Peter Daltrey - Peter Daltrey

by Andrew Carver

published: 25 / 6 / 2010

Andrew Carver reflects on 'Heroine' and 'Tattoo', two solo albums from the last decade from Peter Daltrey, the frontman with 60s psychedelic act Kaleidoscope, which have just been reissued in one package on the Rocket Girl label

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Peter Daltrey is likely best know for his work in the British psychedelic band Kaleidoscope, which later transformed into Fairfield Parlour. Although well-regarded by fans of British psych music, neither band made a large dent in the charts and by the early 1970s Daltrey had moved on to work as an artist. Two decades later the music bug bit again, and he released the first of a slew of albums - six solo albums and three collaborations with mysterious Louisiana psych-folk musician Damien Youth. He’s also released five albums under the pseudonym Link Bekka and started another band with Damien Youth under the Morning Set name. ‘Heroine/Tattoo’, his latest release, combines two of those albums - a solo work from 2001, and a collaboration with Youth from 2002, nicely repackaged in a gatefold CD case. ‘Heroine’ is an 11-song tribute to women who have struck Daltrey’s imagination, or at least played some role in his memory. The lead-in track, ‘Anne’s House’, recalls a visit to Amsterdam as a carefree young musician and his regrets over not visiting the house on the Prinsengracht where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. The final track, ‘I Want To Live In America’ also name-checks Frank. The album has a melancholic feel, perhaps because several of the women, such as singer Alma Cogan and actress Natalie Wood, met unfortunate ends. Daltrey’s voice is in good form and the musical backing, which seems to be almost entirely electronic keyboards and synthesizer may be a make or break for some people. When Daltrey (who performed all the music, barring some guitar by occasional collaborator, prolific Netherlands musician Arjen Lucassen on one track) turns to less obviously synthesized sounds, as on ‘Magda Bruer in the Rain’. His work with Youth on ‘Tattoo’ has a much more organic feel, and also benefits from some guitar-playing by his son Oli Daltrey (of the Fog Band), who adds reel punch to tunes such as ‘Jesus Wheel’, ‘Queen of Thieves’ and ‘Tokyo Room’. The title track, where Daltrey is solely accompanied by some folky guitar, and ‘The Game’, where a second guitar provides some counterpoint make a good argument for an acoustic background, particularly compared with the somewhat tinny drums of ‘Full Circle’ and ‘Dreaming of Holly’, where they’re fortunately drowned out by some robust strumming. ‘Winter Song’ is an album standout, whose fingerpicked guitar provides the ideal reinforcement to Daltrey’s most delicate vocal effort. Taken together, both albums are an interesting testament to one man’s pursuit of his muse, but 'Tattoo' will likely see more frequent play.