Luke Morley – Live – The Cathouse

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Review By Darren McIntyre Photos By Scott Anderson

Luke Morley is a guitarist / chief songwriter/producer from Camberwell, London who is best known as a member of rock band Thunder. Luke went to college and bumped into Danny Bowes and they formed Nuthin Fancy after a while they moved on and followed that up with Terraplane and Thunder. Luke took some time to record his first solo record El Gringo Retro back in 2001 to rave reviews, his first love Thunder took precedence and he continued to tour and record. Danny had an unfortunate accident which left him hospital-bound for a bit but he is making remarkable steps in his recovery, this has given Luke some time to enter the studio to record his long-awaited follow Tales From The Blue Room. This has allowed Luke to hit the road with his carefully chosen band to bring us some old, some new, some borrowed and some blue(see what I did there) and tonight he hits Glasgow’s famous Cathouse to bring us a night of classic tunes that will be remembered for a long time, as the house PA fades and the lights come up Luke & the boys stroll onto the stage to a hero’s welcome as they launch into the fabulous –

I Wanna See The Light – Luke’s fantastic gravelly vocals fill the air as the mix of acoustic strumming guitar mixes with slick clean electric guitar riffs that get the Cathouse moving tonight. The cool rhythm section is coming through with solid snare drum beats that bring bass kicks that just take this opening track off down the road, the boys are grinning from ear to ear as the crowd sings along to every word as the place instantly warms up to this incredible musician. The addition of keys just lets this track wrap itself around us as the tempo changes pace with cymbal snaps that are working well with the slick rocking guitar riffs that are pouring from the stage tonight as it gets this night of rocking and rolling off to a flyer, the place erupts with applause as Luke thanks us for coming out tonight and supporting him and the boys, we roll into the awesome –

Damage – Cool melodic piano tones flow through the intro as the bass kicks bellow from the back of the room as Luke brings his killer vocals to this dark mellow number. The cool guitar licks are flowing freely through this foot-stomping track as we feel the swagger coming from the stage tonight, the boys are bouncing off each other as this cool rocking track builds and builds as we get into the groove as the crowd is feeling the love coming from the boys tonight. This is a real mellow affair as it showcases Luke’s fantastic vocals as he tears through this cool track from his recently released new album, we cheer and scream as he gives us a thumbs up and says he enjoys coming to Glasgow but would leave out climbing those stairs if he could as this draws a cheer from us before he moves onto –

Killed By Cobain – We begin with a cool deep guitar riff that is smothered by a snare drum beat that lets this melodic rocker track come to life. The smooth vocals let this gem open and bring us a real funk-laden groove that is just building and building as the cool piano tones flow freely through the arrangement we feel the groove wash over us and let this fantastic track tell its own story as Luke’s husky blues filled vocals steer this blues piece down the road, the fantastic backing vocals lift this guitar driven track onwards as the punchy groove just fills the air and gives us a cool foot stomping beat that come s through naturally and really lets this track breathe, the place is coming to life after that incredible rendition as we move swiftly onto –

This World – The tempo changes pace as we have mellow piano tones running through the track as colossal gravelly vocals get this epic track moving. The rhythm section commands the room from the back of the hall as it hands us deep bass kicks that work well with solid snare punches that give this track depth, bassline drops heavy grooves that wrap themselves around this fantastic arrangement as Luke steps forward and dazzles us with slick clean guitar licks that get this place moving to a sweet blues tone that lets us know that Luke and the boys are bringing it tonight and then some, we pause for a second as Luke chats with us and tells us that he loves Glasgow as we are so friendly and honest with our views on music as it brings a huge cheer before he rolls into –

Errol Flynn – The track begins with Luke strumming on his guitar with soothing acoustic chords flowing effortlessly through the intro. Luke’s vocals have a real gravelly country tone that lifts this track somewhat as the toe-tapping groove elevates this smouldering track, we are taken on a journey that lets us feel the emotion oozing from this fantastic smooth arrangement that just tells the story very well. Luke has this knack of really getting us to believe the lyrics as the cool bluesy piece gives us the feeling that we are in this storyline as we are deep into the groove as snare drum punches work their magic as killer keys are littered throughout this well written colossal track that just sucks you in and lets you feel the cool acoustic strumming chords that compliment Luke’s fabulous vocals that let this song breath, the place is buzzing as we roll into –

Quiet Life – This is a full-on blues eruption with plenty of grooves as the bass kicks come hurtling at us from the back of the room as the boys get us moving. Heavy full-bassline is dropping cool funk lines courtesy of Mr Childs as he gives us a real deep tone that compliments this track perfectly, the keys are littered throughout the track and deliver a cool beat that lets us feel like we are in a blues club with the house band as they take us on the journey with them as they punch out a blues-soaked piece that has swagger, depth and bags of groove as the guitar licks pour from the stage and give us a huge smile as the boys bring it. up next –

The First Day – We shift tempo a little as a real sludgy gritty guitar riff opens this toe-tapping track as Luke comes in with real soulful melodic vocals that are coming nicely with a cool snare drum groove. The whole place is brimming as the boys are digging deep and giving us so much variety from tonight’s show as it is handing us blues, soul, rock and a little country feel that is just a delight to watch let me tell you. Luke has chosen his musicians wisely as Dean Howard cuts loose with crisp clean guitar licks that just put a smile on your face as he cuts about the stage and showers us with epic grooves that let the snare drum beats take control as this gritty number builds and builds with ease as Luke finishes us off with cool soulful vocals that are just on the money, we pause for a second and catch our breathe as Luke takes us onto –

I’m The One You Want – A sweet punchy snare drum groove comes through as bass kicks come armed with cymbal snaps as Luke brings his cool vocals to this fantastic piece. Adding the keys just lifts this track with ease as the funking groove takes us to another place and feel the deep pulsing bassline that is working it’s way through The Cathouse tonight. This is a real full-on blues arrangement that lets the guitar riffs work their magic and give us a real killer guitar section that is just incredible, the boys are bringing the noise tonight as they plough through this well-picked setlist that has something for everyone. The funk section is dropping epic bass tones all through the track as we just let the groove take us to another place, we roll into –

Nobody Cares – Acoustic chords ooze from the stage as the place falls silent as Luke’s soulful vocals fill the air and let this awesome track come to life. Piano tones linger as we really feel the emotion pouring from the boys tonight which has been such a pleasure to witness let me tell you. The tone is a real dark melodic feel that fits this composition perfectly as deep full-on basslines drop colossal grooves all through this killer track, we are humming along to the track as Luke wants us to join him in taking this track onwards to which we oblige. The musicality is just awesome as we stand in awe of this fantastic musician as he takes us through our paces with this dark groover track that is just awesome, we are hurtling towards the tail end of this fantastic night as we stroll onto –

Lying To Myself – Acoustic strumming comes in as Luke brings his soulful gravelly vocals to us tonight as we watch the boys drop in and let this track unfold. The deep full-on bass drops deep funking tones that wrap themselves around this toe-tapping piece that is a real crowd pleaser, I can tell you if you missed tonight’s show shame on you as it was a doozie. This has been a cool night of soulful tunes that were brought to us by a stellar cast of top-notch musicians that brought their A-Game tonight, this is a sweet little track that just lets you sing along and feel the energy coming from the boys tonight, we reach the last track or so we think –

Watch The Sun Go Down – A slick cool snare drum punch let’s the rhythm section give us a real deep groove as Luke and the boys bring the rhythm in the form of cool strumming tones that are wrapped in deep bass tones that really get this track moving. The boys have given their all tonight as we get a mellow tone flowing freely through this cool little number as the place is swaying from side to side with ease as we take in this fantastic musician as he ploughs through this killer set .-

Better Man – Luke comes front and centre as he strums quietly on his guitar and he lends his gravelly vocals to this fantastic number as the place falls silent before we sing the chorus back to the boys. The bass kicks come through with snare drum taps and cymbal snaps that allow the groove to build and whisk us away to another place for sure, keys are littered throughout this real soulful piece that is just awesome let me tell you. Guitar licks are building and building as we get Luke stepping forward and letting this awesome track do the work as we feel the emotion pouring from the stage tonight, Luke chats about Danny and his recovery and what it has meant to him personally as he continues to recover from his accident and Luke tells us that it has been a tower of strength to him personally, this brings a huge cheer from this swelling crowd as they really appreciate the sentiment paid by Luke, next up is the awesome –

Go With The Flow – Sweet clean guitar riffs come at us as this foot-stomping rocker track comes straight out the traps and hits us with all it has. The snare drum beats are solid as they fill the air and get this place moving tonight. The boys are just enjoying themselves as they rock out and bring us a killer show that has something for everyone let me tell you, guitar offs, pounding drum fills, sweet clean keys that added depth and soul to the show and killer basslines that just took us to another place as the boys gave everything tonight let me tell you, we hit the last track and it is a cover that was a story attached to their tour manager and a story from Paris that had us all intrigued,

Lola – Luke comes in with his killer vocals as the boys bring us a really cool rendition of a classic that had us all singing along at the top of our voices. the place was ready to burst as Luke wandered forward and let rip with soaring tones that were wrapped in cool musicianship that was a real pleasure to witness tonight, those who have yet to see the show are in for a real treat, till next time

Luke Morley –

Luke Morley – Vocals / Guitar

Dean Howard – Guitar / Backing Vocals

Chris Childs – Bass / Backing Vocals

Sam Tanner – Keys / Backing Vocals

Jack Taylor – Drums

Setlist –

I Wanna See The Light

Damage

Killed By Cobain

This World

Errol Flynn