The recording of the Steve’s ‘Track of Words’ album took a very radio friendly approach in an attempt to capture a new audience; the last 10 years proved that this line of attack didn’t prove successful, but the fact remains that ‘Track of Words’ had some great songs that had been missed by many.
To remedy this Steve went back in to the studio in late 2008/early 2009 and revisited and rerecorded the whole album, giving it a more traditional acoustic folk/roots sound.
The results are impressive; the songs are very fresh, relevant and beautifully written and the acoustic approach suits them perfectly. It’s been recognised that Steve is an excellent songwriter, but the quality and consistency of the songs here will surprise many.
Almost exclusively acoustic, he provides much of instrumentation including guitars, mandocellos and acoustic bass, and he’s joined by Jenna and Phil Beer who add piano and fiddle respectively over the disc.
A few of the songs will be known to Show of Hands fans as songs that are now part of their live sets, but much of the material here will be new to many, including the bonus track ‘Rock You To Sleep’ that was a co-write with Seth Lakeman.
Standout tracks include the ‘Rush of Blood’, ‘Face in the Frame’ and ‘Broken’ – all three are compelling, soul searching compositions.
This is an excellent singer/songwriter album by any standards, full of thoughtful strong songs, excellent vocal performances and great musicianship throughout. Highly recommended.
Track listing
1 Running Away
2 You're Mine
3 Rush of Blood
4 Castaway
5 Track of Words
6 Faith in You
7 Cold Heart of England
8 Look At Me
9 Face in the Frame
10 It Wasn't You
11 Caught in the Rain
12 Pain Away
13 Broken
14 Bonus Track : Rock You To Sleep (co-written with Seth Lakeman)
