(3-TRACK SINGLE/ 1998)
Last September when Hull band Elf came to play Driffield �Hooters,� leadman Rammone would have obviously preferred to be elsewhere for obvious reasons (just because), and that elsewhere was Hull �Adelphi� after I�d put my foot in it by saying Voy were playing that night. Voy, as in Ex-Cecil� Voy, as in the spawny b#stards who have since rode on high-profile supports with rockers Everclear. Cecil, in their heyday, had a hefty following, �Most Tiring Day� infused with restless rock tangents beside the seamlessly suited vocals. Little more than impeccably polished indie, it�s hooking but catchily crass. Compared to the exquisite �Tinsel Scar,� with its rawer-run riff and funkier soul that reminds of Paul The Stranglers Roberts� solo work. Singing �Upon a star,� that line ambiguously sounds as though he�s muffling �Porno star, porno star,� the uplifting bridge sealing Cecil�s salvation. But don�t ask these lads to cover songs� otherwise they might come up with another classic love song that�s cheesier than �When You�re In Love With A Beautiful Woman� (�You go it alone� you better watch your friends�), made infamous by Dr Hook�s Ray Sawyer, and later solo-star in his own right Dennis Locorriere � who was Hook�s guitarist and bit-part vocalist. Retaining the original pace, keyed melody and pitched heaven-wards backing vox Bee-Gee-wheeeee style, there is a rockier backbone to interest more than passing Dr Hook fans, making it way better than the original, but no less thematically corny. So, if ever short of future projects - despite boasting 3 highly-varied �possibilities� in this single alone - a covers band or Dr. Hook tribute probably has more chance of making Cecil big bucks over anything original they may conceive. So, Cecil: I�m sure they were good while they lasted. Ho, Voy: something of the next generation� (STEVE RUDD)