It's time to revive this thread as I've had Outsiders for four days now and I'm utterly charmed by it. It's rather different from Chris Foster's previous solo releases in that it is a genuinely collaborative effort from the collection of musicians he has gathered up who gel more as a band than as accompanists just invited in to do their bits. It goes without saying that Chris is in as good a voice as ever with his hallmark crystal-clear intonation (thus rendering the full lyric sets in a booklet tucked into the extremely well-produced triple-fold packaging a tad redundant! Though the artwork is ever so smart . . . )

It is as usual a mix of traditional (Lord Bateman, Sir Aldingar, Bedlam & The False Bride are outstanding) and socially committed composed material. And what a range: from Woody Guthrie to Yip Harburg and from Leon Rosselson to Sally Goldsmith topped off with some good ol' boy tunes from Suffolk.

Having played the CD again and again, I think the tunes, Leon Rosselson's Song Of The Olive Tree, The False Bride, Sir Aldingar & Lord Bateman are my favourites but putting it on random in iTunes, I hear different tracks in different ways. As stated above, samples are included on Chris's MySpace page where you can also send him a message and receive back purchasing instructions. Which you'll want to do . . . think of the excitement of getting a jiffy bag from Iceland landing on your mat. Such fun!