The Brian Kennedy On Song tv series has proved entertaining viewing over the course of its two runs, giving an interesting look at the background to most of the key songs in this country’s musical history. Kennedy has been an engaging host, obviously possessed of a genuine love for the subject matter. It’s a shame then that this second volume of music is such a damp squib.
It’s not that there’s too much intrinsically wrong with it, more that there’s not enough to get excited about either. Kennedy glides through the whole affair without putting a foot wrong vocally but fails to leave any kind of lasting impression. That tends to come from the guests who accompany him – the criminally underrated Ralph McTell, Juliet Turner and a beautiful turn from Eddi Reader.
The surprise of the whole package is Lulu, whose vocal on ‘Peggy Gordon’ is quite astounding and a world away from what you might expect. In the end, though, you can’t help but wish that the amazing history of these songs had managed to manifest itself a lot more throughout the course of the album.