♫ #lastfm artists: Kid Creole & The Coconuts (55), Admiral Fallow (5), Voodoo Love Orchestra (4), Patri.. via @tweeklyfm #music
— russell davies (@undermanager) September 13, 2015
I'm not quite sure what had me listening to Kid Creole this week but I've had a lovely time doing it. At this distance it'd be easy to see them as another slightly odd 80s costume novelty, but they were always more than that.
At their best (Stool Pigeon, Wonderful Thing) they were the only band that ever married pop sounds and rhythms with swing / big band instruments. They did it properly. Took it seriously. Not like Jools Holland and his lot - just too tired to pub rock any more. The clarinets on the intro to Wonderful Thing are just perfect, their sound alone nudges the song out of Prince-style self-regard and into Aanand-like self-love. And that bass sound! Why don't we hear more of that?
There's clearly a bunch of talented musicians here and it's combined with the iron will required to resist their inevitable slide towards Santana-like slow rock jams and dubious reggae. (For the most part, the outer reaches of the Spotify repertoire are not worth exploring. Stick to the big songs.)