English musician Michael de Albuquerque's solo output consisted of three albums in the early Seventies. Best known as the bass player for the Electric Light Orchestra from 1972 to 1974 he had no chance to get his own music on that band's records, so he went out his own with a blend of orchestrated soft rock, progressive rock and funk. The people at niche label Think Like a Key took upon them to created lovingly restored reissues with the help of fabled retired sound engineer Prof Stoned. With the upcoming release of Stalking The Sleeper the set is now complete.
It is De Albuquerque's most ambitious effort, with songs that go through hills and valleys. He starts out pretty straightforward with the only cover on the album, Ray Charles' I Gotta Woman, but after that the gloves come off for a sonic journey, channelling Bowie's floor filler Fame (Patience Cousin!), going all out with the widescreen The Wreckers and the subtle piano-driven pop of Tonight On The Highway. The bonus tracks - three from his band with ELO bandmate Mik Kaminski and a latter day demo with John Marcangelo - are nice to have, but they take away a bit from the flow of the original album.
Stalking The Sleeper is released via Think Like a Key (CD, digital). Release date: January 23.
Tracks:- I Gotta Woman
- Stalking The Sleeper
- Patience Cousin!
- The Wreckers
- Say What You Want
- Just Your Love
- Walking Out On Sunny Street
- Tonight On The Highway
- Violinski - Silent Love
- Violinski - See You In My Pillow
- Violinski - Home To Tea
- Michael de Albuquerque & John Marcangelo - Outside In The Rain (Demo)
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