Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
“There are two sides to this story…”
As with any production of art that claims to have the structure of what defines the artist’s best work, it is always one that is up for debate, one that can divide the public to the point where it damages the intention beyond repair.
To the story of Kris Drever, nothing of the kind should ever cross the thoughts of those who have taken the Scottish musician to their hearts, and the fan to come who will undoubtedly utilise the album as a steppingstone to discovery, to what can only be reverentially understood as unearthing beauty.
The gems keep coming, the gold is struck, the seam never ending, across 2 cd’s and 36 tracks, Kris Drever not only earns the album’s title of The Best Of, but he does it with style, grace, a consideration for all who will listen.
“True gold fears no fire”, and that applies to the art and the artist alike, a statement that must always be balanced against the weight of time and impression, and as tracks are exposed to the rich possibility of oxidisation, as the miner and the archaeologist alike dig for two competing stories of redemption and adventure, so the picture becomes clear, The Best Of is not a glib fancy to which others purposely spill to keep themselves relevant in a world that is unforgivingly faced paced, it is precious and useful, it is complex and determined.
Across tracks such as the album’s opener, Farewell To Fuineray, Butcher Boy, Navigator, The Poorest Company, Throwing Pennies, The Bell That Never Rang, and Scapa Flow 1919, Kris Drever, along with the contributions and partnerships offered and polished during his career from luminaries and friends such as Roddy Woomble,Éamonn Coyne, Megan Henderson, and the ever stunning Boo Hewerdine, The Best Of not only lives up to its name, but is also an act of the divine belief that humanity is at its greatest when given a reason to shine.
From the moment that he released the album Black Water, Kris Drever was destined to shine uniquely, the miners and archaeologists alike fighting to hold the beauty that is found within his rich seam of writing and music.
Ian D. Hall