Chris Goss is a busy musician, in fact one of the busiest around at the moment. A couple of weeks ago on Wrexham FM I played a song featuring Polly Harvey and Goss from the wonderful THE DESERT SESSIONS album, and The Ballad Of Jody Frosty from this fabulous album. Goss excels in every musical department and if anything was to illustrate his musical dexterity, this is it.

Masters Of Reality is just one of his many projects but has built a formidable reputation as one of America’s finest rock bands. The San Francisco Chronicle describes the band as “beautifully poised between guitar thuggery of vintage Black Sabbath and the harmonies of the Beatles.” The L.A. Times pronounced the band as, “the best rock band around today. Period.” GIVE US BARABBAS is a selection of the band’s finest songs from the last twenty years. It’s a formidable testimony to both Goss and the band. The album opens with one of the finest songs I’ve hear in many years, The Ballad Of Jody Frosty. It’s a song with folk roots and a very homespun ambience resulting from its heavy acoustic content. But at the same time it’s epic in scale with a superb melody, subtle string accompaniment and stunning vocal performance from Goss. In short, it’s inspiring and stands head and shoulders over some great music released this year. I had tremendous difficulty selecting a track to play on radio and ended up with no less than five songs to agonise over. The second track came close. Voice And Vision is another heavily folk influenced track which rolls along at slow-medium pace helped by stunning instrumental work, mesmerising harmonies and another magical melody. Stunning.

The quality of this record is astounding with so many tracks finding a permanent place in my mind. There’s also maturity and message by the truckload. Razor sharp guitar chords introduce track three, the somewhat lighter pop/rock tune I Walk Beside Your Love before launching into a more mellow and moodier Bela Alef Rose. This is an album that grows on you to the point that it will remain in your CD player for days. An early contender for album of the year? You Bet. Essential.

5/5