Reviewed by Steve Best

From late 2005 comes this latest offering from one of the UK's most enduring and indeed endearing songsmiths, still sounding great after over 30 years on the road, and rated by Rod Stewart as "one of the finest lyricists the UK has ever produced". This is intriguingly the first time Harley has used the name of his hit band in 26 years, but it comes to mark the 30th anniversary of the evergreen "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" which recently got a re-release. Musically this record references much of Harley's past glories. It is beautifully written and performed with a very British folk-pop sound - some nice violin on "Journey's End" and "No Rain On This Parade" on which Harley's voice really harks back to earlier times, and the jaunty "When The Halo Slips". The only track that doesn't really seem to fit is the lengthy power ballad "The Last Feast" but this is really only a minor quibble, as this is a fine piece of work.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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