Friday, 22 June 2018

Claire Hamill - One House Left Standing


Rating: 3/5

Review:
Interesting rather than great


I'm discovering most of Claire Hamill's work in retrospect.  To my shame, I was only dimly aware of her in the early 70s but tried October, her second album, recently and liked it a lot.  This, her debut, is interesting but shows promise rather than being a great album. 

There is plenty to like – Hamill was a good singer with an individual approach and nice voice and there is some very good musicianship here.  However, it's patchy, a bit self-consciously quirky in places and some of the material isn't up to all that much.  It's a first album which shows why people thought she was worth investing in and persevering with rather than being an classic in its own right.  I'm glad to have heard it and collectors and fans will undoubtedly want it in their collections, but it's not one I'll be playing much, I suspect.  If you're looking for somewhere to start with Claire Hamill, I'd recommend doing what I did and trying October first.  Who knows, you may want to come back to One House Left Standing, but for me she hadn't yet quite hit her stride.

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