If there ever was a British – well, Welsh – artist who carried on flying a flag for rock ‘n’ roll when the genre seemed to be in decline, particularly in the ’60s, it would be Shakin’ Stevens. Although many may see him as one of a commercial stripe, the veteran has always been true to what made him tick and jive, successfully so, and he’s been making an impressive comeback lately, which will result in the release of a new album on April 28th.
Given the title of “Re-Set” to mark a fresh start for the famous performer, this record is his first in seven years – although there were longer gaps in Stevens’ discography: 16 years between 1991’s “Merry Christmas Everyone” and “Now Listen” from 2007 and nine years between the latter and 2016’s “Echoes of Our Times” – so his fans have a lot of reasons to rejoice, especially given the quality of songs on offer. They tell stories from the life of Shakin’ and expand on his outlook in our times: nothing revolutionary, then, yet attractive as usual.
1. George
2. Not In Real Life
3. It All Comes Round
4. May
5. All You Need Is Greed
6. Tick Tock
7. Beyond The Illusion
8. Hard Learned Lesson
9. Dirty Water
10. Re-Set