Luke Jackson Album Demo Review

The storyteller singer songwriter tradition is alive and thriving with this outstanding collection of songs from this prodigious young talent from Canterbury.

It is evident from the first song Run and Hide, a tale of the fine line between dreams and real life, that already here is a songwriter and musician of depth and lyrical imagination with a remarkable ability to see beyond the horizon of his youth. Already Miss You, tells us of that musician always travelling on the tails of a band but dreaming of his own road without all the arguments and egos, it’s a thumping ‘journey‘ song with a great chorus , that begs to be sung along with.

With these eight skilfully crafted songs he is well and truly setting his own path while paying a nod to some of the masters of song writing that have influenced him already, as in the fragile poignant Knightley-esque song to a departed friend in Comfort in You.

Just like You, is a real gem, a stunning dark modern snapshot of a village with traces of Jacque Brel and Leonard Cohen in the spellbinding timbre of vocals and clear bell like guitar that draws you in and makes you want to replay it again; it is superb, and one of the highlights of the whole collection and a song that many established songwriters would be proud to have in their repertoire.

All the songs show off his rich, expressive and mature voice and his ability to explore effortlessly different styles and pure breathtaking range ,from the punchy energetic Dancing Gerrard to the achingly melodic ode to friendship and rite of passage Bakers Woods and the up tempo Call On Your Friends.

Waiting for the Tide written about the legendary Ted Hawkins, is a tremendous example of all that is good in the observational narrative that is the mark of a first-rate songwriter, it’s that story told so eloquently in a 5 minute song that makes you want explore further; brilliant!

This is without doubt an extraordinary first offering and a sign of things to come from an exceptional artist who is going to be making his mark very firmly with audiences for a very long time.

Watch this space

Trish Roberts October 2010