Gerda Stevenson - Night Touches Day

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 4 / 12 / 2014

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Championed by Dick Gaughan, Peggy Seeger and Rory Macdonald of Runrig, ‘Night Touches Day’ is, surprisingly, multi-talented Gerda Stevenson’s debut album of her own songs. The award winning actress, director, author and broadcaster (once described by 'The Scotsman' as "Scotland’s finest actress") has often been seen on stage and the small screen and has even toured her own play ‘Federer Versus Murray’ to New York as well as directing theatre in the UK and abroad. ‘Night Touches Day’ is such an accomplished work that one wonders why Stevenson hasn’t released an album before. Maybe it’s because of her work schedule because if there is an album that is quite unlike any other you’ll hear all year while still being instantly accessible then it’s ‘Night Touches Day’. Stevenson’s thespian background informs many of the songs here. While each song is a complete work in itself, ‘Night Touches Day’ is one of those albums that just demands that you listen to it as a whole. At times songs take off in directions totally unexpected, while at other times, such as on piano-based ballad ‘I Come To You’, the song flows so effortlessly and naturally, its beauty is apparent from the first few seconds. It is one of those songs where you simply have to stop whatever you are doing and let the music take over. The same can be said for another song in the same vein, ‘Hard To Say It’. While the melodies of both songs are attractive and Stevenson’s writing background shines through in her lyrics, it’s still hard not to focus on that voice. Stevenson is the possessor of a unique voice; at times, such as on the aforementioned songs it really does take your breath away. The purity in Stevenson’s vocals is a rare thing. Then on songs like ‘The Other Side’ Stevenson uses her acting talents to draw the listener in; you find yourself actually imaging Stevenson acting out the song right here in front of you. Partly due to the arrangement of the song for sure, it has a show-tune quality about it, but it’s Stevenson’s expressive vocals that conjure up those images in your head the most. Apart from Stevenson’s unique vocals and obvious flair for writing story- songs, the fact that almost every song takes a completely different musical direction from the one that went before it is another side to the talent that is Gerda Stevenson. Given Stevenson’s theatere background it would have been no great surprise if this album was a collection of show tunes or given her origins a collection of Scottish border ballads, but Stevenson successfully combines elements of all these different genres to create an album that is uniquely Gerda Stevenson. While the closing two songs, ‘It’s Ower’ and ‘Aye the Gean’ could only come from an artist hailing from Stevenson’s part of the world and the opening song, ‘We Can Imagine’ details the frustration of her cancelled flight to Paris from Glasgow during the problems caused by the 2010 volcano eruption in Iceland, there are unexpected touches scattered throughout the album, not least on the radio-friendly ‘If My Car Was Automatic’ and the equally appealing and catchy ‘Papa’s Leaving’. ‘Night Touches Day’ shows yet another side to an already acclaimed artist, and one that we can only hope Stevenson finds the time to explore even more. We need more albums that are as musically diverse as ‘Night Touches Day’ is, especially when the whole album is performed as expertly as this. A special mention to for the package housing this CD ; beautifully presented capturing the essence of the music it contains and printed lyrics too. Perfect1

Track Listing:-

1 We Can Imagine
2 Astronaut's Waltz
3 Machu Picchu
4 All the Prayer
5 Auld Wumman's Sang
6 I Come to You
7 Papa's Leaving
8 Breathe In, Breathe Out
9 Hard to Say It
10 The Other Side
11 If My Car Was Automatic
12 It's Ower
13 Aye the Gean

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/gerdastevensonmusic
http://www.gerdastevenson.co.uk/

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