Sadly, Terry Hall died in December at a youthful age of sixty-three. There were rightly major tributes throughout the media.
Terry released thirteen albums through a solo career and many bands (Specials, Fun Boy Three, Vegas & Terry, Blair & Anouchka) and I had a quick count and I bought eleven of them, bit of a fan.
After the success of his first two bands, he formed The Colourfield who released two albums. Virgins and Philistines was their debut.
The hit single Thinking of You opens the album, it makes me think of the summer for some reason and is as uplifting now as it was when I first heard it back in 1985, special shout out to female vocalist Katrina Phillips.
The album has a timeless classic feeling, it could have been released at anytime over the last forty years all swirling acoustic guitars and solid drums and I am not sure Hall ever sang any better.
Castles in the Air is quite simply beautiful and uplifting and should have stormed the charts, castanets on Top of the Pops would have been magic, ditto Take, read the lyrics to this one, I could write a million of these reviews and never come close to the genius of those words.
Cruel Circus the band come together with a lovely piano melody and strong backing vocals with chickens and sheep also making an appearance and the clarinet plays us out beautifully on the title track.
The album ends with the poignant Sorry.
What a tremendous loss to the music world.
8.5/10
GIVE IT A STREAM: Castles in the Air