![]() Daltrey, encouraged by his recording work with Wilko Johnson, simply set out to cut a soulful album of tunes he likes. It’s a peaceful, relaxed farewell.Īs Long as I Have You doesn’t intend to break new ground. The other original, “Always Heading Home” marks the album’s truest ballad. Daltrey locks into the groove, paying steady tribute to his daughter Rosie with a joyful sweetness. In this case, it’s a horn line straight from Otis Redding (enough so that it could pass for an old R&B cover). One of the Daltrey originals, “Certified Rose” has unlikely musical roots, too. Daltrey gives another wonderful performance here, a little rough and rocking, and fully immersed in the lyrics. Townshend’s guitar work could have come from the Who’s Next sessions. The Stephen Stills number, “How Far,” with Townshend on acoustic guitar, plays like the early ’70s tune that it is. The arrangements and production on As Long As I Have You don’t rely on any contemporary tricks, allowing the development of a classic sound in 20 years, the disc won’t sound like “Daltrey’s ’10s album.” Some of the songs do have historical referents. Some of Daltrey’s previous work sounds of its time (particularly the 1980s releases). That’s one of the few moments on the disc that feel locked in time. His vocals are fine, but it sounds less of this era than of an old sock hop. Similarly Joe Tex’s “The Love You Save” goes back to Daltrey’s early days, but this one sounds a little more dated. Initial listens might be aided by the shock of hearing new music from a full-voiced Daltrey, but the track holds up as a modern version of a classic number. The opening title track (a Garnet Mimms cover) comes from the days of the High Numbers. The old “bad note and a bead of sweat” approach might still apply, but Daltrey has learned to eliminate the bad notes and to properly use the right ones with both passion and control. His restraint and sense of storytelling do the song justice. Cave certainly wasn’t an early influence, but the song matches Daltrey’s sensibilities well. His sense of timing and delivery has never been better than now. ![]() Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms” might be the most unlikely track to appear here, but Daltrey does it well. While his primary group was noticeably smashing instruments and perfecting arena bombast, Daltrey was surreptitiously working on his craft as a vocalist, and whatever time has done to his sound (surprisingly little, going by this record, although recent live shows might suggest otherwise), he’s made up for it with increased artistry as a singer. ![]() ![]() Pete Townshend shows up for over two-thirds of the disc, yet it remains mostly un-Who-like, a distinctly Daltrey affair, and he makes the most of it. Surprisingly, Daltrey’s new album As Long as I Have You hits that era of early Who influences, but Daltrey has the taste to cover much of the past 60 years of pop music with surprising picks. When Roger Daltrey announced a new album that would be “a return to the very beginning,” it sounded like code for a nostalgia-driven stroll through early rock and R&B numbers best left buried. ![]()
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