Search - Peter Skellern :: Cheek to Cheek

Classic songs, imaginatively re-worked for the modern day

D. M. Farmbrough | Wisconsin, USA | 10/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are skillful interpretations of timeless songs, updated for...erm the 1980s! Still the album doesn't seem stuck in that decade because Skellern always works away from current trends and tries his best to be original.My favourites are mainly from the Puttin' On The Astaire album, (Cheek To Cheek, Continental, Puttin On The Ritz, and Top Hat White Tie & Tails) but he also has time to give Raining In My Heart the same treatment. This shows what a good songwiriter Buddy Holly was, with this 1950s work sitting comfortably with songs by Berlin and Carmichael.Peter Skellern has a great voice - sometimes mild, but with bass harmonics that resonante from time to time, giving it a slight edge. The Brass support here is from the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and this gives the songs a very full sound. The backing vocals, listed as the Crikey Chorus is in fact Skellern himself sped up and overdubbed many times!This is a great album for those who like Peter Skellern and those who love good old fashioned songs."