THE STORYMAN
Chris de Burgh
Ferryman Productions
Label: Edel
ASIN: B000GIN4VI
October, 2006
 |
THE
STORYMAN
by
CHRIS DE BURGH
reviewed
The first studio album from Chris de Burgh in two years,
The Storyman is everything lovers of the man’s
older records such as Crusader and Spanish Train & Other
Stories could have hoped it would be.
Packed with songs, as the album’s title might suggest, filled
with a story-based emphasis, this is an album that marks a return to
the form of old, from first track to last.
There is very little here that
can be said to disappoint, with the gargantuan Mirror Of The Soul
taking the highest of plaudits, marginally ahead of One World,
Spirit, the reprise of My Father’s Eyes featuring
Hani Hussein which closes the album and Raging Storm featuring
Kristyna Myles, this year’s Busker of the Year.
In the album’s accompanying
booklet, Chris de Burgh urges the listener to close
their eyes and let themselves believe they are in a cinema. Given the
manner and style with which the content the songs on offer here are
presented, this is not a difficult task. The introduction of the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra adds a sense of depth to the album that, it might
be said, has been missing from Chris’s last two offerings, Timing
Is Everything and The Road To Freedom. Indeed, it is this
sense of adventure that has sustained his career so it with open arms
that such experimentation should be welcomed.
With a European tour set to commence,
which promises more than a few surprises so rumour has it, there are
songs here that can only be awaited with glee and that will amply fit
the catalogue of much-loved live renditions that has made Chris
de Burgh such a “must see” performer.
Overall, with The
Storyman, Chris de Burgh can be said
to be back at his very best musically and creatively and long may this
return last and last.
8/10
‘The Storyman’ European Tour, 2006
-
November 18, 2006 Birmingham, UK, NEC - only UK show! Ticketline
phone: 0870 909 4133 (NEC) or 0121 357 0000 (Ticketline) -
November 21, 2006 Bayreuth, Germany, Oberfrankenhalle or Kartenkiosk
phone: +49 (0) 9563 - 8366 -
November 22, 2006 München, Germany, Olympiahalle Eventim or Münchenticket
phone: +49 (0)89 - 54 81 81 93 -
November 24, 2006 Frankfurt, Germany, Festhalle Eventim or Tickets-per-Post
phone: +49 (0) 180 - 535 2 530 -
November 25, 2006 Dortmund, Germany, Westfalenhalle Eventim
phone: + 49 (0)231 - 1203333 -
November 27, 2006 Hamburg, Germany, CCH 1 Eventim
phone: +49 (0) 40 - 41 8068 -
November 28, 2006 Berlin, Germany, Max-Schmeling-Halle Eventim or Konzertkasse phone: +49 (0)30 - 61 10 13 26 -
November 30, 2006 Zürich, Switzerland, Hallenstadion - only Swiss show! Ticketcorner -
December 1, 2006 Stuttgart, Germany, Schleyerhalle Eventim or Musiccircus
phone: +49 (0)711 - 22 11 06 -
December 3, 2006 Düsseldorf, Germany, Philipshalle Eventim
phone: +49 ( 0) 211 - 775057 -
December 4, 2006 Amsterdam, Netherlands, Heineken Music Hall - only Dutch show! Ticketmaster (limited to 4 tickets per order) -
December 5, 2006 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, Arena D'Coque Show.lu or Eventim
phone (from Luxembourg, France & Belgium): +352 50 77 50
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.