It sounds like the start of a terrible meme.
“When you should have been opening for Motley, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett” but that’s the stark reality for Tuk Smith and The Restless Hearts. That’s exactly what they would’ve been doing right now, on the biggest tour in the US this summer.
But fate, dealt a blow, obviously (and there are people worse off I know) so Tuk, well, tucked into lockdown, by doing this.
“The songs are not representative of me as an artist”, he says. He’s half right, most of them aren’t. But he adds this: “I just felt like I should try and contribute with something creative and positive in such uncertain times. Also, with all my tours being cancelled or postponed and my album pushed back I feel like it’s important to stay connected with fans. When picking the track list I chose them based off my moods during the quarantine.”
That’s one of the reasons this is such a cool five songs. They mean something, obviously. The other reason is Tuk Smith has the touch.
The band he was in, Biters, I cannot overstate how much I liked them. They should have been the next GnR, I mean that. Maybe it was fitting they burnt out.
This, essentially, is the comedown to that.
To be truthful, one of these songs I’d never heard. The opener, “Don’t Change is one I am familiar with, though. Like any rational human I was a big INXS fan and its evident that Smith is too. He makes it his own, while still staying true to the song. And that’s the point, I imagine.
Now, all the talk of “not representing me” is kind of made redundant by David Bowie’s “Life On Mars”. Bowie must – he simply must – be a hero to Smith, and it comes through. A difficult song to make new, he at least makes it fresh.
“Hard Luck Woman” is an obvious pick too. Oddly the first time I ever heard it was a cover, and its perfect for the vibe here, laid back, done as a fan, it works. It works well.
As does “Summertime Sadness”. I have to tell the truth here, my knowledge of Lana Del Rey is sketchy (and by sketchy, I mean non-existent) but it’s a cool tune here, sounding huge, anthemic, this appears to be Smith testing himself too.
I am on safer ground with “Behind Blue Eyes” which is simply gorgeous whoever does it. It is here. It is a track that you can’t fail to like – and a bad version of it I have never heard. This is fun, though and brings out an emotion that isn’t always evident in Smith’s work.
Lockdown has forced creative people to do creative things. That’s what this is. There will be people who look at it and go “what’s the point?” but that is to miss the, well, point. The point is that Tuk Smith loves making music. That’s what he’s done here, and isn’t that a silver lining to the dark cloud right now?
Rating 8/10
