****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Nice to B&F re-mastered, and it's a gud un, especially important to appreciate the texture of the instruments, the highlights and harmonies that make it so good. "Warm feeling" was a radio hit in the late 78 (and probably pitched as the advertising single.) and rightly so - you will sing it to yourself when the mood takes. "Run for Home" (RFH) often gets radio play, but if you judged the album on RFH you would not get a good overall impression. RFH is for the 'mums and dads', a great advert for the evocative sound of the Clarinet - nothing wrong with that, with added great lyrics and harmonies. Inevitably RFH will/has become a song that Lindisfarne are known for along with the 'Gazza version' of "Fog on the Tyne"....The remainder of the music is comparatively rebellious and edgy, at a time when old folksy style rockers like Lindisfarne were going out of fashion, or just about too, in a big way. This is a more 'mature', maybe even confident Lindisfarne, sensing that the musical scene was changing and saying 'what the heck, let's do our thing.' The rich arrangements and attention to detail are accompanied by a feeling of spontaneity, adding to the magic. There is a prototype version of "Make Me Want to Stay " on the Alan Hull Phantoms Album, but this is the matured version.Lindisfarne kept going for long after B&F, long afterwards and I recommend "The news" and "Sleepless nights" although they seem to have become a bit rare on Amazon as of this writing. Glad I go them when I did. "Dance Your Life Away" is a bit of a disappointment for me - adopting an 8o's sound and style, quickly produced, not bringing out the best craftsmanship of Lindisfarne, if I dare to say that with the great Alan Hull involved. "Amigos" from the 80's sees a return to form. It's the song writing and arrangements that make Lindisfarne favourites for life.Edit : Proper aficionados will tell you this is a comeback album for the werkin class geordie boys.
