Album: Colin MacIntyre

The Water (Pebble Beach)

Having recorded three albums as The Mull Historical Society, Colin MacIntyre steps out in his own right with The Water, an album whose songs divide roughly into those reflecting upon the effects of fame, those musing on religious matters, and those promulgating a sense of fellowship and communality.

Of the latter, the concluding "Pay Attention to the Human" is the most distinctive, not least for its inclusion of a poem read by Tony Benn. "Faith No 2" finds MacIntyre questioning God's laissez-faire inaction ("It's almost impossible just to believe in you"), while "Famous for Being Famous" and "You're a Star" are commentaries on fame – the former sardonic and dubious, the latter ebullient and exultant.

Musically, MacIntyre's approach is unchanged from the MHS albums, with a range of timbres and textures blended into dense, layered arrangements containing guitars, cellos, horns, keyboards, zithers, tubular bells, etc – everything except the proverbial kitchen sink. Although the song "The Water" does feature a selection of kitchen utensils, which is just as good and probably more tuneful.

Download this: 'You're a Star', 'Pay Attention to the Human', 'Camelot Revisited', 'I Have Been Burned', 'Be My Saviour'