Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The applause is long, whistles of appreciation hit the pleasantly decorated eaves above the audience’s head, the walls of the playground that is the Studio 2 on Parr Street have shaken with the sound of a woman’s magnificence hitting an all-time high, and somewhere in each attendee’s heart, a passion could be visibly be seen to stir has been woken, an appetite, a hunger they never knew they had, has been evidently awoken; and all in the cause of Mersey Wylie taking her much deserved bow at the end of a night which has been remarkable, unequalled.

Mersey Wylie may claim she doesn’t deserve the applause, however she would be in a minority of one, the overwhelming performance, tears clearly forming in even the hardiest of eyes and often cynical faces, all coming together and forming the fondest of gratitude for a woman of stature, of substance, of a voice and writing ability that in terms of emotional reaction on the night arguably surpassed that of David Gilmour’s three nights of exquisite music at the Royal Albert Hall in 2006. Such was the resonance of the voice on display on a cold November evening in Liverpool, that pleasure and joy were always going to be top of the bill.

The positive reception for one of Liverpool’s favourite daughters was perhaps always going to be there, even at the start of the performance, a night in which Ms. Wylie was releasing her debut E.P., The Skin I Live In, she was heard to say that the applause heard, and growing in strength, was insane, a bounty of goodwill that became an abundance, but truly deserved, of admiration.

Every drama, every stage encounter should have a choir to herald the oncoming storm, the beauty, the range that is about to be unleashed; the ancients Greek poets and dramatists understood that perfectly, it enhances the identification and empathy of what is about to take place, it foreshadows the conversation that is about to be unleashed, and as the choir’s haunting tones gave a heavenly praise, so to did Mersey Wylie’s band.

With the steadfast and talented Jack Beacall on keys, Jack Taylor on guitar, James Thorne on bass, Dan Thorne on sax, Alec Brits on drums and Dionne Lammin and Nina Cox on backing vocals, the evening exploded with talent, a stage full of voices and musical ability that would have sold out the Philharmonic Hall, let alone adding the intimacy that held court inside Studio 2.

Across songs such as Giving Myself Away, Woman, Only You, the debut performance of Together We Rise, Stronger and a jaw dropping version of Dolly Parton’s seminal classic Jolene, Mersey Wylie announced with dignity once more that she is not just a talented singer, an all-round decent human being willing to share the spotlight with others, but a woman of creative passion, a night in which anyone who was fortunate enough to be there, will never forget; remarkable, unequalled, astounding.

Ian D. Hall