597 Goodbye Alan Price - Changes

Chart  entered : 30  April  1988

Chart  peak : 54

Another  sixties  survivor  exits  here.

Alan  left  The  Animals  in  1965  after  much  internal  feuding,  particularly  over  his  arranger's  credit  on  House  of  the  Rising  Sun. He  formed  the  Alan  Price  Set  and  enjoyed  a  number  of  hits  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixties. As  we've  seen,  he  had  a  brief  partnership  with  Georgie  Fame  in  the  early  seventies . In  the  seventies  he  found  his  songwriting  mojo  and  released  his  acclaimed  "Between  Yesterday  and  Today"  solo  album  which  yielded  his  last  big  hit, "Jarrow  Song" , in  1974. His  subsequent  albums  raised  little  interest  and  the  hits  became  small  and  sporadic, the  last  one, "Baby  of  Mine"  reaching  number  32  in  1979.

"Changes"  was   recorded  in  1973  as  part  of  his  soundtrack  to  Lindsay  Anderson's  1973 film  O  Lucky  Man  in  which  Alan  appeared  as  a  sort  of  Geordie  Chorus.  The  melody  was  appropriated  from  the  gospel  tune  What  A  Friend  We  Have  In  Jesus. Alan's   simple  lyrics  express  the  acceptance  that  nothing  stays  the  same  and  chime  with  the  stoical  Everyman  persona  he's  cultivated  in  his  solo  work. Alan  delivers  the  song  in  his  distinctive  throaty  voice, not  quite  Eric  Burdon  but  more  than  serviceable, and  his  organ  chords  emphasise  the  song's  roots  in  church. As  the  sleeve  gives  away, the  song's  resurrection  was  due  to  its  use  in  an  advert  for  VW  Golfs   featuring  It  Girl  Paula  Hamilton. I'm  sure  the  diehard  Trot  Anderson  appreciated  the  irony  of  the  song  now  soundtracking  the  adventures  of  a  yuppie  icon.  

Alan  included  the  song  on  his  album  "Liberty"  released  the  following  year. There  were  two  singles,  the  title  track  a  florid  piano  ballad  and  "Fool's  In  Love" a  jazzy  music  hall  romp  that  could  have  from Madness. Both  are  interesting; neither  did  anything. They  were  the  best  choices  available. Elsewhere  it's  a  well-meaning  but  rather  bland  collection  of  songs  that  doesn't  contain  anything  you  need  to  hear  a  second  time.  Like  most  of  its  predecessors  it  didn't chart.

Alan  remarried  in  1990 . He  came  up  with  the  theme  tune  to  the  1991 school  drama  Chalkface   and   made  an  autobiographical  film Is  That  All  There  Is  for  the  BBC  in  1992 .  Thereafter  his  public  profile  diminished.  In  the  mid-nineties  he  got  together  with  Zoot Money  and  Bobby Tench  in  the Electric  Blues  Company  and  released  a  couple  of  albums  of  blues  covers.

Alan  released  his  last  solo  album  to  date  in  2002  with  "Based  on  a  True  Story". It's  a   low  -key  effort  with  the  lightly  jazzy  songs   allowed  plenty  of  room  to  breathe. Alan's  voice  is  clearly  ageing  but  it's  not  a young  man's  album  anyway. There  are  one  or  two  nice  keyboard  solos  and  "Do  It  Now"  is  quite  affecting   but  there's  nothing  else  that  really  grabs  the  attention.

Alan  continues  to  tour  with  some  of  his  sixties   contemporaries  such  as  The  Manfreds  and  has  a  monthly  residency  at  the  Bull's  Head  in  Barnes, London.