One thing you can never accuse SimG with is churning out the same old, same old, rehashed songs. They thrive on releasing new material, from new composers, performed by our greatest talent. You will have probably gathered from my previous reviews that I am a great fan of this, and a great fan of SimG's work in general - it's the life-blood that keeps theatre alive for future generations.

Their latest release, Collaborations: The Songs of Elliot Davis, is a celebration of songs by writer/composer Elliot Davis (co-writer of Olivier nominated musical Loserville) written with Adam Bard, James Bourne, Stephen Clark, Anthony Drewe, Graham Gouldman, Sam Kenyon and Andy Stocks, and features pop and songs taken from musicals; Loserville, Out There, and Best Friends And Butterflies.

As is usual with SimG's releases, there is no shortage of talent on this recording either - headlined by, in my opinion, the greatest talent we have today in UK theatre Julie Atherton, and also Paul Baker, James Bourne, Caroline Sheen, Scarlett Strallen and Michael Xavier. Also a shout out to Melissa Jacques - for the simple reason that I grew up in local theatre with her, and it's great to see her doing so well.

Of the songs, they are a testament to how comfortable Davis in writing in different styles. Whilst all of the songs have a pop 'bent' to them, there are some very nice variations. 'And So It Was' is as near to a jazz track as you will find anywhere, and is performed with sheer class by Paul Baker. 'Still' is great accoustic sounding track (if you ignore the synth strings which should have been dropped), as is 'Miss The Future', which really shows why Julie Atherton is the best we have, and a talent to be proud of.

I could have lived without some of it however. '24 7' is as near to a Eurovision song as you will ever hear - it "out Eurovisions" Eurobeat - and jars for me with the rest of the album. 'Antidote To Love' is a classy song, but unfortunately in my opinion given to the weakest singer on the album, which is a shame.

My favourite track on the album is probably 'The Village Song' - this song could easily be on any of Elton John's albums, and is performed well here by Andy Stocks.

I enjoyed the album - perhaps not as much as previous SimG releases, but it was still a very enjoyable listen. If I have a gripe, it's that the songs are very eclectic - Too eclectic at times, and none of them sound like they belong anywhere near a musical. Probably intentional, probably me getting old. The album is being sold in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which is more than enough reason to give it a try.

8

Ian Gude