Monday 15/11/10 The Coral @ Royal Albert Hall, London

November 16, 2010 by Lawrence Poole | Photo by WENN.com

If The Coral were a Beatle, they'd undoubtedly be George Harrison. Talented, mysterious and often under appreciated - they have a lot in common with the third great songwriter from their hometown's greatest ever export.

So it seemed apt at last night's prestigious London leg of their UK tour that the the kind of mystical Indian music the late guitarist was so fond of punctuated the in-between song breaks.

In salubrious West London on the kind of bitter evening which has even the hardiest of touts contemplating calling it a night, the quintet were on sparkling form.

And why shouldn't they be? Sixth studio LP, ‘Butterfly House’, released in the hazy, lazy days of mid-summer was largely acclaimed and with such super fans at Noel Gallagher and Portishead still firmly camped in their corner frontman James Skelly and co continue to flourish both commerically and critically.
Never really ones for witty banter and acerbic between songs anecdotes, the five-piece simply settled for racing through the finest cuts from their hefty back-catalogue and the night was all the better for it.

Displaying the effortless musicanship which has had them tagged as a muso's band of choice, a lusty rendition of recent single ‘More Than A Lover’ set a strong tone for the evening.

Elsewhere, ‘Walking In The Winter’ displayed the kind of liltingly lovely melody the psychedelic Hoylake folk-rockers are so ept at penning. While ‘Jacqueline’ and ‘Pass It On’ are the sort of stellar radio-friendly summer anthems some acts would give both kidneys for.

And although they looked a little lost in the regal chasm, which can be the Royal Albert Hall at times, The Coral's integrity and bravery remains one of the strongest plates in their musical armour.

A Beatles cover here (‘Things We Said Today’) and Byrds cover there (‘I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better’), tipped at hat to their well-worn influences and by the time front row pleas for early favourites Simon Diamond and the utterly youthful Dreaming Of You were aired, thoughts of last trains home were being abandoned in search of the nearest late night drinking hole.

You get the feeling Mr Harrison would have approved.