Dr. Robert - Five in the Afternoon (2007)

Dr Robert, The Blow Monkeys main man, has teamed up with soul legend P P Arnold for this brand new album of duets, recorded near the Andalusian port town of Motril in southern Spain. I met P P Arnold at a party up here in the mountains near Granada. I was playing some acoustic guitar - a few old tunes, some Curtis songs and stuff - she jumped up on the tiny makeshift stage and blew the place apart. We sang some Hendrix, some soul and then First Cut Is The Deepest. It was so good. We went away that night determined to make a record. This is that record. Its timeless sound and soulful funkiness are held together by two voices at the top of their game singing songs that burst with vigour and belief. It was too hot to record during the day so we would start at five in the afternoon. Here in Spain everything starts at five in the afternoon. Bullfights start at five in the afternoon - thats what the title track is about. It was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca, the poet laureate of Granada, shot dead by Francos falange during the Spanish Civil War, whose poem Lament For Ignacio Sanchez Mejias directly influenced the song. Other highlights like the congregationally massive Satellite and folky funkiness of Be My Judge only re-enforce the notion that this is music made for all times. Written and produced by Dr Robert, the album has an earthy quality which owes much to the style of the players involved, such a bass player Marco Nelson (Young Disciples) and drummer Crispin Taylor (Galliano) - it was recorded virtually live with very few overdubs.