'A Piece Of Me', depicting the life of music teacher and oil painter, David Studdard, becomes a wide-eyed romantic view of his Devonshire landscape. Determined dreamer, John Lethbridge, took a cider barrel and invented a diving machine - in Nicky's hands this becomes a lavish show tune with belting vocals. And 'One Track Line' brings fresh perspectives to the tragic tale of Kitty Jay.

A majority of tunes are ballads, but each has its own individual nuances, largely due to Nicky being joined by a set of players capable of enhancing each moment. 'Because Of You', a portrayal of Frank Matchem, designer of more than two hundred theatres, is a sumptuous string-laden odyssey. But the sadness of the wartime bombing of the local railway station sticks with the simplistic velveteen qualities of Nicky's voice and guitar. Departures bring a percussion-backed barrelling piano for the tale of Victorian social reformer  Dr. John Willian Ley on 'Union Babies'. And 'Sing', a tribute to Tuckers Maltings and its annual beer festival, finishes this engrossing musical adventure on a knees-up.