Eddi Reader: “Joke” (Blanco Y Negro)

The thing about Fairground Attraction which caught the imagination was that they were such a surprise winning ticket. As a result, though, the burden of expectation on Eddi Reader must be quite great. Thankfully, the reality is that her solo music is better, more mature and has more depth to it than anything she’s done previously. ‘Joke’ is the voice of a woman who, under all kinds of paraphenaliac duress, has grown up and come through thanks mainly to the empathy with which she can sing lines like “She says I don’t know what to be/And does she look younger than me.”