Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is arguably no such thing as luck, maybe perhaps in the casinos of New Jersey and in the deserts of Nevada, even then it’s doubtful as the flick of a simple switch can always bring the house crashing down; but luck in life? It’s more to do with timing, perseverance, hard work and the abiding kiss of resolution that makes things happen in the way that they do and for Bill Feehely and his latest album, Lucky Struck. It is all down to the singer, the penmanship of quality songs and the observational skills, if this is luck then Bill Feehely is one wonderfully blessed man.

Blessed he is though, but through personality and great work, not because the ball keeps landing on the number and colour he places down. Lucky Struck is a testament to this as the spirit of self-determination and words that tumble of the tongue like a speed boat going down river, riding the expanse of rapids and yet never sounding anything more than as serene as a swan afloat on a lake in summertime.

Luck, not in the plan, not even in the same blueprint and perhaps not even in the same state, stuck though it is an small downtown office in the foothills of North Dakota; for what Bill Feehely brings to the listener’s ears is class and a natural beauty, a voice that captures the songs but with the gentleness of allowing them to roam free; they are his children and they couldn’t have come from another person’s soul.

Tracks such as Thousand Stories, the wonderful continuality of Tell Me Something, the fear and joy that’s strides hand in hand in Bottom Town and the nod to fortune and luck herself in the album closer of House of Cards, a song that gives great allusion to the whole edifice of humanity’s folly and the walls that will surely come crumbling down, not in a flash of fury but in a more steady, hairline crack and odd chip moment. Lucky Struck is not just a testament to the voice but also to the way the voice acts as a conduit for realism and pragmatic displays of warning.

Lucky Struck collides with the idea of the randomness of certainty and the only winner is Bill Feehely’s fans and those who have the sense to check out this wonderfully put together set of songs, a real moment of enjoyment.

Ian D. Hall