Fairy Light Nights: Live Acoustic

To those, like myself, who have followed the Eves since their glorious heyday; since the comparatively dizzy heights of multi-platinum albums, sell-out shows at The Royal Albert Hall, and the nation's music press seeming to hang upon each nuance of Julianne's every gesture and softly spoken word, the release of this CD cements what has been a return few of us could ever have predicted. Not so much a comeback as a carefully orchestrated re-surfacing to test uncertain waters, the sudden burst of activity by one of the most visually and aurally striking bands of a decade ago has been greeted with not only rapturous approval by those who had thought the band had gone forever, but also with a collective sigh of relief. For with a string of acoustic dates stretching back to the beginning of the year, All About Eve have returned to remind us, indeed convince us once more, that music can contain the elements which have cynically been shed by an industry increasingly dominated by image and profit: intelligent, thoughtful songwriting; a band still prepared to treat its audience with the same consideration we extend to them; and songs which, even to this day, still somehow have that elusive quality of cutting through the smoke and chatter to steal our attention.'Fairy Light Nights', All About Eve's first release since the criminally-ignored and roundly misunderstood 'Ultraviolet' of 1992, is a recording of stripped-down cuttings from the band's short and yet eventful history. Recorded at a variety of intimate venues played during the first half of 2000, this welcome release sees Julianne, Andy and Marty choosing a brave path with which to re-introduce themselves to their ever-attentive audience. There are no layers of electric guitar with which to hide any first night nerves, no crashing drums nor soaring keyboard lines to distract from any anticipation they may be feeling; just three musicians prepared to present themselves without an ounce of the pretence so common amongst their peers, playing a selection of songs for their eager audience as though they had never been away. Financial considerations aside, it is a courageous decision to lay themselves bare in this way. But then, All About Eve have always gone where their hearts took them.'What Kind Of Fool' and 'Martha's Harbour' both retain that exquisite balance between melancholy and metaphor that marked them out as two of the most personal songs on the band's debut album, while 'In The Clouds' and 'Shelter From The Rain' both take us all back to former times in our lives; when romance was new, and our imaginations merely informed us what was within our reach. Julianne, as ever the focus, and with her voice rising with effortless duty above a pattern of guitar strings, dares us to remember the people we were. She projects herself like in times gone by; charming us with both the elegance of her range and the brightness of her humour. Andy and Marty provide the acoustic backbone of the songs. While their skill is obvious and consistently evident, their enthusiasm for their artistry remains undiminished by the scale of the settings in which they are playing. Indeed, they seem to revel in them.The semi-autobiographical, and curiously abridged, 'Miss World' provides a poignant insight into the precarious and fleeting nature of fame and fortune; the conviction of its delivery only adding to the feeling behind why Julianne felt compelled to write such a song. Those who have been through the extremes of band's high and lows know why this track is so meaningful for both her and ourselves. 'Share It With Me' makes an effective transition from full-band album track and live favourite to acoustic anthem. Julianne's voice sounds so fresh and so at home amongst the subtle precision of the guitars, both complimenting and contrasting them with consummate finesse, it sounds like she is singing the song for the very first time.'Are You Lonely', a firm favourite among the Eves' followers, sees the trio at their most serious and sombre. The light-hearted chat between songs is suddenly a distant memory, and we cannot fail to be moved by lyrics many of us know off by heart. Without much of its instrumentation, the song loses some of its musical impact, but nevertheless remains eloquent enough to demand our undivided contemplation. The audience's applause at its conclusion seems partly to be in recognition of Julianne being able to put into words what a lot of them feel but cannot articulate so emotively.Some of Marty's solo work is fitted into the set list for the approval of an audience so accustomed to the band's back catalogue. The delicate hope of 'Forever' sees a duet of Julianne and Marty embracing a ballad of familiar Eve's themes, while the suitably-haunting 'Will I Start To Bleed' has Julianne reminiscing on the effecting nature of emotional injury, with Marty's guitar seeming to follow and dictate her every mood. As an invitation to involve oneself in how a single guitar and a female voice should sound together, it is hard to dismiss.'Fairy Light Nights', the first in what will possibly be two releases from this tour, is completed by 'Appletree Man', a return to the simpler, more optimistic and mythical themes of Julianne and Andy's earlier songwriting. It somehow brings us full-circle; to a point at which the band seem happy to leave themselves: stripping down the slick production of times gone by to present their craft in its most basic terms. By letting their songs speak for themselves in this manner, All About Eve have given themselves a fresh, new voice; one which we always knew they possessed, but one to which we still can't fail but listen and be enriched by, hoping it will stay with us long after the dancehall has emptied.

Great delivery great cd