Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It could be argued that today we share too much of ourselves, that we find ways to harm our souls by shedding our skins in the wrong place, we find solace in being able to be comforted by strangers, that we seek validation from those who do not care for our welfare or for the stories we want to impart.

There is nothing wrong with seeking out people in which we can trust, we are all connected by the thought of wanting to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and yet we sacrifice the allure of unfolding mystery by opening our own personal Pandora’s Box to all and sundry in one fell swoop, not content with patience and declaring that we say, here is A Little Bit of Me.

There is beauty to be found, to be explored with great delicacy, in opening up the soul a fraction at a time, of understanding that the delivery is as important as the message, and it is one espoused with great charm by Evelyn Laurie in her debut album. whilst the artist may say, “it has taken her a while”, the album should be seen as example of how music can guide you to a place where you are comfortable in your own time, of being honest, sincere, of repairing your skin instead of flagellating it to the point where all anyone can see is scars.

Joining Ms. Laurie on the album are the talented musicians Euan Stevenson, Mario Caribe, Tom Gordon, Frank Bolam and Konrad Wiszniewski; it is a team approach that makes the album special and gives Evelyn Laurie’s distinctive voice an even greater lift, one that is enhanced by the trust so richly deserved by the band in her delivery and message.

A sense of a delicate blooming, of a coloration of time and preciseness comes forth in songs such as Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes, I Love The Way You’re Breaking My Heart, I Love Your Smile, the femininity that surrounds the cover of Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman and Joel S. Herron, Frank Sinatra and Jack Wolf’s I’m A Fool To Want You. It is a dynamic that at first hints, and then indicates with absolute clarity, all that you need to know about allowing your whole life to be put on show. It is in the careful unpeeling of the orange that we learn to savour the fruit inside, it is unveiling the person in by saying here is A Little Bit of Me, that kindness and appreciation soon follows.

Ian D. Hall