RealMusic Blog remembers the heady days of Garage glory, when a young Craig David teamed up with Artful Dodger and dropped a track that sent everyone crazy. Back then, we used to spend our days busting the two-step with a pout to rival Posh Spice and the smooth voice of Craig David singing ‘Re-re-wind’ blasting out of our sub-woofer speakers. Craig’s been a busy boy since then, churning out four albums, clocking up 13 million album sales worldwide and swelling his fan club with the likes of Elton John, Missy Elliot, Beyonce and Usher. So would the 2008-styled Craig David live up to the glittering memories in our head? We headed to London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire recently to find out…
We needn’t have worried. After funky warm-up act Mamas Gun, out blasted the irresistible funk-infused beat of “Let’s Dance” and on jumped the man himself. With the 2008 model, gone is the beanie hat and denim jacket of old, replaced with a grown-up, beefed-up and slicker version that Beyonce might class as an ‘upgrade’.
And whatever has been said about Craig in the past, one fact is irrefutable: the boy can sing. His voice got richer as he took us through his songbook with all the old favourites thrown in, like “Fill Me In”, “Seven Days” and “What’s Your Flava?”. We were briefly pulled from our trip down memory lane by one fan to our left who, complete with glowsticks, decided to sing and rave through every single song. Yes, glowsticks.
All good then? Well, nearly. Awkwardly, nearly every track had Craig reliving his MC days, which was fine until he tried to take on Sean Paul in his new reggae-influenced track “She’s On Fire”. It’s a quality summer track that would have been sufficient without the fake Jamaican accent - still, god loves a trier. Noticeably, his newer material is grittier, while keeping the trademark guitar melody, underlying sublime bass and a fluid lyrical flow. Gone is the two-step he thrust into the limelight long ago, along with the cringeworthy lyrics and the cocky chap claiming to be slicker than your average. 2008 Craig has a new depth and serenity to not only his voice but also his songs.
The concert delivered - but was it, along with recent album “Trust Me”, enough to thrust him back into the success he achieved back in 2000? That remains to be seen but he’s certainly trying, roping in top names like Beyonce, Kano and Plan B to work with him. RealMusic Blog reckons that with so much competition from the US, the squeaky-clean R&B boy might struggle to gain too many new fans. However, Craig did prove to his audience on the night that he is the supreme entertainer. Turns out, he was born to do it…
Listen to Craig David Radio here
(Rachel Baglin)
