(Soft Rock) Graham Dee - The Thirteenth Man - 2014, MP3, 320 kbps

Graham Dee has achieved so much in his life. Although an accomplished guitar player who was often compared to Page and Clapton, he wrote and/or produced for the likes of Sharon Tandy, the Fleur De Lys, the Applejacks and Barbara Lewis and it was this side of his work that he became known for. Dee did, though, play live with acts as diverse as Steve Marriott’s Moments, the Walker Brothers and Them, and even filled in with the early Pink Floyd in 1967 when Syd Barrett couldn’t make it for some reason…
Yet it took a compilation of his work, which was lovingly put together by the Acid Jazz label in 2011 (The Graham Dee Connection), to really get his name noticed. A man, who from the mid-60s until the early ’70s was chosen as in - house producer at Polydor/Atlantic Records, before taking on session work in the USA and writing with Philip Mitchell at the renowned Muscles Shoals Studios in Alabama, finally left the music business to work in forestry; what a loss to the music industry. And still there were few mentions, if any, of the major contribution Dee had made to music while lesser talents were praised.
Maybe inspired by the attention the Acid Jazz release quite rightly attracted Dee started playing guitar and writing again. ‘The Thirteenth Man’, released on the Tin-Kan label, is the result; ten Dee co-writes that show Dee has lost none of his passion during the half-century he’s been involved in music and none of his producing skills either (Dee co-produced with Martin Smith). The sound that Dee creates here is very contemporary while never losing sight of his roots. Dee has produced the album that you just can’t help feel many of the new breed have been trying to make for years.
Dee, who takes lead vocals and also plays guitar, has made an astute choice in selecting the small band of musicians that accompany him on the album. Godfrey Wang on keyboards, Callum Gibson on both guitar and bass and Errol Flynn playing the drums are a tight unit. It’s unclear just how long these guys have been playing music together but they create a warm, laid-back groove that prevails throughout the album.
Therein lies the only fault with ‘The Thirteenth Man’; over the course of ten songs it does all begin to sound a little too similar. At times the listener is begging for a little of the beat/soul that informed his previous work, some of that expected Dee punchiness to liven things up a little. Then again, along comes the only song on the album totally written by Dee, ‘Dark Night’, and that previous statement is made redundant. There’s still the chilled-out groove that’s gone before but the song has more swing to it, more soul is displayed and Dee’s distinctive vocals really hit home on this particular track.
Dee’s choice of female backing singers is also inspired, Michelle John and Pricilla Jones add so much to these songs. At times his world-weary vocals need a little lift occasionally, and the soulful injections provided by both Michelle and Pricilla are the perfect foil to Dee’s mellow vocal style. Its would be fair to say that their vocals play a major part in shaping the overall sound of the album. While ‘The Thirteenth Man’ is certainly Dee’s project, the backing vocalists almost deserve equal billing. It’s rare to hear an album where you’re listening to the backing singers contribution as much as the lead singers.