Presented by Rowland to express the emotions experienced during his post-Dexys bout of depression and isolation, these masterful covers are a collective of anthems and ballads that explicate Rowland’s emotional-turmoil, those that provided comfort, reassurance and ultimately helped pull the fractured singer through his sustained period of self-deprecation. ‘ My Bea u ty’ would provide catharsis for Rowland, a conduit for explication upon which to draw and reflect, naturally making it an essential, imperative album for any genuine fan of Kevin Rowland to own. Signing Rowland to the label back in 1997, McGee consciously handed the singer his salvation with a new platform from which to build – starting with the release of a revised version of the 1985 Dexys masterpiece ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’following Rowland’s acquisition of the rights to the mastertapes from Mercury/Phonogram.īy 1998, Rowland had begun work on a new studio LP – though in actuality, it would comprise entirely of unoriginal material – cover recordings of arbitrarily selected classics featuring alongside perhaps the lesser-known personal favourites sentimental in value to the former Dexys singer. Rowland would later reflect on the emotional insecurities that had consumed him with the carefully considered selection of songs that became ‘My Beauty’, presenting the theme that makes ‘ The Greatest Love of All’ and its parent LP so admirable. A rudderless boat drifting without aim, the wanderer’s hopes began to diminish – culminating in an entirely self-deprecatory perspective of his own existence. Rowland’s insecurities began to manifest – with the singer becoming overwhelmed – subsequently turning to alcohol and narcotics in an attempt to numb the dejection and isolation that had enveloped him. Following the failure of ‘The Wanderer’, Rowland soon found himself without a label and without a platform – discarded unto the musical-wilderness and left to face ensuing financial troubles.
After the unsuccessful launch of a solo career with the release of his underwhelming, inexplicably Deodato-produced debut effort ‘The Wanderer’ in 1988, Rowland fell under a prolonged period of depression that endured well into the ‘90s. McGee had signed Rowland to the label two years prior to the release of ‘My Beauty’ in what was essentially a lifeline for the former Dexys singer after a prolonged ten-year absence from the music industry had exacerbated his descent into obscurity.
Kevin Rowland’s unexpected cover of ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ first appeared on the 1999 studio album ‘ My Beauty’ – a CD/MiniDisc-only release issued by Alan McGee’s legendary Creation label, subsequently becoming only the second Rowland solo LP since the disbandment of his Dexys Midnight Runners in 1986. To reiterate – for me to being using superlatives in description of a cover recording is surely an indubitable ratification of its quality, but if you don’t wish to simply take my word for it – give the song a listen before you continue any further. I have to profess, I’m not usually overly-enthusiastic where cover recordings are concerned as rarely do I find reinterpretations to offer more than their root counterparts – yet in this instance, I have to concede this is possibly one of the finest takes on another artist’s material I’ve had the pleasure of hearing. Incidentally, this article sees only the second appearance of a cover version as my subject of discussion following my analysis of the Ronnie Spector interpretation of Brian Wilson’s ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ a few months ago. However, this month’s entry is quite the different flavour as we find the outlandish Brummy singer-songwriter repres e nted by an unexpected rendition of the power-ballad ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ – a song first recorded by George Benson for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic ‘The Greatest’ though often erroneously cited as a Whitney Houston original following the popularity of her 198 5 recording of the song.
Th is time featuring a s a solo artist, Rowland is the only musician to have appeared consecutively within my series of prolix song articles – something that makes me a little anxi ous as I don’t wish my blog to appear too arbitrary and subjective. Th e fa ct I was late publishing last month’s entry is largely culpable as it c onsequently saw me begin work on the following article while still in exploration of the aforementioned artist – frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners – Kevin Rowland. Before I proceed I should confess that I’m a little uncomfortable publishing this month’s article due to a n undeniable similarity with my previous entry in that both pieces are centred around the same artist.