Let's Hear It for the Dogs [Bonus Track]

by The Proclaimers

Overview

Continuing a regular album release schedule over the previous 15 years and reliable quality since the duo's debut over 25 years prior, Let's Hear It for the Dogs delivers more of Craig and Charlie Reid's jaunty '50s and '60s R&B-, soul-, and country-influenced pop with 13 original songs and, this time, no covers. Production and arrangements relying heavily on electric guitars and drums add strings to a couple of tracks, including the epic love story "Tuesday Afternoon," and horns to the spirited "Then Again." The album includes expected musical homages, such as the peppy, Dion-esque "You Built Me Up," and later the rockabilly-informed "Then Again" and doo wop-inspired "Forever Young." They still have a way with ballads, too, like on "Ten Tiny Fingers," a father-daughter tribute with a reverent, reverbed lap steel effect, but are at their most engaging when at full voice (climaxes of "Be with Me," "If I'm Still Around") with those distinctive sibling harmony arrangements ("Through Him") -- though the balance between ballads and hyper-pop has always played an important role in the identity of the group. Lyrically, they are typically forthright, whether weary ("You don't have to be nineteen/To be a slave to hopeless dreams") or wry ("I took it from him just in case/I should have thrown it in the bin"). The record's title was taken from the playful "What School?" ("Plant and Page wrote 'A Stairway to Heaven'/I don't like rock but that's genius"), and the pair still don't shy away from politics or personal stands ("Your moral compass is not mine"); "Then Again" calls out infamous cases of alleged child abuse in the U.K. Despite having a formula of sorts for their albums by this point, the Proclaimers don't mail it in here -- what they do they do extremely well and with apparent engagement. After ten studio albums, they still bring intensity to their down-to-earth, grandly lilting, and always spirited output. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	05/05/2015
Label:	Compass
UPC:	0766397464824

Tracks

1. You Built Me Up
2. Be with Me
3. In My Home
4. Tuesday Afternoon
5. Then Again
6. What School?
7. If I'm Still Around
8. The Other Side
9. Forever Young
10. Ten Tiny Fingers
11. Through Him
12. Rainbows & Happy Regrets
13. Moral Compass

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Proclaimers   Primary Artist
Joanna Walters   Violin
The Vulcan String Quartet   Featured Artist
Stevie Christie   Keyboards
Garry John Kane   Bass
Matt Holland   Brass
Martin Winning   Brass
Zac Ware   Guitar (Electric)
Clive Jenner   Drums
Nathan Stone   Cello
Craig Reid   Vocals
Charlie Reid   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Sean Genockey   Guitar
Andrew Walters   Violin
Bernard Kane   Viola

Technical Credits

Lewis MacDonald   Cover Design
Joe Jones   Engineer
Kenny MacDonald   Photography
Rose Lawrence   Sleeve Design
Murdo MacLeod   Photography
Dave Eringa   Mixing,Producer
Craig Reid   Composer
Charlie Reid   Composer
Ed Woods   Mastering