JOHN WILSON – WHO’S IN TOWN ? (Album Review)

In today’s review on Music Review World, we will be exploring the artist John Wilson. If you haven’t heard of him before, he was the lead singer with the ‘Average White Band’ in the late 80s and the early 90s. He is also the eldest brother of Mari Wilson. He has finally recorded a solo album under the record label Headgames, and he’s busy setting up gigs across the UK to help promote the album. The album in question would be… Who’s In Town? (Well, he is.)

If you’re familiar with Paul Rodgers, Paul McCartney and Daryl Hall, you’ll definitely appreciate this body of work. He also has stated that he is one of the best vocalists around, with this album serving as proof of that statement. John also singlehandedly wrote and produced all of the songs too.

The lead single from this release, ‘Ruby Red’, was released on August 18.

The song ‘Who’s In Town?’ begins with an exhilarating twist, taking tremolo trends of past rock-pop acts with a bit more mastering and excitation. From the syncopation to the way he delivers his verses, he almost reminds me of a new version of Tin Machine and David Bowie. It has a vintage flair to it, which will definitely enthuse listeners who crave a livelier take on classic rock.

The next tracks on the album follow suit with this pattern, presenting us with more exhilarating soundscapes that are chock-full of character and even motivic variation through the solos, with tracks like ‘Raining’ and ‘Ruby Red’. He also possesses a lot of spunk and character, similar to Aerosmith’s main vocalist, which definitely makes it not hard to believe that John was once a lead singer.

Things switch up in the middle of the album with the heartfelt ballad ‘Seventeen’, showcasing his ability to also be sentimental and explore the segments of his artistry that isn’t so boisterous. It’s extremely emotional, with a wonderful piano piece in the middle, accompanied by strings. In this track, he does have a Paul McCartney-esque tone to his vocals, showing not only his ability to be multifaceted as a composer but as a singer as well. This continues in tracks like ‘Another World’ and ‘Teds’ as well, with the peak of vocal ability being showcased in the track ‘Song For Erin’.

In a strategic manner, the album pivots back to a much more upbeat take with ‘Take The Money’ afterwards, which has a very innovative percussive syncopation that could’ve been elevated with better mastering. It’s a wonderful psychedelic-inspired track, but definitely needs to be rectified when it comes to the mastering in order to enjoy the track in its full capacity. ‘One of the Boys’ then closes the album with a groovier, almost 60s track that is quite easy to vibe to and honestly sing along with.

All in all, the album is competent enough, especially when you consider that the artist did most of the producing besides merely just singing. It falls flat on perhaps 1 or 2 tracks with very minute issues on mastering but frankly, most of the tracks on this album are very well mastered. The album shows two sides of his artistry, and I think people who enjoy the genres within this album would adore this album.

SCORE/Excellent – John Wilson expresses his artistry in Who’s In Town quite well with an interesting mix of rock songs that span his own influences and frankly, beyond. Oscillating between sassy, spunky and heartfelt, it displays his compositional intent and vocal ability quite adequately with minimal issues.

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