Soppy & the Sentimentals

You
You are a lighthouse
What does a lighthouse do?
Shine it's guiding light through the night
Anywhere the wind blows

For those who follow the comments on my entries know that my recent entry about the The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain got the attention of one of the guys in the band, Peter Brooke Turner, who offered to send me his new solo album in return for a review in this blog. I loved Secret of Life so it wasn't a difficult choice... and bearing in mind I'm not a professional "reviewer" or anything, here it is...

I got this CD - called Soppy and the Sentimentals, done under Peter's pseudonym Tony Penultimate - at a time when I was incredibly busy at work (and I listen most of my music at work when I need to concentrate). I put the CD in expecting... I don't know, I was expecting something similar to Ukulele Orchestra.

This CD is nothing like it - first I couldn't even describe what sort of music it was... only word that came to mind was easy listening but that would just make it sound bad and it's not. Jaana-Mari suggested it was 50's style lounge music when I played the CD to an audience the other day - think of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, but tongue in cheek.

So, imagine yourself sitting in a hotel bar, there's a cheesy band playing in the corner - their lead singer is a handsome tall man who sometimes sings out of tune, but the band plays well. You don't pay attention to them at first, until the lyrics catch you ear - and when you do, you notice that everyone is having fun - they don't take themselves seriously but do what they enjoy. And you're forced to sit there and listen the set until the end, mesmerised.

Well, that's how I felt anyway. I find this CD fun to listen to, and I find myself putting it on, time after time - and it was the other one of only two CDs I took with me to Finland before I get reunited with rest of my CD collection in Canada. My favourite tracks are the more loungy ones - the opening track TWYL that melted my heart, the over-confident I Made You Love Me, giggly Julio, the title track Soppy and the Sentimentals - but my favourite is perhaps the quoted Lighthouse because after listening to it I can't get it out of my head.

So, if Ukes didn't capture your imagination - as to my amazement I find they don't some people - give Tony Penultimate a try (there's a sample on his site). It might not be for everyone, but for me it's music that cheers me up and makes me smile. And that can't be said about many other artists.