Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Words Of Love are those that we carry with us beyond Time, and quite often reason, they are the whispers in the darkness that give us hope, they are the continuation of the tale when all other sentences are lost in the mist or the fog of deserted expectancy; they are also the ones that can carry a deeper meaning than any threat of compliance, but they can be tinged in the art of the subterfuge and illicit. Such is love and the brave soul that whispers good intentions.

Allison Lupton fires the Celtic imagination as her own sweet whispers as she once more tackles the self-penned and courts the traditional with a style that is becoming and full of virtue.

In Words Of Love the Canadian Folk Award nominee takes her stage presence into the studio and alongside some of the finest musicians in their particular field, Andrew Collins, Shane Cook, Tony McManus, Joseph Phillips and Ivan Rosenberg, and as they perform through songs such as What Will I Dream, When First I Went To Caledonia, Lost Jimmy Whelen, Dusty Boots and I Will Rise, the feeling of respect that unfolds is uppermost in the listener’s minds.

It is a respect that is two-fold, one for the tradition of the Celtic roots music and one for the soul of the performers and their relationship with those who undoubtedly will be enamoured by the music; such detailed veneration is not hard to search for at the best of times, however in Words of Love it is highlighted and expanded upon, the symmetry of expression is in full glare and the heartening effect it has on the mind and soul is one that raises the spirit and the sense of independent thought.

A delightfully woven album that plays out with honour, the language of love is one many attempt, they insist that their amore is honourable, but it takes true gentle words and music to capture someone’s heart for real; sensual and beautiful as all love should be.

Ian D. Hall