Roger Daltrey - As Long As I Have You

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As long as we have Roger Daltrey, we will have great music!!!

Where do you start with Roger Daltrey?, the legendary frontman of The Who releases his first solo album in twenty six years (Though he did release an album with Wilko Johnson in 2014). Recorded during breaks on The Who’s 50th Anniversary tour. Originally the concept was a collection of Soul covers, that Roger used to sing at gigs before he joined The Who. It’s obvious from the song choses that he strayed from the original concept, however all the songs are different from what you would expect from Roger and it shows him singing a variety of songs and styles that you would normally hear from him.

Kicking off with the title track, a fast upbeat Northern Soul flavoured song with horns and soulful backing vocals. It’s a fun upbeat to set the tone, 'How Far' is the closest we get to a Who song. This is acoustic led, with the man Pete Townsend on lead guitars (he actually plays on seven tracks on this album but here is where he is most distinctive) it’s a breezy, uplifting light hearted track. The Soul influence really comes out with the superb cover of Stevie Wonder's 'You ain’t done Nothing', which is funky and Bluesy. 

I also love the brilliant piano led 'Get out of the Rain', which builds up and builds up to a brilliant climax and really brings to the forefront Rogers wonderfully matured vocals. You can’t sing like this until you’ve done for fifty years in the buisness, and Roger has done his time. A slight curveball is the surprising take of Nick Cave’s 'Into my Arms', which I actually think I prefer this version as it is more uplifting and takes out the gloomy element of the original and for the first time Roger shows a bit of (dare I say it) vulnerability.

There’s nice horn arrangements on the self penned 'Certified Rose' a collaboration with Gerard McHahon who co-wrote Roger’s last solo album 'Rock in the Head' (He also sang 'Cry little Sister' from The Lost Boys). The real highlight is the closing ballad 'Always heading Home' the second track written by Roger and Nigel Hinton. This track is just Roger and a piano with some subtle strings in the background. A beautiful reflective song which again shows Roger’s softer side. This is a refreshing easy listen, it's a nice little album and shows what Roger Daltrey is capable of in areas he doesn’t always get to explore. I think it’s a must for fans of The Who.

Review by Joe Denby

Check Out! a live performance Video for 'As long as I have You' from the Graham Norton Show Below...