With strains of classic early seventies American singer-song
writing, Paul McClure has announced his arrival as a solo artist with an album
full of raw sentiment and stripped back sensibility. SMILING FROM THE FLOOR
UP is the latest recording under the Clubhouse Records banner and complements
perfectly the label’s wealth of slightly more rock flavoured material. For this
debut album, the former HI and Lo band member McClure has put his songs firmly
and deliberately in the foreground with an uninhibited invitation to share his
thoughts and experiences. The result is a 10-track compendium of no thrills revelations
to rival the output of any touring US troubadour preaching the gospel according
to Van Zandt, Dylan and Young.
Before you even slip the CD into the slot, the extensive
sleeve notes indicate what the record means to McClure who values the
sparseness of the production as much as the therapy derived from committing his
soul to song. Aside from the feelings of the performer, the listener is well
rewarded for choosing this record by a trio of strong tracks cementing the core
of the album. Each time ‘For You’ is
played, which for me was rather numerous, you can’t help but be reminded of The
Eagles in their prime with ‘Lyin’ Eyes’.
This stand out track is well served with a sumptuous chorus melody designed to
bypass any bands of resistance. Along the same lines, ‘Keep It Together’ possesses a stellar intro which hooks you
straight in and is guaranteed to warm any strained emotions.
In a record where the ballad is king, the fabulous and
punchy ‘Any Number You Like (As Long As
It’s 4) rises like a beacon to remove any potential lulls of listening
complacency. McClure switches to piano for this number which for me had a
remote similar sound to some of Todd Snider’s material. This track contained backing
vocals from Hannah and Alex Eton-Wall of Redlands Palomino Company. In fact
Hannah also supplied a delicate female vocal contribution to ‘Pollyanna’ and ‘Keep It Together’. The camaraderie of the Clubhouse operation also
saw Joe Bennett from The Dreaming Spires play lap steel on the title track ‘Smiling From The Floor Up’ but McClure
felt he needed to limit the quality support available to him and this added to the
legitimacy of it being an album truly from the soul of its creator.
McClure’s mission statement was for the songs to speak for
themselves and the live album feel to the record suggests this has been
accomplished. He subtly adds an optimum amount of acoustic, piano, accordion,
drums and ukulele to each number and the highest praise possible is to compliment
the song structure and state that wider instrumentation is not missed. This
record will sound great in some of the country’s intimate listening venues and
probably better still, the growing house concert movement in this country.
Paul McClure has shown in making SMILING FROM THE FLOOR UP
that great song writing talent is prevalent in the UK’s
folk/Americana/alt-country scene and that one day the mainstream music media may
wake up to embrace the sounds. Meanwhile those in the know are not going to
spend time waiting for the rest of the world to catch up and will just keep on
enjoying the material these fine artists continue to share with us.
www.paulmccluremusic.com