Paul Carrack can be found at the Festival Theatre these days

It’s his seventeenth album, a run that began way back in 1980, but which has been building real, independent momentum since he formed his record label in 2000 with the landmark Satisfy My Soul album release.

Before that Carrack’s first breakthrough moment came when he wrote and sang How Long, the much-covered 1974 classic from his days with Ace.

He was also the voice of Tempted from his tenure with Squeeze and then came his time with Mike + the Mechanics and hits such as The Living Years and Over My Shoulder, the latter a co-write with Mike Rutherford.

Not to mention that another co-write, Love Will Keep Us Alive, was covered by the Eagles and won a hugely prestigious ASCAP Award as Song of the Year.

Diana Ross, no less, covered Carrack’s co-write with Nick Lowe, Battlefield, and as a collaborator his career includes sessions with the Smiths, Roxy Music and BB King, culminating in a request from Eric Clapton to join his touring band.

Since the turn of the century, however, instead of making other artists look great, Carrack has been quietly building a loyal fan base who love his pop-soul with lyrics that say something about all our lives, something truer than ever on These Days.

“I don’t write a song and then do a demo,” he explains. “It’s a little nugget of an idea and I start messing about with it, chipping away and it becomes something.

“Usually, that’s completed and that becomes the album.

“In this case, I took a lot of the songs quite a way, but then we decided we wanted to make it a bit more performance-based and with some other influences.

“It’s about getting to an age, and appreciating what you’ve got,” says Carrack. “I hope it will resonate with people who are going through the same stuff. It’s not being frightened of it and just trying to enjoy it.”

Paul Carrack, Festival Theatre, 22 February, 7.30pm, £34.50-£39.50, 0131-529 6000