John Howard 2025
Solo
Focusing on purity of expression, British musician locates resonant affinity for passion in the psyche of our world.
In recent years, quite a few listeners compared this singer-songwriter to a certain Reginald Dwight, and though they undoubtedly meant well, such parallels do a disservice to John Howard, because any resemblance between the two artists that might be there is limited to their use of voice and piano as primary instruments. However, while Howard has never attempted to consciously limit his arrangements to the deceptively simplistic setting, the whopping seventeen numbers of “Solo” concentrate on it, boldly so. Not demos per se, the pieces penned, if not necessarily used, for latter-day albums like “Navigate Home” and “Across The Door Sill” highlight the chamber core of John’s oeuvre, with his always-young vocals fluttering above the ivories.
Of course, one should want to hear the veteran distill some classic cuts from "Kid In A Big World" to melodic essentials, yet “Miss Ashton’s Disappointment” requires a great amount of audacious maturity to lift off from its “Für Elise” foundation and soar in the space between autobiographical detail and sentimental memories – stripped of faux-orchestral splendor of its final version and, thus, more impactful and straightforward. Howard’s delivery can seem the same on quite a few tracks – after all, they weren’t composed to become a standalone offering in the original form, no matter how well the flow of “Solo” turned out – but there’s undeniable magic in the delicately dynamic opener “Portrait Of A Mother” whose depth is astounding, or in the intimate mini-epic “Viewpoints” which brings things to a close in a solemn manner, with several keyboards layered to create a vibrant soundscape. Still, the lyrics of “Preservation” wondrously clash with the waltz John’s digits weave from the ether, his singing enthrallingly split into harmonies, the gentle splashes of “Water” transform loneliness into loveliness, and the sparse ripples render “A Wardrobe Dreams” one of the most moving coming-out serenades in this universe.
Sure, “Precious (Alone Is Hard To Do)” evokes patinated balladry to challenge its own eternal relevance, and “Change (Who Changed?)” finds Howard pitching adventurous spirit to his beau, yet a couple of songs, including “Breaking” that ebbs with light intensity, mention demons John encountered before finding piece of mind which the thunderous “Pre-Dawn” threatens to shatter – and, thankfully, doesn’t. So “Solo” may be serene, and often is, but emotions raging underneath the tranquil surface make this album genuinely special.
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