Before I proceed I should confess that I’m a little uncomfortable publishing this month’s article due to an undeniable similarity with my previous entry in that both pieces are centred around the same artist. The fact I was late publishing last month’s entry is largely culpable as it consequently saw me begin work on the following article while still in exploration of the aforementioned artist – frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners – Kevin Rowland. This time featuring as a solo artist, Rowland is the only musician to have appeared consecutively within my series of prolix song articles – something that makes me a little anxious as I don’t wish my blog to appear too arbitrary and subjective. However, this month’s entry is quite the different flavour as we find the outlandish Brummy singer-songwriter represented by an unexpected rendition of the power-ballad ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ – a song first recorded by George Benson for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic ‘The Greatest’ though often erroneously cited as a Whitney Houston original following the popularity of her 1985 recording of the song.
Incidentally, this article sees only the second appearance of a cover version as my subject of discussion following my analysis of the Ronnie Spector interpretation of Brian Wilson’s ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ a few months ago. I have to profess, I’m not usually overly-enthusiastic where cover recordings are concerned as rarely do I find reinterpretations to offer more than their root counterparts – yet in this instance, I have to concede this is possibly one of the finest takes on another artist’s material I’ve had the pleasure of hearing. To reiterate – for me to being using superlatives in description of a cover recording is surely an indubitable ratification of its quality, but if you don’t wish to simply take my word for it – give the song a listen before you continue any further.
Kevin Rowland’s unexpected cover of ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ first appeared on the 1999 studio album ‘My Beauty’ – a CD/MiniDisc-only release issued by Alan McGee’s legendary Creation label, subsequently becoming only the second Rowland solo LP since the disbandment of his Dexys Midnight Runners in 1986. McGee had signed Rowland to the label two years prior to the release of ‘My Beauty’ in what was essentially a lifeline for the former Dexys singer after a prolonged ten-year absence from the music industry had exacerbated his descent into obscurity. After the unsuccessful launch of a solo career with the release of his underwhelming, inexplicably Deodato-produced debut effort ‘The Wanderer’ in 1988, Rowland fell under a prolonged period of depression that endured well into the ‘90s. Following the failure of ‘The Wanderer’, Rowland soon found himself without a label and without a platform – discarded unto the musical-wilderness and left to face ensuing financial troubles. Rowland’s insecurities began to manifest – with the singer becoming overwhelmed – subsequently turning to alcohol and narcotics in an attempt to numb the dejection and isolation that had enveloped him. A rudderless boat drifting without aim, the wanderer’s hopes began to diminish – culminating in an entirely self-deprecatory perspective of his own existence. Rowland would later reflect on the emotional insecurities that had consumed him with the carefully considered selection of songs that became ‘My Beauty’, presenting the theme that makes ‘The Greatest Love of All’ and its parent LP so admirable. Signing Rowland to the label back in 1997, McGee consciously handed the singer his salvation with a new platform from which to build – starting with the release of a revised version of the 1985 Dexys masterpiece ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’ following Rowland’s acquisition of the rights to the mastertapes from Mercury/Phonogram.
By 1998, Rowland had begun work on a new studio LP – though in actuality, it would comprise entirely of unoriginal material – cover recordings of arbitrarily selected classics featuring alongside perhaps the lesser-known personal favourites sentimental in value to the former Dexys singer. ‘My Beauty’ would provide catharsis for Rowland, a conduit for explication upon which to draw and reflect, naturally making it an essential, imperative album for any genuine fan of Kevin Rowland to own. Presented by Rowland to express the emotions experienced during his post-Dexys bout of depression and isolation, these masterful covers are a collective of anthems and ballads that explicate Rowland’s emotional-turmoil, those that provided comfort, reassurance and ultimately helped pull the fractured singer through his sustained period of self-deprecation. Often we find the lyricism to have undergone revision – amended to emphasise their correlation to Rowland, with an example being the explicit references to narcotics in his cover of Squeeze’s ‘Labelled With Love’. It’s true, the greatest formula for composition in regards to an album of material is to write about what you know – and what better to write about than the personal struggles that remained reticent for over a decade?
Originally, twelve songs had been projected for the studio album, but ultimately – only eleven made the cut – as the intended inclusion of ‘Thunder Road’ was purportedly withdrawn following the intervention of lawyers working on behalf of the song’s original creator – Bruce Springsteen – who had reportedly been disapproving of the lyrical adaptations made by Rowland. In actuality, Springsteen approved of the revisions, and the song’s exclusion was an unnecessary consequence of poor mismanagement by the legals. However, my copy of the album happens to include the recording of ‘Thunder Road’ due to a little discrepancy its promotion, which saw sampler copies prematurely distributed to record stores before Springsteen’s lawyers had requested the removal of the song from all copies of the album – if that’s the story you wish to believe! For the record, it’s a great interpretation – and despite not capturing the essence of The Boss’ original, I’m appreciative of the opportunity to hear it sung by somebody who doesn’t sound like they’re constantly in the middle of having a shit. ‘Thunder Road’ aside, I find it more perplexing that Squeeze approved of Rowland’s abhorrently explicit reinterpretation of ‘Labelled With Love’.
Unfortunately for Rowland – who had fought so hard to achieve a graceful return music scene – the album’s commercial reception had been exceptionally underwhelming – probably a result of the significantly polarised critical acclaim it had met. Reports at the time stated ‘My beauty’ had seen Creation’s poorest sales return since the label’s inception in ‘84 – purportedly shifting somewhere in the region of three-hundred copies. In reality, there’s no veracity behind these fallacious claims, as the album actually shifted somewhere in the region of 25,000 copies globally – though to be honest, that’s still a lacklustre commerce for the frontman of a group like Dexys Midnight Runners – and I have my theories as to why.
The truth is, Rowland’s name never carried that much weight outside of Dexys Midnight Runners – something empirically evident in the way his first solo LP ‘The Wanderer’ had bombed. That was back in 1988, fresh off the back of Dexys, so to attempt to relaunch a career after an eleven year hibernation with absolutely no media appearances – it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Secondly, Rowland’s transmogrification presented a controversial aesthetic that left him rather open to scrutiny and ridicule as the northern soul subculture that dominate a large percentage of the original Dexys demographic weren’t exactly the liberal-type and found it difficult to comprehend seeing their icon flaunting himself in female attire on the sleeve of his LP. His appearance on the cover has often been erroneously referred to as “drag” – though in actuality, it’s simply an example of cross-dressing – with any veritable drag-artist likely to be offended by this comparison. To be honest, I’m quite surprised the image made an appearance on a ‘90s record sleeve, even more so that it was the guy from Dexys Midnight Runners who had the initiative to challenge these kind of preconceptions – a provocation people really didn’t like. Ultimately, his artistic-direction – majestic in execution – was met with vitriol and abhorrently bigoted derogation – how ironic that in retrospect this could be perceived as an overlooked defiance of gender conformity. It’s so unfortunate to see it not realising its full potential – or receive the social praise that it perhaps deserved – and though Rowland risked his credibility among fans and peers, one would suggest his integrity soared with the release of this record.
“[Rowland] tells me if he doesn’t express himself, he will die.
He tells me his pain, his addiction, how he lost everything and how he is now beginning to get a sense of dignity.
He loves to dress the way he does because it makes him feel beautiful – something he thought he’d lost forever”
– Dazed & Confused Magazine, June 1999
The theme continued when Rowland took to the stage at Reading ‘99 later that year in what’s still to this day frequently cited as one of the worst performances in the history of the festival – subsequently topping several of the lists and polls I’ve encountered online. Essentially, it all came down to poor organisation on the host’s part, with Rowland finding his unscheduled performance allotted between the sets of American rockers Pavement and folktronica pioneer Beth Orton – meaning the audience were already apprehensive about the appearance even before he’d proceeded to dance around in a cream frock with his troupe of scantily-clad female dancers. Rowland’s set opened with his rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, a song well-received by the festival crowd due to its anthemic stature – despite the fact the music came entirely from playback of the ‘My Beauty’ instrumental tracks – a practice considered a festival taboo at that time. The crowd found themselves completely dumbfounded by the spectacle – almost silent with the exception of a sole heckler who could be heard shouting the request “show us your knickers” – to which Rowland duly obliged as he shed his black trench coat to reveal a silken cream undergarment. The disbelieving audience provided jestful wolf-whistles as Rowland prepared to perform the cover of Unit 4+2’s ‘Concrete & Clay’ that had been issued as the lead single from ‘My Beauty’. Despite its release earlier that month, the crowd didn’t appear to be acquainted with song – with Rowland subsequently berating the lack of airplay it had received. It was the following performance that instigated the crowd’s discontent and became the subject of scathing criticism for the media as Rowland replicated the choreography from the bizarre promotional video that had been issued along with the song – with The Guardian humorously referring to the incident as “Frocky Horror”. It’s likely Rowland anticipated the critical reception and the denigratory aspersions that would follow – which would make line “No matter what they say about me – they can’t take my personal dignity” an exceptionally piquant, predetermined riposte.
Rowland found himself being truculently bottled off the stage a mere fifteen minutes into his set by a crowd with the consensus that they were being “trolled” – a rather unceremonious reception for the “home-coming queen”, and a particularly saddening spectacle to witness considering the message he was trying to deliver was one of diversity and acceptance. To be honest, I’m quite surprised he ever took to the stage again following this incident considering how difficult it had been for him to achieve the confidence to force himself back into the limelight – but then again, I don’t believe he made another appearance on stage for over a half a decade following the Reading incident – so perhaps it did affect Rowland. However, it has to be noted that the reception wasn’t entirely negative, as the performance – like the album – generated disconcertingly polarised critique, with several witnesses in attendance taking to the internet to defend Rowland and the spurious reports of the event, describing the set as inspirational, majestic and triumphant.
Before proceeding to write my piece on ‘The Greatest Love of All’, Kevin’s aforementioned cover of ‘Concrete & Clay’ had been a contender for the subject of my article as I particularly enjoyed the difference in essence to the original ‘60s recording – particularly its inspired Helenic vibes. Despite ‘The Greatest Love of All’ ultimately being my song of focus, I simply must note just how bizarre the aforementioned promotional video for ‘Concrete & Clay’ actually is. With Rowland later declaring he was “nuts” during the ‘My Beauty’ era, fans seem to concur the singer was mentally-ill prior to the release of ‘My Beauty’ – a rather depraved and ignorant perspective in my opinion. However, if there is indeed any truth to this at all – surely it begs the question – how did so many people allow it to get that far?The whole process of creating and releasing a record involves a significant amount of personnel – I simply don’t find it plausible – as someone, somewhere along the line would have intervened. Personally, I don’t succumb to the supposition of him being “ill”, and more so – I feel I’ve deduced exactly what he was striving for – this was a man who had a message, and knew exactly how he wanted to convey it. That said, I simply can’t claim to be able to dispel the message he was trying to deliver regarding the direction and choreography of the infamous music video!
‘Sometimes, I feel quite macho. I’ll wear a dress one day, but the next I might wear a suit. What’s the big deal? Am I gay? Maybe I’m going to be a transvestite. Maybe the next step will be wearing a stuffed bra and a wig. The first time I wore a dress was round to a friend’s house and I was so embarrassed. It took courage. I told him I would come over and that I’d be wearing a dress and he said, “Yeah, great”’
– Kevin Rowland
Honestly, it’s got to be the strangest music video I’ve ever seen – especially if you consider the content its artist had previously produced. The clip features Rowland, clothed in full female-attire including a silken cream gown, coordinated white stockings and a made-up face complete with rose lipstick, while a troupe of appropriated multi-racial angels provide a choreographed distraction from the inexplicable focal shots of Rowland’s bulge – visibly padded with socks. Prop-wise, Rowland overcompensates for the burden of male anatomy by utilising ostentatious cliche’s of hyper-femininity such as the nauseatingly obnoxious pink backdrop, the flaunting of plumose feather-boas and frolicking around in the innards of pillows – as they do. As confusing and distasteful as the video may appear due to its confected and reticent execution – there’s a discernible message in there – a message I can only assume to be of self-confidence, diversity and acceptance, and as for the angel wings – could it be as straight forward as a blunt metaphor for the good residing inside us all?
Here’s the video for your delectation…
Among the record’s other highlights include a cover of The 4 Seasons’ 1964 hit ‘Rag Doll’, a perverse revision of Squeeze’s ‘Labelled With Love’ – particularly harrowing when you perceive Rowland to be the song’s subject – and a fine cover of Gerry & The Pacemakers’‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ worthy of gracing the PA system at Anfield. The fact is –‘My Beauty’ isn’t just another cash-cow collection of culturally appropriated covers by a blue-eyed soul singer (see Rod Stewart and his American Songbook series) – it is an album of creative reinterpretations eclectic in relativity yet adhered by their fondness to the singer’s heart. They offer an insight into Rowland’s musical inclination and express the thinking, the emotional turmoil and the hopes of the singer at his lowest – with the resulting album a form of reassuring art therapy for those afflicted with the condition – a sentiment epitomised by the lyric “you are going to be alright” taken from its lead single ‘Concrete & Clay’. Recently, I had the pleasure of discovering an article written by a journalist who’d struggled to overcome a period of depression and owed his recovery to the empathetic and inspirational performance by Rowland on his rendition of ‘The Greatest Love of All’, citing it as his saviour and subsequently presenting us with a rather endearing example of the therapeutic properties these introspective recordings exude.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/feb/16/kevin-rowland-whitney-cover-greatest
The album’s ability to comfort and inspire doesn’t surprise me. There’s just something about this collection of songs – it has a charm, a sincerity, an endearment, a profundity – and despite being comprised entirely of unoriginal material, the relationship between Rowland and their sentiments meant the words were delivered with genuine conviction. As I’m not one for unoriginal recordings, I often consider listening to ‘My Beauty’ as something of a guilty pleasure, though in reality it’s actually a very tasteful album – and like any “guilty pleasure” – satiatingly moreish. Regardless of what you think of its visual aspects, it has to be recognised as quite a progressive artistic statement – so once again, it’s sad to hear Rowland has since denounced any artistry behind the concept by insisting he was delusional during this period of his life.
“There was nobody around who fulfilled my needs – a lonely place to be – and I tried to depend on me”
– Kevin Rowland
As noted, Rowland’s recording of ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ is often cited as a tribute to the late great Whitney Houston – something I’ve always found to be a little perplexing as the song had originally been penned by soul hit-maker Linda Creed and first recorded by George Benson as the score to the Muhammad Ali biopic ‘The Greatest’. Rowland’s version bears far more similarities in approach and execution to George Benson’s version than Whitney’s, and unless Rowland himself cited her in the album’s linear notes or something, I’m going to assume he was inspired by the former artist. I’d previously mentioned its original songwriter Linda Creed during my Delfonics article a couple of months ago – and how fortuitous that her name should pop-up again in the writing-credits for this song. Incidentally, the majority of articles I’ve published have intrinsically interlinked through tenuous little citations and namedrops – despite my repertoire being particularly varied.
This stunning cover is a showcase of Rowland’s voice at its finest – among the album and perhaps of his entire career. Though seemingly an unviable song for an artist like Rowland, the song’s versatility provides negative space on the elongated notes for the implementation of his signature vibrato, and with the song spanning three octaves – a chance for the singer to exercise his range as he convincingly delivers the beautiful lyricism of Linda Creed. You can’t listen to this cover and disregard Rowland’s wonderfully unique voice – and though you certainly wouldn’t argue against Benson and Houston being great vocalists respectively, Rowland’s cadences provide a quirkiness I simply find far more interesting and captivating than those of the preceding artists. The passion injected by Rowland is palpable, and all you can do is listen in admiration and wonderment.
A negatively captioned shot of Rowland performing at Reading ’99
Any veritable fan of Dexys Midnight Runners ought to be familiar with Rowland’s tendency to feature spoken monologue into his songs, an affectation I’ve discussed previously with my review of their 1985 LP ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’. His interpretation of ‘The Greatest Love of All’ sees yet another adherence to this stringent formula as the song’s two-minute orchestral introduction provides the soundtrack for Rowland’s recital of the song’s lyrics as an introspective monologue, interjecting his own words to reflect the emotions he’d personally experienced during the times he’d turned to the song for comfort. The first example of spoken lyricism features before the introduction of music – where we find a bizarre dialogue between Rowland and erm, Rowland – in what I can only perceive to be the manifestation of negative vs reassuring thoughts inside the singer’s mind, overlapping as if to suggest a power struggle for dominance. Their convolution means it’s difficult to determine exactly what’s being said – unless you isolate the audio channels. This excerpt is saturated by reverberation, producing a pensively eerie sequence of hushed repetition that when isolated appear tenuous, but when played simultaneously through both audio channels, produce an abhorrent realisation of the conflicting thoughts inside the mind of a struggling individual.
Left Channel:
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, it’s over
Yes, I know!
Remember that time – you know that time?
It’s okay, it’s okay – honestly
Let it go, let it go
Uh, forget it baby – it’s okay
Forget it, forget it, forget it, forget it, forget it
Right Channel:
No more, no more, no more – it’s okay
Oh, you know – you know?
Mum! Mum!
Fucking heavy, ain’t it?
I do love ya
Though he’s not the most conventional singer, I’ve always recognised Rowland’s unique vocal abilities, yet the way in which he holds the E♭ for the final ten seconds of the song actually knocked me for six the first time I heard it and vastly increased my respect for him a vocalist. By the time of its release, the then 45 year old’s voice had naturally altered – though not too significantly – with his bass range possessing more timbre, accentuating his low-end baritone. Despite the loss of youthful cadence in his voice, Rowland’s power and control had refined in maturity, like the analogous fine wine. His voice – though unique – does bare similarities to other artists, artists Rowland has since revealed to be sources of inspiration – including Elvis – who’s vocal inflections Rowland regularly channels during the lower register, chest-sung sections of his songs – and also Roxy Music‘s Bryan Ferry – responsible for Rowland’s quaking vibrato. Interestingly, Kevin Rowland’s vocals have often been mistaken for those of The Cure’s singer Robert Smith – and while it has to be noted that the two share a similar “on-the-verge-of-tears” vocal delivery, the Dexys singer was on the scene long before Smith rose to fame – though in turn, Rowland had taken inspiration from the voice of Chairman of The Board‘s General Johnson. His tendency to channel Elvis doesn’t shine through on this particular track, but the nuances are in there. For an afflicted baritone, Rowland’s range is rather impressive. During my previous Dexys Midnight Runners article, I believe I mentioned the brief conversation exchanged between myself and an apparent vocal coach of Rowland’s who insisted “his vocal range is a strong and powerful in the present day as it was back in the ‘80s”. She seemed enthusiastic in her praise of Rowland, though when I inquired about the parameters of his vocal range – I received no reply – meaning my encounter with this charlatan presented me with absolutely no veritable information. I’ve since deduced Rowland to be an overlapping baritone, which essentially means he’s capable of pushing further into the tenor range than a regular baritone – the reason for his ability to ascend and descend octaves with little effort.
Throughout his career Rowland has been perceived to be something of an acquired taste, and though I’ve always been a fan of his approach to singing one has to concede his was a rather unconventional vocal style. However, hearing his cover of ‘The Greatest Love of All’ has left absolutely no doubt in my mind that man is an exceptionally gifted vocalist – his unrefined approach and tendency to colour outside the lines is largely culpable for the dissemination of a somewhat negative reputation – that, and a really bizarre live rendition of ‘Come On Eileen’ uploaded to Dexys’ official Vevo account which was inexplicably doctored to make Rowland sound exceptionally awful.
Rowland’s vocal isn’t the only element that makes this by far the greatest interpretation of Creed and Masser’s work – it’s also the instrumentation, the musicianship and the production – a production dominated by lush strings and the elegant use of thunderous timpanis. Due to a scarcity in its online presence, it was difficult for me to ascertain the names of the musicians involved in the creation of ‘My Beauty’ – other than a well-documented cameo appearance from former Dexys man Jim Paterson. Eventually I managed to acquire some information, starting with probably the most prominent element besides Rowland’s vocals – the strings that so dominate this album – arranged and conducted by Fiachra Trench and led by Gavyn Wright. There’s a great little orchestral interlude inspired by ‘The Greatest Love of All’ prior to ‘Reflections of My Life’ should you wish to hear an isolated example of the song’s string arrangement. Though Jim Paterson doesn’t grace the record with his playing, his cameo was more of a meta – behind the scenes executive role – with the production credit split thrice between Rowland, Paterson and Pete Schwier – with the latter also serving as an engineer. The production is rich and effervescent, featuring a percussive base reminiscent of the legendary Hal Blaine’s work on The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’, with the astute rhythm section providing a template for the saccharine guitar embellishments of Neil Hubbard that float with fluidity over the bass of work John McKenzie. However, my personal favourite instrumental line is probably the gentle reverberated tones of ivory, courtesy of deft soul-pianist Pete Wingfield – who also served as producer for the debut Dexys album ‘Searching For The Young Soul Rebels’.
Though I’m usually very critical of artists recording covers – no matter their pedigree, I have absolutely no qualms about this cover, and I think it’s one of the finest cover recordings I’ve heard. Rowland has truly made this song his own – injecting his quirks and inflections at every possible stretch of unoccupied bars. The composition and arrangement is exceptional, and though it’s always easier to work with an unoriginal composition, the production is executed with exquisite verve. The two minutes of instrumentation featuring the portrayal of Rowland’s internal struggle is vital to the cover’s success and its charm, and the presence of spoken monologue is extremely effective, and unlike the indecipherable reticence of Dexys’ 1985 LP ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’, the message here is clear. I find it particularly evocative during final chorus – where we find the overdubbing of Rowland’s spoken lines “oh it can be achieved” and “learning to love yourself” just reiterate the message with poignancy – likely how Rowland perceived the words himself when listening to the record during his depression – it’s artistic genius. Why listen to George Benson or Whitney Houston when you can listen to a cross-dressing Brummy pour his heart and soul into studio microphone?
This sophomoric – and in retrospect – likely the final Kevin Rowland solo LP is a showcase of singing prowess and competence, a vocalist performing as if in his prime – despite being released almost twenty years after his musical peak with Dexys. You can’t help but think their first album with the heavily contrived soul influences that accrued the northern soul subculture is ultimately culpable for the band’s decline and inability to pursue new artistic directions – as by the time the band’s third and most progressive LP ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’ was released – the fans were unsure what the targeted demographic was supposed to be – raising questions of an identity crisis.
As far as the music is concerned, there’s some great covers on this record with around 80% of the LP being stellar. Appearing dress-clad complete with pearl necklace wasn’t ever going to be accepted by a fan-base awash with northern soul connoisseurs and Lambretta enthusiasts – yet it’s kind of ironic how the lyric “no matter what they say about me they can’t take away my dignity” could easily be redirected at those dismissive fans.‘The Greatest Love Of All’ appears to be an intrinsic soundtrack for Rowland – a beacon of light deploring the singer to love and accept himself. My Beauty’, the album’s title – surely a response of affirmation to the song’s message – a reference to Rowland’s own beauty as it were, with cross dressing simply a crude metaphorical disdain of the beauty myth – both aesthetically and characteristically.
Kevin Rowland is undoubtedly a brave man, as back in the ’90s it was still considered a strong taboo for men to openly discuss feelings and reveal emotional weaknesses, so to be crooning about it – while dressed in female garments – is quite simply admirable. After years of self-abuse, indigence and a career on a downward trajectory, ‘My Beauty’ presented Rowland with a platform to return to the music scene, though unfortunately, due to this sartorial and explicit aesthetic, his comeback was less of a triumph and more of a detriment to the health of both Rowland’s career and mentality.
Sadly, Rowland has since denounced everything I perceived ‘My Beauty’ to represent when he recently referred to his behaviour during this period as “nuts” – though personally, I find it likely he’s simply being disingenuous about the matter out of self-preservation. Regardless, the question remains – was the notoriously machoistic former frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners a genuine transvestite – a method-acting thespian portraying his story on one of the biggest stages of all – or was it simply a provocative stunt intended to generate controversy?
‘My Beauty’ is by no means a classic album, and some covers fail to contribute anything to the original versions, but it’s a comprehensive insight into the world of Kevin Rowland. The value of the CD and MiniDisc has increased substantially due to the album’s scarcity – the result of many copies remaining unsold and subsequently recalled, but if you do manage to find a copy – it’s certainly worth purchasing for the rendition of ‘The Greatest Love of All’ alone. All this aside, Kevin Rowland has impeccable taste – as the majority of songs included are also personal favourites of mine!
It’s rare you’ll find an album that polarises both critical and fan reception so vastly, but regardless of how you perceive the LP – you’d struggle to disparage Rowland’s majestic cover of ‘The Greatest Love of All’. Psychotherapists ought to consider playing ‘The Greatest Love of All’ to those like myself who are afflicted with perennial depression, as the song – this rendition in particular – appears to possess a ineffable healing property, unequivocally beneficial to those whom allow themselves to be touched by the record. Rowland has convincingly made this song his own, and there’s no doubt the late Linda Creed would approve of his interpretation. The question I have to ask is – would this power-ballad have been the better song to lead Rowland’s comeback?
The greatest love of all? Perhaps the greatest cover of all.
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Rather serendipitously, whilst working on my article it came to my attention that Kevin has successfully extricated the ‘My Beauty’ mastertapes from the vaults of Sony – who’ve owned the rights to the recordings since Creation ceased to operate in 1999. There had been recent speculation of the record’s re-release, particularly this year – which auspiciously marks the 20th anniversary of its original release. However, since Rowland has only recently acquired the tapes, the projected release-date is more liable to be 2020, as the liberated tapes only came into Rowland’s possession within the last month – meaning it would be highly improbable the remastering and re-balancing of the album for an intended first vinyl issuing would be completed in time – and that’s before considering all the press and legal work behind the scenes. While I’m admittedly excited to hear about this, I’m anxious to discover whether or not Kevin adheres to the original sleeve artwork, as a denouncement of the original theme would be irreparably damaging to the original sentiment of the album. Over the years, Rowland has proved himself to be a rather capricious individual, so who knows – it wouldn’t surprise me if he organised a contemporary photoshoot, digging out his old royal blue number at the refined age of 66 – we shall have to wait and see!
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