Tony's the toweringly tall one out of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (whose CD The Secret Of Life I reviewed here a few months back). Soppy is his second solo release; his first – Mainly Manly Music – is shortly to be reissued I understand, though I've not heard it so I've nothing to compare Soppy with but I can't imagine it being vastly different in style or approach (famous last words!). Meaning what, exactly? Well, Tony's singing positively exudes stylishness and suave charm, in fact so much that you're tempted to assume it's all just a very good pastiche of a classy (and classic) smooth cabaret crooner, yet a pastiche that would seem more akin to parody when you encounter the lyrics – virtually all of them Tony's own, incidentally – that are often so surreal they pass beyond the merely Bonzoesque or even Pythonesque into their own fabulous realm of idiosyncrasy. You really do have to be in the right frame of mind (or, to put it more accurately, more than slightly out of the frame!) to appreciate them, and it would have been good to see them printed since Tony's special brand of delivery (invariably) draws one's concentration away from the words. The instrumental arrangements, too, are often so good that then words don't stand much of a chance; they display more than a modicum of imagination, and rope in anything from Latin lounge to rock guitar pyrotechnics along the way. But, perhaps strangely, there's little prominence given to Tony's trusty uke… No matter, for the other musicians (Jonathan Bankes, Jim Watson, George Hinchliffe, Andy Hamill, Bruce Knapp and Tony Baron, together with vocalist Rebecca Hollweg) do a sterling job in helping Tony realise his peculiar vision. A few isolated moments of arguably dubious over-theatricality aside (like The Stage, which had also previously appeared on the Uke Orchestra's CD), there's nothing particularly soppy or sentimental about this record, in fact – it's near-impossible to describe apart from being referential, so I'd recommend you give it a try, though I suspect you'll either love it or hate it, but the final enigma (nay, paradox) is that in the end I don't actually feel strongly either way.

This CD defies any attempt to categorise it - maybe a sort of background music from a sleazy 1930s hotel, sung by a slightly out of tune, crooning singer. But add in some hilarious - and sometimes just bizarre - lyrics and you have a whole that, if nothing else, is at least guaranteed to grab your attention. The opening track, TWYL (Bibbely Babbely), features an insane 'a cappella' (bibbely babbely) harmony backing a song set in God's waiting room - "this was your life" - finishing with the line "God will see you know". Then on through the soft shoe shuffle of I Made You Love Me, featuring all the greats of history, Einstein, Lenin, Mohammed Ali ("what did I do?") and Julio, "that singer from Spain" who stole his girlfriend. Other highlights include the title song featuring Soppy, a singer in a Singapore hotel (Tony's alter ego?) who sells his soul to Satan, posing as a stranger from the penthouse on the non-existent 13th floor, and Rock 'n' Roll Soldier, with its outrageous heavy rock background. So how, in amongst all this mayhem, is it that the song that most resolutely sticks in my mind (and refuses to go away no matter how hard I try) is Lighthouse; "you are a lighthouse, what does a lighthouse do?".

A fantastic collection of Tony's wittly dry and purple penned observations on love, death and the meaning of life. Highlights for me were 'The Stage' which beautifully captures the sickly sentimentality of so many 'sincere' performers and 'Julio' evoking the best and very worst of the hopes & dreams a Spanish holiday can bring. All in all, witty, dry and tongue cheeked.

If you have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain then you will love this offering from one of their tallest players. A unique combination of great lyrics and a stunning voice, mixed with ukes!!! If you love something real and a bit different then this is definitely for you!!!! My personal favourites are: TWYL (Bibbely Babbely), The Stage and the terribly sad story of Julio!!! And the rest of the album is excellent too.