Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Our paths once crossed and stories were exchanged, regardless of where we met, we followed the same discourse as set down by Chaucer and countless travellers before him who could weave a tale that made sense of the lives we inhabit and the structure of the world that gives us life.
Those paths, for now, seem blocked, a gate of silence has been put up in front of us and an injunction placed on our face-to-face spoken word; and yet the conversation can still flow, the meaning of our lives can still be performed, and as with all things, if they end up as a monologue, then at least the anecdote survives, the story lives on.
The Paths & Stories are what set us apart from the ghosts of silence, and for Alison Benson, the five song E.P. is perhaps a glorious example of how language and music can paint a picture so vivid that it not only comes to life but imprints itself on the mind. In the same way that Chaucer created characters that reflected the time and social strata of his day, of the story behind such layered and complex personalities as The Wife of Bath, The Miller, or The Pardoner, so too does Ms. Benson seek and deliver with intricate observation, accounts of people to whom we might be, that we also might step out of the shadows of history and become more than phantom forms in someone else’s tale.
Thankfully, one does not have to travel to Canterbury to hear these tales weaved, the thick strands of music performed are like raindrops on the ears after months of drought, and in the tracks The Crystal Ball, the superb Black Pearls (Unfinished Business), The Price of Salt, Sing My Soul and Seek Peace, the characters and situations recalled are positively charming and allow the imagination to flow wonderfully and with curiosity enhanced.
Produced by Jon Lawton at Crosstown Studios, Paths & Stories is a set of songs that do justice to the ukulele and bring that often-overlooked instrument from out of its own shadows and into the bright light where it deserves to be seen and heard.
Hugely entertaining, a short story saga, Paths & Stories is a set of songs that will show Alison Benson’s immense talent off, quite rightly, to a larger audience.
Ian D. Hall