Right Track Records (label)
29 June 2015 (released)
01 June 2015
In David Nicholls' latest book Us, lead character Douglas is challenged by his wife-to-be about his music collection. "There's a lot of Billy Joel" she says. A defensive answer follows, as if to underline how uncool Douglas is. One imagines that Michael Armstrong would feel considerable sympathy for Nicholls' likeable 'hero'. The singer's love for Joel is clear on this impressive debut, as is his love of music in general.
For many years Armstrong worked hard at his construction business, always listening to the great songwriters, harboring an ambition to one day make a record. Family ill-health forced the closure of the company and forced his hand in giving music a shot. A chance meeting with his future manager, saw him produce his first EP in 2012. Good reviews meant he soon found himself mixing with Sir Paul McCartney at the Queen's Jubilee Concert. Hilariously he managed to blag himself onto the stage for a final singalong, pretending to be one of the Military Wives!
Three years later and here is his debut album, with So Long She and The Radio Years betraying that love of Billy Joel. There's even a cover of Allentown, stripped back and almost better than the original. Back To Work explores the daily drudge of a commute to the office, while The Contented Man (These Halcyon Days) is a Radio 2 smash in the waiting. Armstrong has collected some impressive friends already, with Albert Lee lending bluesy guitar to the upbeat Innocence of Men, while Peter Howarth from the Hollies lends vocals to The Radio Years. There's also some terrific saxophone from Ed Barker on Johannesburg.
But like the protagonist in David Nicholls' book, Armstrong may suffer from a perceived lack of cool. The music industry is about new and shiny - it always has been. These are songs with a very Seventies feel, written and crafted for a maturer audience. At a recent showcase for the album, Armstrong said the record had been 20 years in the making. In a way it feels like it. That's not to say the record is outdated, more that it appears to come from a time past. But like Billy Joel that's not be a bad thing at all.
