:: Bitty McLean - It Keeps Rainin' - The Best of

Bitty McLean

Former UB40 tape op, Bitty McLean had a formidable musical upbringing, absorbing vintage ska and reggae through his father‘s sound system. Sadly this seems to have had precious little influence on the music from which he has carved a career. This career retrospective painfully exposes a talent that could really have been put to much better use. A gifted singer, McLean's impact is all too often rendered impotent thanks to weak songs, and production that is almost wholly bereft of either personality or charm. The majority of the tracks here are cover versions; sanitised shadows of the originals, sprinkled with a modicum of reggae flavour-enhancer. This approach is closest to being likeable on his big hit 'It Keeps Rainin’ (Tears From My Eyes)‘ and the similarly ska-tinged 'Here I Stand’. Unfortunately, the covers get much worse, "Bridge Over Troubled Water‘ and 'More Than Words’ both getting the karaoke treatment. The original tracks here are at times even worse, forming a schmaltzy soup of boy-band ballads, save for the dubby ‘Truths And Rights’. This is a real shame, as McLean possesses a great voice. In fact, if you were to mistakenly stumble into a karaoke bar and caught him singing, you'd probably be genuinely gobsmacked on hearing this talented chap joyfully belting out the hits. But would you want to sit down at home and listen to an album full of supermarket muzak? Not in a pink fit.