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He’s not, in other words, your old one trick pony.

With long-time collaborator Rebecca Barnard sighing away in the background Not In My Skin is familiar territory, as is Through December and after I Can't Stay Mad At You starts to lift the tempo there's some sizzling guitar work on the rocker All Day, with it's references to a certain well known song by The Kinks. Back in familiar Cummings territory You Should Get Out More wraps things up rather nicely. 

Cummings, along with latter-day preferred collaborator Billy Miller (The Ferrets) continues to hop and bop through the genres, and though mileages might vary there's invariably something in a new Cummings recording to attract Hughesy's attention. As far as I can tell (it's an extensive discography, after all) I've got everything he's done in the past, barring a couple of compilations and there's nothing here that'll stop me from queueing up for a copy next time around.

On that basis, the answers to that question back in the first paragraph are another Stephen Cummings album and that’s all that needs to be said.

© Ian Hughes 2012