Well, it fair sticks in the craw to say this, but Marti Pellow's solo debut isn't, gulp, that bad. In fact, in places it's quite, quite good. No, really.
'Smile' - presumably ironically titled after years of critics having a go at the singer's cheesy grin - is, as you'd expect, a load of ballads. And soulful ones at that, laced with horns, strings, Hammond and piano. Only this time around, instead of inducing nausea in anyone under forty, as they did in his Wet Wet Wet days, some of these slowies are actually moving.
Lord knows why Pellow has taken this upturn. Perhaps it's the fact that Squeeze man Chris Difford (now Marti's manager) has had a hand in the songwriting. Maybe Marti's well-documented problems with alcohol and drugs (he overdosed on Heroin in 1999) have had a affect - the overall mood of 'Smile' is reflective, downbeat and much darker than we're used to from Pellow. Hell, perchance the chap's just been taking singing lessons - he packs a powerful punch on 'Smile', occasionally coming close to the like of Al Green and Sam Cooke.
'Hard To Cry' is a stark, atmospheric opener. 'Did You Ever Wake Up?' is mid-paced and poppy with gospel backing. 'I've Been Around The World' is one of a handful of tunes here tinged with the brass and strings of Memphis soul - quite a bit of the album was recorded in Memphis. And the piano-led 'This Moment Is OK' ("Mothers drink is in her handbag, she sleeps most of the day") would be an instant hit if Robbie Williams sang it.
The rousing vocal of 'New York Vibe' - lowslung funky licks, seeping Hammond and lazy beats - is followed by a trip hop across the Atlantic to the epic crescendo of 'London Life', a bleak, sluggish beat shouldering such lyrics as "today I'm on my knees, here with my thought balloon, it says where did I go wrong, what turning did I miss, the paradise has gone".
Yes there is some smaltzy, sickening filler here. While fans helped it into the Top Ten, recent single 'Close To You' is pretty awful and instantly forgettable. As is the plodding 'All I Ever Wanted' (strangely reminiscent of Wings' 'Let Em In') and the bland balladry of 'She Can Lean On Me'.
Meanwhile the closing brace of smoochers - 'The Missing Sound' and 'Memphis Moonlight' - are clearly a string and Hammond powered homage to Al Green. They're both fine but you know Marti, try as you might you can't beat the Reverend.
So, what could easily have been a disaster and seen one of this country's better vocalists sinking without trace, has surfaced as a passable, sometimes engaging effort. Could have done with a few uptempo numbers though Mr Pellow, you know, to get the young 'uns interested rather than just their aunties.
