ONE of the greatest blue-eyed soul voices Paul Carrack plays Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre tonight.

Despite a career spanning over 40 years the distinguished frontman and an ever in-demand musician's musician is striding into 2016 on a hot streak of creativity that shows no signs of slowing down.

A new album, Soul Shadows, accompanies the tour by this much-loved vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and is being hailed as a career landmark.

It follows directly from Carrack's starring role as a member of Eric Clapton's touring band, handpicked by the guitar legend just as he has been over the years by everyone from Elton John to B.B. King, Roxy Music to Ringo Starr, the Pretenders to the Smiths.

Soul Shadows features no fewer than ten brand new Carrack compositions alongside just one remake, and six of the songs feature a string and horn section to die for. Most of the album's instrumentation is by Paul himself, working in his newly-refurbished home studio, with his son Jack once again joining him on drums. It was the perfect setting for songs to burst spontaneously into life.

Paul said:"A lot of the songs have just evolved.The studio used to be a garage, and it was bloody cold in there! It has served me well for several albums but with the help of John Flynn, who designed one of the Abbey Rd studios, I've finally gotten round to properly refurbishing it and it's a lovely inspiring space to work . As soon as we were up and running Jack and I were in there jamming away and several of the songs eventually evolved from those ideas. I don't write much on the road, except for little nuggets, maybe a little melody or riff that I'll I stick on my phone . When it's time to record I'll evaluate those little ideas and see what might develop into something more substantial. Having started back in August without any songs I wrote 10 songs fairly quickly . I prefer to write that way rather than write all the time because I feel it's fresher."

The album, like the tour, has been selling like hot cakes. It's a measure of the affection in which he's held by legions of admirers.

This new collection of numbers joins a remarkable songbook featuring some of the most familiar and endearing copyrights of the last few decades. As writer and/or performer, ‘The Man With The Golden Voice' (as BBC4's career documentary called him) has graced such indelible gems as Ace's 'How Long,' Squeeze's 'Tempted,' the Mike & the Mechanics anthems 'The Living Years' and 'Over My Shoulder,' and his own ‘Satisfy My Soul,’ ‘I Live On A Battlefield,' ‘Eyes Of Blue' and 'Good Feeling.' Not to mention two co-writes whose charms were affirmed in massively popular versions by the Eagles, ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Hear Any More.'

"It's taken a long time and a lot of hard work to establish myself as a solo artiste," says Paul, musing on his career path with his trademark modesty. And he admits that he's still half-expecting to be told that it's time to get a proper job. "You wait for the tap on shoulder," he laughs. "'Excuse me sonny, can I see your license?' I still think that. But that's why you keep giving it your best shot all the time, and never ever coast it. Never on a gig, on a record, never. You do your absolute best."

The new album is further enhanced by the presence as lyricist on the atmospheric, brooding 'Bet Your Life' by Paul's old Squeeze bandmate Chris Difford, and by a guest spot from Pee-Wee Ellis, the mighty saxophonist from the James Brown band, who played on and co-wrote such greats as 'Cold Sweat' and 'Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud.'

"I said to Chris, 'I can write the usual love songs myself but I couldn't write a song like 'Tempted,' or 'Labelled With Love,' to save my life . Those wonderful descriptive stories.' Chris came up with this great lyric about a compulsive gambler, and I thought 'that's great', it's a different twist."

The honour of being chosen to star in Clapton's band once again is something that Carrack feels deeply, and it's an experience that created its own effect. "It's really been a boost for me to have that respect," he reflects. "I know he likes what I do. There are a couple of much more rootsy things on Soul Shadows which are a little nod, in a way, to the Clapton thing. Anything he does sounds great, and it's a bit like remembering that sometimes that's all you've got to do."

Paul Carrack plays Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre tonight. Tickets:0844 576 3000

http://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk

He is at The Anvil, Basingstoke on Friday March 4: Tickets: 01256 844244

http://www.anvilarts.org.uk