Speakeasy album review – ‘Trouble’ (Twist Records)

Mod super-group Speakeasy are back with their second long player, ‘Trouble’, this time with Ian Jones (Long Tall Shorty/Ian Page & The Affair) taking up bass duties (as well as organ and acoustic guitar) with the legends that are Brett ‘Buddy’ Ascott, Simon Stebbing and Mark Le Gallez.

And what a great album this is, starting with the radio friendly title track, ‘Trouble’ which just begs to be released as a single to give us all a lift on our dull commutes to work. A super song that certainly hits the spot.

Next up is ‘You Say’ which quite possible is my favourite song of the whole album. Starting with Buddy’s tom toms, he is soon joined by Ian’s rolling rhythmic bass line and Simon’s magnificent incessant riff before Mark comes in to give a tremendous vocal performance. Pure class.

‘She’s Got It All (Going On)’ crashes in, understandably, as if the Purple Hearts and The Chords were one band before Mark Le Gallez’s fine singing takes over with a very catchy chorus line. This is another song with great potential to be released as a single.

We are then treated to ‘It Doesn’t Matter To Me’ that rolls along very smoothy with another catchy lyric.

Track 5, ‘Inspiration’, starts off with a very uplifting acoustic chord progression and is a lovely song, before the more dirty sound of ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ mixes it up a bit.

‘Before The Night’ was originally released by Simon’s band, RT4, on a Biff Bang Pow compilation, so will be familiar to many of you. Here it is played with even more pace and passion and is another excellent track.

‘Everybody Needs Love’ continues proceedings and it is worth noting the quality of the production itself and the fact that the album was recorded in the analogue setting of Ed Deegan’s Gizzard Studio (the same studio as the Mod Aid 20 single sessions where Speakeasy, as the house band, were born). Another of my favourites follows; ‘Half As Blue’ is another really, really good performance.

The album continues with ‘Restless’ and ‘The Fire In Me’ before the finale that is ‘Train To Glory’ which had me thinking of the Spencer Davis Group with hints of The Doors thrown in for good measure. A fitting climax to another great Speakeasy album.

What’s more, the members of this band are all really nice guys who have been a part of our scene for some 35 years, and deserve all the success in the world. Surely there’s only Graham Day who can match the volume of songs written and number of albums released by Mark Le Gallez.

If you only buy one more album before Christmas, I would strongly recommend that you make it this one. And if the Queen is reading this (a long shot, I know), perhaps some recognition in the New Year’s Honours List wouldn’t go amiss – Lord Ascott of The Lane certainly has quite a ring to it…….