"Self-produced singer-songwriters, eh? If the concept makes your heart sink, think again, as Keith Christmas's latest album goes a long way to restoring some dignity and pride to a much-maligned genre.

"... the extremely high quality of the material and performance on this new album makes you wonder just how good Keith can really become." - Tony Slinger, 'Venue'

"Christmas’ performances, mainly of the unaccompanied acoustic variety, are impeccable throughout, reminding me, admittedly during a wishful-thinking, romantic streak, of what a still-living Nick Drake might have been doing today.....‘Light of the Dawn’ is another essential addition to the collections of fans of folk/rock/blues singer/songwriters everywhere." Jeff Penczak, 'Ptolemaic Terrrascope'

Rating: 4/5
Standout tracks: Light of the Dawn - Stone with a View - Let the Devil

Who the f*ck is Keith Christmas? F*lk blues? Run for the hills surely - and then wonder why in b*ggery a folk blues album is getting reviewed on this blog. Firstly a confession - I work with this guy. Now it's not what you're thinking - for a start the tight b*stard made me pay for the CD. Secondly it's actually that good that I reckon people need to know about it. I'll be honest - my reference points for this genre are few and far between and often take the shape of memories of half heard music from smoky real ale West Country pubs where I'd ventured on ill-advised forays looking for a Sunday roast. The closest my own music collection gets to Keith's stuff is the occasional slide guitar offering from Ben Harper or Mark Lanegan (former Screaming Trees singer sometime Queens of the Stone age collaborator) especially his 'Field Songs' album.

The first thing that pleasantly surprised me about this album was the fact that it didn't feature any accordions at all. Secondly it was close enough to Mark Lanegan for me not to feel completely out of my depth. Thirdly the quality of the tunes like 'Light of the Dawn'.

The opening acoustic guitar chords of this reminded me of 'Alone Again Or' by Love on their 'Forever Changes' LP. In fact the guitar playing is pretty damn impressive throughout, especially on bluesy tracks like 'Heart, Soul, Body and Mind' and 'Let the Devil'. You can't knock the man's voice either - it wouldn't surprise me if he's smoked the odd cigarette, but he's got range and can more than carry a tune.

The tempo of tracks varies a lot over the album from slide-blues stompers like the aforementioned 'Let the Devil' to the melancholy 'Stone With A View' and for anal guitar geeks, Keith's generously included the tuning AND the capo position for each song. All this and he produced it as well!

I would go on for longer but I have to go and get some more tobacco for my pipe and my glass of Old Peculiar is nearly empty. Just kidding. Anyway - you don't have to take my word for it go and listen at www.keithchristmas.co.uk. Check!