Sadly passing away in the early 90’s whilst living in Antwerp, Tom hailed from a Northern hotspot of Rochdale within deepest industrial Lancashire. Befriending David Bowie, Paul Simon and John Martyn in the 70’s, throw in a mix of religion and no doubt, if Abyssinia is anything to go by, the desire to be free in the world, to travel, and escape from the mess that was, and continues to be, this world, this LP had enough hooks to catch a few fish suppers.
Looking at the artists credits on the LP, the output comes across as much simpler than the whole. I expected something else when I first listened to this to be honest. But it is a gentle, melodic offering, deeply leaning towards his religious roots, but not of the evangelical persuasion.
Stand out track for me on Side 1 is the closing song – ‘Love comes well armed’. Side 2 kicks off on a slightly higher tempo, with a country element running through the opening track. But it settles down to a consistency that matches the first side, apart from a small breakout during ‘The man I really am’ which leaves you wanting to turn it back over and start again….
