Amazon.co.uk Review
Former protégés of Noel Gallagher, Proud Mary came and went with one rather dull album, little fanfare and fewer record sales. Or so we thought. Enter
Love & Light, the album that not many folk would have considered possible. And, even better than that; it's awesome. Peeling the band down to its nucleus of gravel-throated singer Greg Griffin and songwriter/guitarist Paul Newsome (along with the late addition of ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke) seems to have done the band some good as their previously scorned West Coast via Manchester Shipping Canal sound has become spacious and airy. Songs now employ finesse--sprightly acoustics and tight Crosby, Stills & Nash-style harmonies are welcome touches--where there was previously bluster, and occasional Zep/Stones funk pops up (most explicitly on "Blues"), though the melancholy spirit of latest single "Mexico" is certainly prevalent through out the album. The whole brew adds up to create a consistently excellent album, with the highlights being the anthemic Stephen Stills-alike productions of "Lady of the Country" and Neil Young-ish "Mundane Morning". This album is sure to delight fans of the first album who have willed them to return stronger, and will doubtless pick them up some new devotees along the way.
--Thom Allott