The two originals on As Long As I Have You are sweet and measured. He’s better on Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” but the arrangement feels hesitant and heavy handed, almost clunky. Whether it’s an effort to match Cave’s rumble or an audition for his own Johnny Cash’s American Recordings career phase, Daltrey sounds out of his element. There are a few misses on As Long As I Have You, too, most notably a version of Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms” sung in Daltrey’s lower register. The two covers reinforce Daltrey’s skills as a song selector: He saw the potential in Oslin’s song, and he knew not to mess with Tex’s. Oslin’s 1988 piano ballad “Where is a Woman to Go?” into an ambitious gospel song and executes a faithful cover of mid-’60s standout “The Love You Save” by Joe Tex. Built atop a foundation of sturdy acoustic guitar work and paced differently than its surroundings, “How Far” is a highlight of the album.Įlsewhere, Daltrey transforms K.T. And he beefs up Stephen Stills’ “How Far,” an otherwise mellow, strummy ‘70s country-folk song with a killer chorus. His nuanced singing on Boz Scaggs’ sentimental “I’ve Got Your Love” is a nice break from all the powerhouse vocal performances. Daltrey echoes the current political and social unease with an impassioned take on Parliament’s “Come In Out of the Rain” (titled “Get On Out of the Rain” here). It’s an impressive start, and As Long As I Have You is stronger in its first half than its second.
The lynchpin seems to be the title track, a version of Garnet Mimms’ 1964 single that pairs Daltrey’s inspired vocal work with a throwback backing chorus, Townsend’s rhythm-guitar strut and a horn section that walks around the song like it owns the place. And his band-which includes Townshend on seven tracks-pumps out a consistently tight and muscular sound. He sounds invigorated by the material, in other words. But the energy level of this set is high enough that you can imagine Daltrey channelling his early ‘60s self in the studio. As Long As I Have You doesn’t stick to that formula exactly, with Daltrey tackling old country, funk and pop songs here, too, as well as a couple of his own tunes. The idea behind Roger Daltrey’s new solo album-his ninth overall and first since 1992-was originally intended for Daltrey’s main gig, The Who.Īs Daltrey explained to Billboard in June: ”(About 10 years ago), I said to Pete (Townshend, The Who’s guitarist), ‘Rather than you having to sweat blood to write new songs, why don’t we just record an album of what we used to play before we made it big and before you started writing the material?’”īefore The Who were The Who, Daltrey, Townshend and company played energetic covers of American soul and R&B songs in London bars.
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