Would You Believe – BILLY NICHOLLS***

Would You Believe/Come Again/Life Is Short/Feeling Easy/Daytime Girl/Daytime Girl (Coda)/London Social Degree/Portobello Road/Question Mark/Being Happy/Girl From New York/It Brings Me Down

Would You Believe was the sole album release from London pop singer Billy Nicholls. All the tracks are his own compositions, performed in a breezy swinging style typical of the period.

“This is 'just' an album of pop songs, but what songs. Buried in monolithic Spectoresque echo, sweeping strings and soaring harmonies, this album is a distillation of a time - whatever made swinging London swing is captured in these tracks.”

“It's Andrew Loog Oldham's finest production job. Great songs, singing, vocal arrangements, killer guitar playing and beautiful strings.”

“Would You Believe features Nicholls' own songs, full of strings, tuba, sleigh chimes, all the bells and whistles you would expect on a 1968 baroque pop album. Most of these tracks are condensed songs with a folk-pop base, which Nicholls filters through his orchestrations. His constructions are solid and simple, and these bare bones lend themselves perfectly to his tasteful, layered arranging. The strings are classical, not easy listening, and the chimes melodic, not sappy. This creates beautiful, high end pop.”

“While the music, arrangement and production are top-notch, the songs are not so memorable. Where are the hooks and killer choruses? There aren't any. The vocals are often buried and very average. The lyrics aren't noteworthy. The sound here is 60s pop all the way. The material however is average at best.”

“The songs are all fairly short and breezy but they're so beautiful and well-arranged you can't help but feel pretty good listening to it. Incredibly consistent, although if pressed to choose a standout I might go with Girl From New York, featuring scorching guitar.”

“There aren't many records that can transport you to a place and a time as immediately as this one does. It's London, it's the swinging 60s, it's an exercise in basic songwriting, nothing radical, nothing profound, nothing that departs from the accepted norm of the pop-rock song. Indeed, its strength lies in its consistency.”