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" &amp;quot;The making of this album has been an incredible journey for me, it is probably the hardest record I have ever had to make,&amp;quot; Charlie Simpson said of his second solo LP Long Road Home. One particular stumbling block in the recording process was writer&amp;#039;s block, which wasn&amp;#039;t helped by the lack of collaborator to bounce ideas off. &amp;quot;It just became a little too much I think, and I just had to stop,&amp;quot; he told us last month.  In that single self-confessed issue, and the one most feared by creatives, Simpson neatly summarises the stigma that silently lurks behind his solo efforts. To both genuine fans and the everyday indifferent he&amp;#039;s considered first and foremost a &amp;#039;band man&amp;#039;; the original face of Busted and then frontman of alternative band Fightstar.  Nevertheless, Simpson has stared into the face of a McBusted supergroup fusion and stayed true to his own agenda. Long Road Home presents itself as an illustrious tapestry of its maker&amp;#039;s influences; a collection of songs that wear the marks of their making not deceptively, but proudly. Simpson&amp;#039;s clear passion and skill for crafting accessible and hook-friendly songs courses through the main vein of the record. The near falsetto vocals on tracks like &amp;#039;Emily&amp;#039; mirrors the light indie folk of Bon Iver, whereas the jangling &amp;quot;Hey!&amp;quot;s and lyrical nods to &amp;quot;heavy hearts&amp;quot; in &amp;#039;Comets&amp;#039; make for a wholly more Mumford &amp;amp; Sons-sounding effort. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s such a long road home and you can&amp;#039;t just make it alone,&amp;quot; Simpson sings in title track &amp;#039;Long Road Home&amp;#039;. &amp;#039;Charlie from Busted&amp;#039; or &amp;#039;Charlie from Fightstar&amp;#039; has proven that he&amp;#039;s worth more than the sum of a band. He is Charlie Simpson, capable of making it alone even if it does come with its challenges. Long Road Home might not be a game-changer in the overarching scheme of music, but it&amp;#039;s a personal triumph for Simpson and an impressive collection of his thoughts and influences.  Tracks to download: &amp;#039;Haunted&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Emily&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Blood&amp;#039; Watch the music video for Charlie Simpson&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Haunted&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/review/a587957/charlie-simpson-long-road-home-album-review/>