Product Description

2007 release, the fourth from this Mercury Prize-nominated British singer/songwriter whose sensitive style has drawn comparisons to Nick Drake, David Gray and Colplay (amongst others). With King Of Cards, McRae continues down the same emotional path, but with a rich, undeniable warmth in the production that may help introduce him to a wider audience. 11 tracks including 'Set The Story Straight' and 'Bright Lights'.

Track Listing

1. Set The Story Straight
2. Bright Lights
3. Got A Suitcase Got Regrets
4. Keep Your Picture Clear
5. Houdini And The Girl
6. Sound Of The City
7. On And On
8. Deliver Me
9. One Mississippi
10. Ballad Of Amelia Earhart
11. Lord How Long

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4266 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-14
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

One of the best albums I've listend to in a long time.
I had none of Tom McRae's other albums but Amazon recommended it to me.

And what an album it is. Stunning, emotional, beautiful. Since writing this review I am gone and bought All Maps Welcome - Another stunning album. Tom McRae is amazing! Cannot understand why some people compare him to Radiohead though! - I see no resemblance whatsoever.

Thoroughly recommended.

So very very bland
I'll be honest, I only listened to it twice. And maybe it's because I'm such a fan of the other 3 albums that I am so disappointed by this work, but to me it seemed middle of the road and deliberately radio-friendly, completely devoid of any consistent musical or lyrical interest. The ability is still there as one might expect, in every song there is a moment or two that engages me, a flash of brilliance if you like, but then it always seems to be followed by something hollow and predictable that blunts the edge. I think Tom is a funny, intelligent and talented man but he is capable of so much more than this, there are a million singer-songwriters that could have come up with this album.

Tom's back on form
I loved Tom McRae's debut album, absolutely loved it, but his follow-ups were, for me, a mixed batch: "Just Like Blood" was dreary and tuneless, while "All Maps Welcome" had some good moments. I approached this, his fourth, warily, and have been more than pleasantly surprised. McRae seems to have broadened his musical palette considerably, and it does him the world of good. A dash of Springsteen on "Sound of the City", even a glimpse of Peter Gabriel on "Keep Your Picture Clear", and it makes for a fantastic, uplifting listen, an album of heart and soul with a real intelligence behind it. I can't praise this album enough -- it's definitely one of my favourites for the year.