Reviews

Fans will love the record and the unconverted will remain so, but it is very difficult to entirely resist the charm of this album of conflicts – between nature and nurture, between the abstract and personal.

Patty Griffin’s Silver Bell is a rocking number where everything comes together. The two Jayhawks numbers hopefully remind people of what a great band they were.

Of course, the irony is radio would never be brave enough to give someone like Toliver airtime, but thankfully in this internet age, he has plenty of other options to find an audience as he certainly deserves one.

They may snatch themselves some new fans through a few really solid rock tracks but there are still plenty of dimensions in there to maintain that distinctive, full and complex Jerrico sound.

What makes this an album worth listening to is the care and love poured into it by the players themselves as they pay tribute to their lost singer.

In terms of immediate appeal, May has been able to inject every hum, sigh or murmur on the album with this dark yet charming sex appeal.

Despite being an Ancient Greek tragedy told by 17th-century French playwright Jean Racine, it feels distinctly modern.

That we care by the end of it that three of them died prematurely says much about the show – I came away feeling I’d gotten a real sense of these people’s personalities. Top, top stuff.

It’s a lot to digest; his cynical humour though is laced with a call to arms that is not just inspiring but particularly relevant to us. “September,” he offers, “has not necessarily gone to the Abbottoir just yet.”