James Reid: Saint (Broken Records)

It's a measure of the enmity some have towards the Feelers that when it was announced their singer-songwriter James Reid (no relation) had this solo album coming out that some took to Facebook to deride it, without even listening to it.

Certainly the inconvenience of having to listen to an album must make it easier to review or hold an opinion, but it's an option which does such people little credit. Cheap cynicism -- as opposed to a healthy scepticism -- is an easy position to adopt.

I don't know Reid and have heard very little of the Feelers popular pop-rock, but I did chat briefly to him at the Music Awards last week, just to laugh about the bad notices he was already getting (I think he mentioned Nickelback which I thought funny and self-deprecating), and to say that I intended to listen to his album before making a rush to judgement.

Well, I have and it sounds like exactly what it is, professional pop-rock which would sit well at commercial radio (the widescreen and memorable No Horizon sounds like a hit to me) but not an album I would ever play much, if again.

That however is because it just isn't of the kind of music I ever listen to -- equally I rarely listen to Sting, only know Phil Collins from what I accidentally catch on radio, usually in South East Asia, and I just bought Taylor Swift's Red out of curiosity.

But it seems harmless enough, well executed and Reid hardly worth that "get in with the retaliation first" thing.

As always, make up your mind.

But the only way you can do that is . . .