Just for once, an album's press release comes in useful. Scratching my head in an attempt to find an adjective to describe the unique appeal of Peter Bruntnell's voice, out pops the word "mellifluous." Not precisely certain what it means, but somehow it seems right. From Camelot in Smithereens to Ends of the Earth, Peter's recorded context has always been strictly electric, but anyone who has seen one of his acoustic shows will know that this setting is just as charming. Even those with all Peter's albums should invest in Played Out, because the arrangements are so radically different that it could almost be a new set of songs, rather than what it actually is, which is a re-visiting of his "greatest hits." Here Come the Swells is no longer so dark, By the Time My Head Gets to Phoenix sounds almost like Nick Drake, while You Won't Find Me is even more plaintive than the original. Peter is one of the U.K.'s most intriguing and criminally underrated songwriters.