Oh dear. It seems that The Zutons had an ice cold reception from fans at their recent T4 On The Beach gig.

We’ve always had a soft spot for The Zutons here at Unreality Music, and were looking forward to the release of their third album. However, with the release of Always Right Behind You, we got that sinking feeling that the band had made some bad musical decisions.

Frontman Dave McCabe has acknowledged the lacklustre reception the album has received, but seems to be putting it down to fate…

I wanted it to go to No.1 and sell millions. I’m gutted. Maybe it’s just our time to fall out of favour. But we’ll just keep gigging. That’s what we love doing the most.

“Time to fall out of favour”? How about “We ballsed up and wrote some bad songs. We got complacent. We misjudged our fanbase.” Three much more valid explanations for the performance of You Can Do Anything – ironically named because apparently they can’t please their fans. Oops.

We’ll keep hoping for an improvement in their fortunes, but as our earlier single review said, if the first track from an album is a flop, the rest is likely to be a disappointment as well.

We’ve always been right behind The Zutons. Their first album was a masterpiece of riff-laden retro rock, and their second spawned one of the biggest hits of this decade.

However, we’re left slightly disappointed by Always Right Behind You, a slip into glam-era choruses that leaves us wondering where exactly the stormin’ return of Dave McCabe and the gang went to.

The thing with The Zutons is, you want to cheer for them, but there’s nothing to celebrate here. It’s upbeat and pleasant enough, but you’ve heard it all before – in the same way that The Fratelli’s Mistress Mabel sounds like Stereophonics Kelly Jones gargling to an old Hollies track.

We’re all for bands experimenting with new sounds, but this is a big step back for The Zutons – they’re experimenting with old sounds that should be consigned to the dusty attic of music history.

A poor single to lead with from the new album, hopefully this isn’t representative of the rest of the album….

In my mind, 90’s band EMF are the band I associate most with performing in forests. However, in the run up to the release of their still untitled third album, The Zutons are planning to do a tour of forests in the UK.

Sounds class, doesn’t it? It’ll be the band’s first UK tour since they released Tired Of Hanging Around in 2006.

The tour dates, as listed on NME are:

1. Thetford Forest, Suffolk (June 5)
2. Bedgebury Pinetum And Forest, Kent (June 8)
3. Delamere Forest, Cheshire (June 13)
4. Westonbirt National Arboretum, Gloucestershire (June 20)
5. Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Nottinghamshire (June 21)
6. Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire (June 27)
7. Cannock Chase Forest, Staffordshire (June 28)

Tickets go on sale 22 February and you can check availability here or phone 0871 230 1094.

I’m looking forward to the new Zutons album. I’ve loved their previous two albums, and there seems to be a growing buzz over their new material.

On their website, they say the experience has “taken our heads to a different place and it’s brought us closer together. Sometimes you have to go a million miles away or get on a plane for ten hours to get closer together.”

The new album is being recorded at LA’s Sunset Sound Studios, with Black Crowes producer George Drakoulias. Frontman Dave McCabe says:

George (the producer) is funny as fuck, he’s like a walking jukebox and he’s getting a good vibe in the room. It definitely feels different with an American producer than what we’re used to and I think that’s a good thing for us now.”

Sounds like the Zutons crew are having fun over the pond. We’re about due for some new material from the band, as they seem to be releasing an album every two years at this point in time.

In other news, they’re scheduled to play the Isle of Wight Festival in June of this year.

Great news for Liverpool which is also the European City of Culture in 2008, both events tie in nicely together and should attract attention to the City.

Of course, the organisers couldn’t possibly resist the soundbyte opportunity to name check The Beatles along with various Liverpudlian musical acts of varying quality. Bizarrely, they tried to shoehorn Atomic Kitten into their list of great musical achievements.

Anyway, this will be the third MTV Europe bash to be held in the UK, previous events were held in London and Edinburgh.

Here’s a bit more detail from the BBC report on the awards show:

Culture Secretary James Purnell said: “Liverpool is a creative force in the world music industry. This will make the European Capital of Culture year even more special.”

Liverpool City Council leader Warren Bradley said it was a “watershed in Liverpool’s return to the world stage”.

“With being European Capital of Culture, the city has rediscovered the confidence and ability to attract the world’s best,” he added.

So, congratulations to Liverpool in pulling off this major coup for 2008. Please, please, please take this opportunity to push your new musical talent to the forefront and let (The Beatles) be. Acts like The Zutons and others are the future. Focus on these guys during 2008 and forget about the Fab Four.

This latest release sees Ronson and Winehouse teaming up on a lethal cover of The Zuton’s Valerie. True to Winehouse’s style, the track has that classic retro soul vibe, albeit more uptempo than we remember the original recording being.

The horns really make this track, and there’s a distinct swing to Winehouse’s version, especially her vocals.

The video (below) is an interesting composition. Presumably because of Amy’s recent strife, the video features a guitar-toting Ronson on stage calling up and array of beehived girls from the audience to ’sing’ the song. I wonder what the reason is for Amy’s absence?

Valerie is released on 22 October 2007 and can be found on Mark Ronson’s album Version.