Personnel: Jamie Cullum (vocals, guitar, piano, Moog synthesizer); London Session Orchestra (strings); Alan Barnes (alto saxophone); Geoff Gascoyne, Ben Cullum (bass instrument); John Heard (acoustic bass); Merlo Podlewski (bass guitar); Ian Thomas (drums, percussion); James Gadson, Sebastian DeKrom (drums); Dan the Automator (programming); Terri Walker (background vocals).
Pianist and singer Jamie Cullum has been tagged as a new jazzbo, a Harry Connick, Jr.- type given to piano flurries and smooth crooning, when in truth he is a pop singer-songwriter much more in the mold of Ben Folds. It's true, however, that Cullum's piano playing can be jazz-inflected (especially on his solos), and his vocal lines can be nuanced, slinky, and interesting in ways that distinguish them from your run-of-the-mill popster.
But if the contemporary pop tendencies were evident on TWENTYSOMETHING, this album's predecessor, they are even more pronounced on 2005's CATCHING TALES. In fact, Cullum makes a bid for au courant hipness by collaborating with Dan the Automator ("Get Your Way") and adding electronic flourishes throughout. These touches add a nice shimmer, but it is Cullum's straightforward tunes, relaxed and confident vocals, and clever, literate lyrics that hold the listener's attention.
Professional Reviews
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The imagination is riotous, the songcraft maturer, the ambition heightened, and the musical reach is there to realise it."
