Danny And The Champions Of The World - Streets Of Our Time (2010)

2^nd album from Danny Wilson's South London indie-country collective.

This album arrived at my house as I was suffering from an extremely debilitating chest infection. I'd been laid up in bed for the best part of a week. Couldn't face much reading, or food so had spent most of my time coughing and ruminating on life's twists and turns. A strange week of introspection. This album seemed to arrive at just the right time, forcing from me the easy tears of a convalescent. It's themes of family and friendship striking a deep chord.

The photo on the sleeve shows a close up of a pair of road-weary trainers placed on railway tracks that stretch off into the hazy distance. It's a clue to the reflective lyrical themes that lie within these 9 songs. Danny Wilson takes a mid-life stock take, looking back at distance travelled, while keeping a hopeful eye on the journey still to come. 

Opening track “Henry The Van” laments the breakdown of a tour bus but is really about fanning the dying embers of youthful passions and ambitions. It comes drenched in gorgeous CS&N style harmonies courtesy of Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou.

“Lose These Rags” is a community empowering anthem Springsteen might have written had he grown in Wandsworth rather than New Jersey.

Recurring references to familial love, community, ageing and nature, most notably rivers and birds, continue throughout the record. Strong autobiographical song writing and an assured English country sound makes this a very rewarding listen.

Here's a clip of the band playing an impromptu  version of "Restless Feet".