Torsten, The Beautiful Libertine The upbeat \u2018Statement of Intent\u2019 opens Andy Bell\u2019s seventh studio collection, and from the word go, it\u2019s on its feet, weaving and punchy. The cavalcade of \u2018liggers and leeches and fair weather friends\u2019 are dealt with economically, and Andy even sucker-punches the listener with a spat-out \u2018Go To Hell\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Beautiful Libertine\u2019s weaving melody sets the scene for a lamentation about the romantic Paris of\u00a0 poets and philosophers, long since replaced by today\u2019s smart neighbourhoods and tourist traps. Undeterred, our runaway seeks out the French capital\u2019s more dangerous pleasures in lesser visited arrondissements, in some of the most elegant lyrics on this CD.<\/p>\n The sinister, Brechtian \u2018Loitering With Intent\u2019 takes delight in its vengeful diatribe, suffused with sardonic humour. Accompanied only by piano, Andy continues the Weimar cabaret theme in \u2018This Town Needs Jesus\u2019, a matter of fact, slap-down story of disgust, disease and despair with the age-old possibility of an offer of redemption.\u00a0The tinkling sound of a piano playing at a party punctuated by police sirens opens\u00a0 \u2018The Slums We Loved\u2019, a reminisce about a past many would choose to forget. Our narrator has fonder memories in this song of the low neighbourhood which provided at least a shelter, a pub to visit and a dark corner for an exciting tryst.<\/p>\n \u2018Lady Domina Bizarre\u2019s opening telephone message makes certain the listener knows what he or she is in for, and then throws them straight into a full blooded music hall tale, delivered in purple prose, peppered with\u00a0 profanities.\u00a0Our first taste of electronica is remarkably light touch, but there\u2019s little else in \u2018(Ooh Baby, you\u2019re So) Queercore!\u2019 that could be so termed. A joint vocal with firebrand bar singer Lana Pellay, this motor mouthed, box-checking dismissal of a supposed former lover proves too trying for this listener.<\/p>\n A perfunctory backing leaves enough space for another one way conversation in \u2018Blow Jobs For Cocaine\u2019, with our narrator showing a curiously censorious side to the deliverer of favours he\u2019s also been prepared to give to others.\u00a0The chanting and fearful vocals to \u2018I\u2019m Your Lover\u2019 recalls Sweeney Todd\u00a0 more than the late Mr Bowie it seems to be aiming at, but the gorgeous Eastern beat and Grand Guignol imagery is well worth\u00a0 listening to.\u00a0The best thing about \u2018Rupert Drinks Vodka\u2019 may be its backing, as its brief, catty tale of an old lush unwinds with little humour and even less interest.<\/p>\n The hard, reviving dance beats of \u2018We Were Singing Along To Liza\u2019 shows realistic single potential. Sticking to a well-loved musical formula in a fondly remembered tale, this one gets my vote for standout track.<\/p>\n With a cloying music box backing, \u2018Photos of Daniel\u2019 unrolls the regretful tale of a former life with a certain humour, and any resemblance to characters living or dead, is presumably only an unfortunate coincidence.\u00a0It\u2019s rare that Andy lets that fine voice fly here, and a shame we have to wait until \u2018I Am The Boy Who Smiled At You\u2019 for an involved, emotional performance of a song with the depth and rawness its subject deserves.\u00a0With our ration of passion behind us, it\u2019s back to delicate piano notes overlaid with standard sleaze, in \u2019Bond Street Catalogues\u2019. Lyrically, it\u2019s a winner, with a tale of a money-grubbing bawd doing what\u2019s necessary to amass the ackers, but being more Carry On that Jacques Brel, it\u2019s just a footnote here.<\/p>\n The steady rocking guitar, bass and synth Euro-epic \u2018My Precious One\u2019 represents more singles material, making this listener wish for a collection full of this honest-to goodness pop.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>(Strike Force Entertainment SFE045)<\/em><\/p>\n