Audio CD review:
Chris Farlowe - Handbags and Gladrags: The Immediate Collection

Chris Farlowe - Handbags and Gladrags: The Immediate Collection

Band: Chris Farlowe Title: Handbags and Gladrags: The Immediate Collection Rating: Release Date: 2004-09-27 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Out of Time - Chris Farlowe, Jagger, Mick 2: The Fool - Chris Farlowe, Hazlewood 3: Treat Her Good - Chris Farlowe, Deighton 4: Handbags and Gladrags - Chris Farlowe, D'Abo 5: Think - Chris Farlowe, Jagger 6: Mr Pitiful - Chris Farlowe, Cropper 7: I'm Free - Chris Farlowe, Jagger 8: In the Midnight Hour - Chris Farlowe, Cropper 9: My Way of Giving - Chris Farlowe, Lane, Ronnie 10: Yesterday's Papers - Chris Farlowe, Jagger 11: It's All Over Now Baby Blue - Chris Farlowe, Dylan 12: I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself - Chris Farlowe, Bacharach 13: Ride on Baby - Chris Farlowe, Jagger 14: Open the Door to Your Heart - Chris Farlowe, Banks, Darrell 15: Looking for You - Chris Farlowe, Ragavoy 16: Don't Just Look at Me - Chris Farlowe, Oldham 17: We're Doing Fine - Chris Farlowe, Ott 18: North South East West - Chris Farlowe, Farlowe 19: Baby Make It Soon - Chris Farlowe, Woolfson 20: Paint It Black - Chris Farlowe, Jagger 21: Moanin - Chris Farlowe, Jagger, Mick 22: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Chris Farlowe, Jagger, Mick 23: Everyone Makes a Mistake - Chris Farlowe, Alcock 24: That's No Big Thing - Chris Farlowe, Dixon 25: Dawn - Chris Farlowe, Hammond 26: Paperman Fly in the Sky - Chris Farlowe, Alcock 27: The Last Goodbye - Chris Farlowe, D'Abo

Solid Brit 60's blue-eyed soul Long after once-famous soul stars found an audience hard too find at home they had no difficulty in attracting fans to live shows in England, Scotland and Ireland. It's funny, classic soul music has always appealed to a wider audience in the UK than in its native America. Accordingly, it is no surprise to find a bevy of English singers either covering American classics or recording songs in a similar style. Chris Farlowe, while never finding any acceptance in North America, was more or less a household name in the UK during the mid sixties. This collection gathers together the best of his best years - with Immediate during the years 1965 to 1969. At times Farlowe sings in a similar vein to The Walker Brothers - dramatic "blue-eyed soul". At other times he becomes a little edgier as he tackles Pickett and Redding. The Jagger-Richards penned Out of Time is the definitive version of a great song. He is less successful with Yesterday's Papers and an odd Paint it Black. This a cd that I can recommend only to Farlowe fans and to lovers of British blue-eyed soul. Although he certainly has a strong, distictive and interesting voice and although the material is varied and the musicianship professional, as it usually is with Britsoul, Farlowe is unlikely to appeal to many who are not already well-aquainted with his music. For me three stars is a mild thumbs up. You can see a complete list of all Chris Farlowe discography, or go back to the Chris Farlowe tabs