There was a time, back in the 1970s, when
Richard Digance aspired to be a moderately serious singer/songwriter, rather than the entertainer he very successfully morphed into by the '80s. These tracks, taken from the albums he released on the Transatlantic label, showcase a man just hitting the cusp between one career and another. That's not to say it's all doom and gloom, by any means; a lightness of touch and sharp observation were always his trademarks, and they're here on many of the 35 cuts spread over two discs, especially the light-hearted live rendition of the title track. Perhaps the time wasn't right for him in the '70s, or possibly the material he was writing, even something as tongue in cheek as "Drag Queen Blues," was out of step with the times. This is an interesting artefact of a man in a transitional stage who had yet to fully find himself. ~ Chris Nickson