Paul Millns – A Little Thunder

Paul Millns

A Little Thunder

(Acoustic Music Records)

The cover shot has Millns looking like a repo man at the end of an aggravating day, but we know better than to judge a book…this release brings us fourteen numbers from Paul, in the company of a full range of instrumentalists to complement the singer’s keyboard work. His son plays some Hammond!

Drink Up People slides in on greasy horns and Millns’ sandpaper-and-bourbon voice tells the tale, with a touch of Hoagy Carmichael or Roger Miller. The Only Dance That Matters has a folky sepia lilt and could be a Willie Nelson outing. It has an elegant vibe, violin and all. Weather For The Blues takes a stealthy harp-flecked tempo and goes for a Tom Waits feel, underpinned by electric piano and spidery guitar motifs.

She’s Flying Today has a calypso ambience and Paul sings of his love returning to him. It has a grizzled tenderness. If I Were You starts with melancholy, almost hymnal piano and a vocal of battered resignation, the solemn backing adding a dark cloud of its own. God’s Little Mistake takes a steady tempo, with slivers of Hammond and a vocal with a determined telling of a tale of hard times. Not exactly lifting the mood! The J J Cale style backing is deftly handled.

Title cut A Little Thunder evokes Randy Newman with its raggedy piano and questioning lyric. This suits Millns’ voice of course. My Father’s Son uses a melody that wouldn’t be out of place on a Cat Stevens record. Contrasts well with the rest of the material as a thoughtful interlude. Breathing In has baroque instrumentation and another Newman styled progression. These songs are often like short stories. God Save The Self-Doubters brings in the grainy horns on a philosophical, poetic rumination.

Too Soon sounds like a demo for Sacha Distel. Drunk Again takes us back to bluesy territory, The First Smile is a late-night reflection in a downtown bar. Finally, Last Love rides out over that lonesome piano.

Pete Sargeant