Courtney; David: Anthology

Anyone with over 30 million record sales behind them must be a household name, right? Well, no, not if you're a songwriter and producer called David Courtney, a man who started out playing drums in The Urchins alongside Adam Faith, went on to discover Leo Sayer and can count the likes of Roger Daltrey and Joe Egan as regular collaborators.

Anthology gathers together 37 tracks Courtney either wrote or produced and while it is, obviously, a limited taster of his impressive catalogue, there's no denying that each and every song keeps you engaged and entertained. The bulk of this collection are songs that Courtney worked on with Daltrey and Sayer and while the formers stock is probably still at its peak, the likes of "Why Is Everybody Going Home", "Long Tall Glasses" and "The Show Must Go On" proves that Sayer – who has been oft maligned here in the UK – really was (and still is) a superb singer and interpreter of lyrics. Daltrey on the other hand shines brightly on "It's A Hard Life", "You Are Yourself" and, amongst others, "Avenging Annie", while interestingly we also get both singers doing their own – and very individual – takes on "Giving It All Away" and "One Man Band".

"I Survived" from Adam Faith is another highlight, along with the Gerry Rafferty cover "Stuck In The Middle" where Faith teams up with Daltrey, as the pair also do for a rearranged version of The Who's "Squeeze Box", while Roger Chapman puts in a great performance on "Midnight Child". Along the way we also get cracking contributions from Maggie Bell as she delivers "In My Life", Smokie who thrive on "The Dancer", Joe Egan, Odyssey and the ever excellent Steve Ellis. Showing the variety on offer, the 80s pop of "Shooting Star" arrives from Dollar, while Geisha show up with "Never Tell You Why" and Marina Kapura delivers "The Easy Way Out". As if that wasn't enough to whet the appetite, the guest list across the album also includes Ritchie Blackmore, Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy), Steve Cropper, David Gilmour, Rod Argent, John Entwhistle, Eric Clapton, Linda and Paul McCartney and Ray Parker Jnr!

However shining brightest are the songs themselves, a selection of crafted rock numbers with a pop eye embellished with superb arrangements and the odd touch of strings and brass. The cast list is stellar and there isn't a single performance dialled in, combine that and the aforementioned skilled songwriting and production and there could only be one outcome. Anthology is a fitting reminder of the talents of the one and only David Courtney.

Track Listing
CD 1
1. THE SHOW MUST GO ON – LEO SAYER
2. LONG TALL GLASSES – LEO SAYER
3. I SURVIVED – ADAM FAITH (feat Ritchie Blackmore)
4. CHANGE – ADAM FAITH
5. IT'S A HARD LIFE – ROGER DALTREY
6. GIVING IT ALL AWAY – ROGER DALTREY
7. MIDNIGHT CHILD – ROGER CHAPMAN
8. IN MY LIFE – MAGGIE BELL
9. THE PRISONER – ROGER DALTREY
10. THE DANCER – SMOKIE
11. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE – ADAM FAITH & ROGER DALTREY
12. RAG AND BONE – STEVE ELLIS
13. INNOCENT BYSTANDER – LEO SAYER
14. ONE MAN BAND – LEO SAYER
15. SHOOTING STAR – DOLLAR
16. MAGIC TOUCH – ODYSSEY
17. THE EASY WAY OUT – MARINA KAPURA
18. YOU ARE YOURSELF – ROGER DALTREY
19. TRAIN – LEO SAYER

CD 2
1. BACK ON THE ROAD – JOE EGAN
2. BLACKMAIL – STEVE ELLIS (feat Brian Robertson)
3. WORK – LEO SAYER (feat Steve Cropper)
4. ONE MAN BAND – ROGER DALTREY
5. WHEN YOUR LIFE IS YOUR OWN - DAVID COURTNEY (feat David Gilmour)
6. SAY IT AI'NT SO JOE – ROGER DALTREY
7. NEVER TELL YOU WHY – GEISHA
8. SQUEEZE BOX – ADAM FAITH & ROGER DALTREY
9. GIVING IT ALL AWAY – LEO SAYER
10. WHO WERE YOU WITH IN THE MOONLIGHT – DOLLAR
11. WORLD RADIO – LEO SAYER
12. AVENGING ANNIE – ROGER DALTREY (feat Rod Argent-John Entwistle)
13. YOU PUT SOMETHING BETTER – ROGER DALTREY (feat Eric Clapton)
14. STAR SONG – ADAM FAITH (feat Paul & Linda McCartney)
15. WHEN THE MONEY RUNS OUT – LEO SAYER (feat Ray Parker Jnr)
16. WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS – ROGER DALTREY
17. HEROES – LEO SAYER
18. WHY IS EVERYBODY GOING HOME – LEO SAYER

Added: November 30th 2015
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Anthology at Angel Air Records
Hits: 2172
Language: english

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