Album Review : Market Harbour - Ginger**** For Fans Of - The Wildhearts, John Lennon, So what do you do when the doctor tells you that you've got to clean up your act or die ? In Ginger's case it appears that new found sobriety has turned the Wildhearts frontman into the most productive bloke in rock. He now has his own record label, the past year has seen new albums from Ginger and The Wildhearts, tours, a dvd recording, numerous contributions to various side projects and other Wildhearts associated projects (God Damn Whores etc) and this year we are being promised two Wildhearts albums as well as this solo project. Just imagine if Ginger and the boys hadn't smoked / drunk / sniffed / injected their earlier career into oblivion ? What a legacy this man would be leaving. Enough dwelling on the past though because this is the best, most accomplished solo album that Ginger has released so far. I suppose Ginger has always been a prolific writer, the amount of "b-sides" and various studio tracks which were uncovered to provide material for contract fulfilling album releases testifies to that, and on Market Harbour ginger gives us 21 tracks, they're not all full length songs mind, so I'd not quite call this a double album. Ginger's solo style has mellowed a little since last year's Yoni, Market Harbour doesn't contain much in the way of mosh inducing, foot stomping anthems a la The Wildhearts (although Josser Bank and Attentionette are good and lively), but is does hold a lot of very good music. MH shows Ginger in a more thoughtful, more introspective, more adult mode than he has shown in the past. Songs like Casino Bay, House Of Moths and How Hard Can You Make It are Ginger at his most reflective, his lyrics dwelling on lost loves and possibilities. There is some fabulous songwriting here, almost Lennon-esque in places. Ginger has a muscial sense of humour and displays his broad muscial tastes when blending In My Room (The Beach Boys) to the end of I Knew You (An Amnesis) whch follows from the riotous Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy mash up on Yoni, which is then followed by the quirky and charming You And Me (That's What I Want) with its child sung chorus. Couple Trouble is to and bit minutes of Ginger singing, or is that John Lennon again, with a doo wop chorus, A Malibu Chronicle is just a wonderful AOR rock song, fantastic. I think that Market Harbour stands well above all of Ginger's previous solo releases, this third album (or 4th if you count the singles collection A Break In The Weather) is a fine album, it is beatifully written, played and sung. I will admit that it took me quite a few listens to really appreciate Market Harbour, but it is an album well worth persevering with, it is an album with rewarding depth, maturity and richness.