Deacon Blue Continue Their Resurgence on
Anthemic 'City of Love'
Pop Matters 6th March 2020
Deacon Blue have sold around 7 million albums worldwide since releasing their
debut in 1987, with sales in the US accounting for approximately three of these.
To the uninitiated in the States, therefore, it might be said that the six-piece
group are Springsteen-esque in nature, being to their Scottish home city of
Glasgow what the Boss and the E Street Band are to Asbury Park. And though
they're likely weary of the comparison by now, there's no doubt that they
started out demonstrating an affinity with the Glaswegian working class on songs
like "Dignity". They then made their people proud by catapulting a string of
passionate and melodic rock songs into the UK Top 40 in the late '80s and early
'90s. That was while they gained renown for their hugely energetic live shows,
where legions of loyal fans would punch the air and go properly nuts for Glasgow
vignettes "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day", and "Fergus Sings the Blues".
Unlike Springsteen, Deacon Blue ceased to exist between 1994 and 1999. They then
suffered the loss of founder member Graeme Kelling to pancreatic cancer in 2004.
Out of the game for a while, they didn't really rekindle their fire as a fully
functioning unit until 2008, when guitarist and songwriter Gregor Philp entered
the fold. The new boy joined forces with lead singer and original songsmith
Ricky Ross to write fresh material that eventually came to fruition as The
Hipsters in 2012. It was this release that returned the band to the Top 20 of
the UK album charts and signaled a creative renaissance, ending their time in
compilation purgatory. They followed it up with A New House in 2014, and
Believers in 2016, which brings us, four years later, to City of Love.
It's clear from the off that Deacon Blue are all about crowd-pleasers on the new
LP, with a firm eye on recapturing their glory days. They aim for singalong
tunes that will stand proud with old favorites at their outdoor shows this
summer (one of which is in support of fellow Glaswegian stalwarts Simple Minds),
as well as on their extensive UK tour in the fall. You'll consequently find no
experimental stuff here. Nothing improvised on a Prophet-6 synthesizer or
incorporating a groovebox drum machine. No roping in of Danger Mouse as a
producer, or Nigel Godrich. Or Fuck Buttons.
What we have, instead, is Ricky Ross leading the way on 11 open-hearted and
largely sentimental songs with big choruses and traditional rock instruments.
His voice is every bit as powerful and guttural as it was. There's Lorraine
McIntosh, too, providing similarly unwithered backing vocals on every track,
still with that ability to lift a song, and still causing people (who should
know better) to muddle the group with Prefab Sprout. If there's any difference
to the band of old, it's that they project a more pronounced country influence
on many of the tracks, developed from excellent early hit "Chocolate Girl". That
could be down to Philp, who now has a sideline as a guitar player for Nashville
singer-songwriter Kevin Montgomery. But, whatever the source, it blends well
with the whole survivor thing they have going on here, of having been through
the mill and having found hope.
The lead single "City of Love" is, without a doubt, the standout track, with its
driving strings, rousing vocals, gospel choir, and the kind of chiming guitar
chords the Edge would be proud of. The melody recalls Cyndi Lauper's "Time After
Time", and the sentiment is reminiscent of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the
Bridge", but it's pure Deacon Blue in terms of its uplifting power. It's a paean
to Glasgow as a city of healing social connection, where the singer, seemingly
disillusioned and disenfranchised, can lay down his emotional burden: "What can
I do with all of this? / Where can I put what I'm carrying?" Just imagine it at
the band's homecoming show.
"Hit Me Where It Hurts" touches on another aspect of hope by venturing into
slightly darker territory. It's a big song with plenty of drama, care of its
ominous bass line, jittery chorus, and a line borrowed from none other than Lady
Macbeth. "Who'd have ever thought / One man had so much blood in him," Ross
sings, which must relate to being consumed by guilt over a dead relationship,
just as the Shakespearean figure is undone by guilt over her role in the murder
of Duncan in Macbeth. Maybe. In any case, it's the nearest we come to cryptic on
the album (never Deacon Blue's thing). And happily, the protagonist in the song
finds new love in his battered state: "I was on the run from love / Till you /
Hit me where it hurts."
Elsewhere, Deacon Blue offer up positively beautiful melodies and some moments
of real poignancy in relation to getting through troubled times. This is no more
apparent than on the ballad "Weight of the World", which greatly recalls
Springsteen's "Racing in the Street", especially with its "Tonight, tonight,
we'll go driving" chorus. "In Our Room" is a comparably lovely bit of country
rock, this time bringing to mind the Richard Marx tune "Hazard". No bad thing.
But "A Walk in the Woods" really achieves those melodic heights of old, on which
we find McIntosh in true Emmylou Harris mode as she harmonizes gloriously with
Ross. The same can be said of "Wonderful" and "Come on In", the latter featuring
some exquisite steel guitar.
If there's anything at all edgy here, then it's "Keeping My Faith Alive", but
only in so far as Bon Jovi's more bluesy moments are edgy. This is where you
hear Philp's tasty guitar skills to the fore, and where Ross goes all "Gimme
Some Truth" on the lyrics: "And while I listened to political junkies / And all
that shuck and jive / I'm keeping my faith alive." On the other hand,
"Intervals" might be considered too darn schmaltzy, ahead of the epic and
intimate finale of "On Love". It's good to hear Ross spread his wings on this
last one, as he talks his way through the verses, reminisces about life in
Glasgow, and provides touching insights on growing old.
Whatever Ross has to say, it is hope, above all, that prevails on Deacon Blue's
City of Love. With songs like these, the band can be hopeful of selling out
arenas for a good while yet. Adam Mason