Andy White emerged from Belfast in the mid-‘80s, a singer-songwriter whose influences went all the way back to Dylan. Over the years, however, he’s found his own voice, style and subject matter. For Songwriter he has surrounded himself with some fine musicians too. The album was recorded live in the studio with a rootsy bunch of friends.
Paul Rigby adds delicious steel to ‘Candlestick Park’, while ‘The Valley Of My Heart’ has echoes of Mike Scott. Andy takes his harmonica out for the upbeat ‘Start All Over Again’ in which the lines “I think we look pretty good together” are borrowed from The Who. The fast-paced bluegrass-based ‘Kathleen’ reflects the joys of coming home and will appeal to fans of ‘Galway Girl’, and in the nostalgic ‘When I Come Back’ he expresses the unattainable desire to hear The Beatles again for the first time. But White’s at his best when penning such lines as “I’m talking to myself tonight, I’m talking darkness into day” in ‘Faithful Heart’.
What’s missing is the acerbic White we’ve come to love. Still, this album offers a collection of well-crafted songs that deserve their place in his impressive catalogue.