Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are those that will always make a great marriage, a union which is reflected in the way the other side of the pair will always look to the other with hope in their eyes and love in their hearts; celebrated Scottish vocalist and musician Eddi Reader is that kind of performer and human being to whom the relationship with the audience is more than special, it is a marriage of souls and mutual appreciation to which continues to flourish and resonate each time she appears on stage.

To even a  beautiful Simple Soul, Eddi Reader will reach out, to one with a butterfly heart, she will hold gently, and to the resolutely strong and sometimes unfortunately emotionally closed off, she will reduce to one who smiles and cries with joy at the thought of the music past and that to come.

No stranger in this union, Eddi Reader and the band, including distinguished guitar player and producer Boo Hewerdine and the excellent accordion player Alan Kelly, returned to the Epstein Theatre, brought with them the sense of purpose that the month of May demands in her silk white robes, the personification of beauty after months of hard driving rain and bitter cold to which the older more colourful Scottish language made more poetic use of than our own native tongue in the present day, and settled in for a night of majesty, wit and candour in the choice of songs displayed, presented and shown.

New songs mixed freely with the more established tracks to which Ms. Reader is associated with, the joy of the vocal bounce and lilt in the voice upbeat and polished in time with the beat of a beautifully played double bass, May is the month of renewal, the spring of the season, one on which the sun and the earth renew their own vows in the presence of those in the Northern Hemisphere and to whom Ms. Reader reflects in her own time as mistress in the theatre surroundings.

With songs such as Dragonflies, Meg of the Glen, The Moon Is Mine, Pray The Devil Back To Hell, Fairground Attraction, Charlie Is My Darling, Ae Fond Kiss, Perfect and a superb rendition of Sing Us An Old Song sang by musical companion Boo Hewerdine, the Epstein Theatre swayed with vigorous respect, the stage was captivated by the look in the audience’s eyes and the union was firmly again renewed, vows to keep together firmly established and in this simple act, a marriage of music was passionately played.

A great night of music at the Epstein Theatre, Eddi Reader always performing with that dance in the heart to which she gladly, freely, asks others to join in with

Ian D. Hall