Three Feet from Gold
Artist: Brian Houston
Label: Brian Houston Songs
Time: 13 Tracks / 44 mins
 
It’s hard to believe that a singer can change his sound so much as to be almost unrecognisable. Virtually gone is the singer-songwriter with solo vocals up front, and in comes what sounds like the Brian Houston Band. It is as if he used to build up the songs from the on-stage performance, adding in some rhythm tracks and extra guitar; whereas now he might have to deconstruct some of this material to make it suit a one-man show.
 
What has not changed is his natural way with a good tune, and if I had to pick the best song, there are several very viable candidates. Houston’s choice would presumably be “Oranges,” as that is the current single. When it first appeared on the live DVD earlier in the year, I felt a little resentful towards it. I was so in love with some of the tracks from the Sugar Queen CD that it was almost as if these new pieces were muscling in on them, like another man trying to attract your girlfriend. But here, “Oranges” is a perky little three-minute, three-chord gem that defies you not to dance or sing along.
 
My gut preference, though, has to be “Queen of Hearts” for its smart lyric and marginally less obvious hook. I’d even call it perfect. Everything fits together snugly; the natural melody leads up to an addictive chorus, while the lyrics tell you enough of a story to catch the mood, but keep you guessing on some of the crucial details. He has the insight to put out lines like “You act like you know what love’s made of / You think it’s something you can trade off / All because you are afraid of / A ring and a wedding bell” – and they work just right with the tune.
 
Another contender has to be “Somebody Save Me,” where his voice takes on a gruff Hurricane Smith timbre, softened by backing vocals and with new levels of instrumentation. It is a good example of the way that – even though few songs pass the four minute mark – the production is relaxed enough to noodle about nicely with extra bars of added textures here and there.
 
Where I part company a bit from Houston’s taste is the extent of the ‘fifties influence. My personal feeling is that it was the worst British musical decade of the last seven, whose only purpose was to warm the plate for all the tasty fare that the ‘sixties would serve up – even the ‘forties had Chicago blues, with Muddy Waters at his peak, although that took time to float across the water. There are a few pieces here that have a definite ‘fifties feel, mainly from a Farfisa-sounding keyboard and the style of the backing vocals. The live DVD had an excellent Everly Brothers cover of “All I Have to Do is Dream” on which his brother Mark shared harmonies. This seems to be a follow up approach, with Mark again taking on some of the background vocals.
 
It is obvious from his on-stage banter, cheekiness and charm that Houston is a people person. This finds its way into the songs, which are often about relationships and particularly show his warmth towards the people involved. “The Fool” – “for ladies who have to duck the punches when they get home” mixes Houston’s compassion and affection for the woman with atypical anger towards her abusive partner, while the guitar is ringing and the backing vocals sound like the song is about something far more trivial. There is a wondering song for a stranger that gets on the tube, followed by a touching track for his daughter, which catches them at that point in their relationship where he has to lose that fatherly protection and come alongside her as a friend. Watching her struggle with her first boyfriend, he urges, 

Go out in your party dress 
Let him see what he’s gonna miss 
But don’t let them know the way you truly feel. 
  
Tonight turn the lights down when you get home 
And break your heart by listening to all your sad songs 
If I had my way, you’d always stay in the innocence of youth 
But it’s come the time for love to make a woman out of you.  

There is so much more, such as the highly evocative “Daddy Don’t Go” about a father who goes out and gets drunk: “I’ll be shaking in bed when you roll in late / A belly full of Dutch courage, a mouth full of hate / You’re the star in the bar, for your final encore  / You got your wife and kids screaming, but not for more”.
 
The whole disc is infused with a poetic sensibility, full of lines like, “My heart was a favour she never returned.”  In many ways – a natural flair for memorable phrases, melodic invention, catchy poppiness with a resonant human understanding and even that Attractions organ sound on “Return into Sand” (where is a bit of Jean Genie hides in the riff) – he is like Elvis Costello, except that where Costello plays the curmudgeon, Houston has a big, warm heart. 
 
I never thought that he could make a disc so different to Sugar Queen, but still as good, but he has done just that. Most of the nation should find plenty to enjoy here.
 
[Since writing, Houston has made demo versions and outtakes available at http://brianhouston.bandcamp.mu. They are radically different, but some – such as “Man Like Me” – are better and certainly worth hearing.]
 
Derek Walker