Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The Cavalier approach, the adventurer lauded as she takes to the stage and sings the sonnets of love, of the knight and the fair, Eddi Reader has been a constant surveyor of the world, she has brought down the arrogant with a scathing song, she has praised the beautiful of opinion and deed and the keepers of the pure hearted with a tune so devastatingly pure that it outweighs even the most sought after of precious stones. Ms. Reader is not one for the Cavalier, her words and music and never high-handed, never careless, but one in which the exploration and the voyage are full of the introspective and the enjoyment of the considered approach.
It is in the reveal of each carefully placed song that makes the new album, Cavalier, such a sense of pleasure, a delight in which to seek out the observation and the riches that have born an abundance of lyrical fruit in the 40 years in which Ms. Reader has been performing live on stage; the seeking of the perfect, the ability to caress and feel empathy for the flawed and sometimes faulty, it is a rare quality to be able to show such compassion and yet growl like a lioness protecting the vulnerable in her care.
Within the sixteen songs that make up the new album, the creative throws of a woman still passionately in love with the stories provided by humanity don’t just appear by magic, they have come alive with the pulse of the artist delicately painting a picture on the canvas, each contemporary and traditional moment is the basis for a memory in which would take pride of place in any portrait gallery, in which the romance presented is enough to seek out the renaissance, the chivalric code of honour.
Songs that have been performed live in the last few months instantly become recognisable, but to those who have not had the handshake of introduction yet, tracks such as My Favourite Dress, Starlight, Wonderful and the gorgeous Maiden’s Lament soon stir the senses, they become fast friends in this new brigade of songs.
With tracks such as Deidre’s Farewell To Scotland, Maid O’ The Loch, There’s A Hole In The Desert Dear Darling, A Sailor’s Farewell To The Sea and Go Wisely all brimming with the impeccable signature voice of Ms. Reader, Cavalier is to frame, to wonder, and to praise fully; a creative pulse realised, and one which sees Eddi Reader’s remarkable career continue to flourish.
Eddi Reader releases Cavalier on September 28th. Eddi Reader will be performing at the Atkinson in Southport on October 18th.
Ian D. Hall