Mr Hudson & The Library - 'A Tale Of Two Cities' (Infected) Released 05/03/07

‘A Tale of Two Cities’ is the debut album from the unlikely hero of hip hop, soul, funk, reggae, and eclectic beats – Mr Hudson.  A hybrid mix of genres combined with life-inspired lyrics and squeaky clean production, and the result is perfectly polished array of soulful pop hits.

Accompanied by his aptly named band The Library, Mr Hudson is a self confessed middle class boy, who studied English at Oxford, and apparently has a fine line in hat wear. However be put off at your peril as ‘A Tale…’ serves up some of the best production out there, earning fans spanning from Sway to Amy Winehouse. And because of the near perfect production of this album, with its crystal beats, atmospheric piano riffs, and smooth vocals, ‘A Tale…’ has served up instantaneous hits and memorable choruses.

Ok, so it doesn’t get off to the best of starts with the monotonous stop-start tracks ‘The Street Where You Live’ and ‘Brave the Cold’, however we are soon blessed with the first single from the album ‘Too Late Too Late’, immediately touted "hottest record in the world" on its first play by Zane Lowe and applauded by all his pears. A culmination of Madness indulged ska, reggae and slick hip hop lyrics as Hudson sings “why must I always play the clown, it makes it too easy for them to put you down”.  

An Amy Winehouse aura is certainly present throughout and a serving of the daydreaming number ‘Everything Happens To Me’ is wonderfully captured through the chic production of mellow jazzy piano and raining sound effects portraying a sadness and self-pity. The wonderful ‘Bread And Roses’ incorporates an Athlete feel of acoustic chords and blissful harmonies as Mr Hudson’s lyrics shine through. The crescendo of anticipation then climaxes to the highlight of the album in ‘Ask The DJ’ as the wonderful lyrics and infectious beats are irresistible to resist singing along to as Mr Hudson sings “what tune is this, I don’t know but I like, if you ask the DJ I’ll buy it on Monday”. To round things up the must hear latest single ‘Picture of You’ is a sweet modern heartbreaker of sadness, love-lost, and hope. 

A warm refreshing debut with a big “that’s how it’s done” stamped all over it.