PETER PERRETT - How The West Was Won

Yes, I know, without the Only Ones the world of music would probably have turned out much the same, yet even years later it's hard not to feel a flicker of emotion listening back to their "Another Girl Another Planet", just as it seems rather superficial to dismiss their achievements with a quick, hasty reference to Television and Lou Reed. And it's perhaps because of this lingering personal romanticism and regard that I listened with respect and attention to Peter Perrett's comeback, whose forced absence from the music scene - lasting almost three decades, with a brief interlude with the band The One - was due in part to personal problems and to his addiction to crack and heroin.

Clean and renewed, the English musician approaches his return to recording with greater awareness; it shouldn't be forgotten that it was Perrett himself who dampened the enthusiasm around the Only Ones' reunion, turning down the offer of an album of new material put to the band after the 2006 success of "Another Girl Another Planet", revived for a phone company advert.

The toughest challenge for the musician was recovering his voice, seriously compromised by lung problems that left him unable to get through a song. His languid, passionate nasal tone now recalls Shane Mc Gowan more than anyone, though the ghost of Lou Reed makes its presence felt right away on the opening title track, which partly borrows the riff from "Sweet Jane" to turn it into a modern anti-Trump anthem.

The sound, though, is less abrasive and raw than in the past: the musician favours a more alluring, sensual register, solo flourishes are less prominent, and the band - led by his two sons Peter Jr and Jamie - leans towards tighter, more nocturnal atmospheres ("Living In My Head").

Peter Perrett's comeback is not a self-celebratory record; the artist prefers to put himself to the test by recounting his present, while also playing with irony on his own turbulent past in the velvety rock ballad "Something In My Brain", or dwelling on his feelings for his wife Xena in the excellent "An Epic Story".

Nor is it simply a collection of songs: "How The West Was Won" sees every track contribute to building a rich, personal emotional flow. The driving soul-rock riff of "Hard To Say No", the more psychedelic and spiritual mood of the sinuous, unwholesome "Living In My Head", the almost surreal noir epic of "C Voyeurger", the disarming simplicity of "Troika" and the nostalgic closing note of "Take Me Home" are not the product of some fleeting rekindling of inspiration.

Beyond the predictable enthusiasm fuelled by nostalgia, it must be stressed that "How The West Was Won" is a solid, gripping album: the songs have all the hallmarks of the best rock'n'roll, the riffs are bittersweet and pleasantly familiar, and when all is said and done the former Only Ones man remains one of the most skilled songwriters when it comes to death and its romantic, mocking emotional nuances.

Peter Perrett is in great shape and promises exciting new adventures in that in-between world from which other visionaries (Syd Barrett, Robin Hitchock, Lou Reed) have drawn inspiration from. A welcome return.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

03/12/2017