Now here’s a UK singer/songwriter who deserves to sell many more records than he does. Anybody who has seen the guy in concert knows what a formidable performer he is, while his studio work is consistently excellent, if not inspiring. This is his latest album, and one that will be lapped up by his fans, and should be by anyone who appreciates the very bestcontemporary music.

I’ve read reviews of this album that congratulate McCrae on lightening up a bit and taking a more mainstream musical route. The sub-text to these reviews, to me, is that McCrae may be dumbing down… I still believe that McRae’s first album is a classic and one of the most moving I have ever heard. For this, his fourth album, the lad has taken a more diverse musical route, and is songwriter in brilliant, soulful, lyrical form. The clothes may be more fashionable but the essence of greatness remains. The opening track, Set The Story Straight, is a text book example of this. A distant, pounding drum rhythm is overlaid by McRae’s distinctive and expressive voice. His songs remain as melodic as ever while his lyrics have taken on even greater depth and clarity, as is displayed here: “Daylight splits the room/You sleep while I watch you/How the light shines on you now/Breathless and playing tricks, but you rise to my fingertips…” Next track, Bright Lights moves upbeat pushed along by dashing piano notes and rampant drums. McRae’s voice soars into oblivion as he declares: “But I’m tired of this dull ache, this endless and fake parade/I’m gonna torch my name and my trade.” The message is clear… Third track, Got A Suitcase, Got Regrets, sheds much of the frantic instrumentation in exchange for subtle piano and morunful strings; it’s McRae at his most contemplative and best. The melody is a stayer while lyrically it’s brilliant: “Change the locks on the door, put out the light in the hall/I do not live here anymore….” Love it! Keep The Picture Clear has a downbeat, sparse blues ambience with McRae vocally at talking pace. The song is as dark as night and as threatening as a desperately hungry Lion. It’s also a highly original song with some pretty spectacular vocal harmonies. Houdini And The girl sustains a contemplative style before Sound Of The City takes on a rockier style. There’s light and shade in this album in almost equal measure, and that’s no bad thing for a guy trying to find different ways to interpret and deliver his messages. With On And On McRae actually manages to mix different styles with astounding success, while Deliver me could have come straight off his debut album. One Mississippi has a distinct country feel with prolonged acoustic guitar strum serving as a superb song introduction. If one was looking to release a single from the album, this would probably be it. Appropriately, McRae closes the album in his traditional, deeply moving style with my pick of the brilliant collection, Lord How Long.

Forget words like ‘mainstream’ and ‘lightness’ because what’s important here is McRae’s ability to communicate his thoughts and fears musically like no other UK singer/songwriter, and to connect big-style with a more adventurous audience. This is as good as his debut album, and one of the very best of 2007.

4.5/5