Roddy Frame
- ️Sun Nov 04 2018
Roddy Frame is my all time favourite songwriter. I think his talent is vastly underrated although he has been critically acclaimed for most of his long career and his current album in my view is one of his finest to date.
It's Frame's sensitivity, humour and bookish wordsmith oeuvre that makes me cherish his talent - songs as lovelorn as 'How Men Are', 'Somewhere in My Heart' and Oblivious still sound fresh to me even though they are from the eighties.
I have seen Roddy live many times and his sense of humour,banter and rapport with the audience bring an intimacy to any venue although highlights for me include his sets at Cadogan Hall and Bush Hall.
Roddy's guitar mastery is something to be seen in itself - I have mostly seen acoustic sets and he is a guitar great. If you know nothing about Roddy or Aztec Camera one of the several best of compilations available would be an investment. Like Neil Finn, Lloyd Cole and Ryan Adams, Roddy Frame is in a league of his own - a soft focus,soft centred ephemeral bubble that one can bathe in his sense of romance and take on the human condition. The rainbow of emotions Roddy can cover make him for me one of the most emotionally intelligent songwriters ever and musically either ballad or slight rockish edge show he can cover a wide spectrum of genres.
My favourite of his albums are 'LOVE' and 'High Land Hard Rain'. If you love his lyrics there is even a book available - sheer Scottish poetry Frame style.