Glenn HughesMusic for the Divine
2006, Frontiers Records
Produced by Glenn Hughes and Chad Smith
Glenn Hughes is a man who hardly needs any introduction, though I'm about to give a brief one nevertheless. Hughes is one of the best singers in the music business. He's perhaps most famous for singing and playing the bass on three of Deep Purple's best albums[1], Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band during the mid-seventies. His career following his departure from Purple has been a bit of a mixed bag, but since the early 90s he's been regularly and consistently releasing solid solo albums. Favourites of mine include 1994's AOR masterpiece From Now On and last year's Soul Mover. To that list I'd like to add Hughes' latest album, Music for the Divine.
Music for the Divine builds and refines on the direction Hughes took with Soul Mover, which features a more funk rock approach than earlier Hughes records, though Hughes is certainly no stranger in that genre. Given the involvement of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who co-produced both albums, the funkier style should perhaps not be particularly surprising. Stand-out tracks include opener The Valiant Denial, Steppin' On, You Got Soul and Black Light.
Glenn Hughes' fantastic singing voice, the excellence of the other musicians involved and the impeccable song writing all come together to create not only the album of the month, but one of the musical highlights of 2006. Highly recommended stuff, and essential to all fans of good rock music.
[1] In my humble opinion, MkII fans need not freak out
