Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A gentle demeanour is never lost in life. The soothing tones of a musician seemingly at peace with themselves is never truly overshadowed by the storm that rampages around them, the squall and the rough tidal surges that drown out the less romantic find ways to inspire the artistically gifted. For Boo Hewerdine if the squall and blizzards of life affect him, then his music doesn’t show it, not outwardly possibly but like all great artists there is something of the dark attached within the moving, almost sensual lyrics that command the same attention as coming across the flowing beast that is the River Nile for the first time.
The former The Bible musician may well be an enigma of sorts, perhaps never really garnering the true wealth of public opinion that was due to him over the years but his career has been one of steady, almost unfazed adoration by those who have kept him close to their hearts and his latest release, less of a compilation, more of a welcome companion piece, My Name In Brackets (The Best of Boo Hewerdine & The Bible) is a very welcome retrospective which characterises the man and his music completely.
From the Mid 80s critical success with The Bible and the subsequent 25 years of recording history as a solo artist, the gentleness of spirit is coupled with a burning anger which gives the songs a sense of completeness, a rushing, fulfilling beauty which is delivered finally as a sweeping graceful thorough movement.
The 18 songs are of a very decent quality and whilst the huge problem with best ofs or compilation albums of never really showing the period of time in which the songs and their complex emotions were originally recorded in properly, this particular album does at least capture the spirit for which it is intended.
Tracks such as the opening ones from his days in The Bible, Graceland, Mahalia and Honey Be Good and his own compositions such as Last Cigarette, The Birds Are Leaving, Mapping The Human Heart, The Girl Who Fell In Love With The Moon, the sensational new single Snow Globe and the stunning ethereal Kaleidoscope feel of Patience of Angels are all delivered with a sense of justice and validation attached to each of their guitar driven souls.
My Name In Brackets (The Best of Boo Hewerdine & The Bible) is a great way to enter the world of Boo Hewerdine, but it must be said that to hear the whole story, his outstanding studio albums are also worth having in the collection.
Ian D. Hall