Adrian Nation
Album: Live At Crossroads
Label: Laburnum Bridge
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.adriannation.co.uk

I have to admit - this was my first taste of Adrian Nation. The name was already familiar from the playlists of Rick Stuart and his 'Roots & Fusion' show on Stockport's Pure FM, yet the CD had arrived with the press release and sat in the queue, patently awaiting discovery. Once in the player though, it was only a matter of halfway through the first playback before I was enthusiastically mailing Rick on his social media pages - a quote which soon reached the homepage of Adrian's website with my excited ramblings being in the public forum for all to see:

"…….cannot stop playing it - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Super playing - in fact, mesmerising is the word which springs to mind!!!!" (Mike Ainscoe)

So - does the album live up to the initial thoughts of a zealous and overexcited new fan?

That first listen brought to mind, and apologies for overuse of an already overused quote from The Times, the 'gravel voiced spokesman for the rural poor' Steve Knightley -a comparison I'd be quite happy with were it me - yet not too long into the opening 'The Coming Of The Day' there's so much more of Adrian himself to admire. The echo of the ringing guitar notes and the spoken delivery are an absolute delight and the sound is nothing short of outstanding as the song resonates around the live room. It's a sound which is similarly impressive on 'The Dying Of Democracy' and his trademark guitar workout on 'Five Finger Rapids' - in fact it's probably the playing, plucking and picking which is the stand out to these ears.

There's also a cover of Richard Thompson's '1952 Vincent Black Lightning' - a terrific one to boot - and being the only RT song Adrian wanted to cover and also being a personal favourite RT song, what else is there to say except that it's carried off with aplomb and the man himself wouldn't fail to be impressed with the faithful accuracy with which it's performed. As well as a couple of songs appearing for the first time on record, the album is going to stand as a record of being the place where the songwritng prowess displayed on the 'Fall Or Fly' and 'Sowing Seeds' album come together with an exceptional concert performance.

By his own admittance, the live album is not something which is easy to capture yet it wouldn't be an understatement to say he's nailed it with this one. The combination of a great onstage sound which gives the performer the added impetus of knowing he's sounding good seemed to act as a catalyst for a confident and enthralling delivery. Coming thirteen days into a fourteen day tour of The Netherlands, there was clearly some sort of alignment of stars - everything in the right place at the right time. It's got that real feel of capturing a mood and atmosphere.

If you've not heard from Adrian Nation before, this is a perfect place to start - and that's speaking from experience!

Mike Ainscoe