Luke Jackson
Album: Fumes And Faith
Label: Pipe
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.lukepauljackson.com

Time spent in the presence of Luke Jackson is never wasted. On a one to one level you find yourself talking to a highly personable young man, who always seems to have a real sense of empathy for the conversation, even when the conversation has drifted into areas that someone below the age of twenty really should have no experience of, such as a mid-life crises. I mentioned in my review of his debut album, "More Than Boys" that Luke seemed to be writing way beyond his years and having caught up with him a number of times since he released that incredible rites of passage album, I'm beginning to understand why.

Having seen and heard Luke performing tracks from his sophomore album, "Fumes And Faith", including the famous gig at Butlin's Skegness, where Luke ended up owning The Great British Folk Festival, I thought I knew what to expect, that was right up until the moment that the album hit my cd player.

One of the reasons that this review has taken me longer than I would have liked is that I keep getting lost in the album, it becomes very absorbing to a point where it almost seems disrespectful to do something as mundane with it as review it.

The first thing that you notice is that there is more of a blues element to the album, spiritual if you like and whilst there are a lot of family terms, father, sister etc. on the album, they are also used in that broader context and delivered by Luke's incredible voice the songs are simply nailed and in a way that makes you feel anything is possible.

You still get the feeling that there is an old soul in Luke, simply because of the maturity in the songwriting and yet you know that they are at the same time without a generation, essentially easy to relate to regardless of age. The thing is, and it's back to empathy again, he writes in such a way that makes his songs easy to relate to.

By way of example, "Charlie In The Big World". I think everyone would recognise Charlie, the person in every group that bigs up himself and his family and will inevitably have a story to top yours, even though it doesn't need a lot of scratching at the surface for the story to start falling apart, but no one bothers. In Luke's song Charlie moves away, despite everyone thinking it's just another story and you really find yourself hoping Charlie succeeds for all his faults.

Similarly, "Answers Have Gone" address that seeming contradiction that good things happen to bad people, a theme also explored by the likes of Richard Thompson, but it's the angle that Luke takes on it that I find so fascinating and which keeps bringing back to it, one that explores the light shining on the righteous and is actually the right light or simply we don't know?

If Luke had gone to an industry school, his name would have been all over the names to look out for in 2014 lists, as it is he's got that classic fall back of talent, backed by an incredible work ethic. Make no mistake "Fumes And Faith" is an album that not only identifies Luke as premier writer and performer, this is one that says he's already for the Champion's League, not just the next Richard Thompson, but the singer-songwriter equivalent of Ronaldo and just as capable of making it look effortless as well as stylish.

Neil King