Kenny Hughes-Midnight Man
Reviewed by Duzzy Clayton
Hot off the heels of his last single Destiny, Blues-rock legend Kenny Hughes is back with yet another awesome new single track, namely ‘Midnight Man’. I, for one, can’t be more excited. It is no secret that I am a huge Kenny Hughes fan, but that doesn’t make me biased in writing the following review, because on the first listen of the track, I was not only pleasantly surprised by the South African feel of the guitar as the song started, but also all my expectations were met of this new track. Midnight Man has a great guitar, great vocals and catchy lyrics, great drum and bass, and then something that I wasn’t expecting but kind of hit me like Mike Tyson in the boxing ring, the lead solo, which to me got me excited on another level and which also gives you the feel-good feeling throughout the song.in
After the first listen to the song, I was very excited and thought WOW Kenny has an instant radio hit and this song will do well on stations all around the world. I decided to give the track another listen, and that is when I listened to the lyrics of the song, and there is something about the way Kenny Hughes writes catchy lyrics that I always get captivated by, and ‘Midnight Man’ is no exception. This is when I realized the lyrics are quite deep and, in that Kenny Hughes-only kind of way, it tells a cool story. Kenny Hughes explains, “I got the idea for ‘Midnight Man’ when I was briefly living in Bloemfontein. It was ahead of a festival ‘Rockin Bloem’, and I had a few friends over to join me at the fest. Whilst sitting around, I strummed a few chord progressions and randomly sang what would become the chorus, ‘I’m a midnight man’. My good friend Phillru Van Achterbergh told me he liked that sound. Coupled with the chord progression and funky rhythm, he suggested I roll with it. The song was completed not long after. That’s essentially what the song is about: I do most of my best work after midnight. When the rest of the world is asleep, our creativity as musicians keeps us awake. As with most of my singles to date, ‘Midnight Man’ was recorded at Pariah Studios alongside the one and only Evert Snyman. The two of us made it what it is today.”
I feel I can kind of relate to the song as I am that kind of person. I also do my work after midnight or in the early hours of the morning, when the world is still and it is only myself and my thoughts.
Midnight Man, like Kenny’s previous track Destiny, is produced by Evert Snyman, who is proving to be a really good producer and perhaps a force to be reckoned with. I think it is safe to say that Evert Snyman is Kenny’s official producer now and I think that is a great idea because Evert does seem to just get Kenny and what Kenny wants to do with the song and, together, they seem to be able to make magic happen and produce, in my opinion, some of the best music South Africa has ever produced
I can picture myself listening to this track while I’m doing my work in the early hours of the morning or while driving in my car on a long lonely highway and I need a cool upbeat song to keep me awake.
Kenny Hughes, Time and Time again, has proven himself to be a giant in the music industry, but if you haven’t been a fan before, or maybe you haven’t just given his previous track a chance or a listen, Midnight Man, you will be the track to turn you on to this awesome musician and /I do urge to you dive in deeper with his previous music as well and you to will be come to a huge fan like myself
I would like to congratulate Kenny Hughes and everyone who worked on this track. I knew it was going to be an awesome tune, but now that I have listened to it a few times, I am making it a regular on my playlist.
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You only know where I came from
Who knows where I might go
Live life in the fast lane if you want to
I’m gonna take it slow
Got nowhere I need to be
Not for now at least
Got no one I need to become
Yeah, can’t you see I’m already done
I’m a midnight man
I do what I want when I can
I’m a midnight man
I’m gonna take it slow
That’s when I saw the scales
And I fell down to my knees
Remembered all those tales
I refused to believe
Got nowhere I need to be
Not for now at least
Got no one I need to become
Yeah, can’t you see I’m already done
I’m a midnight man
I do what I want when I can
I’m a midnight man
I’m gonna take it slow
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