What a fickle business the music industry is. A singer once described by the Bee Gee’s Barry Gibb as one of the greatest female singers of all time had to wait 51 years to release her third album ‘The New Adventures of…’ The tour in support of that album in 2019 is documented here and for a singer approaching her eighties is frankly incredible.
PP Arnold describes herself as a survivor. Pregnant at just 15 she was trapped in an abusive marriage before fate took a hand in 1965 when she became an Ikette. Her tenure with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue was a mixed blessing. Trying to escape the unwanted advances of Ike on a nightly basis she saw her opportunity to escape his clutches when she toured England with the duo in 1966 supporting The Rolling Stones. A close relationship with Mick Jagger led to her being a solo artist on the Stones’ Manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label. With classic hits like ‘Angel of the Morning’ and ‘First Cut is the Deepest’ Arnold look set for stardom but disaster struck when her label went bust in 1968.
With no management to speak of her career drifted. Despite the support of Barry Gibb who got her a deal with RSO Records, company politics meant that recordings made with Gibb and later Eric Clapton never saw the light of day until they were posthumously released in 2017!!
Over the years a mixture of session and live work (notably 6 years on the road with Roger Waters) kept Patricia in the business, but it was her collaboration with Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Craddock that shot her back into the limelight with ‘The New Adventures Of..’ and it was Craddock who led a crack band that illuminates the performances on this album.
Arnold is often described as a soul singer – but she’s a lot more than that. As she amply demonstrates on this album she can cover all the bases with aplomb and with a vocal range that has not been diminished by time. This set covers her classic hits of course, but it’s testament to the quality of her latest recordings that they more than hold their own with past glories. Case in point is the self-penned atmospheric opener ‘Though He Hurts Me Badly’ followed by the sixties flavoured ‘Baby Blue’ all delivered with that unmistakable and distinctive smoky tone.
PP Arnold is a joyful singer and can have an audience jumping around to tunes like the Northern Soul bopper ‘Everything Is Gonna Be Alright’ but she’s also a great interpreter. Her version of Mike Nesmith’s ‘Different Drum’ is a delight, but it can be a risky business when tackling a haunting ballad from a venerated singer. Here she takes on Sandy Denny’s beautiful ‘I’m a Dreamer’ and delivers a reflective show-stopping version that would melt a heart of stone.
All in all this set is a fitting triumph for an artist who never got the breaks she deserved. Listen to this album and you’ll be wondering why. Fabulous!
Lyndon Noon
