Production here by Aynsley and a neat engineering job by Andrew Banfield which doesn’t smooth any of the sonic bite away from the instruments or vocals, this set finds our man with a fresh set of songs working the drums-bass-keys-guitar lineup. Lister tends to wait til he has a varied collection of numbers before putting a new record out and that’s the case here. We talk about inclusions in an accompanying chat but the highlights embrace a left-field crime fiction item in Il Grande Mafioso and Tommy Castro’s uplifting Right As Rain.

The variety of guitars utilised only helps things along, Steve Amadeo keeps the basslines nimble, the sometime rather New Orleans style drumming is by Boneto Dryden and the keyboard work mainly Andrew Price. The attack of opener All Of Your Love has a grainy vocal and light arpeggio guitar before the heavier axe lines starts up – KWS fans, try this one. The sad sounding Won’t Be Taken Down is the kind on number Gary Moore would have mugged to death but Lister takes a cruise through it, over the block Hammond chords.

Time sounds very American, all clipped triads and reflective lyrics and maybe the best singing here, first class effort. Kalina has its own story to tell. Handful of Doubt has a dusty Texas vibe, hammer-ons and pounding drums. Lister can do this stuff well but sounds more himself elsewhere. A tinge of Jimi is heard on the lovely Other Part of Me. Blues-flecked songs by an inspired artist with a splendid group plus a fruity horn section here and there so depth and colour abound

Pete Sargeant