We have no one like Australia's Farnham in this country. He began public life at 18 as "Johnny" with a novelty hit Sadie the Cleaning Lady, which should have ended his career then and there. But Bowie-like he put this Laughing Gnome behindhim, did stage work, kept on recording, matured into "John" and clawed back credibility.
He spent four years fronting the Little River Band and toured hard.
In the 80s his excellent solo albums Whispering Jack and Age of Reason confirmed his superstar status.
It's been a remarkable career, but at 51 he must wonder where to go next.
This albums suggests the answer is in going back. It opens with some mid 60s Willie Mitchell r'n'b, closes with the Ann Peebles ballad Walk Away and along the way stops off for Sam and Dave (the Isaac Hayes-penned You Don't Know Like I Know, I Thank You), Al Green (a pretty affecting Can't Get Next to You) and I've Been Lonely For So Long, all classic soul-flecked r'n'b.
How much you like it depends on whether you've heard the aching originals (these mostly invite comparisons Farnham can't win), but the new material — notably the ballad Man of the Hour, the retro-swing organ-driven You're the Only One and hood-down blue-eyed soul-pop of The Way — are convincing evidence that Farnham is far from spent, even after all those years in the trade marked by the vinyl-speed title.
