I’ll always remember the shock I felt when I heard the news that Edwyn Collins had been rushed to hospital with a stroke. It was upsetting that a young man who’d wooed everyone with his guitar playing skills might never be able to talk again, let alone play a guitar or perform. News of new material was a reassuring one, and certain tracks have been streaming on his Myspace site for a number of months. Home Again may have been recorded before his stroke, but it’s only now been mastered and released with the help of his son.

What immediately strikes you when playing this record is why Collins isn’t a household name? Whilst fellow troubadour Richard Hawley gains plaudits from around the country, Collins has large been ignored. Recent interest in his pioneering group Orange Juice was only sparked by copious name dropping by the Franz Ferdinand boys.

The retro-rock of Home Again should see him break out of the shadows once more. One Is A Lonely Number begins quietly, Collins’ voice crooning over some simple percussion with the oddly prophetic lyrics “If life breaks your heart / You needn’t worry / You’ve still got our mind / Which will serve you in kind”. The slow start continues with the title track. A mainly acoustic number, the lyrics are once again oddly haunting as they were written before his illness; “I’m home again, hardly certain of my role again”.

Recent single You’ll Never Know (My Love) may have split opinion, but it’s shuffling drums and vocal harmonies should have been the sound of the summer, whilst 7th Son sees something a little more off kilter. The steel guitar, dark vocals and thumping drums are an area Hawley would now stay well away from. It has a rough, almost demo quality to it, yet the guitar is driving enough to hold the attention whilst it makes a welcome change of pace.

The rest of the album maintains this opening barrage of quality. Sure, the retro-rock of A Heavy Sigh and Written In Stone isn’t going to challenge the Radio 1 play list, and some people might have the same problem with him as with Hawley – mining the past for today’s glories. But the songwriting on display here is of the highest quality. You’re never bored, the music washes over you and your foot taps uncontrollably, whilst the lyrics are at equal measures both uplifting and haunting considering their context. By the time you reach the rollicking Beatles stomp of Then I Cried you’re left with the feeling that, no matter what happens in the future, Collins should always be remembered for his musical output at the very least.
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Links
Edwyn Collins [official site] [myspace]