Alan Hull - Back To Basics (1994)

Recorded live at the Mean Fiddler and Blackheath Concert Halls in London during January of 1994, this record is very much a best of Alan Hull, and virtually indispensable to any fan of Lindisfarne. Cut with Kenny Craddock backing Hull on keyboards, accordion, second guitar, and vocals, this hour-long release features Hull singing in a grittier, more immediate style than one normally associates with his music, his rough, expressive voice bringing a new level of involvement to the music, even beyond what one would expect from the leader of Lindisfarne. The songs include "Lady Eleanor," "Poor Old Ireland," "January Song," "All Fall Down," "Run For Home," and "Fog On The Tyne." "Run For Home," in particular, gets about the best performance it has ever received, and has to be heard in this "unplugged" version. All can be counted among the best of many live versions of these numbers, unless high wattage and heavy amplification are a special concern. Not only a great showcase for Hull, but also a superb example of modern singer-songwriter style folk-rock, and it's great fun, too.