I sat down to write this review, and as always did some research and noticed that Blake used to be in The Minstrel’s Ghost. The cogs started to slowly crunch and I soon found a review I wrote of their final album, ‘Jack: A Different Tale’, back in 2019, and it is safe to say I was not impressed. However, I never undertake research (or even read press releases) until I have listened to the music enough to feel the time is right to attempt to pass on my thoughts, and I am glad to say that my opinions of that album six years ago are different to my thoughts on this one in 2025.
Here we have Blake totally over-achieving, writing all the songs, playing all the music and providing all the vocals, as well as producing, engineering, mixing and mastering the final outcome along with providing the design, graphics and photos in the booklet. His voice is aged, in a good way, providing emotion and gravitas, while his lyrics are carefully constructed and we get taken on multiple journeys and the experiences gained along the way. In many ways this is traditional singer-songwriter, but instead of just accompanying himself on acoustic guitar he has provided a modern layering of instruments to provide a sound which is both up to date and also harkening back to the Eighties. The result is something over which I am quite conflicted as while I enjoy the songs, especially the vocal performance and the words, there are parts within the arrangement which I have trouble with. The most obvious is the drums, which are pedestrian at best, and the album may well have sounded better if they had not been included at all, but if it was felt there really was a need then a sweating human should have been brought in for a session. The swirling keyboards provide just enough support, while the bass is there to keep it all together, while the guitar not only has some nice melodies in behind, but also effective lead breaks. I have never been a fan of fadeouts on studio albums either, so I find the ending of “The Darkened Way” something of an anti-climax, yet there is something about this album which has had me coming back to it time and again.
I know Blake has not had the best of experiences in bands, but this material played by a full complement would take it to another level. As it is, this is a very enjoyable and listenable album indeed. 7/10 by Kev Rowland
