Seasick Steve

Love and Peace

You don’t really picture Seasick Steve as a hippy, but the cover of his new album features a hand making a peace sign and clutching a flower, and he did spend the 1960s in San Francisco, ground zero for the Summer of Love.

Love and Peace, the opening and title track, starts with him asking ’Hey man, what’s the issue here’ before suggesting over a classic blues riff ’Gotta stop the hatred now, get back to love and peace.

He soon moves on to more traditional blues subjects on Travelling Man and Regular Man. Yes, his romantic claims of being of a hobo who spent decades on the road have been undermined by the more prosaic truth - but artists from David Bowie to Lana Del Rey have played around with their image and invented personas.

Seasick Steve may be more myth than fact, but ultimately only the music matters, and he’s a highly talented guitar player, accompanied here by long-term drummer Dan Magnusson, with harmonica by Malcolm Arison.

The best of these songs - the title track, the propulsive Clock Is Running - are strong enough to dispel questions over authenticity, but some, like I Will Do For You, Carni Days, and especially My Woman, come and go leaving little impression.

Love and Peace will keep his fans happy through a summer of cancelled shows until he can return next year to the stage, his natural home.

Ronan Keating

Twenty Twenty

Ronan Keating’s new album Twenty Twenty is a glorious trip down memory lane.

Lashings of nostalgia are provided courtesy of reworked hits like When You Say Nothing At All, Life Is A Rollercoaster and Lovin’ Each Day.

The album is a celebration of the former Boyzone singer’s 20-year career and singles like Forever Ain’t Enough and Little Thing Called Love bear testament to his success as a solo artist.

Add to that, on this album, duets with Emeli Sande (One Of A Kind), Shania Twain (Forever And Ever, Amen) and Robbie Williams (The Big Goodbye) are poignant and powerful.

If you want a mix of some old favourites and sound new tracks, then this album will be a listening delight for you.

by Matthew George and Kathy Iffly