Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Too often the world ignores en masse the great sounds of yesterday, the insanely good song writing of three or four generations back. This is either out of ignorance or malice, either way to disregard, almost dispense with the richness of the past, is akin to saying that only words and actions recorded in the last decade are viable, that mean anything and all other forms of communication, of sound, are irrelevant.

It is with pleasure and hope when a particular genre, perhaps forgotten by Time and tide, perhaps left over in the memory, resurfaces just in time to save a little piece of our collective souls, with a musician and band leader of pure inspiration and disregard for the modern way of shuffling a line or two together and calling it a tune, a song for the regretfully short memory spanned. It might seem Old School, however it is the sound that captivates, that works as hard as a nine stone average sized man in a gym, that reminds us that music really has a long and detailed history and one that should never be snubbed.

There is a passion for vintage, for the look of a generation that put two fingers up to society in the way they dressed, spoke or dealt with life but in Si Cranstoun, vintage takes on a particular incredible flavour.

Old School it may be but the album that Si Cranstoun has put together envelopes and enriches the very nature of musical experience; this is not about showmanship but in every detail it is a show, a regaling and beautiful sound, a musical illustration of what can be achieved with the right set of values behind the project and the right person guiding it.

Si Cranstoun’s appeal is in making the supposed vintage modern, a long lingering look at what is to come if fashion follows its usual flounced trail and goes with the flow of the renegade and the smartly dressed.

In track such as Vegas Baby, Right Girl, A Christmas Twist, Skinny Jeans and Thames River Song,  Si Cranstoun and  his band sweep the floor with unimaginative and the wannabe hirsute and leave the listener panting, aching for more and knowing that with fortune they will receive it in spades. An album of upbeat, up-tempo numbers that glide across the floor as if directed the pre-war masters, one that truly is an experience not to miss.

Some may call it Old School; it is actually jumping and full of exhibition, a solid groove all the way.

Ian D. Hall