NELSON KING hails from Brighton and became enthused by music as a nipper by the presence of Shadows bass player Bruce Locking. During his fledgling days NELSON played in a number of bands and at 16 replaced a certain Julian Scott in one outfit who then went on to one hit wonderland with his brother, Robin, in the group M: anyone out there remember – “New York, London Paris, Munich / Everybody talk about” – ‘Pop Music’?
Which is something of red herring as NELSON is essentially a blues man as ‘Acoustic’ clearly testifies. Proceedings start somewhat unfavourably with ‘Can It Hurt’ and ‘Face The Sun’, both of which feel drawn out and a bit of a slog, the laborious effect aided by the repetition of their melodic motifs in support of the obligatory guitar licks and breaks that sound strained on the acoustic guitar. Things improve considerably with ‘I Can Roll’ and ‘House On Fire’ as the injection of NELSON’S pop sensibilities raises the game; the latter track is particularly effective with its rolling acoustic beat reminiscent of The Small Faces’ ‘Itchycoo Park’.
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After that it’s somewhat of a mixed bag (‘I’ll Fall For You’: yay; ‘You Don’t Have To Say’: nay) but the album ends on a high with ‘Would You Carry Me’ where for once the simplicity of the song’s acoustic blues setting works in his favour. NELSON’S drawling vocals recalls Jagger, Tom Petty and Dylan but is none too special in its own right, its weakness as much a result of the tinny production as anything else.
NELSON’S unplugged venture has only limited success but there is just enough of interest here to suggest that an all out ‘electric’ assault on some of the purer blues numbers may improve their worth considerably.
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