scrimshire – along came the devil one night – wah wah 45s
25/05/2009
Another sunny Monday in London (a rare occurence of late) but before I head out to London Fields for a boozy afternoon of fun and frolics, I thought I better give you a quick heads up on a little album that’s been released today.
After just over two years since his debut 12″, the epic dancefloor tune, “You Will Save Me” arrived on the ever consistent Wah Wah 45s label, Scrimshire delivers his first album for the label entitled “Along Came The Devil One Night”, available from all good music stores now on both CD and MP3.
Although it seems that its taken a bit of time for the album to see the light of day, personally I, and a few other people I know who’ve already heard it, believe that it’s definitely been worth the wait. Having delved into the LP over repeated listens during the past few weeks, I think Mr Adam Scrimshire has probably completed one of the first essential UK soul albums of 2009. That may be a bit of a grand statement for a Monday afternoon in May and especially from someone who has had the pleasure of knowing him for a year or two, but casting all that aside and just slipping “Along Came The Devil One Night” in your music player should at least confirm that you are indeed listening to something a little bit special.
Clocking in at just over 43 minutes long and after numerous revisions, three previous vinyl releases (all holding exclusive non album cuts, versions and remixes – The King Knut remix of “Mistaken” being a personal highlight – go seek) and a host of live shows, Scrimshire delivers a succint album incorporating a range of styles from jazz to soul, folk to funk, and pulls it all together to produce a work of sheer cinematic brilliance.
From the opening piano intro of “The Low Road” through the subsequent tracks “People We Spoke To” and the title track (probably the strongest three track opening that I’ve heard on an album recently), right through to closing track “I Have Come To You”, a melancholic duet with label mate Stac, everything fits together nicely, without any unnecessary skits or filler cuts. Just a solid nine tracks of soulful, uplifting, contemporary music.
Scrimshire, who produces and plays a range of instruments on the album, is joined by a talented bunch of musicians and singers, including Jake Telford (OK_Ma) on sax and flute, vocals from Inga-Lil Aker, Rob Hynd, Claire Lauren (the voice on the standout jazz track “Springtime”) and Stac, plus guest strings from The Middlewood Sessions. But don’t just take our word for it, cop the tracklist and check the MP3 snippets below to check out all the tracks in their full unabounded (but edited) glory and then hop on over to Scrimshire’s website to catch the man in his own words.
Streams & Tracklist
Scrimshire – Along Came The Devil One Night – Wah Wah 45s (WAHCD012)
1 The Low Road (feat Rob Hynd)
2 People We Spoke To
3 Along Came The Devil One Night…
4 Springtime (feat Claire Laurent)
5 Mistaken (feat Rob Hynd)
6 When The World Was Young (Part One)
7 Warm Sound (feat Inga-Lill Aker)
8 All Roads Lead You Home
9 I Have Come To You (feat Stac)
A cheeky extra (not on the album)
Mistaken (feat Rob Hynd) [King Knut Remix]
For those of you interested in catching his live show with full band, Adam will launch the album on Saturday June 6th at the Time Out Live Venue of the Year, The Luminaire, on Kilburn High Road, London. Support on the night comes from the equally talented Matthew Halsall (check his incredible album “Sending My Love” LP also out now on) and Nat Birchall, plus those ever likeable Wah Wah 45s DJs Dom Servini & Simon Goss. Tickets are on sale now for £6 in advance from We Got Tickets, or it’s £8 on the door. Peep the flyer below…
