Subtitled 'A Collection 1999 - 2005', "The Tender Place" is a lovingly-compiled and lavishly packaged solo 'Best Of' which sits beautifully next to Phantasmagoria's superb "Cosmic Fireworks": the 2CD set culling the best of MICHAEL WESTON KING'S work fronting erstwhile Northern English roots-rock pioneers The Good Sons.
The 19 tracks here draw heavily upon MWK'S two official solo albums, "God-Shaped Hole" (1999) and 2003's "A Decent Man", but there's also room for a couple of new tracks, the odd well-poised cover version and some well-observed and insightful sleevenotes from long-time King collaborator and former Doll By Doll frontman Jackie Leven.
And, for both completists and the merely curious alike, "The Tender Place" really is as good a place as any to get acquainted with one of the most consistently under-rated performers of our time. It showcases a singer/ songwriter at the peak of his powers whose work is, above everything else, always heartfelt and emotional, whether he's working in a folky and acoustic framework or showcasing a broader, more pop-orientated sound.
Naturally, circumstances play their hand too. 1999's stark, predominantly acoustic "God-Shaped Hole" came in the wake of numerous heartbreaking incidents: The Good Sons' American label went under just as they were beginning to make headway across the Atlantic; lead guitarist Phil Abram was about to defect and start a new life as a teacher in Italy and the band narrowly escaped prematurely meeting their maker when their bus was in a head-on collision on tour in Germany. Add to this the imminent collapse of Weston King's marriage and the scene is hardly set for a light-hearted groove-fest.
But, while "God-Shaped Hole" was undeniably dark, in artistic terms it remains a magnificent achievement, with some of Weston King's finest songs coming like the proverbial silver linings from the massing storm clouds . Most of them are again paraded here, from the regretful, piano-based, school-of-hard-knocks balladry of "Beautiful Lies" ("Life is hard in the breaker's yard as these young guns will soon find out") to the (I assume) semi-autobiographical "England's Dreaming" and the fantastic Townes Van Zandt-related elegy "Lay Me Down." These are all deepest blue in hue, though a brooding cover of Phil Ochs' suitably desolate "No More Songs" fervently beckons oncoming darkness and the truly unforgiving "From Lovers Lane To Liverpool" is arguably the most devastating thing MWK has recorded. Over a jet black piano backdrop, he barely hauls himself over the coals of lines like "Don't even care about starting again/ don't even care about calling back my friends" and sees precious little light flickering at the end of the tunnel.
Michael worked out more of his demons via The Good Sons' excellent last hurrah, the ironically-titled "Happiness" in 2001, though that was revisited by the "Cosmic Fireworks" set. Instead, we can fast forward here to 2003's more confident, widescreen "A Decent Man" album, where Weston King was surrounded by new band The Decent Men and sympathetic, talented musicians such as Jackie Leven, former Icicle Works' frontman Ian McNabb.
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"A Decent Man" alternated between intimate, acoustic-based tracks and more expansive, roots-pop affairs, and both are well-represented by the selections here. Witty and downbeat, "The Englishman's Obsession With America Pt.2" is a likeably wry comment on MWK'S wandering ways graced by steel and Alan Cook's expressive dobro; the bitter, self-explanatory "Always The Bridesmaid" is a throwback to King's folk club days and songs like the gorgeous, Byrds-y "Celestial City", "A Decent Man" and the Who-esque abandon of "High Days & Holy Days" represent a growing confidence in turning the volume back up and rocking out with credibility intact.
There are also a clutch of rarities and new tracks. The sombre, but tremendous "I Fall Behind" featured on last year's semi-official "Absent Friends" as well as Twah! Records "Seka" collection; a spirited rendition of Dylan's "Simple Twist Of Fate" (from a 'Mojo' cover-mounted CD) finds MWK anything but dwarfed by the original and the one brand new track, "From Out Of The Blue" is a stately co-write with Danish songwriter Michael Hamilton and one which only partially disguises the song's apparently murderous undertones.
Happily, "The Tender Place" is only the closing of the latest chapter in Michael Weston King's ongoing story. As I write this, he's putting the finishing touches to a new album being recorded at Johnny Marr's studio with producer Jim Spencer (New Order, The Charlatans) at the helm, so stylistically he's still keeping us guessing. Whatever the outcome of that partnership, though, the songs collected in "The Tender Place" are already enough to secure Michael Weston King's reputation as a performer in the same league as the singular characters (Townes Van Zandt, Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin) he's referenced along the way. We can only hope his wandering ways lead him to a happier conclusion, though. God knows, he deserves it if anyone does.
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