Steve Young’s debut album, ‘Troubadour’ is both moving and deeply personal, with thirteen tracks ranging in style from pop and rock to country, and probably everything in between.
Probably best known for his work with Darren Hayes and Ramin Karimloo, British singer/songwriter Steve Young has been a long time coming with his debut album. It’s been worth the wait however, with his album, ‘Troubadour’, which comes out on July 1st, bound to please all his fans.
Lyrically and musically complex, the album opens with a children’s music box, then launches into ‘Out Of Our Minds’, which to our ears sounds like something that could have been one of The Eagles’ tracks. It’s a common theme – a lot of ‘Troubadour’ sounds like it could have been written and sung by other artists, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Likewise, ‘In My Dreams’ calls to mind Albert Hammond’s, ‘Never Rains In Southern California’, as well as the Dylan classic, ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’. There’s a great whistling bit at the end of this song, and this motif is used again to great effect in twelfth track, ‘Norwegian Girl’.
‘Back To Mine’ is a rockier but somehow at the same time more mellow song, which truly brings out the quality of Steve’s vocals, as well as featuring a really nice guitar riff. There’s a great use of traditional instruments in fifth track, ‘Nurture’, which leads in nicely to the laid back, ‘Old Friend’.
The stand out tracks on ‘Troubadour’ are possibly the ones which showcase both Steve’s guitar playing and vocals – the aforementioned ‘Back To Mine’, as well as the clearly very personal, ‘Life Changes In A Heartbeat’. The lyrics of ‘Home For The Summer’, probably the most upbeat song on the album, are very clever and poetic – we quite liked the line, “Lay with me, make shapes in the clouds”.
‘Mirage’ is possibly the song we felt sounded most like Steve, the skilled guitar playing highlighting his range and talent. Overall, ‘Troubadour’ is a brilliant album, and is testament to Steve’s long experience in the music industry. We’re very much looking forward to his next album!
‘Troubadour’ will be available on general release from July 1. You can next see Steve perform at London Folkfest on June 5th at The Bedford, Balham. Steve Young will be opening for Nashville superstar, Carlene Carter on June 11th at the O2 Islington Academy. You can find out more about Steve Young on his official website (including upcoming gigs), Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, and YouTube.
