Steve Knightley – Track of Words Retraced

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.

Show of Hands’ inspired frontman revamps his first mainstream-nudging solo album, emphatically demonstrating the sheer diversity of his acclaimed songwriting.

Leading on from his stunningly sparse solo album Cruel River (2007), Track of Words: Retraced revisits Knightley’s first recording of a decade ago and is undoubtedly his most emotionally literate collection of songs to date. It comprises 13 songs and a bonus track co-written with fellow Devon folk star Seth Lakeman - arresting, soul-searching numbers like "Rush of Blood", "Face in the Frame" and "Broken" as well as songs that have gone on to become Show of Hands standards, songs co-written with Matt Clifford who has played and produced with The Rolling Stones and a memorable duet with young singer songwriter Jenna.

Perhaps more than any other album, Track of Words: Retraced demonstrates the sheer diversity of Knightley’s finely-honed songwriting and cogent lyrics , stripping away the bigger production feel of the original album and investing in a more subtle, acoustic and occasionally retro style; adding new tempos, textures and unexpected instrumentation. Steve plays guitars, mandocello, cuatro, acoustic bass and harmonica while guest musicians include Jenna on piano and vocals, Phil Beer on guitar, fiddle and mandocello, Dave Wood on slide guitar and Jerri Hart who Knightley 'discovered' entertaining on the streets of his home town- an encounter which led to Hart contributing the stand-out trumpet riffs on several tracks. 

KNIGHTLEY STEVE - TRACK OF WORDS RETRACED