Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The yearning to be our own master is such that we look forward to the day when we become able to make our own decisions without considering other people’s opinions or advice; and yet we lose something vitally important in our rush to leave behind our Childhood Soul, we losethe belief in the small details, we forgo the chance to revel in having nothing more complex to choose than what breakfast cereal we wish to delve into or what superhero we want to wear on our underwear.
It is in that loss of belief, the haste to leave our mark on the world, that leaves many of us floundering when it comes to the first set back in our adult life, the need for safety and comfort is a reminder of what we lost, but instead of embracing and nurturing our inner child and the dreams they had and the hopefully carefree moments they once enjoyed, we take a chance and hope for the best.
To argue that childhood was all roses and chocolate is a fool’s spoken paradise, but it is one that we remember at times with more fondness than anything we may have achieved in our life since, and it is to this effect that David Neville King embarks on bringing a note of optimism and memory to the mind of the listener; a song which arguably sees the beauty of Mr. King’s voice and lyrical prowess become, if possible, even more glorious, stronger, and fulfilling.
One should never ignore a patient and insightful mind, and in this particular track, the nail has not just been hit firmly on the head, it is seen to be flush with the wood it sits upon and adds a bright, illuminating spot to what has been a calendar year in which the oppression of gentle expression has been valued and the softness of beauty has been sneered at.
A Childhood Soul is to be valued, both as an entity, and as projection of the person to whom defiance is highlighted by refusing to join the cynicism that often accompanies adulthood. It is to the responsibility to the child we were that the soul must be allowed to glow, a responsibility that David Neville King has framed with superb delight.
Ian D. Hall