Mike Gibson

I appologise in advance for my prejudice on this review. For those of you who don't know, Mike Gibson was one of The Godfathers original guitarists, which in turn was one of the four most important bands of my life a fact that even prior to hearing the album entitled Mike to at least one star.

Now, I didn't quite know what to expect but these beautifully crafted acoustic melodies, although a far cry from the driving guitars of Godfather days, were a breath of fresh air. From the first chords of ‘10 years' to the ‘Hey La!' swan song I was transported on a musical journey the like of which only come around a couple of times a year. Mike's sound has matured into this sincere, adult, story of life. Listening to the album made me realise just how much crap we put up with listening too every day. A talented guitarist there is no doubt, and vocally I remained impressed. Maybe it's just me but occasionally I was reminded of The Smiths and Morrissey's vocal style, another one of my all time bands.

The mid-tempo songs are basically crafted and well produced allowing Mike's undoubted song writing ability to shine through. There was an honesty to the music and the lyrics I only realised I'd been missing the longer I let the album play.

It's shot straight to the top of the Music-News playlist and will be there for a while.

If you're and ex-Godfathers fan buy it, if you're new to Mike Gibson's music and looking for something new buy it, look … just buy it. It's the best album I've heard all year.