Just Roddy

Roddy Frame has always been, above all, a singer-songwriter of the highest order. Due to quite a few years of slick production and adult-contemporary muck, however, you needed quite a keen ear to hear it. My faith in Frame had more or less gone missing by the time 'Dreamland' and 'Frestonia' hit the shelves. He followed that up by shedding the Aztec Camera moniker, and I was a little disappointed by that decision... until he released 'Surf' in 2002.

'Surf' was an album worthy of his name. Even if the few records leading up to it weren't necessarily good, Frame had performed several successful solo tours through the aforementioned lean years. Those stripped-down shows proved his late '80s and '90s material wasn't necessarily as bad as it seemed on wax. Frame brought this less-is-more approach to 'Surf.' It was just a man and his guitar singing in the front room of his home, sans studio touches. His words were sharp, and his voice was in top form.

My faith in Frame was restored.

Here is the album opener. It seems silly to pick out one song to sample. There are no singles here. 'Surf' should be played from beginning to end. If you don't already have the record, you can still get it at Frame's Web site. I suggest you do.

Roddy Frame - Over You (mp3)