THIS week s song competition entry comes from singer-songwriter Philip J Cook. His song Worth It comes from his recent EP Bob Dylan Is A State Of Mind - a title that shines a light on his sound and influences. This demo recording is freely played with ch

THIS week's song competition entry comes from singer-songwriter Philip J Cook. His song Worth It comes from his recent EP Bob Dylan Is A State Of Mind - a title that shines a light on his sound and influences.

This demo recording is freely played with choppy casual guitar chords and a bouncy upbeat feel that contrasts nicely with some darker lyrics. Occasionally the phrasing stumbles and doesn't resolve too neatly, but this can give it a rougher, more spontaneous feel that I often like.

The lyrics are often interesting, but sometimes a little too explicit for my taste. I wouldn't encourage anyone to muddy their lyrical waters to appear deeper than they are, but sometimes a little mystery works wonders. To surmise, it seems a tale of looking back at wild times and arriving at the conclusion that everything that has happened was, as the title suggests, worth it. As a theme it has quite a lot in common with last year's winner from Mark Wilks and Jimmy Proctor, but it's a lot less innocent and more defiant than sad.

CHRIS BOLAND