The Informer

Call me a shrink, but Jools’s rave ups always remind me of that bizarro scene in Ken Russell’s Crimes Of Passion where Anthony Perkins sits at the piano and starts bashing out, “C’mon everybody get happy!”
But seriously, The Informer is an immaculately orchestrated and executed record that mixes a wealth of Holland originals (the title tune, the lovely slow soul of ‘I Went By’, the Van-like ‘The Life Of A Man’) with sassy classics by Big Joe Turner and WC Handy. The musicianship, as you’d expect, is top notch, the various rags, ragas, shuffles, strides and strolls delivered with considerable oomph and embellished with swordfish-trombone courtesy of reggae legend Rico Rodriguez.
Vocal duties are handled by Ruby Turner, who could teach Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera a few things about how to vocalise classic bluebeat, R’n’B and big band tunes. Yes, it’s avowedly retro, but rendered with an expertise and authenticity that no amount of studio trickery can replicate. The overall effect is like wandering into the mother of all Notting Hill Carnivals. In your sitting room.
For your pleasure, there’s also a live set recorded at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals, featuring Turner letting rip on a ream of Tommy Dorsey tunes, plus Beverley Knight doing Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, Uncle Sam’s new national anthem.
Not usually my cup of tea of a rainy afternoon, but by god it sounds like a hell of a night out.

Key track: ‘I Went By’