Review: Harrogate's Dan Burnett - king of the keyboards!

Ace keyboardist Dan Burnett has built an impressive reputation for being a modern-day blue-eyed soul wonder beyond Harrogate in recent years.

If the four tracks on his new EP (five, if you include a ‘hidden’ bonus cover of All Along The Watchtower) proves anything, it’s that that reputation is well deserved.

Written and performed entirely by this talented musician, that conclusion applies to everything on this impressive EP, from the opening notes of the upbeat Robert Cray-ish title track to the closing notes of stark piano-dominated final ballad Reason for Living.

Specialising in that smooth poppy British version of New Orleans music, the EP proves not only is Dan is master of the keys but he plays a mean fluid guitar line, too.

And he also boasts a voice to match - clear, poppy and smooth but soulful.

My personal favourite track is the breezy, slightly jazzy third track, Time Has Come but, in truth, there isn’t a bad note on the Small World EP.

That nothing sinks into blandness isn’t just down to Dan Burnett’s vocals.

It’s the frankness and honesty of his lyrics, betraying emotional wounds and physical scars with bravery.

A former British Blues Awards finalist, Burnett was spoon-fed blues, soul, funk, and rock music from an early age by his parents.

His father, Laurie Burnett was a well respected guitarist who was in bands with ex David Bowie’s ‘Spiders from Mars’ Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder.

Music clearly seeped into Dan Burnett’s pores from an early age and it certainly shows in the recordings he is now producing.