BWW Review: THE ANDREW FISHER SONGBOOK

SimG Records are releasing a compilation of composer and lyricist Andrew Fisher's original musical theatre material on 21 May, aptly named The Andrew Fisher Songbook.

The 12-track album is the fourth collaboration between SimG and Fisher. 10 of the 12 are previously unrecorded stand-alone songs that have been recorded by a number of West End performers, which makes them ideal as part of a performer's repertoire due to the range of emotion and musical variation Fisher demonstrates.

Fisher is a master of melody. Every song on the CD has a much-desired hook or distinctive tune, which tethers every other element to it. He flits from genre to genre showing his versatility as an artist and gives the performer a great deal of work to do in their delivery, including clear emotional arcs and a personality to adopt.

Many of the numbers are character driven, as demonstrated brilliantly by Joel Montague in 'Big Cheddar' and Wendi Peters in 'All Men Are Bastards'. Jazz seems to be a preferred style, opening with the witty 'Alphabet Soup' which suits James Gillan to a tee, and a tricky vocal arrangement tackled with ease by Lorna Want in 'Second Base'.

Lyrical, sweeping melodies complete with sublime vocals are provided by Annalene Beechey in 'At The Crossroads', Lauren Samuels in 'Caught In The Rain and Molly Lynch in 'Gloucester Road'; and the album comes to a close with a brilliantly arranged 'Heaven's Plan's A Mystery' sung by Daniel Boys.

What's nice about this collection of music is that the individual songs are well thought-out and say what they need to say without overindulging: an excellent showcase of Fisher's talent.

Physical CDs for The Andrew Fisher Songbook are available to order now from www.SimGProductions.com, and will also be available digitally from 21 May.