Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There was a time when Manchester spoke that the world would listen with intensity, and whilst that sense of exposure has somewhat dissipated in recent times, those heady days when The Hacienda would bellow, when Oasis would rage on stage at Maine Road, when the roar of a Georgi Kinkladze mazy run was assured the calls of encore in much the same vein as Black Grape as they strutted their monumental character on stage are but a memory.

The city still roars, there is still the sense of bated breath when John Robb talks with sheer poetic beauty of music, there is more than enough vigour to be found as Kevin de Bruyne lays an extraordinary pass to memories of Dennis Tuert, Paul Power and Asa Hartford, and the occasional memorable sound as a stadium just outside the city shakes to the cacophony of gigs, but when the sound is a true representation of Manchester Calling then the that roar, that poetry is to be found; even if it created by a lover of the city rather than a native.

2020’s Manchester Calling by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott is a case in point, a sense of charm delivered by one of the country’s modern great wordsmiths, a merging of voices by the pair and culminating in a record that is as stunning as it is alive, and one that encapsulates the mindset of those who have made the city their home, or have lived close enough to it at times to be inspired by its history, by its nature, and by its force of will.

There is a sense of melancholia attached to the album, in between the barbed references and Alan Bennett’s love of the English language, the homily snare that captures and entrances the listener, and that is of the regret that time was missed between the two, and it is a regret that is palpable and ear- catching; and as tracks such as The Only Exercise I Get Is You, the brilliant Somebody’s Superhero, The Outskirts Of The Dancefloor, Christmas (And Dad Wants Her Back), Wanted For Murder, Big News In A Little World, and A Good Day Is Hard To Find, all combine to create the superbly produced album, so the pair entwine musically and with the voice bearing fruit that stands out immensely.

A Manchester Calling, one to understand comes with its own personal hotline to wonderfully inspired music heaven; let all other phones ring off the hook, this is the only call worth answering.

Ian D. Hall