John Howard: Can You Hear Me OK? (2026 Prof. Stoned Remaster)
For 30 years, John Howard's sequel to his debut album, Kid In A Big World, remained unheard, unaired, and uncared for. The suits in power at CBS Records had yanked Can You Hear Me OK? from the release schedules of February 1976, and only a lone 45 crept out. Having placed their dynamic new signing in the studio with Biddu and his orchestra, it was anticipated they'd have something they could board the disco train with. What they received was a mannered, sophisticated, and artful affair, more akin to Bill Fay's self-titled, sumptuous debut of 1970 than to glitzy dance pop.
The same sad fate awaited his third offering.
Stars were aligned but not in the favour of the immaculately suited and coiffured boy from a Northern town, with a penchant for baroque balladry. Despite his debut album having shifted 15,000 copies, without the passport to greater glory of a hit single, the suits were cautious, Howard had received no BBC airplay for his brace of earlier 45s and although he wasn't making the kind of overt waves his direct piano contemporary Jobriath was regarding his sexuality, it was easy to discern the true nature of his identity, and there were zero qualms by they that could, about using that knowledge to impede his chances.
As his own career stalled, Howard drifted into a successful career in A&R, his sole album becoming a dump-bin resident that caught the eye of discerning crate sifters. When it was finally given an unexpected digital outing in 2003, reviews were rightfully enthusiastic, 5 stars in Uncut, and a miraculous second bite at the cherry of pop began.
Can You Hear Me OK? was finally introduced to a new and waiting world, even securing a much-deserved vinyl release in 2018. It has continued to be appreciated as Howard's output, twenty-one albums from an extraordinary second wave that thankfully shows no sign of running out of momentum. Now, it has been gifted a Prof Stoned remaster via Think Like A Key label, who secured his exceptional work on remastering Kid In A Big World and Howard's extraordinarily well-received 2025 release, For Those That Wander By.
"19th September" arrives with a cinematic orchestral vista before gliding into an exquisite exercise in rococo balladry, reminiscent of Jobriath: a theme for an unmade movie, lush and intoxicating. There's a distinct air of Bowie-inflected vocal mannerisms within "Frightened Now" with shades of 'Rock n Roll Suicide' whilst possessing an effortless melodic panache, neatly underscored by Biddu's strings. "Two People In The Morning" appears as a breezy sixties series of kitchen-sink vignettes. a pair of star-crossed lovers devoid of stars.
'You Keep Me Steady' is searing and soaring, a piece of Jimmy Webb lushness with a nod and a wink to "Wichita Lineman," the kind of song the late Miss Springfield ought to have made her own. With "Finally Adored," there's a sense of the poignant balladry of Badfinger, a malady of melodies, briefly sublime as they entwine above an effortlessly rolling cascade of piano. There's a decidedly plaintive American pop tempo to "Can You Hear Me Ok?," a letter to missed hopes and lost opportunities.
"You're Mine Tonight" sounds like a poppy Lou Reed on uppers. Some Coney Island Babies transported to Brighton Pier. Sleek and eloquent, it's a walk on the sorry side of yearning. |n "Missing You," Howard combines the lavish with the lush from a glammy guitar opening, it becomes a paean of longing with a prancing melody cocooned in florid piano flourishes and splendid surges of orchestration. A big production with restraint. "Play Me A Love Song" hints at the artistry Kate Bush would later make her own. bold yet seemingly effortless. The curtain closes with the album's lone single, "I Got My Lady," which could and should have fared better.
There's a bonus selection at the end that enhances and embellishes the entire exercise of excavation and discovery. Amongst these, a delightful Eddie Pumer overseeing from 1976 of "Is This My Love" composed by Hurricane Smith and two Trevor Horn productions prior to his ABC and ZTT glories, plus a live take of "I Got My Lady" rescued from a rare BBC TV appearance.
Just as old gems deserve a little TLC, so too do lost songs from half a century ago. Prof Stoned has accomplished a wonderful exercise in raising such dust that has descended as a wonderful coating of glitter. It should be noted that this album sounds nothing like a second effort by a young guy in his early twenties, but reads as an accomplishment by a long-established artist. It can only be hoped that it will soon have a further outing on vinyl and shall continue to gather belated interest and recognition as the lost and neglected classic it most definitely was, and is.