I have always been very appreciative of the band
Mr. So & So. I felt happy when they were picked up by Marillion’s
Steve Rothery to be featured on his Dorian label. Sadly the label folded and
apparently Mr. So & So decided to call it a day as well. Expect my
delight when suddenly I receive an e-mail from guitarist Dave Foster telling
me he and two other Mr. So & So members, drummer Leon Parr and most
importantly singer Charlotte Evans, had founded another band. Obviously less
prog inclined, Sleeping Giant offers what I would dare to describe as
‘sofisticated pop’. Their independent release “Primates”
contains eight original compositions starting with the funky ‘Everything
must come to an end’ which sports some swirling organ and tasty electric
piano courtesy of newcomer James Rimmer. As was the case with Mr. So &
So you can clearly hear it’s Dave Foster who keeps everything under
control giving sufficient space for Charlotte to shine in her vocal role
without losing attention for the arrangement for a second. There’s a cross
between Tori Amos and Barbara Dickson to be found in ‘The longest day’
containing some tasty guitar as well. I love the line ‘you placed your
hand on my smile’, which illustrates the quality of the material on offer
here. The acoustic guitar in ‘My release’ gives the song a folky
atmosphere, turning the song into something one could expect on a Corrs
album (not as a single mind you !). On the other hand if I had to pick a
daytime radio favourite off this album I would certainly go for the soft
breeze of ‘Lazarus’, the kind of song which could go down a storm when
sung by the likes of Sade. Two tips however : cut the song down to the 3’
mark and get a real Hammond B3 in to do the job ! Reviewed by John ‘Bobo’ Bollenberg |
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