Catherine Howe, Vo Fletcher, Ric Sanders & Michael Gregory
Album: Because… It Would Be Beautiful
Label: Talking Elephant
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.talkingelephant.co.uk

This is one of those albums that I find difficult to review, simply because… it's consists of songs so beautifully constructed that they're beyond criticism, and sung and accompanied so - er, beautifully, and beautifully accessibly, that it's impossible to imagine them not appealing to a discerning audience. So what's there not to like? And yet what more can I say here that brings a meaningful perspective on the "product"?

Catherine's an ex-actor-turned-singer-songwriter with a distinctively pure, accomplished vocal style, whose idiom sits firmly at the comfortingly well-crafted end of the folk-with-a-bit-of-rock spectrum. It was back in 1971 that she released her debut LP What A Beautiful Place, followed by three more albums during the 70s, then she retired from music until her interest in local and family history produced the impetus and songs for a new album, Princelet Street, ten years ago. Subsequently teaming up with songwriter/guitarist Vo Fletcher in 2008 for the album English Tale was a good move, and the disc's healthy reception encouraged further artistic collaboration, culminating in this latest set (to which Vo contributes two songs and two interlude-style guitar instrumentals).

The songs herein complement Catherine's two recently published books on social history, in that they loosely adhere to the theme of social change, here told in the form of true-stories-in-song concerning specific people and places, or in some cases informed conjecture arising from those stories. This Old Peg salutes the stoicism of men who served in two world wars and yet would not talk about their experiences; the pair of songs Charlie Bender and Mayfair Cot are linked by the plight of foundlings and sick children.

There's a definite intelligence at work in these songs, and Catherine puts the cases for her protagonists with sympathy and insight, in a musical language that's easily assimilated by the listener. Her musical support crew is ideally suited to her writing style, which no doubt explains the portmanteau personnel/artist credit for the album. Ric Sanders' trademark swirling electric violin weaves around Vo's intricate yet understated guitars, all topped up by Michael Gregory's animated yet restrained percussion - all told, a model of sensitivity in execution, even on the extended final track, Don't Look Away (a kind of valedictory anthem with a distinct Meet On The Ledge flavour).

So, as I said above, what's there not to like? Nothing - and yet in the end, while appreciating its quality I can't get wildly excited by this disc; but I suspect that most listeners may well feel differently.

David Kidman