Paul Carrack - Soul Shadows [CD]

Paul Carrack, the hugely respected singer-songwriter who is the voice of many of the landmark British pop songs of the past 40 years, will unveil a stunning new album, Soul Shadows, on January 15, 2016.</p> <p>The record sees him at the absolute peak of his powers as a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and Carrack - who surely deserves the latter-day title of the hardest-working man in showbusiness - will accompany it with his latest, extensive UK tour, to start on January 7th.</p> <p>Soul Shadows comes in the wake of Carrack's latest sojourn as featured vocalist and keyboard player in Eric Clapton's band for his UK and international tour, the result of their longtime friendship and mutual respect. The new album is the follow-up to 2013's warmly-received Rain Or Shine, which maintained Paul's recurring status as a staple of the BBC Radio 2 playlist.</p> <p>But where that album contained a mixture of covers and originals, the new set is comprised almost entirely of some of the best songwriting of Carrack's entire career, plus one lovingly-chosen remake: the Bobby 'Blue' Bland gem that was also a major R&B hit for Aretha Franklin, 'Share Your Love With Me.'</p> <p>Most of the album's instrumentation is by Paul himself, working in his newly-refurbished home studio, with his son Jack once again joining him on drums. "it's not a garage anymore," Carrack laughs. "We got it up and running and a lot of the songs have come from little jams, just me and Jack."</p> <p>Six of the tracks on Soul Shadows have the addition of a hand-picked string and horn section recorded in the hallowed surroundings of AIR Studios in London. Other highlights will include a new song with lyrics by Paul's longtime friend Chris Difford of Squeeze, 'Bet Your Life,' and a guest appearance by Pee-Wee Ellis, the legendary saxophonist from James Brown's band who played on and co-wrote such greats as 'Cold Sweat' and 'Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud.'</p> <p>Paul is, of course, the voice of such undisputed classics as Ace's 'How Long,' Squeeze's 'Tempted,' the Mike & the Mechanics anthems 'The Living Years' and 'Over My Shoulder' and many others. He was a distinguished member of all three bands, recorded and toured with countless others including Roxy Music, Ringo Starr, B.B. King, Elton John and the Pretenders, and has had his songs cut by the Eagles, Diana Ross and Tom Jones to name only a few.</p> <p>As a solo artist, Carrack continues to enhance an illustrious catalogue that stretches back to 1980, and a measure of his standing among legions of fans, the first announcement of the impending release of Soul Shadows had it racing to the top of Amazon's pre-order chart.