If there was only time for one book, there was also only time for one new CD. On this occasion it was Peter Doherty’s Grace/Wastelands. I saw Doherty live last year at L’Ancien Belgique with the Babyshambles. The songs were good, but Doherty’s act was disappointing. It was an act in more than one sense of the term. A lot of the atmosphere in his concerts used to come from the unpredictability of a tripper but at the time he was reportedly dry and under the watchful eye of his musicians/minders (or so it seemed to me). The result was somebody pretending to be what his fans expected him to be, but his body language showed – he hated acting the part. Now, with this album (and with a switch from ‘Pete’ to ‘Peter’), Doherty has allowed himself to be what he truly is: a subtle songwriter and a poet. The CD has so far had mixed reviews (as they say) but for me it’s a beautiful piece of work.
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