David Sinclair’s certainly enjoyed a varied career in and around the music industry, having cut his teeth drumming with London Zoo and TV Smith’s Explorers before working for the BBC as a researcher on programmes including ‘Wogan’ and ‘The Rock’n’Roll Years’.As a critic, he’s written for The Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Q and Kerrang! He’s penned books about ZZ Top, and The Spice Girls, too.
All of this means that getting to grips with his musical output, in context, isn’t easy. Precisely where is he coming from? ‘4’ is certainly a varied album that demonstrates the depth and breadth of Sinclair’s experience.
The slow-tempo brooding blues-based rock of ‘Life Gone Cold’ features a truly vintage style guitar break, and there’s something of a ‘classic’ feel that permeates the album as a whole. The swaggering bass of ‘Crude Emotion’ underpins some raucous rock guitar work and snappy lyrics, which are very much where Sinclair excels.
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If the mellow pop reggae of ‘Down by the Canal’ seems a little incongruous, the fact Sinclair’s joined by Maxi Priest is noteworthy. Lyrically, it evokes Lee Rourke’s novel ‘The Canal’ in its celebration of boredom and appreciation of the everyday details so often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the everyday.
Without the lyrics, it would be a very ordinary, and vaguely dated-sounding album, but give ‘4’ a bit more attention and it’s got a lot more to offer.
David Sinclair Four Online
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