Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The young Cornishman on stage at the Epstein Theatre defies the image many may have of the county as being in league of wanting separation from the U.K., an image wrongly held by those in London and in the grasping power halls of the Westminster Village as being aloof from the country, insular, narrow minded and the prefect representation of the wildness of the untamed south, a wildness they see unflatteringly in the North of the line that divides their own minds. It is an image that Joe Francis happily shatters as he muses and sings of a greater inclusive nature that all artists hope for.

Joe Francis may not be a name that is familiar to those outside of Cornwall, Ireland and America to where his name has spread with the glowing ease of The Tamar as it signals a county’s quiet protest from Woolley Moor past the dotted old cottages at the mouth of Saltash’s edge, yet in his self- acknowledged biggest gig yet, he made sure that those who took on the private thanksgiving of the November day had lots to talk about as he became a leading light of Cornish culture in one fell swoop.

Cornwall may be known for many things, in some respects the economic woes of a county’s children as more indigenous people are forced out as people buy second homes in the area, the natural air of a county’s past displaced by the sound of big buck and tempered new impression, is possibly the one at the top of the list, however like other Celtic races in the islands, the sound of the music created is the one that should be forever linked to the land beyond The Tamar.

That should not be a problem as Joe Francis, either as a solo performer or as part of Winter Mountain, gets the recognition he deserves. In songs such as Sunshine Good Roads, The Lucky Ones, the excellent Girl in the Coffee House and the fantastic finishing offered in Stronger When You Hold Me, the natural air of a man who is proud of his roots but also is willing to expand the horizons offered each and every one on the planet. It is with a sense of charm and good will that his music was enjoyed in a city that takes music and its own individuality seriously.

A cracking debut at the Epstein Theatre for Joe Francis, a theatre made perfectly for his tremendous voice.

Ian D. Hall