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It’s perhaps no surprise that Geldof’s musical output has been so sporadic, nor that this is his first album in a decade. In a world where sincerity and commitment are treated with cynicism and mere celebrity for its own sake is news, Geldof is an easy target, a do-gooding ‘saint’ who needs bringing down a peg. That tall poppy syndrome must become wearing after so many years, the anger most notably spilling over into his last album, 2001’s Sex, Age and Death, written in the aftermath of the sad, media-hounded death of his ex-wife, Paula Yates.
Naming your album How to Compose Songs That Will Sell of course invites ridicule, but it equally suggests Geldof knows only too well how the world views him as a songwriter. Disingenuousness aside, however, it’s without doubt his best album. By his own admission Geldof doesn’t ‘do’ love easily and, as a songwriter, raging against those who impose society’s confinements – and those who succumb to them – still comes more naturally to him, just as it did during his Boomtown Rats heyday. Nevertheless, How to Write… is a largely reflective affair, all the greater for eschewing such scattershot anger and embracing love’s healing glory. It’s unlikely, for instance, that young punk Bob would have imagined his 59-year-old self ever recording the summery CSN-like Mary Says, acoustic keen of Blow or George Harrison-esque country salutation Here’s to You. But while it’s pleasing Geldof finally seems happy in his own skin, that doesn’t mean he’s gone entirely soft, as the distorted, claw-hammer blues of Blowfish or scathing She’s a Lover attest. Elsewhere, To Live in Love and Dazzled By You tell their own stories of a man positively coming to terms with his own rage and short-fallings.
It may have taken Geldof a while to get here, but as he prepares to collect his bus pass it seems wisdom and reflection have finally overtaken venomous splurge as his choice of artistic cloak. And it’s a very good look for him.
--Andy Fyfe
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Customer Reviews
I myself have been a fan of Bob Geldof since 1977 when The Boomtown Rats exploded on to the scene.
Many changes of musical style and direction have followed since those days with mixed results.
I am pleased to say that this is a fine collection of songs.The opening track "How I Roll" gives a slight nod to Lovin Spooful's "Summer In The City". "Blow Fish" and "Systematic Six Pack" are full on blusey rockers.The former grumpy old man sounds positively happy throughout the proceedings and none more so than the radio friendly track "Silly Pretty Thing".
Bob's backing band also deserve a mention ,from funky "She's a lover" to folk "Dazzled by You" and the mighty "To Live In Love" they sound great throughout. The album draws to an end with the very touching "Mary Says" the falsetto sung "Blow" and the stunning "Here's To You" (sounding very George Harrison).
There is also a hidden track in which Bob sums up his life in a comic Irish aire with piano and spoons.
I really wish Bob Geldof all the best with this album and hope to see him and his fantastic band back on the road again.
The highlights are Blowfish with its heavily distorted blues which evokes the spirit of Jimi Hendrix; Systematic Six Pack, which sounds like it should be on the soundtrack of a Tarantino western (the video with Rhys Ifans is a nod and a wink towards it). Here's to You is the most pleasant and pleasing song Geldof has ever written, even if it borrows very heavily from The Beatles; John, Paul & George, only the trademark Ringo drums are missing. Rounding things off is a hidden track, Young & Sober, that is a throwback to DUN LAOGHARIE and The Great Song of Indifference chronologising the life of Geldof over the last fifty odd years.
Elsewhere tracks start off as if you will hate them but all wheedle their way into your consciousness. It is eclectic in the way most Geldof records are all the way back to A Tonic for the Troops, but is his most consistent effort since the Rats swansong, In The Long Grass. It's an album you'd have never though Geldof was capable of any more.
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