James Reyne reunites with his knack for melody on
Every Man a King. Starting with the lyrical, "Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day" and the gorgeous "Stop Draggin' My Name Around,"
Reyne issues his most satisfying studio set since
Design for Living. While not as strong an album as his early solo work,
Every Man a King is a solid affair from an artist who continues to stay relevant nearly 30 years after
Australian Crawl. "Broken Romeo" and "Superannuated Idol" are just two of the highlights found here.
Reyne seems to have taken an acoustic cue from his And the Horse You Rode in On album and toned things down from
Speedboats for Breakfast -- though he is still working with Scott Kingman, so there is a definite edge to the productions that was absent on his early solo work. The title of the album comes from Huey Long and the record has a populist theme running through it.
Reyne still loves to use his lyrics to tell stories, but this time (he insists in the liner notes) the individual characters are "Everymen." A promising rebound after the aggressively depressing
Speedboats,
Every Man a King proves that
Reyne continues to be one of the best singer/songwriters in the world, let alone his native Australia. A powerful collection. ~ Tomas Mureika