Jools Holland and Marc Almond

A Lovely Life to Live

Warner

For their first collaborative album, Jools Holland and Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond have delivered exactly what one might expect. There are big band-backed numbers, courtesy of the Hootenanny host's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, a handful of covers - including a jazzy version of Tainted Love - and a smattering of original tracks, each following that tried and tested jazz/blues formula.

Every new song sounds instantly familiar and, while it could come across as a bit of a "well-trodden path", Almond's slightly wavering, less than flawless but charmingly distinctive vocal adds - dare it be said? - a slightly edgier vibe to the record. Also worth pointing out: they've shied away from oft-repeated big-band cover culprits like Mack The Knife and Have You Met Miss Jones, thank goodness.

Their reworked take on Tainted Love instantly makes you wonder if the track was written to be a jazz number in the first place (it's certainly much closer to the original Gloria Jones version than Soft Cell's famous rendition), and Almond truly shines on Edith Piaf's Hymne A L'Amour.

I Lost My City, an original song about the duo's love affair with London, is formulaic but on point. You can practically smell the cigarette smoke and whiskey in an old jazz and blues bar in the Downtown of somewhere or other.

Lucy Mapstone