:: Ali Campbell - Running Free

Ali Campbell

It will be interesting to see how UB40 fans will receive former lead singer Ali Campbell’s new solo offering ‘Running Free’, especially after recriminations surrounding Campbell’s departure from UB40 centred on his preference to plugging away his album as opposed to the new one to be soon released by the hugely successful reggae outfit. Whatever way one chooses to look at it, it’s a shame for both sides because UB40 has lost its voice and Running Free is an average listen.

Running Free is a mixture of the successful Labour of Lover reggae covers series that UB40 released through out their career and the whole duet concept recently made successful by the likes of Santana. The guest performers invited here are a collection of the young and old such as Lemar, Kate Melua, Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall and soul legend Smokey Robinson.

Unfortunately, with such an array of performers the album fails to sound anything but a standard UB40 record. This is chiefly because the ultra modern studio production which makes the tracks sounds too close to being adult/contemporary despite the contributions by the likes of reggae legends Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett.

Still, there are some things to enjoy in Running Free. ‘Hold Me Tight’ is a sweet, swooning track reminiscent of ‘Kingston Town’. ‘I Want One Of Those’ showcases Campbell unique soaring vocals and the title track’s topical subject matter shows that Campbell has never lost any of his political bent.