Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The raw and untouched is often more exciting than what be gleaned with an army of analysts or a crowd telling you how something should be presented; it is strange that for many they arguably are willing to sell their soul in order to see something they envisaged taken out of their control and packaged neatly as a presumed desire, as a consumable product. The raw is often delicate, it is the result of allowing a single breath to come out from underneath the shadow and stand for a while in the basking sunshine and wallow in the words of Salvador Dali, “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.”
Perfection is what you believe it to be, if the raw is bathed in honesty then no amount of art gallery owners, paid critics or subtle dig in the ribs from the unashamed will ever recreate the sheer beauty you have brought into the world and for the wonderful Sheila K. Cameron and her album Run Through Side A, the wisdom of Dali takes root, for Ms. Cameron lives in the wealth of her music and not the thought of the fiscal reward, it is clean and direct, reliable and candid and one to search for your own voice alongside.
Run Through Side A is different, an album that cuts through the added pressure of coping with other’s demands and instead combines the rare pleasure of hearing superbly penned songs that have nothing extra to distract the listener from the thoughts of the artist and the sincerity of the end result; it is that sense of finality, of natural consideration that makes the album a rich and powerful set of emotions waiting to be explored.
In songs such as In Too Hard For Me To Keep Myself Clean, I’ve Waited A Long Time, You Led Me Blindly, I Looked Alright This Morning, There Was No Need Of Me and I Don’t Believe You Care the honesty is overwhelming, it bites down on the listener’s resolve and gently pushes it along to the cliff, giving it the choice to dare to jump into the unknown or head back, to feel safe and secure in what has already been done a million times before. Sometimes the brave thing to do is jump, to leap and find the world praising your endeavour; for in that lays human perfection and one that cannot be denied Sheila K. Cameron.
Ian D. Hall