"Three Heads Are Better Than One", The début album from Mr Stringalong

Photography by Debbie McLeod

Let me start by saying that I don't normally review CDs, however, a good friend of mine (Kenny McLeod) asked me if I would write something about his new album, a tad risky I thought given that my preferred musical style currently is Alt. Country! Anyway, here goes:

The album kicks off with an upbeat number, the eponymous Mr Stringalong which is about "scamming", "stitching", "stealing your stash" and seeking out "another clown", and so we are introduced to Mr Sringalong, a guy clearly on the make! We are also lulled into a false ending 2 minutes 41 seconds in and with 51 seconds still to go, Mr Stringalong is clearly in the mood to play tricks, putting us on the back foot, this guy wants to catch us out!

Actually, Mr Srtingalong isn't really 'a guy', Mr Stringalong is a triumvirate, three McLeod brothers. Alan on saxophone, drums, lead and rhythm guitar & backing vocals, Davie on lead and rhythm guitar and Kenny on bass and vocals. I'm sure I heard a mouth organ in there aswell and I am guessing that multi instrumentalist Alan is responsible for that too!

Mr Stringalong

The album consists of 12 songs, all written by bassist and vocalist Kenny McLeod and is the culmination of a road he has been travelling over the last couple of years during which he released 2 solo albums, namely, Bruised & Battered and A Little Bit Brash. In fact several of the songs here first appeared on these albums including Flip the Coin, She's Gone, Love Is, Back 2 U*, Did You Wrong* and the title Mr Stringalong. When I first heard these two solo albums, I was attracted to several of the original workings of these songs and so it is little wonder that the band have chosen to work them up into the finished article you hear here!

The overall sound is quite unusual given the 'weight' given to the sax which appears on most, if not all the songs, and is often the other lead instrument along side the lead guitar. This makes for an interesting combination and we are given an early introduction on track one which opens with a thunderous clash of these instruments, and this is followed by the rhythmic pumping of the sax on the chorus.  The interplay between the lead guitar and sax is a feature of this album and it adds another dimension to the sound. There is a good 'reggae' feel to much of this album too and this is particularly evident on track two Done You Wrong which also highlights Kenny's thoughtful lyrics:

"Friends keep coming by saying "Your doing fine",

but they never stay cause they haven't got the time,

 So I get my head lost in another bottle of wine 

and I think of all the good times when you were mine.

Another point of note is the harmonies, especially on She's Gone & Can't Say No and, as brothers, I guess that is something that comes naturally, we are not talking Bee Gee's quality here, however, for a first outing it works very well! These songs represent the slower material on the album and along with Why Did I Lie?, on which there is a great gentle work out on the snare drum and symbols, they are some of the longer songs on offer.

Kenny McLeod

The album is reminiscent of bands such as Bad Company, The Beatles and local Glasgow 80's band Scheme, in fact the saxophone on this album reminds me of the sax playing of George Wright from Scheme and the reggae tinged rock is also in the same vain. 

Stand out tracks for me are Can't Say No (great sax solos on this one), Done You Wrong, She's Gone, Why Did I Lie? (interesting slow build up to this track illustrating a thoughtful approach to the song writing craft) and the faster, up tempo track Rock N Roll on which the lead guitar work brings to mind Helter Skelter from The White Album (1968) by The Beatles .

Much of the material is about lost love, missed opportunities and emotional angst so it is a pleasant surprise to come across the Beatleseque final track Love Is which has a reaffirming lyric about "sun shining", being lifted to a higher place and love being "all around". A very fitting tribute to Ross & Gary Carmichael, by whom this album was inspired.

Check out the video for Back to You here!

www.facebook/mrstringalong

Photos used by kind permission of Debbie McLeod
Print work by Maureen Waugh
Production by Shengis Mahengis
(* the original titles of these songs)