A cool 21 albums down the line, Joe Camilleri's The Black Sorrows are at the peak of their game with Citizen John, the new album with its roots in the familiar terrain of sweet, platinum radio rhythm and blues and dark reflections of modern times.

He's a slippery cat, this Citizen John, “just laying back watching worlds end” in his silver tower with his chains of gold. “Your time will come, it won't be long,” the singer promises with an ominous note. With his snake-hipped gait, Hammond organ wheeze and cop-show horns closing in, he's definitely a citizen for our times.

Joe Camilleri sure can pick 'em that way.

"He's just a very bad dude, you know?" the song man chuckles. “You see 'em everywhere. They kinda want everything and don't wanna work for it. Maybe they'll even kill for it. But for this poor geezer, time's running out. Boom.”