As Long As I Have You, the 2018 solo album from the Who’s front man Roger Daltrey, marks a return for the singer to his roots. As Daltrey tells it, with these 11 tunes, he is singing simpler and more soulful songs. Looking back to those years even before Pete Townshend started writing songs for the Who, the inspiration behind the album comes from when Daltrey was a teenager, performing this kind of music to small audiences in church halls.
From kicking it out of the park with a rock gospel read of Dusty Springfield’s “Where is A Woman To Go,” to the acoustic cover of Stephen Stills’ “How Far,” to a horn-backed “Certified Rose,” one of the two songs Daltrey wrote, the singer’s sandpapery growl hasn’t sounded this well suited to an album in a very long time.
The chunky, dirty guitar and horn rise on another highlight Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” the most rocking moment on As Long As I Have You and a reminder of Daltrey’s singular ability to sing a diverse selection of material.
Decidedly what Daltrey is on about lyrically here is that which really makes soul music so important. At its core, these are love songs and Daltrey has certainly lived long enough to give us his interpretation of that most elusive of human delight and destruction. The singer gets help from Townshend, contributing guitar to seven tracks, with Mick Talbot from The Style Council manning keys. We are lucky to still have Roger Daltrey around; hopefully, he can keep making music like he does on As Long As I Have You as long as he can.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
