It was little over a year ago that Brian Collins was preparing for a successful little run of shows at C2C 2023 building on the success garnered in his support role on Kezia Gill's tour. He made an instant impact and one would hope for further sightings of him in the UK during 2024.
"Keep Walking On" is a marvellous little genre hopping single that touches Country, Blues and with the addition of wonderful choir maybe even Gospel
"Spent half my life just wishing
Afraid of the chance I'd been given
Thought I should ask for forgiveness
For wanting more"
It is an uncharacteristic moment of openness from an artist, reflecting on where they are and what they've achieved and how they've achieved it..
The chorus of the song is an even more frank admission of the price to be paid, opportunities and friendships both taken and lost, and that realisation that the journey could be a long one. and that the only way to go is to press on forward.
"It is the only way to learn
Which bridge to cross and which one to burn
And you might not get there at first and the road is long
But keep walking on"
The choir of voices that appear on the chorus add a spiritual layer to the overall proceedings as well as warmth to the sound that already oozes with class. The second verse with Brian's soulful timbre also hints at needing something else than gold discs and praise.
"Don't want to say it's been easy
Sometimes my mind is still reeling
I have to keep on believing
That there's more"
There are also further spiritual observations
"The truth is that you only have one soul"
and in the closing stages the lines could be interpreted both personally or professionally
"Ready or not you know a change is going to come
It takes every ounce of faith to keep on keeping on"
Musically it is actually rather restrained, the appearance of that choir undoubtedly gives it that extra dimension however once stripped away there is not a lot else but Brian's guitar and some additional guitar work no doubt from Rockwell Jacobs. There is a little bit of percussion and keyboard activity, thankfully no reliance on click tracks or gimmicks to pad out the sound, yet the combination manages to punch well above it's weight sounding a very polished production.
As an opening statement for a forthcoming album Brian could not have set the bar much higher another ten or so tracks of that quality and the road may get a good deal shorter!