Barry Adamson

I Will Set You Free

Central Control

Mar 21, 2012 Web Exclusive By Joseph Ragusa Bookmark and Share


With an optimistic title and an almost sunny disposition on many of his numbers, Barry Adamson sheds his checkered past of gloomy rock 'n' roll music with the likes of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Magazine to put together an album of mostly uptempo songs on his latest effort. I Will Set You Free is jazzy, cool, and slick, with Adamson's molasses vocals alternating between growl and howl, often within each number. And although the uniformity of the songs eventually cause them to blend together into one continuous and redundant pop number, Adamson deserves credit for infusing each composition with enticing jazz saxophone licks, breezy piano chords, and rocking guitar riffs that don't become too overbearing or obvious. That is, until mid-album when you reach "Trigger City Blues," where the heavy-handed high drama melodies and over-the-top sound effects begin to give the listener the sense of hearing background music to Grand Theft Auto. That aside, I Will Set You Free is a fun if rather lightweight selection of accessible rock and pop; it'd make great music for a trendy lounge bar hoping to give off an edgy vibe. (www.barryadamson.com)

Author rating: 4/10

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Average reader rating: 8/10



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mag
May 14th 2012
6:45am

This album is beautiful, I don’t think this review makes it any justice, and not for the subjetive 4/10 rating. If it wasn’t for the mention of one song, this review could be cut and paste as a ‘basic’ review for any Barry Adamson solo album.