Ditto
I have yet to complete a full review of Steve Tilston’s
superb latest Truth, having referred
to it very briefly here when reviewing his wonderful live gig at Otterton Mill,
but I want to now refer again to his third album Songs from the Dress Rehearsal, originally released in 1977, and
reviewed here with great affection.
I have recently acquired a later cd version of this,
released in 2004, and it is significant in that it includes six extra tracks
recorded as demos for a possible other album/project. They are all excellent
and further evidence of his songwriting talent, a favourite of these extras the
first In Limbo with its Jansch-esque
guitar work, whilst Love’s an Illusion
displays further guitar versatility as he dances up and down the fret board in
a rather jolly romp across a lyrically dark rejection of love.
My main recommendation for this edition is the description
and anecdote that prefaces the lyrics to each song in the inner sleeve notes:
these are naturally engaging and interesting backgrounds, especially for songs to
which I have become so closely attached.
But above all, the recommendation is, as it was in 2011 when
first reviewed on this blog, the absolute brilliance of the core album.
