Mr Hudson & The Library - One Specific Thing

I got halfway through writing a blurb for a Primal Scream song before deciding I wanted to hear the new album first, so I picked up the next thing I saw on my (newly re-alphabetised) CD shelf. In case you were wondering, it was safely tucked between Motörhead and the Murder City Devils, and since it’s far too sunny outside to be writing about speed-gobbling hard rockers or bespectacled borderline goth-punks, it’s quite lucky that I landed on Mr Hudson & The Library’s A Tale of Two Cities instead.

I first saw Mr Hudson supporting Amy Winehouse in Liverpool. It was December, it was freezing cold, and I could have cared less about an opening act I’d heard nothing about. I’d read their name on the way in, hadn’t recognised it and was basically hoping they wouldn’t play for too long. The band wandered on and I wasn’t particularly encouraged by the look of the singer; a sparkle-studded belt buckle telling us he was “Mr. H” and a trilby tilted at an angle that could only be described as jaunty. But then they started playing “One Specific Thing” and I stopped being a judgemental bell-end and became a fan instead.

The song starts with guitar, piano and steel drum all picking out the same little riff, pricking up your ears for just a few seconds before the drums and bass kick in and you realise that the little riff isn’t little at all, that it sounds completely huge and amazing with a beat behind it. It’s sort of ska sounding; danceable, irresistible like the horns in “A Message to You Rudy”. Live, the whole crowd started nodding along. You could literally see the band making friends within moments of starting to play.

Everything becomes swirly and indistinct as Mr Hudson calls percussionist/backing singer Joy Joseph by name to sing the chorus. The riff disappears, the drums drop out, then come back in as everything builds to a climax, keeping the same beat, reminding you that the stomping, lurching hook from the beginning is going to come back at just the right moment. And then it does, all the swirl and noise and skipping piano and vocals disappear and it’s just brilliant. For the last 10 seconds it’s back to guitar, piano, steel drum, stomping along, then stopping dead and waiting for your reaction. Live, this was the cue for a crowd full of impatient Amy Winehouse fans to give Mr Hudson and co. an enormous roar of applause. The rest of their set was brilliant, the band obviously having the time of their lives. It was great to see them win over a crowd so completely.

Amy Winehouse was amazing that night, one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen, which was made better by the little band I’d never heard of and still listen to whenever it’s sunny.To be honest, the song is not quite as good on record as it is live, but still well worth listening to, and I defy anyone to hear the first minute or so without wanting to dance at least a little bit.

Mp3 - Mr Hudson & The Library - One Specific Thing

YouTube - Mr Hudson being ace on Jools Holland

Live performance of "One Specific Thing"

PS - Muxtape is down due to "problems with the RIAA", which sounds pretty ominous. Hopefully it will reappear but for now it's just the above link if you want to hear the song...