Ot Air (The Album To Launch The World Tour)

His first two Wild Willy-fired offerings aside, the occasional genius that is John Otway has never released a truly fulfilling album. Cherry-pick his catalog and you could come up with some of the greatest music of the past three decades. But isolate any single LP and it can get pretty grueling in there. So, what chance is there of the 50-plus-year-old Otway succeeding where his younger selves fell short? Surprisingly, perhaps, a lot. Buoyed by the wave of fascination engendered by his (ultimately abandoned) proposals for a privately financed world tour -- simply chartering a jumbo jet, booking some shows, and then off into the wild blue yonder, Ot-Air (punningly titled for the logo he intended spraying across the plane) is, quite simply, stunning. The opening title track sets the stage with its own documentation of the World Tour plans, set to the kind of thrashing rhythm that only Otway can pull off -- later, "We Rock" acknowledges the sheer inanity of its title and lyrics by taking the same basic route even faster. And the manic "Rumplestiltskin" simply has to be heard, a frenetic blur that could become the next "Beware of the Flowers," if it hasn't already. A clutch of ballads quiver on just the far side of "I Wouldn't Wish It on You"/"Best Dream" territory -- not quite career-best quality, but certainly better than the mawkish depths to which Otway has occasionally descended, with "International Dateline" touching upon the same territory as Sparks' "Equator" in its lament for the vagaries of geographical time and place. A cover of the Motors' "Airport," too, is terrific, not only because he does such a great job performing it, but also because he resisted the temptation to turn it in to a "Cheryl" styled soap opera. Let that play out in your imagination. The highlight, however, is "The Old Fiddler," a tribute to the late comedian Benny Hill (complete with excerpts from his TV theme music), which itself recaptures all the madcap mayhem that made Hill himself a star in the first place. Ot-Air is classic Otway, then, from raucous start to tear-stained finish, a genuine jewel from a performer who has always been one of the best we've got -- but who doesn't always seem to want to prove it. This album makes up for all those past disappointments. ~ Dave Thompson|

His first two Wild Willy-fired offerings aside, the occasional genius that is John Otway has never released a truly fulfilling album. Cherry-pick his catalog and you could come up with some of the greatest music of the past three decades. But isolate any single LP and it can get pretty grueling in there. So, what chance is there of the 50-plus-year-old Otway succeeding where his younger selves fell short? Surprisingly, perhaps, a lot. Buoyed by the wave of fascination engendered by his (ultimately abandoned) proposals for a privately financed world tour -- simply chartering a jumbo jet, booking some shows, and then off into the wild blue yonder, Ot-Air (punningly titled for the logo he intended spraying across the plane) is, quite simply, stunning. The opening title track sets the stage with its own documentation of the World Tour plans, set to the kind of thrashing rhythm that only Otway can pull off -- later, "We Rock" acknowledges the sheer inanity of its title and lyrics by taking the same basic route even faster. And the manic "Rumplestiltskin" simply has to be heard, a frenetic blur that could become the next "Beware of the Flowers," if it hasn't already. A clutch of ballads quiver on just the far side of "I Wouldn't Wish It on You"/"Best Dream" territory -- not quite career-best quality, but certainly better than the mawkish depths to which Otway has occasionally descended, with "International Dateline" touching upon the same territory as Sparks' "Equator" in its lament for the vagaries of geographical time and place. A cover of the Motors' "Airport," too, is terrific, not only because he does such a great job performing it, but also because he resisted the temptation to turn it in to a "Cheryl" styled soap opera. Let that play out in your imagination. The highlight, however, is "The Old Fiddler," a tribute to the late comedian Benny Hill (complete with excerpts from his TV theme music), which itself recaptures all the madcap mayhem that made Hill himself a star in the first place. Ot-Air is classic Otway, then, from raucous start to tear-stained finish, a genuine jewel from a performer who has always been one of the best we've got -- but who doesn't always seem to want to prove it. This album makes up for all those past disappointments. ~ Dave Thompson