Reviewed by Tony Cummings

A British-born, America-based renaissance man, Steve Scott is best known as a poet and hugely respected teacher on the arts while fans of Larry Norman, the 77s and Charlie Peacock will know of Scott's contributions to some highly creative recordings released in the '80s. Throughout Steve's occasional sortes into the recording studio he produced some fine music overcoming the limitations of his voice by the sheer illuminating insight of his lyrics and the excellence of his accompanying musicians. Often the resulting recordings weren't released at the time but turned up years later on obscure releases of dredges through the archives. This collection takes a batch of tracks and brings them into the light of day, some for the first time. Particular standouts are "Different Kind Of Light", a Larry Norman production and a joyfully rocking track every bit as good as the 77s offered on their 'Ping Pong Over The Abyss' debut; "Not A Pretty Picture" complete with some biting guitar from Mike Roe; the eerie electronic instrumental "Empty Orchestra" and the Charlie Peacock produced "Sound Of Waves". Those with less adventurous tastes may find the spoken word poetry of "No Memory Of You" solemnly recited over samples of conversation recorded in Bali a bit difficult. Bit I found it truly moving as were all the poetry and music tracks that take up the tale end of the album. For me this whole album is an extraordinary glimpse into the dazzling diversity and creative vision of a . . ., of a . . . Pete Banks of After The Fire once wrote about Scott as "a uniquely gifted musical poet. One thing you cannot do with Steve Scott is categorise him."

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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