One of those albums that grows on you eac time you listen. It's a must for anyone who likes that cross-genre musical style - folk / rock / country. Rod writes some graet songs, the tunes are memorable, and the backing music superb.

I've followed Rod since he was in Big Rain and this is his best disc yet!

I just hope that Rod Picott is able to smile at life's little ironies or, better still, write more songs about them. The universal and warranted praise that has followed him since Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues burst through in 2000, must have him wondering where the mansion and Lear jet are hidden. However, those who have been lucky enough to follow the fortunes of this superb singer-songwriter will have formed the opinion that he is more interested in making the kind of music that buries its way into your soul, than sitting with accountants. Throughout his career, Rod Picott has written 'life' songs and Summerbirds is no different. They're not florid or fancy but every lyric has a meaning well beyond just rhyming with its predecessor. But perhaps the one thing that raises Rod Picott above the 'herd' is that every song has a heart, it may be broken sometimes, it may even be down on its luck, but its there and it beats strong. Since he exorcised the demons with the passion of Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues, Rod Picott has definitely mellowed and Summerbirds is his most reflective and focussed album to date. When he fixes his sights on a subject, he takes careful aim and never misses but he sounds a little more content and accepting of the misfortunes that befall us all. While Summerbirds is a beautifully subtle and layered album, full of honest emotion, old habits die hard and he can't resist kick-starting it with a bit of rock 'n' roll and Jealous Stars is vintage Picott rock, energetic without being theatrical, fun but still retaining the intelligent writing that is his trademark. Birds Won't Fly eases the album back a little but he is too canny a performer and too astute a songwriter to let Summerbirds drift, Just Like Love and Something In Spanish are love songs but they are real love songs and that's a vital difference. It could just as easily be you or I in the middle of them, Picott is an 'everyman' musician. While he'ss an accomplished performer Rod Picott is an infinitely superior storyteller, the language he uses is straight talking and direct, Hand Me Down for one gets on with job of telling its story. With a slightly rough-edged voice emphasising that he truly believes what he is singing, Picott will never be one of life's slick crooners. His songs are slices of his world good and bad, but it takes a rare insight to be able to soul search quite as deeply as Sinners Prayer, while Trouble Girl creates a feeling of longing that hangs long in the air, the poet is never very far away from a Rod Picott song. In common with the very best singer songwriters, Picott leaves the impression that he is using his music to gather up his own memories, on Just Like Home he sounds as if he's in another gentler world, it is stunning moment on a fantastic album. Put simply, Rod Picott writes songs and then sings them without fuss or fanfare. But there are songs, there are great songs and then there are the kind that Rod Picott writes. When you listen to Summerbirds you've been given something tangible, something you can almost reach and touch. www.rodpicott.com Michael Mee August 2007