I discover Paul Dutton.

And if you know who Paul Dutton is, you deserve a gold star blessed by an archbishop. For I’ve never heard of him until this week. He was a leading English boy treble in the early 70’s and apparently quite an item then.

How did I come to hear of him? I heard six songs from him on a CD that I just ordered: Once Were Angels – The Tradition of Boy Trebles. This is a rather obscure CD I saw reviewed in a 2003 issue of Cathedral Music. Anyway, his voice is (or was) incredible! I’ve never heard anyone who sounded quite like him. His voice is not as technically perfect as some star trebles I’ve heard (maybe because he was pushing puberty when his recordings were made?). But his imperfections are such that they contribute to the endearing humanity of his voice.

I’m at a loss to describe his voice further. It has to be heard! The whole CD is excellent as well. It covers some of the best English boy trebles of 1964-89. And they are excellent. There was only one soloist and one duo I didn’t like, but even that is probably just my stylistic taste.

Do I recommend this CD? Oh yes! And with over 78 minutes of music, you’ll be getting your money’s worth.

By the way, if anyone knows of any other CDs with Paul Dutton singing as a treble on them let me know. (He’s still involved with music, but is no treble anymore.)