David Woodman is a prolific Manchester based singer-songwriter, and has recently released Family, an album I have grown to like a great deal the past weeks, dealing with close connections beyond that of mere blood, and the thought of wider humanity as an interconnected family is one I think we should contemplate more in these rather troubled times.

I don’t particularly like pigeon-holing artists, but it is fair to say that Woodman is heavily influenced by American country music, but fuses this very well with Northern English folk, blues, with classy guitar work heavily influenced in parts by Mark Knopfler. His is a long tradition of singer-songwriter’s who take real life and happenings as their reference point, telling and playing stories rooted in experience, and he is a worthy part of that tradition.

So, thirteen songs to dissect and enjoy. As ever on this website, we discuss all and everything. Let’s go.

We open with the title track, the realisation that family has nothing to do with blood, thus that connections are so important. It mentions breaking bread and drinking wine, those traditional Christian rituals which much of the modern media tends to regard with disdain, at best, but still play a big part in many communities. The music is relentlessly upbeat, and this is a piece of music which makes me feel good, so nothing wrong whatsoever with that. There is a class guitar riff just short of three minutes in, and immediately with this album, Woodman’s musical prowess and warm voice are welcome to the listener.

Get Away follows, a pleasing slab of Americana telling a familiar story to those of us in more rural locations of young people wanting to escape and get away, go and find themselves and their lives. Indeed, my son has just gone back to Bristol after looking after his grandmother for a week whilst we holidayed. Woodman tells his story with warmth, avoiding the easy trap of falling into bitter regret at the leaver and those he/she leaves behind. Head towards the rising sun!

Seasons is a simple love song, celebrating a marriage, strong and happy as it was from the first day. I am blessed with such a union. It is embedded below, a song of pure joy featuring some extremely gorgeous guitar work, reminiscent of Thompson at his most expressive. A lovely song.

One More Reason is a questing song as to the nature of us as humans and the need for love, affection, and hope. Another song with quasi-Christian roots, and some beautifully intricate steel guitar work.

Flying Solo opens with such a gentle acoustic guitar, the voice when it opens melancholic about an impending journey, lyrically reminding me of that classic Leaving on a Jet Plane by the late, great, John Denver. The voice is expressive, bursting with emotion.

Rolling Down This Road is a short track, sending us back to those heady days of the birth of rock ‘n roll, the fusion of youth culture with the Louisiana Blues. The guitar work on this is fantastic, the Hammond in the background expressive, and this is a track all blues fans should lap up. It is embedded below and is huge fun.

Patient is beautiful, a country infused song with vocals which take the listener to a higher plane, just about the perfect example of a singer-songwriter acting as a band, well performed, especially the guitar solo, and a nice percussion roll underlaying the main piece.

Stay Strong Our Kid has a story behind it which demands telling, especially for my many readers outside the UK. “Our Kid” is the parochial term in Manchester for a sibling or family member. The song itself references a terrible happening, the bombing of the Manchester Arena in 2017 whilst thousands of families were looking forward to seeing their heroine, Ariana Grande (who, incidentally, emerged with huge credit in her reaction and subsequent actions to her young fans and a traumatised city). Let’s not get political in the failings of security or police & etc., but suffice to say that seven years later, it is an act of terrorism which still has an imprint upon this magnificent city. It is embedded below, a tale of another pointless act and another maniac trying to tear us apart, a song of aching sadness, but also of fortitude choosing to hope over hate. This is a contender for track of the year on this website’s annual awards, because it is simply stunning.

Be Human, Be Kind is a fair entreaty to us all as a collective. A track which chugs along, with some nice piano work especially, a song which fits within the overarching theme of the work very nicely.

Around the Fire – A Simple Life is the track I struggle with on this album, a tad too traditional in its hoedown roots for these ears. For those of you who love traditional country music, and its deference to those roots, it is a treat, well executed and knowing in its nods to the culture it pays tribute to.

Five Miles From Anywhere is a fine ballad, a song of freedom which has a very dirty guitar riff two minutes in at its heart.

The penultimate track, The Man Outside, has some incredible keyboard work in a track about the search for being, the vocals always searching for meaning and soaring with the eagles as it develops in a track which again has Denver as an influence.

We finish with The First Step, and it is a fair length at over six minutes. It is a thoughtful finish to the album talking about a leap of faith and taking the first steps to change. This track has a strong Knopfler influence in terms of its guitar work and the Hammond soaring in parts, a very nice way to take us to a special place, with the final couple of minutes divine. It is embedded below.

So, to conclude, I will say that there are times when one will reach for the yogic intellectualism of Tales From Topographic Oceans, the futuristic nihilism of The Lifehouse, the dystopian city dual personality of Rael and The Lamb, which are fine, and we love them. Other times, though, you simply want to sit back and relax allowing a melodic and fine musician with roots experience to wash over you and enter your world without having to immerse yourself in it.

Take yourselves over to the Bandcamp page at https://davidwoodman.bandcamp.com/album/family

This is an album which fills me with joy listening, and there really is no higher praise for music.