Although long aware of 78-year-old singer-songwriter Atkin’s association with the late Clive James, I hadn’t ever heard Atkin perform before nor expected to hear him in a semi-jazz context. Now comes this collection of 14 songs, the music by Atkin, the lyrics by James, with Atkin’s vocals aided by sundry high-class jazzmen marshalled by Wallace. Atkin might best be defined as a folk singer, with a slightly world-weary vocal style, well-suited to James’ poetic lyrics, the support here both tasteful and apposite.

Many of these songs had been part of the duo’s repertoire and clearly work well for Atkin solo, his note emphasising the way Wallace’s accompaniments ‘bring them to life in new ways’, these musicians adding their own filigree embellishments.

Recalling that James was a published poet, it’s no surprise that his lyrics bear more than passing examination. The title track has a percussive motif, Wallace’s arrangement channelling some nice chord changes, while ‘Screen-Freak’ is like a compendium of cinematic references and great fun, with O’Higgins featured. ‘The Trophies of My Lovers Gone’ is elegiac with Wallace as sole accompanist, while ‘An Empty Table’ is a paean for lost love. Not too much for purist jazzers maybe, but Paul Simon fans might like it.