I wanted to begin my review of Jude the Unsinkable by providing a little bit of context behind my love of Judie Tzuke’s voice and music, but once I started to write about 1998’s Secret Agent and just how much two of the tracks meant to me, I, as usual, couldn’t stop writing about the work as a whole and how I came across the music of a supremely talented singer/songwriter. You can see my review by clicking on the button below which takes you to the archival section of my little website.

Secret Agent was released in 1998. Come 2023, we have brand new music in the shape of Jude the Unsinkable.

Covid was responsible for many things, mostly unpleasant and certainly opening our collective eyes to the depths to which some of our leaders would plunge. However, artistically, many fine artists have been moved to create some exceptional works and this is another of them, dedicated to all survivors and those with us in our hearts. Ben Mark has collaborated with Tzuke for a while now, and his co-writing prompted the LP, and he also contributes guitars, synths, piano and some percussion. David Goodes is a surviving collaborator from Secret Agent, and there are the usual family appearances which as ever adds to the warmth produced.

This is a different animal to the album I reviewed above, in that there are no what I would call standout classic tracks which are gamechangers in one’s musical life as Bully & Mother were for me, and in all honesty such moments are as rare as hen’s teeth. It is, rather, a consistently good listen with strength in depth and class performances, not least of which are from the main protagonist whose voice is as fragile and seductive to these ears as ever.

So, twelve tracks to enjoy. It opens with the title track, and there is a video embedded below. I think there is a very modern sound to this and much else here. The chorus is wonderfully catchy, and the voice is as sultry as it is possible to get outside of a New Orleans blues bar. Jamie Sefton produces some great bass grooves, there is some fine orchestration, and Mark’s guitar solo is a killer on a very strong start to the album, a paeon to survivors everywhere and the indomitable spirit within each of us.

Idiot Kings is a stirring protest song referring to our “leaders”. As a serving civil servant still, I must be careful what I write, but, by God, you do despair sometimes. The acoustic guitar is the musical driver here above some nice programming and a pulsing rhythm section. Children Bailey & Tallula provide warm backing vocals.

Sanctuary is a highlight of the listening year for me, a deeply thoughtful piece of music oozing with feeling, the singer drawing herself a pyramid of light, a sanctuary, and she steps inside with introspection at the heart of the words. The anthemic feel to the prayer for the broken humans is one of those hair standing up moments.

Deadlock is another track embedded below for you to enjoy. It has some interesting programming and a very good guitar lead from Goodes. The vocal harmonies and the brass ensemble are strong on a very good pop/rock track which reminds one of Coldplay in parts.

White Picket Fence follows, a brooding song seeping with British blues in the fragility of this wonderful artist’s voice. Jamie Sefton provides some fine brass passages. The “I’m Inside” segments fair take your breath away and you imagine yourself building those necessary mental walls against some of the horrors of this world we encounter all too often these days. Quite beautiful.

Evergreen is a restorative lyric following a relationship breakdown and is the latest in a very decent line of songs where Tzuke is so good at characterisation of the subjects of her words. Chaz Thorogood provides for a very good acoustic guitar as lead instrument and some of the percussion washes right over you as you immerse yourself in a gentle, yet powerful ballad, with an atmospheric guitar riff by Goodes and Sefton’s bass grooves are again a prominent feature.

Rituals is a vocal harmony joy. The Tzuke verses are almost a rap, but the choruses are multifaceted, and the programming keeps a relentless beat to the song. The “worry” sequence is a very powerful segment and there is a distinct progressive sensibility to the denouement.

Sunflowers, co-written with Sarah Barton-Keeley, who plays a lovely piano throughout, is another very thoughtful song reflecting on the wish to lie down in a (sunflower) field and reassure oneself that the earth is still. The harmonies with Bailey are achingly sad and there is some mournful orchestration on this track.

I See You is embedded below for you. I just love the haunting electric guitar Goodes produces in parts on this piece, whilst his acoustic work is sublime, and the programming by him and Paul Muggleton pushes the underbelly of the song along, with Tzuke and Laura Welsh harmonising nicely. This is a very good intelligent track which brings something new to the listener each time it is played, with notes appearing that you swear you haven’t heard before.

Love in the Old Movies, now there is my idea of classic romance in the modern setting of sitting in front of the 4K TV, Bergman, Bogart, Gardner, and Sinatra surrounding your senses. Some very good electric and baritone guitar work and the backing vocal chants bring an Americana sense to this on a song I think of as being playful, an ode to simple pleasures and a definite toe-tapper.

You’ve Got to be in It is the penultimate piece, and this is an interesting lyric about the anticipation and fear of falling in love but knowing that once you are “in it”, it is with the whole heart. This is a bright and breezy song, one of those you might well struggle to remember when, say, walking down the road, but once you are enveloped with it in the comfort of your settee and the speakers, you lose yourself in it.

We finish with Keeper of the Sun, and there is a video below for this. Tzuke toured this year with Beverley Craven (who had a big hit with Promise Me in the early ‘90’s), and Craven provides string programming on this piece alongside some lovely violin/viola by Natasha Petrovic. This track is probably as good a summary of all that is good about Judie Tzuke’s music as you will get. The vocals are beautiful, full of emotion, there is some very good guitar work including a gorgeous short solo riff, deceptive in its initial simplicity, perfect orchestration, and the harmonies wash all over you.

If you take yourself along to https://www.tzuke.com/shop-1 this album is available on CD, alongside the Secret Agent CD I have also reviewed, and many others from a rich career. Judie Tzuke, I believe is one of the finest singer songwriters the UK has produced. To these ears, only the voice of Elkie Brooks comes anywhere near the emotional level Tzuke displays. If you have not heard of her since that hit single all those years ago, then I urge readers to correct this and invest your time in an artist who will reward you many times over.