Description

2LP Vinyl – EMGLP1231

The falsetto disco of White Knuckle Ride could as easily have been released in 1980, and Smoke and Mirrors features a honking sax that could just as easily have featured in an M People track or an Average White Band instrumental. Meanwhile, the lyric on the latter concerns someone who "wants your lovin’ tonight" – Kay walks a thin line between the classic and the clichéd, and doesn’t seem too bothered which side he strays onto. Yet if you can leave your prejudices at the door there’s much to enjoy for fans of an unaffected good time under the nearest glitterball.

In fact it’s when he strays from familiar generic territory that he flounders. The Lighthouse Family-style gloop of single Blue Skies sounds limp and drippy, to the point where the words Wet, Wet and Wet spring to mind. Thankfully a slight sag in the middle of this album is made up for with the Blaxploitation dramatics of Hey Floyd and vintage soul smooch of Never Gonna Be Another. They have that vintage feel that makes you swear you’ve heard them before, but you don’t know where. Then you stop asking if it’s okay to like this music, because it’s a guilty pleasure minus the guilt.