There is certainly no shortage of singer songwriters working the Glasgow circuit and Chris Blair is right at the top of that substantial pile. "For You To Lead…" is his debut album.
This is a simple and honest album featuring just one man and his guitar for the most part. Live favourites like "Anxious" are transferred directly to the permanence of compact disc without noticeable alteration. That's a valid approach but other songs like the title track and "Skin On Me" would have benefitted from a few more musicians. "Another Piece" is the standout track of the album with the vocals neatly mixing passion with mellowness over a deftly played guitar.
Chris Blair knows his way around a melody but the recordings on this album seem rather restrained. Having seen him perform live in many an occasion, the thing that impresses most about him is his enthusiasm. No one could ever accuse him of being casual or not trying to get his music across to an audience. The lack of fire on show here does reduce the impact of his songs somewhat but, nonetheless, this is an album that is both easy to listen to and provides a positive indication that the best is yet to come.
Available to buy from his website.