Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Jackson Williams continue to impress. Five short words. Five words spoken in true honest praise. For in their latest release, Live In Session, the sense of purpose and charm they have always carried with them, is unrelenting and unashamedly cool, and so to carry the weight of expectation maybe a burden for some, but for Deborah Jackson and Skeet Williams, as well as fellow musicians, Andy Cooper and Sam Pritchard, it is a realistic set of measurable achievements.

Being captured in the live setting is the ultimate test of endurance for any musician, the studio is the safe place, the refuge from the outside world; like the writer who locks themselves away from prying eyes and lives on nerves and caffeine stimulant, or sculptors who chip away in the semi gloom of discretion and direction who keep their muse hidden from the public gaze right until the final moment of reveal.

The studio is safe, but to face an audience, no matter the size, no matter the reason, is to face every fear and to grow, to be aware of your own song being heard…like a diary being read by a crowd, you face your life’s words being thrown back at you, and it is only when you stare directly into the eyes of the focused does your life find its purpose and integrity.

That is what the album comes down to, integrity, and Jackson Williams have that in abundance. Six songs fill the air with pleasure, with a pulse of culture and undeniable purity. From the brilliance of Slowly Burns My Skin, what follows is a testament of cool delivery. Remember To Buy Yourself Flowers, Getting Late, When Trouble Calls Your Name, Beautiful World, and Devil’s Only Flame all combine to become a haven on the road, not a hideaway or an asylum, but a home free of squabble and fear.

A terrific live record, one of sense and collected thoughts, calm under pressure and a time where the studio transfers its sanctuary to the openness of the sea of faces urging you on.

Ian D. Hall