taken the guitar solos out, could have been a hit for any 1980s pop act, or maybe even more recently for the likes of Atomic Kitten. I wouldn't have enjoyed the song had they released it and I can't enjoy it on a Bowes and Morley album It's just so bland and featureless and not in keeping with the talents I know these two men possess, even from just this album alone.

Following this with "I Can't Stand the Rain", which was a hit for Tina Turner and then featured in "The Commitments" gives the end of the album a kind of flow, but not a terribly welcome one. In fairness, they have gone heavy on the bass line to give the song a little more of a funk groove and they have given the song an extra rock edge that they didn't on "Living For the City". However, all this does is make the song sound like a stadium rock ballad, rather than anything more impressive.

Despite the rather weak ending, though, this is still a pretty good album. Thunder fans are likely to hate it because it's such a radical departure, for the most part, from the sound of Thunder as they know it. It may even surprise fans of Bowes and Morley's first album, as the perspective is in a completely different place. The good songs are better than on "Moving Swiftly Along", but the few bad notes are worse. Whereas "Moving Swiftly Along" was a rock band trying to add a little soul to their sound, "Mo's Barbeque" sounds more like a soul band with a rock edge.

If you're into the later soul and blues recordings, like from the "Commitments" or "Blues Brother" soundtracks, you'll probably quite enjoy this album. It's pretty much pop-soul, not going as far into the genre as James Brown, but still having a wonderfully funky edge that makes it a pleasure to listen to. I can see why the normally straight rock fans that like Thunder would hate it and it may be that old style soul and funk fans will consider these tracks a distortion of what they like best as well.

For those with an open mind and a wide range of musical tastes, this could well be perfect. It's got a great vocalist, a talented songwriter, a really fun groove and quite a range of influences. There may be a number of weak tracks, but there's enough here to enthral those who have a liking for the genres covered, rather than an over-riding passion for them. For something a little different, it's at the Amazon Marketplace from £8.95, Amazon themselves for £12.99 and Townsend Records at £11.99. If you're tempted to buy, buy soon, as it's a good album for the summer. Put on the sausages on the barbeque, put "Mo's Barbeque" on the stereo and, food poisoning permitting, you're in for a decent day. 

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