To celebrate 25 years of music-making, this album is billed as ‘An introduction to The General Store’. and feature’s two tracks apiece from previous releases 'Local Honey' (2002) and 'Mountain Rescue'(2008) together with some newer material.
The General Store is not really a band but the jangly solo pop project of Tam Johnstone whose father, Davey, was full-time guitarist with the Elton John since Honky Château. No other musicians are listed on the Bandcamp page so it’s hard to know in what way this differs from Johnstone’s ‘Fantastic Animals’ a record released under his own name in 2012.
The tracks are efficient although built largely around clichéd lyrics with no real stamp of individuality.The riffs to Airport Breakfast and Pretty Eyes are dead ringers for those on The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’ and Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’.
Elsewhere, an entreaty to “Keep fading like a star” is at best vague and at worst meaningless.
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Only two of the ten tunes hint at something more personal. Sailing Away is a tribute to Johnstone’s late friend and mentor David Morrison while Anything is a break-up ballad full of regrets.The latter would be better if it wasn’t so weighed down by an excess of metaphorical language (mostly about boats and oceans> and pompous-sounding lines like “Never made the pilgrimage to see inside your head”.
For the most part, this is an inoffensive and radio friendly record but it is too much in thrall to mainstream taste to inspire any great enthusiasm.
Album link on Bandcamp
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