It's taken Eg White the best part of two decades to follow up the critically acclaimed 24 Years Of Hunger - a collectable pop gem released in 1991 by Eg & Alice - a project that was ultimately spiked by Alice's discomfort in promoting the album.

Unable to find a suitable vocal replacement Eg did release a solo album - Turn On Me, I'm A Rocket Man - in 1996, but it bombed, despite positive reviews.

But Eg's not been idle in the interim, and in the last 5 years he's hit a rich vein of song writing form, penning hits for the likes of Duffy (Warwick Avenue), Adele (Chasing Pavements), Will Young, James Morrison, Joss Stone, Take That, Natalie Imbruglia and Kylie, to name but a few.

So no stranger to a hit single then, but Eg has a chosen a far less commercial route for Adventure Man - a road he would like to think of as more rewarding. Songs that provide no instant radio gratification, but with repeated listening will reveal a greater depth, irony, and sophistication.

What Adventure Man reveals though, is that - hits aside - Eg hasn't really moved on since 1991. It comes from the same place and sounds like it could so easily have been written and recorded at the same time - a very British cross between Steely Dan and Prefab Sprout.

And therein lies the rub - look for 24 Years Of Hunger on Amazon and you'll find someone selling it for £40. By contrast, try selling it on ebay and you're unlikely to get many takers. In two decades time (and I suspect less) Adventure Man is likely to provide a similar dichotomy of opinion.

**½

Review by Pete Whalley