One on One Paul Carrack

• 1 Good and Ready 03:12
• 2 A Long Way to Go 03:57
• 3 I Miss You So 04:14
• 4 You're Not Alone 04:10
• 5 Lighten Up Your Mood 03:59
• 6 Precious Time 04:27
• 7 When Love Is Blind 04:17
• 8 Shame on You, Shame on Me 04:38
• 9 Set Me Free 02:58
• 10 Behind Closed Doors 03:00
• Total Runtime 38:52

Info for One on One

Das brandneue Studioalbum von Paul Carrack »One On One«. Nach mehr als 20 Jahren, in denen er sein eigenes Plattenlabel betreibt und auf Tournee ist, weiß Paul Carrack mehr als die meisten anderen, die Verantwortung für seine eigene Karriere zu übernehmen. Als also der Lockdown seinen unwillkommenen Schatten auf das Musikgeschäft warf, wurde einer der bedeutendsten britischen und gefühlvollsten Singer-Songwriter Großbritanniens mit seiner Antwort bereit. Das Ergebnis ist One On One, nicht nur eine meisterhafte neue Ergänzung zu einem Werk, das mittlerweile 18 Solo-Studioalben voller unverwechselbarer Songs umfasst - ganz zu schweigen von seinen klassischen Aufnahmen mit Mike and the Mechanics, Squeeze, Ace und anderen, darunter The Living Years, Over My Shoulder, Silent Running, Tempted, How Long und so weiter.

Dies ist eine Platte auf der seine Handschrift tiefer denn je sitzt, denn Carrack hat sie wie so oft in seinem Heimstudio nicht nur geschrieben, gespielt und aufgenommen, sondern auch diesmal folgte er seiner Muse und vertraute bis zum letzten Tag seinem Instinkt und mischte das Album selbst ab. Man könnte es fast als das Ergebnis seiner Lebensjahre bezeichnen. Nicht, dass One On One nicht einige denkwürdige Cameos enthielte, etwa von Meister Gitarristen Robbie McIntosh und dem ehemaligen James Brown-Sideman Alfred ›Pee Wee‹ Ellis. Dazu kommen wir gleich noch, aber dies ist eine Platte, die Pauls Initialen trägt.

Es bringt wirklich diese fast mühelose Soulfulness zum Vorschein, die wir so sehr lieben, seit seine eigene Komposition How Long vor mehr als viereinhalb Jahrzehnten zu einer Pop-Hymne wurde, seiner ersten von Dutzenden, vor mehr als viereinhalb Jahrzehnten. »Ich habe die Zeit nicht ungenutzt verstreichen lassen«, sagt der stets bescheidene Carrack mit einem Lächeln, in seinem Heimstudio, das früher eine Garage war und in dem er One On One aufgenommen hat. Kreativität und Einfallsreichtum mancher anderer Künstler kamen während des großen Nicht-Jahres zum Stillstand, aber nicht seine.

»Eigentlich hätten wir das ganze letzte Jahr unterwegs sein müssen«, erinnert er sich. Januar, Februar, März, alles lief großartig, die Shows waren ausverkauft und wir sollten nach Europa, in die USA und nach Australien gehen.» ›Mitte März bekam ich das Gefühl, dass die Dinge sich auflösen würden, und wir dachten, dass es wahrscheinlich nur ein paar Monate dauern würde, also verschoben wir viele Shows, aber es wurde schnell klar, dass sich die Situation nicht bald ändern würde. Ich fing an, ins Studio zu gehen, zunächst, um meine Stimme in Schwung zu halten, aber ich merkte, dass es mir auch half, meinen Geist zu beschäftigen und als eine Art Therapie diente in einer sehr unruhigen Zeit.‹

So macht man aus einem Problem eine Tugend. Nur einer dieser Songs existierte sogar in Demoform vor. Carrack zauberte alle anderen während des Lockdowns. Der Groove setzt gleich mit Good and Ready ein. Es ist eine perfekte, positive Botschaft von einem Künstler Künstlers, der es kaum erwarten kann, wieder unter sein Publikum zu kommen, und eine würdige Ergänzung zu Solotracks wie Eyes Of Blue, Satisfy My Soul und dem Titeltrack seiner letzten Veröffentlichung These Days.

One On One ist ein wirklich live klingendes Album, was umso bemerkenswerter ist, wenn man bedenkt, dass Carrack die Band ist und oft ganz alleine gearbeitet hat. ›Ich habe im Laufe der Jahre eine Menge Aufnahmen hier drinnen gemacht, wenn es im Winter eiskalt war und kochend heiß im Sommer‹, sagt er. ›Aber vor sieben, acht Jahren haben wir beschlossen, das Studio zu renovieren und es in einen wirklich schönen Arbeitsraum zu verwandeln. Gott sei Dank tat ich es. Es war wahrscheinlich das Beste, was ich je getan habe.

Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack
He’s a label owner, hugely popular recording and touring artist, one of the most in-demand voices and songwriters of his generation and the creator of a catalogue of household hits. But beyond all that, Carrack just loves making music, and now he’s delivering a real career landmark and the best blue-eyed soul album of the year.

‘Good Feeling,’ out on September 24 on his own Carrack UK label, is the latest lovingly-crafted piece of work by a British talent whose mark on music stretches all the way back into the 1970s. The follow-up to 2010’s ‘A Different Hat’ (his gorgeous collection of vocal performances accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), it was produced by Paul himself and he plays most of the instruments on it, although his son Jack, now a member of his band, joins him on drums.

Simply put, ‘Good Feeling’ takes everything that’s good about Paul Carrack and adds to it, and several tracks from it will soon be highlights of his prolific live performances. The near-title track ‘Good Feelin’,’ a song that lives up to its title if ever one did, has already become Paul’s latest airplay favourite, and the album includes an irresistible collection of originals and covers. He co-writes with his old Squeeze pal Chris Difford and another British songwriting treasure, Charlie Dore, and shows his great versatility by interpreting both Nick Lowe and Bruce Springsteen.

Across four decades, countless Carrack performances have quietly made their mark on the collective consciousness, including Ace’s ‘How Long,’ Mike & the Mechanics’ ‘The Living Years,’ ‘Over My Shoulder’ and ‘Silent Running,’ Squeeze’s ‘Tempted’ and solo landmarks like ‘Satisfy My Soul,’ ‘I Live On A Battlefield’ and ‘Eyes Of Blue.’ Not to mention the gems he presented to the Eagles, who made anthems of ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Hear Any More.’ Or recording and performing collaborations with an incredibly eclectic list of legends like Roger Waters, Ringo Starr and B.B. King.

“After we did the tour last year, I more or less just ploughed straight into getting this album done,” says Paul of ‘Good Feeling’. “I’d made a start on it before that, but it feels good having it all done and dusted and under my belt. Doing something completely different like the orchestral album helped. That was very mellow and downbeat, so coming back to my normal way of doing things, I wanted it to be upbeat, and it felt that, and very fresh.”

The feelgood factor of ‘Good Feelin’,’ second single ‘Time To Move On,’ Lowe’s ‘From Now On’ and the Difford co-write ‘Marmalade Moon’ is perfectly complemented by the poignancy of ‘Long Ago,’ ‘Make It Right,’ Springsteen’s ‘If I Should Fall Behind,’ performed by Paul on a BBC Radio 2 anniversary special about the Titanic, and the closing number by jazz great Thad Jones, ‘A Child Is Born.’ Meanwhile the infectious ‘I Can Hear Ray,’ written with Dore, celebrates Paul’s love of the “Genius” himself, Ray Charles.

And if the whole thing sounds more soulful than ever, it’s no coincidence. “A lot of it’s in the mix,” says Carrack. “Things hang together somehow in a certain balance, it’s not very scientfic, it’s all done on feel. The lad who’s been helping me with this, Rupert Cobb, seems to have a handle on what I’m trying to do, he keeps it earthy. I’m glad that comes over.”

But the final word in the studio is Paul’s, as producer. “I swear I’ll never do it again each time,” he says. “But gradually, because I play a bit of everything, I start building up the tracks and the next thing I know, I’m doing the bloody lot!”

Paul’s inspirations come from many quarters, but eventually all roads lead back to the soul music he fell in love with, growing up in Sheffield. Stax, Atlantic, Motown, you name it. “It was all of them. Whatever was getting played in the clubs or dancehalls, ‘In The Midnight Hour’...but Motown I did like, especially the singers. David Ruffin is probably my all-time favourite.

“I would say probably Stevie Wonder as well. I love his early stuff, but ‘Talking Book’ was a mind-blower for me.” The Moog motif on ‘A Child Is Born’ is a deliberate and delightful nod to that era.

Paul first did the Nick Lowe tune, ‘From Now On,’ on an early solo album, but wanted to give it a fresh lick of paint as an older and, he smiles, calmer man. “We did it on ‘Suburban Voodoo’ in 1982, but that’s just a mad record, totally fuelled,” he laughs. “I much prefer this version. It does contain my favourite line by Nick, ‘Gonna do my level best to keep my nose clean.’”

Great surprises and listening treats are all over ‘Good Feeling’, but we must also give a special mention to ‘Make It Right’. “That was written by the Tinlin brothers, Alex and Rolf, who supported us on the last tour and they’ll be doing this next one as well.” says Paul. “My son did a bit of percussion with them on a showcase, and I popped round and thought they had something, they’ve got some really great songs.”

After a spell with the jazz-rock band Warm Dust, Carrack put his real musical passion to good use and got into the spotlight for the first time in his next group. As the writer and vocalist of Ace’s ‘How Long,’ his blue-eyed soul credentials were instantly sealed. A top 20 UK chart placing barely did credit to the song’s staying power, but it went top three on the American pop chart.

When Ace disbanded, Paul had a spell as a studio member of Roxy Music, before his solo career took its bow in 1980. Then came that short but sweet time with Squeeze, more solo albums and a stint in Nick Lowe’s brilliantly-named Cowboy Outfit. The work came thick and fast, both in Paul’s own name and as a go-to session man with the Smiths, the Pretenders, Roger Waters and many others. When Mike Rutherford of Genesis formed his side project Mike and the Mechanics, Paul and the late Paul Young shared vocals, and Carrack wrote and sang on many of their biggest tracks, none more so than ‘The Living Years,’ which gave them a US No. 1 in 1989 and remains in Paul’s live set to this day.

But Carrack’s solo career really put down firm roots when he set up his own label for the release of ‘Satisfy My Soul’ in 2000. “It was a good move. We didn’t overreach ourselves or go for big, mad promotional budgets, but it’s gradually built into a substantial business. It’s a lot of work, but it’s empowering and liberating.

“On my early solo albums, I would definitely not trust my own judgement, I tended to let producers and people have free reign. I just thought they knew better than me. It wasn’t until I started the label that I began to say ‘You know what? I’ll do it how I want to do it and hope that people like it.’”

That’s the way to build a career of substance, which is exactly what Paul Carrack has. But then, you need staying power when you’re a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan.

“It’s all been good,” he muses. “Certainly a lot better than the alternative, which I dread to think what it would have been, if I’d stayed in Sheffield and got a proper job. If there’s any regrets, it’s probably not having the balls to stick to my own gut feelings and instincts a bit sooner. But there again, the fact that I’ve done some of those side things is a bit of a story. It’s all part of the tapestry.

“All a musician wants is an outlet, really. You want to be able to put your stuff out, do your gigs and have a good old sing. That keeps me happy.”

Booklet for One on One