Gilbert O’Sullivan’s 19th studio album has been produced by Ethan Johns (previously produced albums by Kings Of Leon, Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, Paul MacCartney) and is a collection of some of the finest songs he has ever written and recorded.

Ranging from the melancholy charm of ‘At The End Of The Day’ or ‘I’ll Never Love Again’ to the brisk, buoyant ‘Penny Drops’, ‘What Is It About My Girl’ and Ethan’s favourite, the rollicking ‘This Riff’. There are musings on ageing and mortality, and also, of course, crisp comic touches, something Gilbert attributes to his love of Spike Milligan.

One of the album’s standout tracks is first single ‘Where Did You Go To?’ which, with Gilbert’s surreal wordplay and the hammond organ to the fore, would not be out of place on long-time influence, Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone album.

Whilst the album’s centerpiece, ‘Dansette Dreams And 45s’, is a nod to nostalgia, Gilbert’s deft, droll observations on today’s world remain ever eagle-eyed. The album’s final two songs, ‘The Mind Boggles’ and ‘For The Record’, both tackle serious issues, with references to Donald Trump and homelessness. These songs show Gilbert at the top of his game, as he has been since banging out Dylan and Beatles tunes as a child on the piano, in the shed at the end of his mother’s council house garden in Swindon.