Album Review: Gilbert O’Sullivan, On The Record

‘It’s Me’ is a delicious slice of Seventies AM radio – a sunlit melody with a tad of wistfulness – that opens the 21st album of serial Ivor Novello winner, Gilbert O’Sullivan.

Andy Wright returns as producer, extending a partnership that yielded Driven (2022) and Songbook (2024).

Recorded at London’s Eastcote Studios with O’Sullivan’s trusted ensemble, the album’s 13 songs were captured in just five days, each introduced at the piano and worked into shape over a few rehearsals before the tape rolled. Lead single ‘Growing Old Disgracefully’ is stellar orchestral pop, which landed wonderfully during Gilbert’s stellar recent 3Arena performance.

The O’Sullivan songbook boasts many high profile admirers, including Paul Weller, Tim Burgess and CMAT, with the latter describing ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’ as “the greatest Irish song ever made” and Gilbert as “one of the greatest songwriters in the world”.

The puckish ‘Don’t Shout’ was another 3Arena favourite, and so too was the country-flecked and immediately hummable ‘Is That You?’, featuring the marvellous Andrea Corr. Elsewhere, ‘She Never Ceases To Amaze Me’ is a Macca-like hymn that adds another jewel to a majestic index of love songs already graced by ‘Clair’, ‘What’s In A Kiss’ and ‘Matrimony’.

The exuberant ‘Wait’ is a stomping, piano-driven boogie with a glam-era swagger, while sweeping ballad ‘See Us Gone’ makes for a soaring finale.

8/10