Hello Sailor: When Your Lights Are Out

Herald rating: * * * *

For Hello Sailor to be on the tour with a reformed Th' Dudes next month is fitting - in this country they are the old masters of the rock'n'roll reunion.

Their late 70s heyday was followed by two reformation albums. The self-titled last one in 1994 was remarkably good, if widely ignored, while Graham Brazier and Dave McArtney's solo sets since have had their moments.

The frontline of Brazier, McArtney and Harry Lyon have continued gigging acoustically which makes them and their songbook a perfect fit for Liberation's series of legacy artists offering unplugged revisits to their back catalogues.

It can be disconcerting hearing the likes of Gutter Black without the electric riffery, piledriver snare and woozy sax of the original. But helped by the band's original rhythm section and the fairydust-sprinkling of pianist Stuart Pearce, it still rollicks along.

And whether it's Brazier leading a country-blues stomp through Long John, Lyon reclaiming his Lying in The Sand from the indignities it suffered on Holmes' album or giving Blue Lady a softer serenade, it's hard not to find its low-voltage high spirits infectious.

Label: Liberation