Dave Kusworth - In Some Life Let Gone: Anthology 1977-2007

The greatest hits that never were

Stalking a rock’n’roll hinterland between Johnny Thunders and Bruce Springsteen, The Faces and Iggy Pop, Kusworth has been winning friends and followers for 30 years but without ever making much more than the tiniest blip on the broader public’s radar. A collaborator with the likes of Nikki Sudden, Stephen Duffy and Dogs D’Amour, his ramshackle guitar rock is steeped in leather-jacketed classicism and often boasts the poetic lyricism of a Tom Waits or Patti Smith. This 31-track compilation flits back and forth in time to create a constantly intriguing portrait of a muso who really should have become more famous than he is at more than one point in his past. The late 80s cuts with his band The Bounty Hunters (Kings & Queens, Hooked To Your Heart) are, mostly, those rare beasts: unassuming anthems, all power chords and singalong choruses but with none of the self-importance that some axe-wielding firebrands bring to their art. The solid strummathons of his later group The Tenderhooks have a feel of Whiskeytown-era Ryan Adams about them. Although the early 80s tracks he recorded with The Jacobites haven’t aged particularly well, taken as a whole, Kusworth emerges as a thoughtful and inspired unsung hero well worthy of reappraisal.

Troubadour | TRO 3 CD

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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