BARRY ADAMSON THE KING OF NOTTING HILL ALBUM MUTE, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2, 2002 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 4, 2002

Barry Adamson’s last proper album, 1998’s “As Above, So Below” came as quite a surprise. His earlier solo works had been slightly surreal, mainly instrumental imaginary soundtracks, taking their cues from film noir, Henry Mancini, blaxploitation and the projector running in the back of Adamson’s head.
But on “As Above, So Below”, Adamson leapt in as the star of the film. He suddenly emerged as a full-fledged crooner, the music a meeting between programmed soundscapes, big band jazz, orchestral arrangements, soul and funk. Kind of like a smoother Jim G Thirlwell without the mental disorders, if you like. I still consider it to be one of the ten best albums of the last five years.
So, having eagerly waited four years for a follow-up, it’s probably easy to get a bit disappointed. As I’ve hoped, “The King of Notting Hill” pretty much continues where the last album left off, but there’s something wrong. Tracks like “Cinematic Soul” and “When Darkness Calls” work well enough as deftly programmed funk pastiches. And “Whispering Streets” sees Adamson running around the streets of Notting Hill pretending to be Shaft. All very well, if not at the same heights as before.
But I’ve got two main problems with this album. The first being the single “Black Amour”, which is more Barry White than Barry Adamson. The loverman stick has been done to death, and it’s been done better. The second, and worse, is the lack of coherence. The vocal tracks get interrupted by long, hazy instrumental pieces that would probably have sat well on an album like “Oedipus Schmoedipus”, but totally ruins the flow here. Somewhere halfway through, I just tend to lose the will to keep listening. Despite brave attempts to bring the album back to silky, slick life I’m still stuck with the impression that this could have turned out so much better.
Having said that, this is an album that’s both original and rather good, it just falls flat compared to Adamson’s earlier achievements. If you’re looking for some suave, tongue-in-cheek soul music, “The King of Notting Hill” won’t let you down. But if you’re after some mind-bending cinematic thrills and chills, I suggest you try and hunt down the recent Steroid Maximus album “Ectopia” instead.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN