Since Ali Campbell’s acrimonious split from UB40, the Birmingham reggae band with which he was associated for the best part of thirty years, he has been enjoying the fruits of going it alone. His first solo album was actually ‘Big Love’ in 1995, so he is hardly a virgin soloist, which, to be quite honest, would be a bit of an odd appendage on a chap of his tender fifty years.

It charted well at Number 5, while his follow-up (after the split), ‘Running Free’ (talk about making a statement designed to raise some ire!) in 2007 managed to reach Number 9, which was not quite as good but, in the whole scheme of things, was still a creditable performance. The new album, ‘Flying High’, is 12 tracks of undeniably solid crafting of his unforgettable Brummy-reggae sound, with that typical nasal delivery for which he is renowned. Mind you, he has managed to garner the support of some of the top names in British soul and pop to help him whisk the new release to somewhat closer to the top three position that both he and it deserves.

Craig David aids and abets on ‘Everways’, the third track of the album, their voices blending and harmonising quite deliciously together. On ‘She’s A Lady’, the Paul Anka penned song brought to fame by Tom Jones in 1974, Shaggy adds his inimitable Jamaican back beat and reverb to a very pleasantly uplifted version of that original. Trust me, lovers of reggae will appreciate it, a lot. Another revisited track is ‘Whatcha Gonna Do Bout It?’, sounding somewhat different to the Mancunian effort presented by The Hollies and introducing Lady Saw on backing vocals, something that always complements Campbell’s voice so well.

In fact, working with other artists could become a major feature of his future work, as his voice works magnificently with the seventh track on the album, ‘Visions’, which features both Danny K and the Soweto Gospel Choir and, if you want a rich sound coming through your ‘cans’, they hardly come more chocolatey smooth than that. The rest of the album is pretty much standard fare for Mr Campbell. His usual soaring vocals, raspy edge and brassy reggae accompaniment never go amiss with their timeless appeal. It’s just like UB40 without the other forty band members...