Johnny Carroll: "Be My Guest" (CMR Records)

There it is, emblazoned on the cover, in unit-shifting large type: "Special guest artist - Jackie Healy Rae". Johnny Carroll - the "man with the golden trumpet" - has pulled somewhat of a political coup by bagging independent TD Jackie Healy Rae as featured saxophonist on this collection of easy listening standards and show-band medleys. Bill Clinton must be chewing his cigar with envy. Like Healy Rae himself, the music of Johnny Carroll seems completely out of time, a relic from the golden age of wireless, where programmes like The Glen Abbey Show held the listeners in thrall. Carroll's trumpet parps through jolly favourites such as Blueberry Hill, White Rose Of Athens and Blue Moon Of Kentucky, while a vocal chorus joins in every now and again, sounding like The Swingle Singers on Mogadon. I'm sure Jackie's sax is in there too, buried somewhere under Carroll's ubiquitous horn. The title track showcases Carroll's rudimentary vocal talents, and he does a fine job of scuppering the Titanic theme, but his true talent lies in his ability to blow away a half century of pop music evolution with just a huff and a puff. By trumpeting the presence of Healy Rae on the album, Carroll might bag a few floating voters and get the constituents tapping their wellies, but most self-respecting music lovers will probably take cover in the nearest elevator, where the music might just be a little more cutting edge.