Why soul man Craig David is having the last laugh
WHEN Craig David topped the charts two years ago with his sixth album Following My Intuition, he capped an astonishing comeback. The soulful singer from Southampton had become a teen sensation in 2000 when he sprang from the dance underground to score huge hits with Fill Me In and 7 Days. His debut album, Born To Do It, sold eight million, helping him to crack America and sell out the Royal Albert Hall.
But once his image had been blighted by Yorkshire comedian Leigh Francis’s unrelenting parody in the Bo’ Selecta! TV series, he sank from national treasure to national joke.
Following My Intuition changed all that. In a bid to restore his confidence and credibility, Craig (pictured) had moved to Miami, where he hosted a popular club night. A hit radio show back in Britain followed before his comeback album put a triumphant stamp on his roller-coaster ride, with a familiar blend of pop, R&B and garage.
The Time Is Now looks to consolidate his renaissance by appealing to as wide an audience as possible. David, 36, says it takes him back to when he was ‘an unknown kid from Southampton making mix-tapes in my bedroom’. That’s pushing things — he might be waving the flag for homegrown R&B, but this is a polished collection that relies more on its diverse roll-call of producers and guest vocalists than any bedroom beats.
Among the helpers are Dan Smith, singer with indie-rockers Bastille, who duets with Craig on moody electronic number I Know You. Steve Mac, who played the jabbing keyboard riff on Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You, comes up with a strikingly similar theme on Brand New. Manchester singer J.P. Cooper adds blue-eyed soul harmonies on the excellent Get Involved.
So far, so pop. But Craig’s resurgence has been built partly on his appeal to younger fans who were toddlers when he first topped the charts, and he strives to retain their allegiance by absorbing an array of contemporary styles: voguish Latin beats on Love Me Like It’s Yesterday; a hazy cameo by American rapper GoldLink on Live In The Moment.
Basically, he sticks largely to the familiar, boy-meets-girl storytelling that buttressed earlier hits — with a degree of silliness thrown in. Falsetto ballad Magic is smooth, but corny — ‘M is for the way you make me feel’ — while For The Gram (as in Instagram) is a clumsy appraisal of social media ills on which he ends up admitting: ‘Now I’m speaking emoji — wink, wink, smiley.’
In trying to please everyone, David occasionally spreads his talent too thinly. But, no longer a laughing stock, Britain’s most likeable soul man is seizing the moment, again.
AS THE main songwriter in the Kaiser Chiefs, drummer Nick Hodgson was the prime mover behind the raucous singles I Predict A Riot and Ruby. Disillusioned with touring, he left the Leeds band amicably in 2012 and has since helped to craft hits for Mark Ronson and Dua Lipa.
The attraction of making his own music never went away, though, and he succumbs to the lure with this dreamy solo debut on which he plays almost every instrument himself. As its bucolic sleeve suggests, Tell Your Friends is more delicate and introspective than anything the Kaiser Chiefs ever did.
Hodgson, 40, wastes no time reiterating his melodic credentials. RSVP and Tomorrow I Love You echo the pop classicism of the Pet Shop Boys, while his sentimental streak surfaces on piano ballad Suitable, an anthem to fidelity.
His reedy singing lacks range, however, and two of the best tracks here feature guests. Former Kaisers bandmate Andrew White adds guitar on Feel Better, and The Music’s Rob Harvey is a forceful vocal presence on My Own American Dream. A more collaborative approach could work wonders next time.