Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
No matter where you point the compass, it is not necessarily a case of deciding to travel East or West or to choose between the polar opposites of North and South, it is on occasion just a simple preference between This Side, Other Side, no more, no less, the anticipation of wondering if the path we choose happens to be the right one or just a moment of mistakes.
In David Nixon’s Navigation, This Side, Other Side is not just a glib statement of a produced artistry, it is the choice we all must make and hope that the Devil and angel on the shoulders battering for the memories of expectation and realisation are kind enough to let you make the most of both sides of the story and of life.
It is the strength of the songs contained on the album that make the choice so easy to make, the intricacy of the music, the lyrics and the passion of the performers all make this compact and simple choice a sensual affair but tinged with the battle of masculine and feminine personality and wonder.
With Amy Chalmers making a striking contribution to the album’s personality and the charm of musicians such as Scott Poley, Jon Lawton, Robert Vincent and Denis Parkinson, whose lead guitars on the track Wrong Train To Paradise is as powerfully endearing and enlightening as anything you would want to hear, This Side, Other Side is an album that plays to the audience almost with a sense of reverence and desire, the urge of the creator to show that there is at times no choice, you have to live with the decisions that you didn’t make as much as those that you chose to pursue.
In tracks such as the aforementioned Wrong Train To Paradise, Scarecrow Friends with the charming Poppy Holiday featured, Moon and Stars, the fantastic story arc of the Tale of Cicero with the sensational Amy Chalmers and the beautiful album opener of Somewhere So Unkind, David Nixon’s Navigation points not to the Cardinal points of the compass, it doesn’t even truly give you the choice between the A and B or the Y and Z or the Devil and the angel on the shoulders, instead it suggests that the listener looks up, sees what is in the Heavens and rejoices wholeheartedly.
Ian D. Hall