With a measure of humility, Steve Dawson intends to release three albums over the forthcoming year. Call it a result of Covid productivity while under lockdown. He has always been a busy guy, whether as a musician, a producer or a label owner. Steve is usually found with his hands on a new project and turning water into wine with his magic touch.

 The ten tracks featured here are full of genre fluid treats, from the opener, Dimes, with its RnB feel and soulful backing vocals from Allison Russell; to the swing Blues of King Bennie Had His Shit Together, and that’s only the first two tracks! King Bennie Nawahi was a steel guitar player from Hawaii with a very colourful life story, captured here as a tribute to his exploits. Bad Omen follows and is a deeper blues workout with great atmospheric feel.  Steve on vocal, Weissenborn and electric guitars; Jay Bellerose on drums and percussion; Jeremy Holmes on bass and Kevin McKendree on atmospheric organ.

 The title track has Steve on vocal, acoustic guitar and pedal steel, while the seemingly contra-sound of Ben Plotnick on violin and viola, together with Kaitlyn Raitz on cello, works perfectly as a harmonious whole. The mark of a creative mind who uses musical intuition to break new ground. I Just Get Lost has an acoustic intro that blends into something approaching a Little Feat workout, with multi-instrumentalist Dawson finding subtle rhythms inside shifting melody lines. Kulaniapia Waltz is an instrumental tune that channels all that is best in the sweet groove of a Hawaiian melody, played on a different range of instruments, including pump organ and ukulele.

 Skeletons In A Car is a true story of some guys who thought that getting wasted on the prairie at night was a cool idea – until they flipped their car. The atmospherics are captured with taut playing; Weissenborn guitar and organ swells, complemented by the upright bass, and twin drum sound, all laced through with the vocal acrobatics of Allison Russell (always worth the entry fee on her own).

 The inclusion of a cover of the Faces, Ooh La La, seems a strange choice, but it is given a laid-back acoustic treatment that works really well. Almost like the way in which the original should have been recorded in the first place! The almost-Gospel delivery is reminiscent of a deep south revival experience with National slide guitar, organ and soulful vocals lifting the arrangement to a sweet spot.

 Cicada Sanctuary is an instrumental with Steve on acoustic guitar, confirming that all those years of isolated practice do pay dividends in the long run. He is such a gifted musician and his dedication to the craft brings its own reward. Closing track, Time Has Made A Fool Out Of Me, is a perfect coda to all that has gone before; a reflective moment to understand that ‘time is not a circle, It’s a line.’ 

 The interplay between these top-drawer players is just sublime. Hats off to Jay Bellerose and Gary Craig (drums, percussion), Jeremy Holmes (bass), Chris Gestrin (Mellotron, pump organ), Kevin McKendree (organ, piano), Gerry Cook (baritone sax), Dominic Conway (tenor sax), Malcolm Aiken (trumpet) and Fats Kaplin (fiddle). Of course, all led by the vision of Steve Dawson. Roll on the next two scheduled releases.