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MY LUCKY DAY

by Jack Howard

/
1.
LET ME LIVE 04:16
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
FARAWAY 04:00
7.
MY LUCKY DAY 03:28
8.
SAILING HOME 03:40
9.
10.
THE RED ROSE 03:49
11.
I AM LOST 04:34

about

My Lucky Day was released in 2007 at the straggling end of our wonderful Elwood RSL residency. A lot of the songs were conceived and first performed there. The record also marked the first appearance of Ed Bates with The Brothers on pedal steel; and it featured the stirling horn section of David Mowat and Russ Davis. I think that this record contains some of my best songs (Will You Wait, Sailing Home, Let Me Live) and it's the only CD of mine that is out of print. Please note that the original release also contained six songs performed as a duo with John Berto. These songs can be found on The Inverloch Tapes here on my bandcamp site.

Here's a fine review of the CD from the time by EJ Cartledge.

Jack Howard & The Long Lost Brothers
 
My Lucky Day

 A few familiar chords into opening track Let Me Live and one could be forgiven for thinking it’s Hunters & Collectors circa Human Frailty all over again. And this is no bad thing…if the rest of trumpeter extraordinaire Jack Howard’s third full solo release tilted its hat to retrospective sentiment then swags of the remaining faithful would feel satisfied. But this is no indulgent wander down memory lane, no pub-rock training run. Rather, My Lucky Day (and the accompanying six-track EP Don’t Fade Away) is a superb, assured and contemporary collection of blissful pop, bluesy rock, Latin-tinged shuffles and poignant, melancholic sketches. Sure, the instrumentation and atmospherics provide a point of difference to Howard’s old gang, particularly with the inclusion of Ed Bates on pedal steel, but that’s a great disservice to Howard, whose songwriting must now rank beside those with far mightier compositional reputations.
 
Beautifully produced, My Lucky Day alternately soothes and skips along, coloured with sweet harmonies and, naturally, brass flourishes – Howard on trumpet, Russell Davis on French horn and David Mowat on trombone. On a remarkably consistent album, two tracks above all else testify to the delights contained within. The first, Will You Wait, seems simple enough at first, a gentle lovers’ ode over picked notes and pedal sweeps, but is then effortlessly transformed by gorgeous harmonies and chord progressions from heaven, not to mention a patented Howard trumpet pattern. The second, Sailing Home, is far and away the record’s standout piece. Over a hypnotic guitar run and mesmerising, mournful brass (“trumpet doubled with a trumpet detuned down the octave” says Jack), the song is a timeless on-the-road tale of return and lament: Further on to Corangamite and Wendouree / Ghosts everywhere in the roadside stops / And the cattle yards / Oh I’m sailing home to you…
 
Interestingly, the bonus EP with Howard accompanied only by guitarist John Berto manages to compliment the fully-backed preceding album and yet provide its own intimate rewards. Percussion-free and loose-limbed, the material is quieter, darker and utterly beguiling, with the haunting and powerful Restlessness a particular highlight. Howard sparked the critics’ interest with 2004’s Let’s Fall In Love. One would hope My Lucky Day will find a wider audience as this is one of the great unexpected pleasures of the year.

 EJ Cartledge

credits

released April 19, 2017

Jack Howard - vocals, trumpet, keys
Nicky Del Rey - gtrs, backing vocals
Barry Stockley - bass
Sharky Ramos - drums
Ed Bates - pedal steel
Russell Davis - French horn
David Mowat - trombone
Heather Michael - backing vocals on 5 and 11
Dan Hall - backing vocals on 2 and 11.

Engineered, mixed and mastered by Barry Stockley at Fatsound studio, Sept 2006-May 2007. Co-produced by Barry and Jack.

All songs by Jack Howard

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about

Jack Howard Melbourne, Australia

Jack Howard played trumpet with Hunters and Collectors and for the last 20 years, he's been releasing his own highly- regarded music. Along the way, he's also played with The Living End, The Violent Femmes, Rodriguez and a host of others. In 2017, Jack toured the world with Midnight Oil as their trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist. He released his memoirs, Small Moments Of Glory in 2019. ... more

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