James Rhodes - Razor Blades, Little Pills and Big Pianos (2009)

James Rhodes' story is an unusual one: he has had no formal academic musical education or dedicated mentoring.The title of this, his debut album, hints at the suffering that dogged Rhodes's childhood and early adult life. Classical music became his solace and key to his survival. It was Bach, Beethoven and Chopin; not Faith, Hope and Charity, that offered him comfort. Razor Blades, Little Pills and Big Pianos explores the emotive landscape that we call 'life'.The recording, performed at the magical Potton Hall, tucked away in a seductive Brittenesque patch of Suffolk, is somewhat of a biographical expression of Rhodes's complex and unorthodox journey. And yes, he can play.