The Frank & Walters - Beauty Becomes More Than Life (1999)

This was the Frank and Walters third album and besides one successful single the elusive charts remained a faraway rainbow. The album may have had a more po-faced outlook, but luckily the intrinsic Frank and Walters's ingredients were intact. Melody is king and while some of the new directions raised a few eyebrows the pristine output is the proof positive that these 3 lads were made to be stars. Beauty Becomes More Than Life is not a wholly serious album but for the second time in their careers the Franks have put their heads down and created a mature (what?), at times electro (eek!) but overall a wonderfully likeable (phew!) album. As usual the tunes are purified but are perhaps not as immediate as their predecessors. So now there are things going on below the surface that accord a greater longevity. And now the soundscape is beautifully augmented throughout by the addition of keyboards.

At first you don't spot the groove in 'Don't Stop' but after some time it'll probably be the best thing you've ever heard. Well, almost. Then there's 'Time We Said Goodnight', that at first light sounds almost ineffectual but as dusk falls its building block approach has become the stuff of greatness. Check out the people's anthem 'Castaway' and you have a song that could've helped Hanks through his ordeal. Signs of a different direction come in the form of '7:30', all sparkly beats and spliced vocals that have no right to be so infectious that early in the morning. There are also songs cut from the same cloth that gave us so many precious moments on the first 2 albums. 'Plenty Times' is a bustling, sweet, industrious little number that'll flag down the happy busman and chat with him until the wee hours about types of buckets and all the people he knows named Jim. 'Take Me Through This Life' suffers slightly from a plodding drum beat but the jangling guitar and vocals parts save the day. 'Woman' is more straight forward syrupy pop but its theme of a man hating woman is evidence of the Franks broaching subjects that were up until now avoided.

The Franks and Walters deserve much more than the world has dished them out. An unsympathetic music press unwilling to see beyond the opening guise have to take a lot of the blame. Go see the Frank and Walters in concert and watch the unadulterated joy of the spectacle. Glee Pop that won't change your life but will very likely put a smile on your face and send a tingle down your spine, surely the central reward for listening to pop music. Let them not be lost to the 9 to 5 robotic mass. Go forth Linehans and Co. your loyal servants will be yours until the end.

Rating: 6.5/10

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