I suspect if you were browsing through a stack of old LP’s the name AJ Webber may slip by without too much thought. But look back at her biography and over the years she has opened, or played on the same bill, for many big names on tour and at festivals. And you can see why. She has a beautiful, haunting voice with a delicate range. You have to push through the first track (‘Old fashioned love’), which in my mind isn’t the best produced track on the record. Perhaps because it was recorded at a different studio to the rest. I’m not sure. But the depth of her voice and the songs chosen grow on you. The production was by Phillip Goodhand-Tait, while Barrie Guard helped Phillip produce ‘Old fashioned love’ – interesting!
Side B kicks off with a cracking song ‘Just like Tom Thumb blues’ – to me the highlight of the LP -which if you took the music on its own would be considered a little slow and uninspiring, but overlay with her vocals and it transforms the whole song onto a much higher plain. Simple and yet so effective. When I lifted the sleeve I was so looking forward to ‘Clevedon pier’ even before I heard the first notes. Coming from Bristol I guess it was an obvious track title, but it really does deliver.
Overall, you can understand why she opened for such a wide range of 80’s bands. It draws your attention in, there is an engagement with the songs and her voice and it demands a listen, not once, but several times. You won’t be disappointed.
