Born In The UK - Badly Drawn Boy Album Review

Album Review

Having had a crisis of confidence for well over a year, woolly - hatted Mancunian Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) finally nailed this album, though it wasn’t without problems. Out went initial producer Steven Street, replaced by one half of Lemon Jelly, Nick Franglen. Having scrapped the whole thing only to regroup, he needed to impress his new label EMI, after the luke warm reception of One Plus One Is One in 2004. In most part, EMI must be pleased with their new investment, though the album falls well short of debut The Hour Of Bewilderment and his best offering to date, About A Boy. From it’s reflective and doubting spoken opening sequence, an imaginary conversation, Gough ponders, “Do you think it matter where you’re born? No, not really. It only matters that you can be proud of where you came from. I don’t think I know who I am anymore. What about the world ? What do you mean? Well if the world was a better place, some of these bad things wouldn’t happen. Yeah, but there’s good things all around. You just have to look longer and harder to see them sometimes.” Turning his pessimism around in a flash, the song goes onto the brightside, “Praise God for the water, our son and our daughter, the sun is here, it will stay a while, long enough to bring out a smile.” From then on, the perceived doubts turn on their head with several joyous splashes particularly on the freewheeling happiness of Welcome To The Overground, with its gospel influenced vocal backups.

His idol, Bruce Springsteen ( Born In The USA ) gets many a nod : the title track indicates so, Born In The UK, and especially the sparkling intro to Degrees Of Separation, turning into a pleasant jaunt with ivory tinkling aplenty, and the expansively polished Journey From A To B.

Jewel in the crown is the glorious first single, Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind – a mini-opus in itself where he hits top form even though it boasts a 5 minute plus running time for a single.

Surprising us all, a countrified The Way Things Used To Be, shows us that he’s prepared to be adventurous – has he been listening to Richard Hawley I wonder ?

Elton John’s music surely influenced Walk You Home with its lush disco Philly sound sequences – a remix – not that he’d even consider it – would make a hit single. The last two songs are its weak spots - an aimlessly drifting Time Of Times, though swinging ballad One Last Dance restores his deft handling of lyrics, but it’s a disappointing closer.

Week commencing October 30, the album has dropped out of the Top 40, despite the strength of the brilliant single.

Elly Roberts