Dave Duke, “Be There to Love You”

28 Aug

Records by true music lovers, and I would include in this, for example, Bobby Gillespie, can often be a bit hit and miss. In other words, people who really know what they’re talking about when it comes to music will not necessarily be able to make a great record themselves.

Dave Duke is someone I know to have a fine music pedigree, and yet here is a fine collection of songs of his own making. He has put some thought into the sound of the record, and mostly, there is a fair bit of reverb so that the music echoes around your speakers, giving it the feel of a proper studio album. Dave is stamping the word authentic onto the music himself.

Mostly these are country-style songs, but you don’t have to be a country music fan to appreciate them. “Lonesome” would have even the most dyed in the wool Country & Western fan agreeing that here is a classic duet if ever there was one. Bobby Gillespie, that well known country aficionado, and writer of the classic “Sometimes I Feel So Lonely” would be jealous of this one. “You & I and the dusty sky” has the same been-around-forever feel that people say of “Mull of Kintyre.” “Escape the Fear” drips with Love-inspired sixties saccharine.

One of my favourite bands is Mazzy Star, and that’s about as far as my knowledge of Country & Western music goes. If “Be There To Love You” has one drawback, it is that, like every Mazzy Star album, it has some monumentous stand-out tracks (the three mentioned above), but also has a few weaker tracks that prevent it from being placed in the master class. Still, very good overall.