“Driven”: Gilbert O'Sullivan is here again! Do you remember him?

Enduring and much-loved maverick returns

Fifty years since Alone Again (Naturally) was the second biggest-selling song of the year in America, the Irish-born, Swindon-raised chansonnier Gilbert O'Sullivan hasn't lost his knack for charming melodies and candid phrases. He's not reinventing wheels here, but whereas 2018's Ethan Johns-produced self-titled album was relatively stripped down, Driven adopts a full pop production (by Simply Red and Eurythmics collaborator Andy Wright) and invites vocal cameos from KT Tunstall and Mick Hucknall.

Such bullet points are side issues, as at heart this is still O'Sullivan presenting his wry, twinkling, worldview, never fretting if that occasionally lapses into tweeness. His wide-eyed, indefatigable innocence is easy to enjoy, and the love songs and gentle life observations reassert that he's a writer not a fighter. 

The buoyant stand-out Blue Anchor Bay reminds us that at his best, Gilbert O'Sullivan is the cult McCartney.