Search - Justin Currie :: What Is Love For

Jeff V. (ElJefe) from DIXON, IL
Reviewed on 5/9/2015...

Check this out if you're a Del Amitri fan.

The record Currie always had in him... - Review by Raindog's

Raindog 1972 | New York | 11/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A couple of months ago, when I read Justin Currie, formerly of Del Amitri, had penned a song called No Surrender, I raised an eyebrow. Could the eternally cynical, atheistic, and borderline clinically-depressed catalogue of Currie's finally welcome something hopeful to its canon? Would this song be in the same thematic family as Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down and Triumph's Never Surrender? Had Currie changed his eternally fatalistic point-of-view or joined a "sunshine cult" somewhere in his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland (and considering Glasgow, is that ironic)? It was several weeks later I learned the actual title of the song was No, Surrender (note the comma) and its message was somewhere along the lines of saying "just give up." Ah, it's the Justin Currie I know.



Justin Currie's debut, What Is Love For (on Rykodisc), is the record I've always suspected he'd produce when he went solo. To call the lp bleak and beautiful is not a contradiction. Not if you know Currie. Although they never became a household name, Del Amitri nurtured a rabid cult following which kept them afloat as contemporaries sank w/ the fickle tastes of pop culture. It didn't hurt that Del Amitri wrote some excellent pop tunes. However, it was always the Currie-penned b-sides -with lyrics stinking of whiskey and self depreciation delivered with Currie's fantastic, honey-coated pipes- that always got me and my friends talking. Using the power of the record store we worked at, we'd order Del Amitri singles from all over the globe and trade for songs we didn't have. The new record is kindred to those desperate ballads and drunk waltzes once relegated to out-of-print Del singles.



After a couple of listens, I started thinking of Han Solo (circa Episode IV- A New Hope, otherwise known as the first one if you were alive in the 1970's). Bear with me...



"Wonderful girl. Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her." -Han Solo



"sometimes i love you/somtimes i hate you/i know you struggle too/it's in your nature." -Justin Currie



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"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." -Han Solo



"the confidence of kings/leaches from my hands/where jupiter did sing/a drunken janitor now stands/to figure who you are/you look in every single car/where they stick those tired sideways look at life/the wings you think life's given you/they couldn't lift a bread crust." -Justin Currie



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"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff. But I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls MY destiny." -Han Solo



"There are some strong altruistic ideals that run through Christianity, but believing in something you can't see, touch, feel or hear in any way . . . the whole idea of blind faith, following orders-that's where fascism comes from." -Justin Currie



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"What good is a reward if you ain't around to use it? Besides, attacking that battle station ain't my idea of courage. It's more like... suicide." - Han Solo



"Should you stand and fight, should you die for what you think is right

So your useless contribution will be remembered?

If you're asking me I say no, surrender." -Justin Currie



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You see what I mean? These guys are pragmatic scoundrels cut from the same cloth. But just like Han, there's somthing beneath Currie's music that makes me question what he's written. Its so damn pretty, I can't help myself. If the the lyrics are ignored, you'd swear you were listening to a collection of love songs. The music is rich and textured. The voice is dynamic and emotive. You don't want it to end this way. You want to say, "Well take care of yourself Justin, I guess that's what you're best at, isn't it?" ...only to turn and find Mr. Currie swooping in and saying, "YAHOOOOO! You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home."



God, I just geeked out. I really couldn't even help myself. Anyway, Currie's What Is Love For has something I'm not finding a lot of right now: indie pop for grown-ups. I'm sorry if that tag hurts a little. But I'm a grown up. And it is nice to listen to a dark record written by a literate person who has a fantastic vox and melodic sense rarely heard anywhere right now. This sucker is in my top 10 of the year...."

Glad to hear Justin Again, Great Voice, Great Lyrics

Shogun Len | Arizona | 10/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think my life changed the moment I saw the video for "Kiss this thing Goodbye" back in 1989. Since I bought Waking Hours on Tape as a senior in high school, Del Amitri has been my favorite band. I can not begin to tell you about how over the years the lyrics to various Del Amitri songs have gotten me through some goodtime and certainly plenty of heartbreak.



If you have never heard "Waking Hours", "Change Everything" or "Twisted" please download them, buy them, itune them, whatever you have to do, but those 3 albums are as close to perfect as you can get. Also check out some of the B-sides to those CD's. Absolutely amazing.



Personally, I never felt the CD's after were as good. Both Some Other Suckers and Can You Do Me Wrong have great songs, some really great songs, but they never captured me the same way the first 3 CD's did.



I saw Del Amitri in concert for the 3rd time in NYC at the Supper Club just as Some Other Suckers Parade came out and then it seemed like they feel off the face of the earth. No new videos, the websites had no new updates, it was heartbreaking to have your favorite band kinda disappear.



However over the last year, tracks from Justin's debut solo album appeared on Myspace and word got out of the new CD.



Boy it was worth the wait. Its new, original and at the same time reminds me of Del Amitri at their moody, sad, best. Justin's lyrics tell stories, stories anyone who has ever been in or out of love can relate to.



It is a great CD, again new but at the same time will remind you of the best of Del Amitri. Listen all the way to the end, especially the short hiddent track 12.



A great CD, great singer, great song writer.



Buy IT!"