For a start off, this is in the wrong order isn’t it? Winter first and an album opening line of "I think about death". You may start listening to this album with a developing concern for Mr Lee’s mental state of mind. But don’t worry there’s no need. Keep going and you start to see the sense of the order as Shirley Lee delves back into his life and constructs not a chronological history but a themed chapterisation of who he is. It’s all here from early family memories, young loves and memorable trips. This is a man reaching a ‘certain age’ and realising that looking back explains more than just where you are now but who you are now. Mr Lee has utilised the moods of the four seasons to produce a personal tour of his life, loves, family and influences.

Kicking off with the stripped down bleakness of Maidenhead and those stark opening lines through to the deeply personal The Christmas Present, 'Winter' isn’t all as grey and depressing as you might expect. Death has a much lighter soundtrack with the advice that all our elders seem to give us "live, drink, dance while we still can".

‘Autumn’ has one of the star tracks of the album, The Haunted; "so much sadness is not good for you". Shirley Lee seems to take his own advice as things do start to brighten up a little. But not too quickly, in The Country Darkness tell of self realisation and the deep impact of family love even if it’s not your own.

And so in Disc 2 Shirley moves on to ‘Summer’ and ‘Spring’ and starts off with, for me, one of the start tracks of the album I Remember You a tale of a brief meeting that sticks in the memory. We all have these small moments of huge impact. They may not be particularly significant in the scheme of things but as Mr Lee wonderfully highlights, they are memories that just keep coming back. ‘Summer’ is a evocative chapter for me; it seems to say summer all the way through. I can’t remember a collection of songs saying so much in imagery as Chris Rea’s On The Beach from first listening summer leapt out of the vinyl and so it does here. The Old Cricketer a tribute to John Peel’s influence on Shirley Lee’s musical heritage has been released as a single and is in many ways going to represent this album. If I’m honest it’s not the best track on this album. The Haunted, the unashamedly romantic The Coast of Capri and Good Days and Bad Days stand out to me as better tracks and much more representative of this really quite wonderful album.

‘Spring’ carries the warmth on towards the end of the album. Tracing it Back, Paris, As You Turned Twenty-nine and Alpine Zoo reveal more positive and indeed happier memories from Mr Lee’s past; it’s not all doom and gloom. But the circle is completed with I Can Wait when personal loss brings you right back to the beginning of this excellent double album and possibly the reason for the thoughts of death that pervade the ‘Winter’ chapter.

There are a couple of really short tracks on the album that tell so much so quickly; The Christmas Present, Suddenly It Was Summer and Passing Lights say so much in less than ninety seconds that you wonder how some songwriters can say so little in four minutes.

There’s also a wide variety of musical influences vying with each other throughout the album, from the 80’s Human League synths of Winter Light to the cool jazz of Alpine Zoo. (Listen to The Old Cricketer if you want a comprehensive list.) There’s the simplicity of vocals and guitar to much bigger sounding band numbers but nothing over-blown or unnecessary, only what’s needed. The opening tracks may have you thinking of reaching for the Prozac but this is not an album for dulled senses. Shirley Lee is inviting you to find out why he is who he is through thirty tracks that focus in on aspects of his life and thoughts that he feels explain so much about himself. Accept the invitation and you will find yourself in one of this year’s best albums.

Reviewed by D-Jaysea

Shirley Lee's Winter Autumn Summer Spring is available now from Amazon.