Customer Reviews

Gladsome Humour & Blue

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Given the extraordinary mediocrity of most music you hear on the radio, why do such superb performers as Martin Stephenson fail to reach much of an audience? Virtually unknown in America, Stephenson has made several albums so good that you would swear he would achieve acclaim both in his native England and in the United States. Indeed, this may be my American bias coming out, but to me he sounds far more American in his musical sensibilities than British, with a great deal of folk and country influence.

I haven't heard all Martin Stephenson's albums, because they are more than a little difficult to obtain. Of the three I know, this one is my favorite (though the equally superb BOAT TO BOLIVIA is probably his best known album). The songs are gentle, sometimes almost fragile, like the beautiful "The Old Church is Still Standing." What really makes this album special to me, however, are two cuts that really are two of my all time favorite songs. One is the almost anthemic "There Comes a Time" and the other is the exquisitely beautiful "Rain," which features such gorgeous lines as "My unconscious and I are back on speaking terms."

I suppose if I could answer the question of why such first rate talents like Martin Stephenson get minimal recognition while we face a barrage of dreadful music on the airwaves, I would be the wisest person since Solon. But trust me: this is a superb album.