Finley Quaye, a marginal artist with an exceptional voice, might not ever be able to live down the fact that he titled one of his albums Vanguard.
Much More Than Much Love won't help the matter.
It shows all the signs of a valiant attempt to "bring real music with real soul and real honesty back" -- Memphis soul, delicately plucked country ballads, throwbacks to the cutout-bound adult alternative class of 1995, and nods to Quaye's reggae roots all included -- and it's safe and bland to the point of making an argument in the opposite direction.
Quaye's unique vocals, as have always been the case, remain the greatest draw.