CHRIS WHILE & JULIE MATTHEWS - Revolution Calls
Fat Cat Records FATCD041
I’m just getting my head around the fact that this musical partnership is 25 years old – and studio release number 11 only tells part of the story as there are numerous other projects that this duo have participated in (and continue to). But this duo is the natural home for their self-penned material.
Julie Matthews takes on BIG subjects head on – such as poverty, the environment, depression and a stunning piece about somebody coming out as gay and the courage this takes. Chris While’s songs are more driven by emotion, and have a more nostalgic feel to them, but are all written from the heart. The overriding feel of this album is of two people who understand each other perfectly, and are absolutely complementary. Both voices have a maturity that comes from a lifetime of performing, and they are people who are comfortable in their own skin and their place in the world. All 11 songs benefit again from their own high production values, and feature the stalwart backing team of Neil Marshall on drums, Johnny Heyes on electric guitar and Neil Fairclough on bass, who all excel.
The commercial promise of their last album of new material, Shoulder To Shoulder, is replicated here – in many ways I feel this is the second part of a pair – and deserves maximum airplay. A winner on all counts for me.
www.whileandmatthews.com
Grem Devlin
This review appeared in Issue 131 of The Living Tradition magazine