As usual I find myself mopping up at this point of the year. As always this first entails looking through the end of year album lists from Mojo and Uncut Magazine and finding out what I've missed along the way these last twelve months. As generally, I find I've missed a lot.
Sam Burton and Dear Departed. An old school singer songwriter of the most affecting type. A young man of impossible youth but incredible talent. And grace and wisdom beyond his years. Nick Drake, Jim Sullivan, Jim Croce. Take your pick of troubadors. There are no end of options.
Dear Departed plays its cards immediately and then shuffles and deals from the same pack for the rest of the evening. Burton knows his heritage, his tradition and sticks to the rules laid down by those that went before him.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, but if he has a natural home it is surely the Laurel Canyon Valley. Dear Departed ranks 23rd on the list of Uncut's albums of the year but really what listening to this record underlines is the sheer foolishness of this ranking exercise so many of us indulge in at the end of each year. It's like trying to bottle lightning. And lightning cannot be bottled.
Listen to this. If you like it, pass it on. That's what this is really all about. I was captured and slain, listening to the record. I hope it has the same impact on you.
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