I'm beginning to think that all the interesting music in the world is actually getting put out out on vinyl. Of course, no one could ever accuse Jason Webley of being anything other than interesting. Setting himself up with fellow "character" Sxip Shirey, he no doubt judged that something special might spring to life in the grooves.
The thing to remember is that recorded Jason Webley is nothing like live Jason Webley. On stage, he is a truly dynamic entertainer. On record, he becomes more introspective and creates the kind of music that never forces itself on you. You have to grow in to it. It's the kind of music that sounds natural and unforced even though you know that you can't achieve that without a lot of effort. "Days With You" seems so conventional. Take away the more traditional instrumentation and substitute some heftily compressed guitars and keyboards and you could imagine all sorts of chart contenders fighting for the right to cover this song. However, Jason Webley and Sxip Shirey keep it all laid back and reflective making this a song that you have to listen to several times to truly appreciate.
"Leave Me" is a bit more art house. Multi-layered vocals add urban flavour to what would normally be classed as roots music. Again, there is the emotional depth of the performance to consider and again it does take several listens before you connect with the song. Hints of Eastern Europe surface and distract you from the big city in which you live. Oddly enough, I kept thinking of Lowell George whilst listening to this song. Maybe it was just the kind of song that the road sings to the wind.
There's a lot more stuff with this single - a bonus CD of outtakes, a leaflet and a (very) short story by Ken Hunt. It's also a limited edition of 1,111 copies and comes on half clear, half blue vinyl.