Prodigal Son

Released in 2007, this album is hailed by many as Simpson's finest hour. Recorded at the Pure Studio the year before, it was his third release following his return from 12 years in the US, leaving behind a broken marriage and a musician's life steeped in the blues and folk musics of the American South, and while both his previous albums Righteousness and Humidity (2003) and Kind Letters (2005) are superlative, there was some kind of concentration of spirits here on Prodigal Son. Its mixture of compelling original songs (most significantly, the deeply moving song to his father, ‘Never Any Good’), American tunes and English traditional pieces made for an especially rich and dark loam from which the bright blooms of these performances grew, with Simpson on banjo, slide, electric and acoustic guitar, and the likes of Andy Cutting, Alasdair Anderson and Danny Thompson supporting him on an exquisite set list of songs.

This new entry into Topic's 80th-year Topic Treasures Series comes with an additional live disc from the Union Chapel in 2007, with Andy Cutting and Andy Seward, and vocalist Kellie While. I was there. It was brilliant. The lengthy ‘I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes’ is a highlight.