Rating: * * * *
Verdict: More brazen party from the jazz man.
Jamie Cullum's been hiding away honing his creativity. Having turned 30, he said he wanted this, his first solo album in four years, to be a little different. And with the brash brass of his band, the ripples of liquid piano and his rocketing lyrics he has succeeded in making jazz even more swish, fifth time around.
Opening with with the soft coo of a broadway ballad, Cullum tumbles into an over-exuberant jazz hands banger - his reinvention of Cole Porter's 1930 hit Just One of Those Things - before soaring through his deeply emotional self-penned I'm All Over It.
The album features nine of his original numbers and five covers including If I Ruled the World, written by legendary lyricist Leslie Bricusse and, would you believe it, Rihanna's Please Don't Stop the Music.
Though the Rihanna addition might fit with the line about being different, by reeling back the tempo Cullum strips it of its attitude and the song sounds out of place on the album.
But other Cullum originals are boundary-challenging successes. You And Me Are Gone- a messy but groovy track combining wood blocks and mass-claps - is like jazz on hyperactive pills, while Mixtape is a soaring heart-strung melody stripped back to a piano, drums and violins, which hit a crescendo of collapsing jazz at the end. His upbeat mischievous tone dulls for Wheels - another Cullum original which seems to evoke a lone driver negotiating cars, and crazy thoughts, while trying to make sense of life.
Some think Cullum is cheesy - and yes he can be. But accompanied by the horn section that features on Michael Jackson's Thriller and under the clever eye of producer Greg Wells (Katy Perry, Mika, Pink) Cullum delivers a well-rounded blend of fizzy pop and gruff ballads. And it's all smeared with enough cheer to ensure no brow remains furrowed.
