Dallas Green’s latest album under the City and Colour moniker comes in the form of a live album. Guide Me Back Home is twenty songs recorded on his 2017 ‘An Evening with City and Colour (Solo)’ Canadian tour. But this isn’t one show captured, instead it’s songs from various shows he played all across his native Canada during the tour, from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick.
Not only are the cities where the songs were recorded wide-ranging, but so too are the tracks themselves. His discography gets featured rather diplomatically on Guide Me Back Home, from newer single ‘Lover Come Back’ through to the older ‘We Found Each Other in the Dark’ and ‘The Girl’.
While even a City and Colour show with a full band feels rather cozy, it’s on another level because it’s just Green performing these songs. You’d think a studio with multiple takes at your fingertips would be the ideal way to showcase Green’s voice, however live, it goes up a notch. Very slight imperfections that may get fixed in the recording process are present in all their glory and it makes the songs sound even more personable. Meanwhile, Green’s storytelling and conversation between songs is also charming and adds another layer of intimacy to this release.
7.5/10
