2018 Album Reviews
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Brown Bear – What is Home?
Anyone from Ayrshire, or who follows the music scene in Scotland’s south-west county (famous for Robert Burns and golf but delivering a healthy number of talented singer songwriters and bands as diverse in genre as indie, folk, emo and rock, most significantly Biffy Clyro) will also be aware that a debut album from brownbear – aka singer songwriter Matthew Hickman in band form – has been a long time coming.
But sometimes it’s all in the timing and there is no doubt that even with the inclusion of a few older, live-set favourites, the 10 track What is Home? showcases an artist who has grown and matured musically in the last three to four years.
First track 'Covers' underlines that maturity and emphasises the main themes tackled on the album – love, loss and growth.
The jaunty, jangly and up-tempo (brownbear traits) opener belies a more down-tempo lyric ("I pull back the covers, to find you’ve got another lover…") only to have those covers reversed when the lyrical narrator later declares that "I realise, I’m the one who’s living lies, because you’ve already moved on…"
2016 single 'Wandering Eyes' perfectly captures that brownbear signature sound of bright electric six-string remarks sprinkled across the band’s indie-acoustic framework of vocal-guitar-bass-drums.
By contrast 'Truth Without Consequence' carries a smoother, almost soul-pop acoustic sound, adding a new colour to the brownbear palette.
The song is further enhanced by well-placed backing vocal interjections that accentuate its cool vibe.
Acoustic ballad 'Olive Tree' is a song that’s been a set-list staple for Matthew Hickman solo, and the band brownbear, for a number of years.
It's also such a delightful and poignant track (carrying a sombre yet positive lyric) that there would have been a public enquiry if it had been left off the album (here benefiting from the subtle but effective lead guitar touches of Eric Lindsay).
If there’s such a thing as modern or Indie skiffle-pop, brownbear clearly have the copyright with tracks such as 'Only For You' and 'The Wrong Team.'
Good songs that they are, they are bettered by the reflective 'Funny Old World' (lyrically observing that it isn’t that funny at all), its full sounding and edgier counterpart 'Stop the World' and the plaintive, stripped back to great effect, album closing title track.
Young Mr Hickman isn’t just a smart indie-pop/ acoustic rock styled songwriter; he’s a smart cookie – he wasn’t about to release an album's worth of material until he had a strong, confident and ear catching album's worth of material.
And that's just what brownbear has delivered with What is Home?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But sometimes it’s all in the timing and there is no doubt that even with the inclusion of a few older, live-set favourites, the 10 track What is Home? showcases an artist who has grown and matured musically in the last three to four years.
First track 'Covers' underlines that maturity and emphasises the main themes tackled on the album – love, loss and growth.
The jaunty, jangly and up-tempo (brownbear traits) opener belies a more down-tempo lyric ("I pull back the covers, to find you’ve got another lover…") only to have those covers reversed when the lyrical narrator later declares that "I realise, I’m the one who’s living lies, because you’ve already moved on…"
2016 single 'Wandering Eyes' perfectly captures that brownbear signature sound of bright electric six-string remarks sprinkled across the band’s indie-acoustic framework of vocal-guitar-bass-drums.
By contrast 'Truth Without Consequence' carries a smoother, almost soul-pop acoustic sound, adding a new colour to the brownbear palette.
The song is further enhanced by well-placed backing vocal interjections that accentuate its cool vibe.
Acoustic ballad 'Olive Tree' is a song that’s been a set-list staple for Matthew Hickman solo, and the band brownbear, for a number of years.
It's also such a delightful and poignant track (carrying a sombre yet positive lyric) that there would have been a public enquiry if it had been left off the album (here benefiting from the subtle but effective lead guitar touches of Eric Lindsay).
If there’s such a thing as modern or Indie skiffle-pop, brownbear clearly have the copyright with tracks such as 'Only For You' and 'The Wrong Team.'
Good songs that they are, they are bettered by the reflective 'Funny Old World' (lyrically observing that it isn’t that funny at all), its full sounding and edgier counterpart 'Stop the World' and the plaintive, stripped back to great effect, album closing title track.
Young Mr Hickman isn’t just a smart indie-pop/ acoustic rock styled songwriter; he’s a smart cookie – he wasn’t about to release an album's worth of material until he had a strong, confident and ear catching album's worth of material.
And that's just what brownbear has delivered with What is Home?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Danny Bryant – Revelation
"Revelation! Steal my heart away… Revelation! There’s a price you have to pay… Revelation! Where is God today?" sings Danny Bryant with a genuinely impassioned vocality (a blend of his own gravel-blues voice and the late Joe Cocker’s crackling tones).
It’s a tone setting opening statement that confirms Revelation is, as Danny Bryant stated in pre-release press, an album that caused the British blues rock musician to go "deep inside of myself and confront memories and emotions I didn't really want to face."
The reasons for such soul searching are both personal and dark; in a six month period prior to writing and recording Revelation Danny Bryant lost one of his oldest and closest friends and his father, who passed away after a long illness (Bryant senior shared the stage with his son for many years as not just his dad but his best friend and bass player).
It’s a credit therefore to Danny Bryant that while Revelation is a personal and emotional journey, it’s also a highly impacting and connecting work (this is not a morose or sullen presentation, often the case when the subject of life and death is taken on musically).
The title track’s striking introduction (complete with well-placed and measured piano and organ textures, a forlorn trumpet and a beast of a solo from Danny Bryant), is followed by the more traditional yet contemporary shaded blues of 'Isolate,' a number that has Bryant’s guitar crying in melodic sympathy to a lyric of total disconnection that almost pleads to be allowed to tell its tale ("you isolate me... I’m desperate to be free…").
More strikingly, the outro bars of soloing on 'Isolate' might well be the best guitar work Bryant has yet laid down; it’s also worth noting the solo (and Bryant’s vocal) were first take recordings.
'Liars Testament' beefs up, and rocks, the blues by a couple of amp notches before John Mellencamp’s 'Someday the Rains will Fall' (a great fit for the lyrical tone of the album) acts as an acoustic buffer between the electrified blues found on either side of the track.
'Truth or Dare,' featuring Danny Bryant’s nine-piece touring Big Band, is a grooving shuffle with the brass section in full swing; musical contrast is provided by the delicate and quite touching 'Shouting at the Moon' (written about the last night Bryant spent with his father) and 'Sister Decline,' a number that brings riffy, mid-tempo blues rocking swagger to proceedings.
The Howlin' Wolf number 'May I Have a Talk With You' and 'Yours For a Song' close out the album in purposeful and emotive fashion.
The former is the sort of traditional slow blues no Danny Bryant album should be without (Bryant’s guitar, backed by swaying horns, expressing itself in some style) while the latter reflects the weight of its predecessor but in six-and-a-half minute power ballad clothing with an up-tempo, blues rocking outro.
In terms of range and depth Danny Bryant would be the first to admit he’s not the greatest singer in the world, but given the personal and impassioned nature of the lyrics Danny Bryant has given Revelation the heartfelt voice it needs – and wouldn’t be without.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Danny Bryant UK Tour May/June 2018
( * with Special Guest Steve Hill ** with Special Guest Rainbreakers)
Tickets: www.dannybryant.com
The Robin 2, Bilston - Monday 7th May *
The Junction 2, Cambridge - Tuesday 8th May *
Islington O2 Academy 2, London - Wednesday 9th May *
The Tunnels, Aberdeen - Thursday 10th May *
The Flowerpot, Derby - Friday 11th May *
The Citadel, St Helens - Saturday 12th May *
Tithe Barn, Bishops Cleeve - Sunday 13th May *
The Waterfront, Norwich - Thursday 7th June **
The Harlington, Fleet - Friday 8th June **
The Queens Hall, Narberth - Saturday 9th June **
The Wharf, Tavistock - Sunday 10th June **
Whelan’s, Dublin - Tuesday 12th June
Empire, Belfast - Wednesday 13th June
Oran Mor, Glasgow - Thursday 14th June
Cleethorpes Blues Festival, Moon on the Water, Cleethorpes - Saturday 16th June
Stamford Blues Festival, Corn Exchange, Stamford - Sunday 17th June
It’s a tone setting opening statement that confirms Revelation is, as Danny Bryant stated in pre-release press, an album that caused the British blues rock musician to go "deep inside of myself and confront memories and emotions I didn't really want to face."
The reasons for such soul searching are both personal and dark; in a six month period prior to writing and recording Revelation Danny Bryant lost one of his oldest and closest friends and his father, who passed away after a long illness (Bryant senior shared the stage with his son for many years as not just his dad but his best friend and bass player).
It’s a credit therefore to Danny Bryant that while Revelation is a personal and emotional journey, it’s also a highly impacting and connecting work (this is not a morose or sullen presentation, often the case when the subject of life and death is taken on musically).
The title track’s striking introduction (complete with well-placed and measured piano and organ textures, a forlorn trumpet and a beast of a solo from Danny Bryant), is followed by the more traditional yet contemporary shaded blues of 'Isolate,' a number that has Bryant’s guitar crying in melodic sympathy to a lyric of total disconnection that almost pleads to be allowed to tell its tale ("you isolate me... I’m desperate to be free…").
More strikingly, the outro bars of soloing on 'Isolate' might well be the best guitar work Bryant has yet laid down; it’s also worth noting the solo (and Bryant’s vocal) were first take recordings.
'Liars Testament' beefs up, and rocks, the blues by a couple of amp notches before John Mellencamp’s 'Someday the Rains will Fall' (a great fit for the lyrical tone of the album) acts as an acoustic buffer between the electrified blues found on either side of the track.
'Truth or Dare,' featuring Danny Bryant’s nine-piece touring Big Band, is a grooving shuffle with the brass section in full swing; musical contrast is provided by the delicate and quite touching 'Shouting at the Moon' (written about the last night Bryant spent with his father) and 'Sister Decline,' a number that brings riffy, mid-tempo blues rocking swagger to proceedings.
The Howlin' Wolf number 'May I Have a Talk With You' and 'Yours For a Song' close out the album in purposeful and emotive fashion.
The former is the sort of traditional slow blues no Danny Bryant album should be without (Bryant’s guitar, backed by swaying horns, expressing itself in some style) while the latter reflects the weight of its predecessor but in six-and-a-half minute power ballad clothing with an up-tempo, blues rocking outro.
In terms of range and depth Danny Bryant would be the first to admit he’s not the greatest singer in the world, but given the personal and impassioned nature of the lyrics Danny Bryant has given Revelation the heartfelt voice it needs – and wouldn’t be without.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Danny Bryant UK Tour May/June 2018
( * with Special Guest Steve Hill ** with Special Guest Rainbreakers)
Tickets: www.dannybryant.com
The Robin 2, Bilston - Monday 7th May *
The Junction 2, Cambridge - Tuesday 8th May *
Islington O2 Academy 2, London - Wednesday 9th May *
The Tunnels, Aberdeen - Thursday 10th May *
The Flowerpot, Derby - Friday 11th May *
The Citadel, St Helens - Saturday 12th May *
Tithe Barn, Bishops Cleeve - Sunday 13th May *
The Waterfront, Norwich - Thursday 7th June **
The Harlington, Fleet - Friday 8th June **
The Queens Hall, Narberth - Saturday 9th June **
The Wharf, Tavistock - Sunday 10th June **
Whelan’s, Dublin - Tuesday 12th June
Empire, Belfast - Wednesday 13th June
Oran Mor, Glasgow - Thursday 14th June
Cleethorpes Blues Festival, Moon on the Water, Cleethorpes - Saturday 16th June
Stamford Blues Festival, Corn Exchange, Stamford - Sunday 17th June
No Hot Ashes – No Hot Ashes
Things don’t always go as planned in the music business; albums are delayed, plans are rescheduled, changes within a label can have knock-on, or even knock-out, effect on a given artist.
But finally delivering your debut album, thirty-five years after band formation, might just be some sort of melodic rock record, and not necessarily a vinyl one.
Belfast based No Hot Ashes formed in 1983 and were heavily influenced by bands such as Whitesnake, Journey, Foreigner, Thin Lizzy and many an AOR band of the era.
In 1986 No Hot Ashes supported the likes of Mama’s Boys, Magnum and Steve Marriot’s Packet of Three; by 1988 they had signed to GWR Records and recorded what should have been their debut album.
However delays, fate, circumstances and changing musical times as the 80s became the 90s conspired against No Hot Ashes and in 1990 the band called it a day.
In September 2013 No Hot Ashes – Paul Boyd (bass), Tommy Dickson (keys), Steve Strange (drums), Eamon Nancarrow (vocals), Niall Diver and Davey Irvine (Guitars) – reformed for what was supposed to be a one-off gig but for the next four years the band found themselves playing various festivals, supporting heavyweights such as Aerosmith, Foreigner, UFO, and the Scorpions and a musically fitting UK tour with noted melodic rockers FM and Romeos Daughter.
Frontiers Records, champions of all things melodic rock, loved the demos they heard and signed the band – the result of that union is debut album No Hot Ashes, produced by FM’s Merv Goldsworthy and Pete Jupp.
On opening number 'Come Alive' the band balance edgier and riffier modern melodic rock with their unashamed influences of the 80s; the results are a song not far removed from what the likes of Jefferson Starship were delivering in that mid-80s time-frame but with the melodic swagger that is No Hot Ashes thirty five years on.
'Good To Look Back' is perfectly titled.
The punchy number with purposeful harmonies hearkens back to the sort of song that would have peppered the upper echelons of the US Billboard charts back in the day while you sang-a-long to it on Rock Radio.
The up-tempo and uplifting hooks and harmonies continue through songs such as 'Satisfied' and 'Over Again' but the band can also raise the volume (the pacey 'Glow,' the weighty 'I’m Back,' complete with obligatory but perfectly pitched "Yeah!" into from Eamon Nancarrow) or dial it right back to soft rock AOR mode.
The latter genre-trait is exemplified by 'Boulders,' a ballad that carries a sincere and effecting ‘together through thick and thin’ lyric (universal/ for all strong relationships, but written by singer Eamon Nancarrow for his parents) but musically slips dangerously close to the overly-thick AOR syrup of the 80s.
The culminating brace of tracks are a cracking cover of Rick Springfield’s melodic-power rock anthem 'Souls' (a perfect fit for both band and album) and the equally impressive, good time melodic rock and roll of 'Running Red Lights.'
No Hot Ashes can rightly celebrate what they have achieved with an album that never looked like happening, but that celebration is tinged with a little sadness – founding member and bass player Paul Boyd, who plays on the album, lost his battle with cancer in 2017.
The album, and rebirth of No Hot Ashes in the wake of the loss of their musical comrade and friend, is therefore dedicated to the memory of Paul Boyd.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But finally delivering your debut album, thirty-five years after band formation, might just be some sort of melodic rock record, and not necessarily a vinyl one.
Belfast based No Hot Ashes formed in 1983 and were heavily influenced by bands such as Whitesnake, Journey, Foreigner, Thin Lizzy and many an AOR band of the era.
In 1986 No Hot Ashes supported the likes of Mama’s Boys, Magnum and Steve Marriot’s Packet of Three; by 1988 they had signed to GWR Records and recorded what should have been their debut album.
However delays, fate, circumstances and changing musical times as the 80s became the 90s conspired against No Hot Ashes and in 1990 the band called it a day.
In September 2013 No Hot Ashes – Paul Boyd (bass), Tommy Dickson (keys), Steve Strange (drums), Eamon Nancarrow (vocals), Niall Diver and Davey Irvine (Guitars) – reformed for what was supposed to be a one-off gig but for the next four years the band found themselves playing various festivals, supporting heavyweights such as Aerosmith, Foreigner, UFO, and the Scorpions and a musically fitting UK tour with noted melodic rockers FM and Romeos Daughter.
Frontiers Records, champions of all things melodic rock, loved the demos they heard and signed the band – the result of that union is debut album No Hot Ashes, produced by FM’s Merv Goldsworthy and Pete Jupp.
On opening number 'Come Alive' the band balance edgier and riffier modern melodic rock with their unashamed influences of the 80s; the results are a song not far removed from what the likes of Jefferson Starship were delivering in that mid-80s time-frame but with the melodic swagger that is No Hot Ashes thirty five years on.
'Good To Look Back' is perfectly titled.
The punchy number with purposeful harmonies hearkens back to the sort of song that would have peppered the upper echelons of the US Billboard charts back in the day while you sang-a-long to it on Rock Radio.
The up-tempo and uplifting hooks and harmonies continue through songs such as 'Satisfied' and 'Over Again' but the band can also raise the volume (the pacey 'Glow,' the weighty 'I’m Back,' complete with obligatory but perfectly pitched "Yeah!" into from Eamon Nancarrow) or dial it right back to soft rock AOR mode.
The latter genre-trait is exemplified by 'Boulders,' a ballad that carries a sincere and effecting ‘together through thick and thin’ lyric (universal/ for all strong relationships, but written by singer Eamon Nancarrow for his parents) but musically slips dangerously close to the overly-thick AOR syrup of the 80s.
The culminating brace of tracks are a cracking cover of Rick Springfield’s melodic-power rock anthem 'Souls' (a perfect fit for both band and album) and the equally impressive, good time melodic rock and roll of 'Running Red Lights.'
No Hot Ashes can rightly celebrate what they have achieved with an album that never looked like happening, but that celebration is tinged with a little sadness – founding member and bass player Paul Boyd, who plays on the album, lost his battle with cancer in 2017.
The album, and rebirth of No Hot Ashes in the wake of the loss of their musical comrade and friend, is therefore dedicated to the memory of Paul Boyd.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Stray - Live at The Marquee (remastered and expanded edition)
Stray are a member of that unfortunate or fortunate (depends on your then or now point of view) music club whose band history and back catalogue are held in much higher esteem now than when trying to break in to the upper echelon of rock music in the 70s (something their talents and stylistically differing albums, ranging from the progressive and psychedelic to blues rock and melodic pop, so thoroughly deserved).
Disbanding in 1977 due to changing musical times and some ill-advised business decisions, a variant of Stray without guitarist and primary songwriter Dell Bromham surfaced in the early 80s before a reunion opportunity for the quartet of Bromham, Pete Dyer, Ritchie Cole and Gary Giles (the line-up that recorded the band’s last trio of albums, Stand Up and Be Counted, Houdini and Hearts of Fire) presented itself.
Bolstered by a successful support slot in Spain to heavy metal outfit Barón Rojo in 1982 Stray put on a gig at The Marquee Club in London the following year.
The ninety minute set was recorded, tracks were selected and the band delivered their first ever live album via Gull Records in 1984.
Live at The Marquee is not just as a showcase gig for a band who proved they most certainly still had the goods after seven years of itching to give it one more go; it also presents the four-piece in a slightly different set-up to their live performances of 1975 to 1977.
Pete Dyer had unplugged his guitar to concentrate solely on lead vocals, meaning the previously shared vocal duties from Dyer and Del Bromham were dropped in favour of Dyer fronting the band, allowing Bromham to take the six-string lead (exemplified by his thick guitar sound and feisty soloing on the appropriately thunderous groove that powers 'After the Storm' and the pacey instrumental section that closes out the strutting 'Percy the Pimp.'
Ritchie Cole and Gary Giles were as solid a rhythm section as you could find on the 70s rock circuit and the perfect accompaniment to Del Bromham’s guitar work and Pete Dyer’s vocals, the latter covering the band’s more recent, later 70s repertoire and the numbers chosen from their earlier, more progressive material (originally sung by Steve Gadd) admirably.
Cole and Giles power numbers such as Houdini’s blues rockin’ title track while working as the rhythmic backbone that helps shape the fast-paced and melodically charged 'Running Wild' and the band’s psychedelic hard rock tour-de-force, 'All in Your Mind.'
This Esoteric Recordings remastered reissue of Live at The Marquee includes the punchy and vibrant 'Feel Like I’ve Been Here Before' (left off the original release due to vinyl time restraints) as well as Del Bromham’s 1979 pop rock solo single 'Who Do You Love' and its B-Side, 'The Best Friend I Ever Had.'
In the 21st century Stray, led by Del Bromham and, in recent years, featuring Pete Dyer, are still going strong.
There has also been a classic line-up reunion or two, including with original singer Steve Gadd.
But Live at The Marquee always was, and in its remastered and expanded form remains, a marker of a fabulous little band who back in the day deserved to be packing out far larger venues than London’s famous but now long gone Wardour Street club.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Disbanding in 1977 due to changing musical times and some ill-advised business decisions, a variant of Stray without guitarist and primary songwriter Dell Bromham surfaced in the early 80s before a reunion opportunity for the quartet of Bromham, Pete Dyer, Ritchie Cole and Gary Giles (the line-up that recorded the band’s last trio of albums, Stand Up and Be Counted, Houdini and Hearts of Fire) presented itself.
Bolstered by a successful support slot in Spain to heavy metal outfit Barón Rojo in 1982 Stray put on a gig at The Marquee Club in London the following year.
The ninety minute set was recorded, tracks were selected and the band delivered their first ever live album via Gull Records in 1984.
Live at The Marquee is not just as a showcase gig for a band who proved they most certainly still had the goods after seven years of itching to give it one more go; it also presents the four-piece in a slightly different set-up to their live performances of 1975 to 1977.
Pete Dyer had unplugged his guitar to concentrate solely on lead vocals, meaning the previously shared vocal duties from Dyer and Del Bromham were dropped in favour of Dyer fronting the band, allowing Bromham to take the six-string lead (exemplified by his thick guitar sound and feisty soloing on the appropriately thunderous groove that powers 'After the Storm' and the pacey instrumental section that closes out the strutting 'Percy the Pimp.'
Ritchie Cole and Gary Giles were as solid a rhythm section as you could find on the 70s rock circuit and the perfect accompaniment to Del Bromham’s guitar work and Pete Dyer’s vocals, the latter covering the band’s more recent, later 70s repertoire and the numbers chosen from their earlier, more progressive material (originally sung by Steve Gadd) admirably.
Cole and Giles power numbers such as Houdini’s blues rockin’ title track while working as the rhythmic backbone that helps shape the fast-paced and melodically charged 'Running Wild' and the band’s psychedelic hard rock tour-de-force, 'All in Your Mind.'
This Esoteric Recordings remastered reissue of Live at The Marquee includes the punchy and vibrant 'Feel Like I’ve Been Here Before' (left off the original release due to vinyl time restraints) as well as Del Bromham’s 1979 pop rock solo single 'Who Do You Love' and its B-Side, 'The Best Friend I Ever Had.'
In the 21st century Stray, led by Del Bromham and, in recent years, featuring Pete Dyer, are still going strong.
There has also been a classic line-up reunion or two, including with original singer Steve Gadd.
But Live at The Marquee always was, and in its remastered and expanded form remains, a marker of a fabulous little band who back in the day deserved to be packing out far larger venues than London’s famous but now long gone Wardour Street club.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Colosseum II – Wardance (remastered edition)
After drummer extraordinaire Jon Hiseman had made quite the mark with his jazz-rock outfit Colosseum in the 60s, the accomplished and brilliant sticksman reinvented and reimagined his Colosseum vision for the 70s with Colosseum II, a band that swapped jazz saxophone and Hammond organ lines for the blistering guitars of Gary Moore and the moog synths of Don Airey in accompaniment to Hiseman’s rapid-fire fills and percussive remarks.
Originally including bassist Neil Murray and singer Mike Starrs (both left shortly after the release of 1976 debut album Strange New Flesh) the Colosseum II line-up that left an indelible mark on 70s rock fusion was the second incarnation of the band featuring Jon Hiseman, Gary Moore, Don Airey and bassist John Mole.
Second album Electric Savage, released in the summer of 1977, was a step up from the debut and showcased a band who had evolved into a primarily instrumental band of intricacy and innovation, with the occasional lyrical piece (Gary Moore taking lead vocal for the ballad 'Rivers').
As good as Electric Savage was Wardance, originally released in November 1977, was the band's crowning achievement.
Opening with the six-minute militaristic march meets funky fusion groove of the title track and followed by the contrasting quirk of the poppier 'Major Keys,' the third and final studio offering from Colosseum II delivered another six tracks that collectively placed Wardance as a contender for best rock fusion album of the 70s.
But the quality of Wardance wasn't just because of the interplay between, and talents of, Jon Hiseman, Gary Moore and Don Airey – John Mole, another virtuoso musician, played his four-string part in making the Colosseum II of 1977 such an outstanding quartet.
At times running bass lines between the other instruments, or adding a little funk to proceedings (the aforementioned 'Major Keys') Mole also led with big, bold bass notes that filled out the sound (the spacey 'Star Maiden,' which segued in to the strange musical world of 'Mysterioso' before that track became the short, celestial burst of 'Quasar').
For all the fusionistic flash on display (exemplified by the ridiculously fast 'The Inquisition,' which even manages to incorporate some Spanish styled acoustic guitar) Wardance, in original vinyl terms, closes out on two stylistically different numbers.
Side One ends on 'Castles,' a strong ballad that features a young Gary Moore already becoming comfortable in his own vocal skin; Side Two brings the album to a conclusion with 'Last Exit,' a deceptive piece that seems to float at a slower pace but features some quick-fire flurries from Jon Hiseman behind some of Gary Moor’s finest ever six-string work.
Colosseum II’s third and final album actually wasn’t – or at least not as regards being the last record to feature the band.
In 1978 Colosseum II, along with Rod Argent and saxophonist and flautist Barbara Thompson, performed on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations, a fusion of classical and rock based on Paganini’s 24th caprice and featuring Julian Lloyd Webber on cello.
Although Variations became a #2 UK chart album it was never going to be given much attention by the majority of rock fans.
For those with wider tastes however the fusion of cello and rock band was a win-win and the perfect curtain call for a band that were never destined to achieve the success of the original Colosseum but, with Electric Savage and most definitively with Wardance, did deliver some of the most outstanding instrumental based rock fusion of the 70s.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Originally including bassist Neil Murray and singer Mike Starrs (both left shortly after the release of 1976 debut album Strange New Flesh) the Colosseum II line-up that left an indelible mark on 70s rock fusion was the second incarnation of the band featuring Jon Hiseman, Gary Moore, Don Airey and bassist John Mole.
Second album Electric Savage, released in the summer of 1977, was a step up from the debut and showcased a band who had evolved into a primarily instrumental band of intricacy and innovation, with the occasional lyrical piece (Gary Moore taking lead vocal for the ballad 'Rivers').
As good as Electric Savage was Wardance, originally released in November 1977, was the band's crowning achievement.
Opening with the six-minute militaristic march meets funky fusion groove of the title track and followed by the contrasting quirk of the poppier 'Major Keys,' the third and final studio offering from Colosseum II delivered another six tracks that collectively placed Wardance as a contender for best rock fusion album of the 70s.
But the quality of Wardance wasn't just because of the interplay between, and talents of, Jon Hiseman, Gary Moore and Don Airey – John Mole, another virtuoso musician, played his four-string part in making the Colosseum II of 1977 such an outstanding quartet.
At times running bass lines between the other instruments, or adding a little funk to proceedings (the aforementioned 'Major Keys') Mole also led with big, bold bass notes that filled out the sound (the spacey 'Star Maiden,' which segued in to the strange musical world of 'Mysterioso' before that track became the short, celestial burst of 'Quasar').
For all the fusionistic flash on display (exemplified by the ridiculously fast 'The Inquisition,' which even manages to incorporate some Spanish styled acoustic guitar) Wardance, in original vinyl terms, closes out on two stylistically different numbers.
Side One ends on 'Castles,' a strong ballad that features a young Gary Moore already becoming comfortable in his own vocal skin; Side Two brings the album to a conclusion with 'Last Exit,' a deceptive piece that seems to float at a slower pace but features some quick-fire flurries from Jon Hiseman behind some of Gary Moor’s finest ever six-string work.
Colosseum II’s third and final album actually wasn’t – or at least not as regards being the last record to feature the band.
In 1978 Colosseum II, along with Rod Argent and saxophonist and flautist Barbara Thompson, performed on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations, a fusion of classical and rock based on Paganini’s 24th caprice and featuring Julian Lloyd Webber on cello.
Although Variations became a #2 UK chart album it was never going to be given much attention by the majority of rock fans.
For those with wider tastes however the fusion of cello and rock band was a win-win and the perfect curtain call for a band that were never destined to achieve the success of the original Colosseum but, with Electric Savage and most definitively with Wardance, did deliver some of the most outstanding instrumental based rock fusion of the 70s.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Laurence Jones – The Truth
On fifth studio album The Truth Laurence Jones has not so much changed direction from the blues rock of previous releases as made a fully americanised and commercially based paradigm shift.
It’s also an album clearly and intentionally geared towards capturing a wider audience, broadening appeal and garnering airplay on both sides of the pond.
But Laurence Jones is a fan of so many genres, including modern pop, and is inspired to such a degree by Eric Clapton and his crossover album period of the mid-to late 80s (similarly John Mayer’s later pop-soul-blues craft) that it’s easy to argue a US coastal pop-meets-blues sound and a new band (keyboard player Bennett Holland and bassist Greg Smith joining Jones and drummer Phil Wilson) are positive steps towards achieving that wider appeal.
The problem, however, is it’s just as easy to argue against what The Truth delivers – a collection of ten predominately soul-pop or pop-rock based blues numbers that showcase the direction Laurence Jones wanted to take, but sounds more like the album producer Gregory Elias (owner of Top Stop Music, the Grammy award winning record label Laurence Jones has signed up with) wanted to make.
Gregory Elias’s not insubstantial input (co-wrote, contributed to, and / or helped structure six of the ten songs, honed a lyric or two, trimmed many of the tracks to their finished three-and-a-half minute form) was welcomed by Laurence Jones, who always wanted to record an album in America (the old Sony Studios in Miami) and capture that US crossover pop sound.
But the reality is The Truth, released in the US in September 2017, is a very mixed bag of some snappy crackle (funky, mid-tempo opener 'What Would You Do' features some fine four-string groove from Greg Smith) and uninspiring pop (the throwaway double-entendre lyricism of 'Keep Me Up at Night' is the worst offender), coupled with some repetitive lead vocal call and backing vocal answer arrangements (the pacey and otherwise feisty 'Give Me Your Time' suffers from a bad case of the latter).
Soft soul-pop album closer 'Never Good Enough' is a relatively tame, soft-polish finish, yet perversely is one of many numbers on The Truth that shine when extended and performed live (just about every song from the album to feature on current set lists breathes with a vibrancy and energy that is posted missing on the studio recordings).
Lyrically, Laurence Jones is on his strongest (and most personal) form to date with themes of life, love and relationships but the vocal approach has shifted much in the same way as the music – compare his vocals on The Truth (with guidance from vocal coach Guianko Gomez) to his deliveries on previous album Take Me High (where producer Mike Vernon had him singing as if he was projecting live, to an audience).
Laurence Jones is only in his mid-twenties but has the six-string touch and melodic blues feel of a veteran (the short but well-placed guitar remarks on soul-blues ballad 'Take Me' are particularly Clapton-esque); but he’s still a beginner when it comes to capturing that mature, crossover style as delivered so outstandingly and successfully on ol' Slow Hand's August album.
But who’s to say that three or four albums down the road Laurence Jones won’t deliver a pop based crossover album that’s as acclaimed as debut album Thunder in the Sky or Take Me High?
The Truth points to where Laurence Jones may be headed, but the honest appraisal is he’s certainly not there yet.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
It’s also an album clearly and intentionally geared towards capturing a wider audience, broadening appeal and garnering airplay on both sides of the pond.
But Laurence Jones is a fan of so many genres, including modern pop, and is inspired to such a degree by Eric Clapton and his crossover album period of the mid-to late 80s (similarly John Mayer’s later pop-soul-blues craft) that it’s easy to argue a US coastal pop-meets-blues sound and a new band (keyboard player Bennett Holland and bassist Greg Smith joining Jones and drummer Phil Wilson) are positive steps towards achieving that wider appeal.
The problem, however, is it’s just as easy to argue against what The Truth delivers – a collection of ten predominately soul-pop or pop-rock based blues numbers that showcase the direction Laurence Jones wanted to take, but sounds more like the album producer Gregory Elias (owner of Top Stop Music, the Grammy award winning record label Laurence Jones has signed up with) wanted to make.
Gregory Elias’s not insubstantial input (co-wrote, contributed to, and / or helped structure six of the ten songs, honed a lyric or two, trimmed many of the tracks to their finished three-and-a-half minute form) was welcomed by Laurence Jones, who always wanted to record an album in America (the old Sony Studios in Miami) and capture that US crossover pop sound.
But the reality is The Truth, released in the US in September 2017, is a very mixed bag of some snappy crackle (funky, mid-tempo opener 'What Would You Do' features some fine four-string groove from Greg Smith) and uninspiring pop (the throwaway double-entendre lyricism of 'Keep Me Up at Night' is the worst offender), coupled with some repetitive lead vocal call and backing vocal answer arrangements (the pacey and otherwise feisty 'Give Me Your Time' suffers from a bad case of the latter).
Soft soul-pop album closer 'Never Good Enough' is a relatively tame, soft-polish finish, yet perversely is one of many numbers on The Truth that shine when extended and performed live (just about every song from the album to feature on current set lists breathes with a vibrancy and energy that is posted missing on the studio recordings).
Lyrically, Laurence Jones is on his strongest (and most personal) form to date with themes of life, love and relationships but the vocal approach has shifted much in the same way as the music – compare his vocals on The Truth (with guidance from vocal coach Guianko Gomez) to his deliveries on previous album Take Me High (where producer Mike Vernon had him singing as if he was projecting live, to an audience).
Laurence Jones is only in his mid-twenties but has the six-string touch and melodic blues feel of a veteran (the short but well-placed guitar remarks on soul-blues ballad 'Take Me' are particularly Clapton-esque); but he’s still a beginner when it comes to capturing that mature, crossover style as delivered so outstandingly and successfully on ol' Slow Hand's August album.
But who’s to say that three or four albums down the road Laurence Jones won’t deliver a pop based crossover album that’s as acclaimed as debut album Thunder in the Sky or Take Me High?
The Truth points to where Laurence Jones may be headed, but the honest appraisal is he’s certainly not there yet.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Stone Broken – Ain’t Always Easy
Walsall based Stone Broken made quite the impact and turned quite a few heavy rocking heads with debut album All In Time, a monster slab of contemporary riff-driven rock with meaty hooks, big choruses and moments of metal-tinged arena rock.
(Wait, what? Arena rock? From three guys and a gal from Walsall? Yep; believe it).
But with Spinefarm Records backed second offering Ain’t Always Easy the band – Rich Moss (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Davis (guitar, vocals), Kieron Conroy (bass), Robyn Haycock (drums, vocals) – haven’t just equalled what they delivered on their independently released debut, they’ve bettered it.
The band's take notice alert is evident right from the get-go, via opening brace 'Worth Fighting For' (a vibrant number driven by a thick, gritty riff and counterpointed by a bright, beefy and hugely melodic chorus) and the raunchy, riffing and lyrical striptease that is 'Let Me See It All.'
Not that the album's lyrics, from primary composer Rich Moss, are as base as the latter song would suggest.
Moss takes on the subject of domestic abuse on the fast-paced 'Heartbeat Away' (featuring intentionally hard hitting beats from Robyn Haycock to get the harrowing message across) before the emotive rock ballad 'Home' brings it down a notch and allows for lyrical reflection on what is desperately missed when out on the road.
'Home' is also a song crying out to be a single and one that, hopefully, would garner radio airplay beyond the usual Planet Rock Radio suspects.
Similarly radio friendly are the atmospheric and AOR styled 'Anyone' and heavy melodic pop number 'The Only Thing I Need.'
The latter track closes out the album (unless you grab the Deluxe Digipak Edition with four bonus tracks) in fine, life is good with you in it, style.
But its Stone Broken’s penchant for up-tempo, riff driven numbers with melodic, heavy hooks that dominate proceedings, exemplified by 'Follow Me,' 'Just a Memory,' the uplifting 'I Believe' and the melodically charged positivity of 'Other Side of Me' ("live a life with no regrets, because it’s the only one you’re gonna get").
Stone Broken are loudly and proudly part of the new wave of British heavy rock, which makes it all the more interesting that the biggest influences and comparisons come from across the pond and the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Theory of a Deadman and, most commonly cited, Nickelback.
The Nickelback influence however is more to do with musical tone and weight than any copy and paste.
Nickelback’s 'Burn it to the Ground,' for example, carries a sonic intensity that can be compared to Stone Broken’s hugely impacting debut album number 'Not Your Enemy,' but the true similarity is both songs carry riffs and hooks so heavy and resonating you’ll need deep reaching ear canal surgery to remove ‘em.
But if comparisons are being made to the Nickel plated Canadians, a band who have some 50 million album sales to their name (albeit they are also the Marmite of contemporary metal-edged heavy rock, due in part, no doubt, to their arena sized success), you’re doing something right.
And based on the quality of their sophomore release Stone Broken are doing things very right – as well as meriting the sort of Gold Record achieving attention Nickelback got after the (re)release of their own second album.
But those sorts of sales numbers are incredibly hard asks or nigh on impossible for modern or upcoming rock acts in the UK's current musical climate – Stone Broken could very well buck that trend, or make a dent on American Rock Radio (the album is certainly geared for that market) but it Ain't Always Easy to get the wider recognition your talents so obviously deserve.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
(Wait, what? Arena rock? From three guys and a gal from Walsall? Yep; believe it).
But with Spinefarm Records backed second offering Ain’t Always Easy the band – Rich Moss (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Davis (guitar, vocals), Kieron Conroy (bass), Robyn Haycock (drums, vocals) – haven’t just equalled what they delivered on their independently released debut, they’ve bettered it.
The band's take notice alert is evident right from the get-go, via opening brace 'Worth Fighting For' (a vibrant number driven by a thick, gritty riff and counterpointed by a bright, beefy and hugely melodic chorus) and the raunchy, riffing and lyrical striptease that is 'Let Me See It All.'
Not that the album's lyrics, from primary composer Rich Moss, are as base as the latter song would suggest.
Moss takes on the subject of domestic abuse on the fast-paced 'Heartbeat Away' (featuring intentionally hard hitting beats from Robyn Haycock to get the harrowing message across) before the emotive rock ballad 'Home' brings it down a notch and allows for lyrical reflection on what is desperately missed when out on the road.
'Home' is also a song crying out to be a single and one that, hopefully, would garner radio airplay beyond the usual Planet Rock Radio suspects.
Similarly radio friendly are the atmospheric and AOR styled 'Anyone' and heavy melodic pop number 'The Only Thing I Need.'
The latter track closes out the album (unless you grab the Deluxe Digipak Edition with four bonus tracks) in fine, life is good with you in it, style.
But its Stone Broken’s penchant for up-tempo, riff driven numbers with melodic, heavy hooks that dominate proceedings, exemplified by 'Follow Me,' 'Just a Memory,' the uplifting 'I Believe' and the melodically charged positivity of 'Other Side of Me' ("live a life with no regrets, because it’s the only one you’re gonna get").
Stone Broken are loudly and proudly part of the new wave of British heavy rock, which makes it all the more interesting that the biggest influences and comparisons come from across the pond and the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Theory of a Deadman and, most commonly cited, Nickelback.
The Nickelback influence however is more to do with musical tone and weight than any copy and paste.
Nickelback’s 'Burn it to the Ground,' for example, carries a sonic intensity that can be compared to Stone Broken’s hugely impacting debut album number 'Not Your Enemy,' but the true similarity is both songs carry riffs and hooks so heavy and resonating you’ll need deep reaching ear canal surgery to remove ‘em.
But if comparisons are being made to the Nickel plated Canadians, a band who have some 50 million album sales to their name (albeit they are also the Marmite of contemporary metal-edged heavy rock, due in part, no doubt, to their arena sized success), you’re doing something right.
And based on the quality of their sophomore release Stone Broken are doing things very right – as well as meriting the sort of Gold Record achieving attention Nickelback got after the (re)release of their own second album.
But those sorts of sales numbers are incredibly hard asks or nigh on impossible for modern or upcoming rock acts in the UK's current musical climate – Stone Broken could very well buck that trend, or make a dent on American Rock Radio (the album is certainly geared for that market) but it Ain't Always Easy to get the wider recognition your talents so obviously deserve.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
FM – Atomic Generation
In 2015 FabricationsHQ wrote in review of Heroes and Villains, the ninth (and rather tasty) studio album from British melodic rockers FM, that the band were "enjoying the most accomplished period of their (second) career."
While most certainly true it’s also fair to say that with the release of Indiscreet 30 (a three decades on re-recording of their 1986 debut) and now Atomic Generation, the band – Steve Overland (vocals, rhythm guitar), Merv Goldsworthy (bass), Pete Jupp (drums), Jem Davis (keyboards), Jim Kirkpatrick (guitars) – are enjoying the most consistent form of their career.
Further, and of equal significance, they are as musically strong as at any time during their original mid-80s to mid-90s run or since their 2007 reunion.
The added bonus is Heroes and Villains and Atomic Generation don’t just dovetail extremely well (the former is primarily up-tempo and rockier; the latter takes its lead from the band’s trademark melodic rock and pop-rock sound), they have Indiscreet 30 acting as the perfect "classics re-recorded" buffer between them.
Not that Atomic Generation doesn’t have any up-tempo bite, sway or melodic swagger such as graced Heroes and Villains – opener 'Black Magic' positively grooves its way across its four minutes and forty seconds with melodic punch, a liberal dose of "whoa-ohs" and not a little funk while bluesy rocker 'In it For the Money' has a simple but beefy and effective riff that just won’t let go; the muscly, blues-tinged rocker 'Stronger' then weighs in with an identifiable 70s groove and plenty of keyboards, guitar and attitude.
There are also a handful of songs that straddle the FM sound of the 80s with the more contemporary (heavy pop meets rock number 'Follow Your Heart' incorporates cellos as part of its orchestral styled riff) or bring something a little different to the FM musical menu – the soul-pop swing and horns of 'Playing Tricks On Me' features Jim Kirkpatrick laying down some smooth Santana-esque guitar lines while 'Make the Best of What You’ve Got' is just great melodic rock and roll that reinforces we should just be who, and what, we are.
But it’s old school FM reimagined for the 21st century that truly makes a mark on Atomic Generation.
'Too Much of a Good Thing' (a song Steve Overland wrote quite some time ago) could have sat comfortably on Indiscreet or 1989's Tough It Out (and would have garnered more AOR Radio airplay than you could have shaken a Journey Ballads sampler at)… 'Killed By Love' is back in the day, hook laden melodic power-pop of the highest order… the atmospheric meets melodic 'Golden Days' lyrically expresses of days and youth gone by and is another that hearkens back to those 80s sounds and successes… 'Do You Love Me Enough' is another older song; the latter's arrangement, melodic soul-pop-balladeering and vocal harmonies recall 80s FM at their finest.
Six-minute album closer 'Love is the Law' is not so much graceful FM balladeering as Steve Overland in emotively voiced Love is the Answer mode, delicately and acoustically backed by his FM brothers.
The song, and entire album, is a sincere message from FM that they are here not just for the 80s generation, but the Atomic one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
While most certainly true it’s also fair to say that with the release of Indiscreet 30 (a three decades on re-recording of their 1986 debut) and now Atomic Generation, the band – Steve Overland (vocals, rhythm guitar), Merv Goldsworthy (bass), Pete Jupp (drums), Jem Davis (keyboards), Jim Kirkpatrick (guitars) – are enjoying the most consistent form of their career.
Further, and of equal significance, they are as musically strong as at any time during their original mid-80s to mid-90s run or since their 2007 reunion.
The added bonus is Heroes and Villains and Atomic Generation don’t just dovetail extremely well (the former is primarily up-tempo and rockier; the latter takes its lead from the band’s trademark melodic rock and pop-rock sound), they have Indiscreet 30 acting as the perfect "classics re-recorded" buffer between them.
Not that Atomic Generation doesn’t have any up-tempo bite, sway or melodic swagger such as graced Heroes and Villains – opener 'Black Magic' positively grooves its way across its four minutes and forty seconds with melodic punch, a liberal dose of "whoa-ohs" and not a little funk while bluesy rocker 'In it For the Money' has a simple but beefy and effective riff that just won’t let go; the muscly, blues-tinged rocker 'Stronger' then weighs in with an identifiable 70s groove and plenty of keyboards, guitar and attitude.
There are also a handful of songs that straddle the FM sound of the 80s with the more contemporary (heavy pop meets rock number 'Follow Your Heart' incorporates cellos as part of its orchestral styled riff) or bring something a little different to the FM musical menu – the soul-pop swing and horns of 'Playing Tricks On Me' features Jim Kirkpatrick laying down some smooth Santana-esque guitar lines while 'Make the Best of What You’ve Got' is just great melodic rock and roll that reinforces we should just be who, and what, we are.
But it’s old school FM reimagined for the 21st century that truly makes a mark on Atomic Generation.
'Too Much of a Good Thing' (a song Steve Overland wrote quite some time ago) could have sat comfortably on Indiscreet or 1989's Tough It Out (and would have garnered more AOR Radio airplay than you could have shaken a Journey Ballads sampler at)… 'Killed By Love' is back in the day, hook laden melodic power-pop of the highest order… the atmospheric meets melodic 'Golden Days' lyrically expresses of days and youth gone by and is another that hearkens back to those 80s sounds and successes… 'Do You Love Me Enough' is another older song; the latter's arrangement, melodic soul-pop-balladeering and vocal harmonies recall 80s FM at their finest.
Six-minute album closer 'Love is the Law' is not so much graceful FM balladeering as Steve Overland in emotively voiced Love is the Answer mode, delicately and acoustically backed by his FM brothers.
The song, and entire album, is a sincere message from FM that they are here not just for the 80s generation, but the Atomic one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion – The Blues and I Should Have a Party
Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion don’t just have the chemistry (The Blues and I Should Have a Party is the band’s fifth studio album in six years and seventh overall); their vibrant R&B swing stylings (incorporating jazz, pop and trad. blues) also deliver one of the coolest and original sounds on the blues circuit, courtesy of a vocal and guitar led song writing tandem and a groove driven organ-drums rhythm section.
The rattling down the line opening as delivered by 'Please Don’t Cheat On Me' (Zoe Schwarz’s quick-patter lyricism, her husband Rob Koral’s rapid-fire riff work and Pete Whittaker’s Hammond fills all playing off the precise train track beats from in-demand session and live drummer Paul Robinson) give the impression that this is, indeed, going to be a blues party – but the true meaning of the album’s title is explained on the six-and-half-minute title track, a song that underlines in fine style that Zoe Schwarz can sing the blues as well as she can swing 'em.
"The blues and I have been friends for so long, we might as well start a party," proclaims Zoe Schwarz with a vocal pathos that channels the great Billie Holiday (a major influence on Schwarz in her early teens) but is all Zoe Schwarz in phrasing, intonation and soulful blues interpretation.
Similarly slow, bluesy and noteworthy are 'You’ve Changed' (another Billie Holiday styled number featuring a crying solo from Rob Koral over a warm Hammond blanket), 'Don’t Worry Blues' (Pete Whittaker in full Hammond-blues flow) the slow-blues-that-builds 'You Don’t Live Here Anymore' and 'Don’t Hold Back,' the latter featuring interesting key changes that give the song a very individual character.
But those Blue Commotion R&B swing grooves are never far away – the 60s beat styled 'Way Down in the Caves' (with lyrics by Pete Feenstra, who also supplies the poetic words for reflective pop-blues number 'Time Waits For No One') is a nod to iconic 60s venue Chislehurst Caves while the similarly structured 'Shout' is the very type of song you would expect to hear, and be stomping your feet to, at Chislehurst Caves those five decades ago.
The band inject a little funk and fun into the infectious grooves of 'My Handsome Man' and 'Thank You' (a musical nod of gratitude to the fans) while the swinging shuffle 'Tell Me You Love Me Too' highlights just what great players Rob Koral and Pete Whittaker are.
Edging out all three for most noteworthy of the up-tempo numbers is 'The Memory Of You,' where an uplifting groove beautifully complements the melancholy of a lyric written by Zoe Schwarz after the death of her mother (although the song resonates as a song for anyone who has suffered loss).
By mixing traditional slow blues styles with 60s beat numbers and more contemporary R&B swing-grooves, Blue Commotion, led by the captivating jazz infused blues vocals of Zoe Schwarz (and another sonically stellar recording and mix from House of Tone), have delivered the best of a number of blues coloured worlds.
Blues party at Zoe and Rob’s house – no need to bring any records, though; we’re already sorted.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The rattling down the line opening as delivered by 'Please Don’t Cheat On Me' (Zoe Schwarz’s quick-patter lyricism, her husband Rob Koral’s rapid-fire riff work and Pete Whittaker’s Hammond fills all playing off the precise train track beats from in-demand session and live drummer Paul Robinson) give the impression that this is, indeed, going to be a blues party – but the true meaning of the album’s title is explained on the six-and-half-minute title track, a song that underlines in fine style that Zoe Schwarz can sing the blues as well as she can swing 'em.
"The blues and I have been friends for so long, we might as well start a party," proclaims Zoe Schwarz with a vocal pathos that channels the great Billie Holiday (a major influence on Schwarz in her early teens) but is all Zoe Schwarz in phrasing, intonation and soulful blues interpretation.
Similarly slow, bluesy and noteworthy are 'You’ve Changed' (another Billie Holiday styled number featuring a crying solo from Rob Koral over a warm Hammond blanket), 'Don’t Worry Blues' (Pete Whittaker in full Hammond-blues flow) the slow-blues-that-builds 'You Don’t Live Here Anymore' and 'Don’t Hold Back,' the latter featuring interesting key changes that give the song a very individual character.
But those Blue Commotion R&B swing grooves are never far away – the 60s beat styled 'Way Down in the Caves' (with lyrics by Pete Feenstra, who also supplies the poetic words for reflective pop-blues number 'Time Waits For No One') is a nod to iconic 60s venue Chislehurst Caves while the similarly structured 'Shout' is the very type of song you would expect to hear, and be stomping your feet to, at Chislehurst Caves those five decades ago.
The band inject a little funk and fun into the infectious grooves of 'My Handsome Man' and 'Thank You' (a musical nod of gratitude to the fans) while the swinging shuffle 'Tell Me You Love Me Too' highlights just what great players Rob Koral and Pete Whittaker are.
Edging out all three for most noteworthy of the up-tempo numbers is 'The Memory Of You,' where an uplifting groove beautifully complements the melancholy of a lyric written by Zoe Schwarz after the death of her mother (although the song resonates as a song for anyone who has suffered loss).
By mixing traditional slow blues styles with 60s beat numbers and more contemporary R&B swing-grooves, Blue Commotion, led by the captivating jazz infused blues vocals of Zoe Schwarz (and another sonically stellar recording and mix from House of Tone), have delivered the best of a number of blues coloured worlds.
Blues party at Zoe and Rob’s house – no need to bring any records, though; we’re already sorted.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Kane’d – Show Me Your Skeleton
On listening to Show Me Your Skeleton it’s hard to equate how Welsh band Kane'd got tagged with alt-rock as a catch-all label.
Unless, that is, you are familiar with debut album Beautiful But Tragic, the Indie vibe of second release Rise or see their seven piece line-up (vocal sisters Chez, Stacey and Stephanie Kane fronting an all male backline of Harry Scott Elliott - lead guitar, Jack Davies - rhythm guitar, George Elliott - drums and Josh Raw - bass) as alternative.
But having shaken off the alt-rock shackles that hindered progress on Beautiful But Tragic (where the melodic and purposeful fought against the indifferent or perhaps ill-advised) Kane’d came back stronger with the well named Rise, a far superior outing that mixed and matched Indie vibe hard pop with heavy melodic euro rock and some spiky, cynical lyrics.
With Show Me Your Skeleton however the band have truly found their voice (all three of them) and delivered not just their best album to date but one that firmly establishes just who Kane’d are musically and what they are capable of when the sharpen the sonic edges, hone the melodies and polish the metal sheened framework that supports many of the songs, including opening track 'Invidia' (a gritty, riff-driven number that incorporates brooding passages and big voiced, melodic choruses).
The title track, which follows, is nothing short of a euro-rock tour de force; it's a big beat and even bigger chorus number that, if delivered by any Scando-rock band you care to mention, would be blasted out on European Rock Radio stations up and down the fjords.
'Show Me Your Skeleton' and following number 'I won’t Bite' (a feisty, bluesy and bruising rocker) also help remind that, to flip and paraphrase a well-known saying, behind three great women vocalists is a great man playing guitar.
Harry Scott Elliott’s six-string squeals of delight complement the otherwise throwaway lyrical clichés of
'I Won’t Bite' while his melodic lines on the title track are a major reason why that song stands so strongly (his excellent production work has also given the album a big-budget big-studio sound).
Not to be outdone rhythm guitarist Jack Davies lends a soling hand or two on the edgy melodic metal of 'Sin' and a little back 'n' forth with Harry Scott Elliott on the swaggering, pacey blues rocker 'Reckless.'
Other sonic shades of Kane’d are represented by numbers such as the high on harmonies and AORish 'Don’t Turn On the Lights' and the punky power-pop of 'I Do What I Want' while the heavy melodic rock of 'I’ll Bring You Home' makes for the perfect album closer, both lyrically and musically.
"Show me your skeleton!" sing the Kane girls on the chorus of the title track.
Neat trick as that would be without an x-ray, it certainly couldn’t be reciprocated because with the amount of melodic meat and musical muscle Kane’d have added to their sound and quality of songs, good luck finding any bones you can pick out of the band’s excellent third offering.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Unless, that is, you are familiar with debut album Beautiful But Tragic, the Indie vibe of second release Rise or see their seven piece line-up (vocal sisters Chez, Stacey and Stephanie Kane fronting an all male backline of Harry Scott Elliott - lead guitar, Jack Davies - rhythm guitar, George Elliott - drums and Josh Raw - bass) as alternative.
But having shaken off the alt-rock shackles that hindered progress on Beautiful But Tragic (where the melodic and purposeful fought against the indifferent or perhaps ill-advised) Kane’d came back stronger with the well named Rise, a far superior outing that mixed and matched Indie vibe hard pop with heavy melodic euro rock and some spiky, cynical lyrics.
With Show Me Your Skeleton however the band have truly found their voice (all three of them) and delivered not just their best album to date but one that firmly establishes just who Kane’d are musically and what they are capable of when the sharpen the sonic edges, hone the melodies and polish the metal sheened framework that supports many of the songs, including opening track 'Invidia' (a gritty, riff-driven number that incorporates brooding passages and big voiced, melodic choruses).
The title track, which follows, is nothing short of a euro-rock tour de force; it's a big beat and even bigger chorus number that, if delivered by any Scando-rock band you care to mention, would be blasted out on European Rock Radio stations up and down the fjords.
'Show Me Your Skeleton' and following number 'I won’t Bite' (a feisty, bluesy and bruising rocker) also help remind that, to flip and paraphrase a well-known saying, behind three great women vocalists is a great man playing guitar.
Harry Scott Elliott’s six-string squeals of delight complement the otherwise throwaway lyrical clichés of
'I Won’t Bite' while his melodic lines on the title track are a major reason why that song stands so strongly (his excellent production work has also given the album a big-budget big-studio sound).
Not to be outdone rhythm guitarist Jack Davies lends a soling hand or two on the edgy melodic metal of 'Sin' and a little back 'n' forth with Harry Scott Elliott on the swaggering, pacey blues rocker 'Reckless.'
Other sonic shades of Kane’d are represented by numbers such as the high on harmonies and AORish 'Don’t Turn On the Lights' and the punky power-pop of 'I Do What I Want' while the heavy melodic rock of 'I’ll Bring You Home' makes for the perfect album closer, both lyrically and musically.
"Show me your skeleton!" sing the Kane girls on the chorus of the title track.
Neat trick as that would be without an x-ray, it certainly couldn’t be reciprocated because with the amount of melodic meat and musical muscle Kane’d have added to their sound and quality of songs, good luck finding any bones you can pick out of the band’s excellent third offering.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Dan Patlansky – Perfection Kills
South African blues guitarist Dan Patlansky has made as big an impact on the UK and European blues rock scene as anyone these last three years, courtesy of a release in those territories for his outstanding Dear Silence Thieves album in 2015, the acclaim garnered for sinewy follow up IntroVertigo and his attention grabbing live shows.
But it’s not just about the five-star delivery of performance or Dan Patlansky’s undoubted six-string ability; it’s also the quality of the songs and, of equal importance, the Patlansky sound.
The high-impact of both songs and sound feature heavily on Dan Patlansky’s ninth studio release Perfection Kills, an album the musician produced himself (with some pre-production, song writing and arrangement work done with Theo Crous, producer of Patlansky’s last two albums).
Taking on production duties was primarily to ensure Patlansky captured that more organic, live in the studio sound he had envisaged for this album (mission accomplished).
The aforementioned Patlansky sound is a combination of a number of factors that make the guitar tone remarkably thick and fat – bigger frets, larger gauge strings and his battered but trusted Fender Strat tuned a semi-tone down from standard tuning, all combine to deliver a rich and rugged tone that is instantly recognisable as Dan Patlansky, and heard to immediate effect on opening track, 'Johnny.'
The lead-off number snaps, crackles and rocks with sonic energy on the chorus cry of "Hit ‘em high, hit ‘em low, hit ‘em hard!" (describing both the song’s protagonist (a kid with a difficult upbringing who becomes an adult with volatile traits) and Patlansky’s guitar attack), while being tempered by the smoother, melodic verses.
The lighter verses and shadier choruses of 'Johnny' make for the perfect combination, and the perfect opener, to an album that covers all the Dan Patlansky bases from cherish-the-time groove number 'Never Long Enough' (punctuated by piano and keyboard textures from Dean Barrett and a feisty and fiery solo from Patlansky), the slow and highly effective AOR blues 'Mayday' and the edgy, heavy blues rawk monster 'Too Far Gone,' a none too optimistic comment on the downward spiralling state of the world.
'Too Far Gone' is also a marker of the maturity, honesty and real world or personal lyricism that permeates Perfection Kills.
The more autobiographical numbers include the slow blues of 'Judge a Man' (with an intro and verses that could have been written or recorded in any post-war blues era you care to mention), the rockin’ and raunchy travellin' guy track 'Junket Man' and the melodic charm of 'My Dear Boy,' written for Dan Patlansky’s young son Jack.
Further real life observations come by way of the funky 'iEyes' (a shake of the head -sigh- toward those that live life 24/7 through high-res screens), the rhythmic groove supplied by Clint Falconer (bass) and Andy Maritz (drums) on get-out-of-your-comfort-zone song 'Shake the Cage' and the Strat riffing, contemporary blues rocker 'Dog Day' (if you think your first world problems are bad, spare a thought for those with a lot more to worry about).
For those curious, the album title reflects Dan Patlansky’s belief that the pursuit of absolute perfection in your art does more harm than good; better to just deliver your best shot and damn the imperfect consequences.
I can only hope, then, that coming up with the closest thing yet to a perfect Dan Patlansky album didn’t hurt too much.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But it’s not just about the five-star delivery of performance or Dan Patlansky’s undoubted six-string ability; it’s also the quality of the songs and, of equal importance, the Patlansky sound.
The high-impact of both songs and sound feature heavily on Dan Patlansky’s ninth studio release Perfection Kills, an album the musician produced himself (with some pre-production, song writing and arrangement work done with Theo Crous, producer of Patlansky’s last two albums).
Taking on production duties was primarily to ensure Patlansky captured that more organic, live in the studio sound he had envisaged for this album (mission accomplished).
The aforementioned Patlansky sound is a combination of a number of factors that make the guitar tone remarkably thick and fat – bigger frets, larger gauge strings and his battered but trusted Fender Strat tuned a semi-tone down from standard tuning, all combine to deliver a rich and rugged tone that is instantly recognisable as Dan Patlansky, and heard to immediate effect on opening track, 'Johnny.'
The lead-off number snaps, crackles and rocks with sonic energy on the chorus cry of "Hit ‘em high, hit ‘em low, hit ‘em hard!" (describing both the song’s protagonist (a kid with a difficult upbringing who becomes an adult with volatile traits) and Patlansky’s guitar attack), while being tempered by the smoother, melodic verses.
The lighter verses and shadier choruses of 'Johnny' make for the perfect combination, and the perfect opener, to an album that covers all the Dan Patlansky bases from cherish-the-time groove number 'Never Long Enough' (punctuated by piano and keyboard textures from Dean Barrett and a feisty and fiery solo from Patlansky), the slow and highly effective AOR blues 'Mayday' and the edgy, heavy blues rawk monster 'Too Far Gone,' a none too optimistic comment on the downward spiralling state of the world.
'Too Far Gone' is also a marker of the maturity, honesty and real world or personal lyricism that permeates Perfection Kills.
The more autobiographical numbers include the slow blues of 'Judge a Man' (with an intro and verses that could have been written or recorded in any post-war blues era you care to mention), the rockin’ and raunchy travellin' guy track 'Junket Man' and the melodic charm of 'My Dear Boy,' written for Dan Patlansky’s young son Jack.
Further real life observations come by way of the funky 'iEyes' (a shake of the head -sigh- toward those that live life 24/7 through high-res screens), the rhythmic groove supplied by Clint Falconer (bass) and Andy Maritz (drums) on get-out-of-your-comfort-zone song 'Shake the Cage' and the Strat riffing, contemporary blues rocker 'Dog Day' (if you think your first world problems are bad, spare a thought for those with a lot more to worry about).
For those curious, the album title reflects Dan Patlansky’s belief that the pursuit of absolute perfection in your art does more harm than good; better to just deliver your best shot and damn the imperfect consequences.
I can only hope, then, that coming up with the closest thing yet to a perfect Dan Patlansky album didn’t hurt too much.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Bad Flowers – Starting Gun
Even just from the sonic impact made by opening brace 'Thunder Child' (a riff-heavy rollickin’ and roll romp with bluesy undertone and just a hint of the psychedelic) and the equally pacey but even heavier 'Lions Blood,' it’s clear Midlands based hard rock trio The Bad Flowers made the right decision to wait until now to release their debut album.
The band – Tom Leighton (vocals, guitars) Dale Tonks (bass), Karl Selickis (drums) – had considered recording their full-length debut two years ago but decided to shelve that idea; their time became better spent progressing as a unit, playing a lot more shows (and subsequently getting a lot more attention) and writing better songs.
The latter strength would seem to be borne out by the fact only one of the four numbers to feature on their 2016 self-titled EP appears on Starting Gun (the EP’s best song, 'City Lights') and that 'Thunder Child' (chosen as the lead-off single) led to The Bad Flowers being named as one of Planet Rock Radio’s "Ones to Watch."
Following Starting Gun's opening salvo comes 'Secrets,' a mid-tempo heavy blues that borrows heavily from the late 60s - early 70s blues rock sound but with a contemporary edge (and maximum volume).
As the album progresses it’s evident The Bad Flowers have a healthy dose of heavy blues infused within their high-energy brand of hard hitting rock, typified by the blues-groovin’ bass lines that help power 'Who Needs a Soul' and the big-beats and boisterous blues rock of 'Rich Man,' the latter a tale of how having everything you could possibly want or need, in materialistic terms, doesn’t necessarily make you rich in life.
But Starting Gun isn’t all about the bluesy bombast or riff-driven amps at 11.
'I Hope,' featuring nothing more than the voice and acoustic guitar of Tom Leighton, was a last minute edition to the album but a very welcome one.
The acoustic interlude works as the perfect precursor to following number 'Let’s Misbehave,' which also began life as an acoustic track before it was worked up, jammed out and extended in the studio to become a weighty, slow build and bluesy, life-is-too-short song.
The feel of 'Let's Misbehave' is perfectly set by Karl Selickis’ percussive groove before Selicks and Dale Tonks unite in rhythmic partnership to support Tom Leighton in full six-string cry.
While newer songs dominate Starting Gun, the album includes one of the first songs the band ever wrote (and a live set staple), the muscular and "howlin’" 'Hurricane,' as well as a remix of the aforementioned EP track 'City Lights,' which closes out the album with powerful musicality and lyrical purpose (the song was written at the heights of the 2016 Syrian refugee crisis).
Waiting until now to deliver a debut album was most certainly the right call because with this particular Starting Gun there’s no two years too early false start.
More importantly The Bad Flowers have, rather album title appropriately, started with a bang.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The band – Tom Leighton (vocals, guitars) Dale Tonks (bass), Karl Selickis (drums) – had considered recording their full-length debut two years ago but decided to shelve that idea; their time became better spent progressing as a unit, playing a lot more shows (and subsequently getting a lot more attention) and writing better songs.
The latter strength would seem to be borne out by the fact only one of the four numbers to feature on their 2016 self-titled EP appears on Starting Gun (the EP’s best song, 'City Lights') and that 'Thunder Child' (chosen as the lead-off single) led to The Bad Flowers being named as one of Planet Rock Radio’s "Ones to Watch."
Following Starting Gun's opening salvo comes 'Secrets,' a mid-tempo heavy blues that borrows heavily from the late 60s - early 70s blues rock sound but with a contemporary edge (and maximum volume).
As the album progresses it’s evident The Bad Flowers have a healthy dose of heavy blues infused within their high-energy brand of hard hitting rock, typified by the blues-groovin’ bass lines that help power 'Who Needs a Soul' and the big-beats and boisterous blues rock of 'Rich Man,' the latter a tale of how having everything you could possibly want or need, in materialistic terms, doesn’t necessarily make you rich in life.
But Starting Gun isn’t all about the bluesy bombast or riff-driven amps at 11.
'I Hope,' featuring nothing more than the voice and acoustic guitar of Tom Leighton, was a last minute edition to the album but a very welcome one.
The acoustic interlude works as the perfect precursor to following number 'Let’s Misbehave,' which also began life as an acoustic track before it was worked up, jammed out and extended in the studio to become a weighty, slow build and bluesy, life-is-too-short song.
The feel of 'Let's Misbehave' is perfectly set by Karl Selickis’ percussive groove before Selicks and Dale Tonks unite in rhythmic partnership to support Tom Leighton in full six-string cry.
While newer songs dominate Starting Gun, the album includes one of the first songs the band ever wrote (and a live set staple), the muscular and "howlin’" 'Hurricane,' as well as a remix of the aforementioned EP track 'City Lights,' which closes out the album with powerful musicality and lyrical purpose (the song was written at the heights of the 2016 Syrian refugee crisis).
Waiting until now to deliver a debut album was most certainly the right call because with this particular Starting Gun there’s no two years too early false start.
More importantly The Bad Flowers have, rather album title appropriately, started with a bang.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Alice DiMicele – One With the Tide
On One With the Tide, Alice DiMicele does more than just splash around with her natural world activism.
The New Jersey born but Southern Oregon based singer-songwriter dives headlong in to the subject as well expressing the need for justice, action to support Native Americans causes and, as the title suggest, water protection.
Alice DiMicele's warm brand of Americana folk-blues (with touches of jazz and funk) is also the perfect vehicle in which to deliver such thought-provoking and raising awareness matters.
The songs and lyrics are conveyed in such a way that the listener can fully immerse him or herself in the musical waters of One With the Tide or, if they prefer, simply let the music float by on the lapping, lyrical themes.
The title track, which opens the album, is an Americana blues of friendships and farewells written for, and shortly before the passing of, Alice DiMicele’s friend and fellow environmentalist, Barry Snitkin.
'One With the Tide' is followed by the even bluesier 'Desire,' featuring some great Hammond B3 from Jenny Conlee-Drizos (most of the songs carry a vocal-acoustic guitar-bass-drums arrangement with a number of the tracks enhanced by guest player instrumentation, such as Michal Palzewicz's cello on the more delicate but up-tempo 'The Other Side').
The more plaintive blues of Alice DiMicele feature on 'Lonely Alone,' a heartfelt cry to being in love with someone with an addiction; the song is given extra pathos through DiMicele’s soulful vocal and accordion accompaniment from Jenny Conlee-Drizos.
'Nature Reigns,' an acoustic and piano led tribute to Alice DiMicele’s greatest influence is another highlight.
It both contrasts with, and complements, the up-tempo Calypso meets Americana pop of 'Waiting' (featuring steel drums and percussion from Tom Berich).
The short but sweet and thoughtful charm of One With the Tide (nine songs across thirty-four minutes) ends with the modern Americana folk-blues of 'Voice of the Water' (featuring impassioned vocal interjections from Phoenix Sigalove and Emily Turner) and 'Imagine' (the perfect album closer, thematically and lyrically).
John Lennon’s masterpiece is given a simple but beautifully effective acoustic arrangement to accompany the equally beautiful vocal delivery.
Alice DiMicele is a truly independent musician who shuns any major label or corporate backed trappings, thus allowing herself to be truer to herself, her music, and her audience.
But then the modus operand of the commercial side of the music industry has altered to such a degree I sometimes wonder if Joni Mitchell or Joan Baez (two giants reflected in the music and lyrical strengths of DiMicele), were to appear now, if the replies wouldn’t be along the lines of "not bad, but have you a gimmick, or a look? Maybe you could put that treated auto-tune sound on a vocal, or perhaps add a rap?"
Cynicism (or truth?) aside, when it’s about natural, untarnished talent and musical passion, not manufactured commodity or chart numbers, the self-released or independent artist’s gain is the corporate and larger commercial music world’s loss.
And Time and Miss DiMicele’s Tide can’t wait for everyone else to wake up and smell the sea air.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The New Jersey born but Southern Oregon based singer-songwriter dives headlong in to the subject as well expressing the need for justice, action to support Native Americans causes and, as the title suggest, water protection.
Alice DiMicele's warm brand of Americana folk-blues (with touches of jazz and funk) is also the perfect vehicle in which to deliver such thought-provoking and raising awareness matters.
The songs and lyrics are conveyed in such a way that the listener can fully immerse him or herself in the musical waters of One With the Tide or, if they prefer, simply let the music float by on the lapping, lyrical themes.
The title track, which opens the album, is an Americana blues of friendships and farewells written for, and shortly before the passing of, Alice DiMicele’s friend and fellow environmentalist, Barry Snitkin.
'One With the Tide' is followed by the even bluesier 'Desire,' featuring some great Hammond B3 from Jenny Conlee-Drizos (most of the songs carry a vocal-acoustic guitar-bass-drums arrangement with a number of the tracks enhanced by guest player instrumentation, such as Michal Palzewicz's cello on the more delicate but up-tempo 'The Other Side').
The more plaintive blues of Alice DiMicele feature on 'Lonely Alone,' a heartfelt cry to being in love with someone with an addiction; the song is given extra pathos through DiMicele’s soulful vocal and accordion accompaniment from Jenny Conlee-Drizos.
'Nature Reigns,' an acoustic and piano led tribute to Alice DiMicele’s greatest influence is another highlight.
It both contrasts with, and complements, the up-tempo Calypso meets Americana pop of 'Waiting' (featuring steel drums and percussion from Tom Berich).
The short but sweet and thoughtful charm of One With the Tide (nine songs across thirty-four minutes) ends with the modern Americana folk-blues of 'Voice of the Water' (featuring impassioned vocal interjections from Phoenix Sigalove and Emily Turner) and 'Imagine' (the perfect album closer, thematically and lyrically).
John Lennon’s masterpiece is given a simple but beautifully effective acoustic arrangement to accompany the equally beautiful vocal delivery.
Alice DiMicele is a truly independent musician who shuns any major label or corporate backed trappings, thus allowing herself to be truer to herself, her music, and her audience.
But then the modus operand of the commercial side of the music industry has altered to such a degree I sometimes wonder if Joni Mitchell or Joan Baez (two giants reflected in the music and lyrical strengths of DiMicele), were to appear now, if the replies wouldn’t be along the lines of "not bad, but have you a gimmick, or a look? Maybe you could put that treated auto-tune sound on a vocal, or perhaps add a rap?"
Cynicism (or truth?) aside, when it’s about natural, untarnished talent and musical passion, not manufactured commodity or chart numbers, the self-released or independent artist’s gain is the corporate and larger commercial music world’s loss.
And Time and Miss DiMicele’s Tide can’t wait for everyone else to wake up and smell the sea air.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Steve Hackett – Wuthering Nights : Live in Birmingham (2CD-2DVD; Blu-ray)
Wuthering Nights : Live in Birmingham (recorded and multi-cam filmed at the city’s Symphony Hall) is the audio and visual souvenir of Steve Hackett’s 2017 Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett tour.
It also, other than a handful of must-play numbers, showcases a completely different set to that featured on Hackett's 2015 tour and subsequent live release The Total Experience : Live in Liverpool.
For the 2017 tour Steve Hackett’s high-calibre band of regular musicians – Roger King (keyboards), Gary O'Toole (drums, vocals) and Rob Townsend (saxophone, flute, percussion, vocals) – were joined by the musical spark plug that is Nick Beggs (the perfect four-string, six-string and double-necked guitar fit for the Hackett and Genesis material) and, at selected shows including Birmingham, Amanda Lehmann (vocals, guitars).
Opening with the shining prog-pop of 'Everyday' and closing with the wall of sound that is 'Shadow of the Hierophant' (Amanda Lehmann’s lovely lead vocal giving way to Gary O’Toole’s monstering of the drum kit while a cross legged Nick Beggs beats out the resonating bass pedal tones with his fists), the band deliver a meticulously performed, fifty minute set of Steve Hackett classics.
The Night Siren, Hackett’s latest solo work, is featured via three numbers – the high-powered instrumental
'El Niño,' the quirky and intricate 'In the Skeleton Gallery' and 'Behind the Smoke,' an eastern themed progressive tour de force and a full-blooded musical cry for the plight of refugees through the ages.
Powerful as 'Behind the Smoke' is, it’s matched in poignancy by the charming 'Serpentine Song’ (featuring guest player and Steve Hackett’s brother, flautist John Hackett) and the emotive and weighty ‘Rise Again.’
Following the Classic Hackett set the band return to the stage in the company of vocalist Nad Sylvan (whose natural tonality encompasses the vocal timbre of both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins) to perform the Genesis Revisited set.
This particular tour’s featured chapter from the Book of Genesis was Wind & Wuthering (celebrating its 40th anniversary) with the songs performed from that classic album acting as a superb mini-set in their own right.
Opening brace 'Eleventh Earl of Mar' and 'One for the Vine' are both progtastic and faultless while 'Blood on the Rooftops' (with Spanish guitar intro) is a more delicate highlight featuring Gary O’Toole’s crooner styled lead vocal and Rob Townsend’s complementary saxophone.
A full-on, firing on all cylinders rendition of '…In That Quiet Earth' precedes the inevitable but immense 'Afterglow,' one of the most uplifting and moving ballads to come from any rock band, prog-based or otherwise.
The other numbers featured from the relatively short-lived Then There Were Four period of Genesis are 'Dance on a Volcano' and a rare live outing for the slow build, fast finishing 'Inside Out,' the Wind & Wuthering out-take that found a home on the otherwise dreadful and misguided Spot the Pigeon EP.
The progressive masterworks 'Firth of Fifth' and 'The Musical Box' close out the Revisited set before the band return to encore with the instrumental 'Slogans' (prog power trio Hackett, Townsend & Beggs front and guitar, sax & bass centre) and the powerful 'Los Endos.'
All that’s left is for Steve Hackett (on scintillating six-string form throughout) and band to leave the stage to a roar of approval, a standing ovation and a round of applause that continues as the lights come up, and the credits roll, on the excellent Wuthering Nights : Live in Birmingham.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
It also, other than a handful of must-play numbers, showcases a completely different set to that featured on Hackett's 2015 tour and subsequent live release The Total Experience : Live in Liverpool.
For the 2017 tour Steve Hackett’s high-calibre band of regular musicians – Roger King (keyboards), Gary O'Toole (drums, vocals) and Rob Townsend (saxophone, flute, percussion, vocals) – were joined by the musical spark plug that is Nick Beggs (the perfect four-string, six-string and double-necked guitar fit for the Hackett and Genesis material) and, at selected shows including Birmingham, Amanda Lehmann (vocals, guitars).
Opening with the shining prog-pop of 'Everyday' and closing with the wall of sound that is 'Shadow of the Hierophant' (Amanda Lehmann’s lovely lead vocal giving way to Gary O’Toole’s monstering of the drum kit while a cross legged Nick Beggs beats out the resonating bass pedal tones with his fists), the band deliver a meticulously performed, fifty minute set of Steve Hackett classics.
The Night Siren, Hackett’s latest solo work, is featured via three numbers – the high-powered instrumental
'El Niño,' the quirky and intricate 'In the Skeleton Gallery' and 'Behind the Smoke,' an eastern themed progressive tour de force and a full-blooded musical cry for the plight of refugees through the ages.
Powerful as 'Behind the Smoke' is, it’s matched in poignancy by the charming 'Serpentine Song’ (featuring guest player and Steve Hackett’s brother, flautist John Hackett) and the emotive and weighty ‘Rise Again.’
Following the Classic Hackett set the band return to the stage in the company of vocalist Nad Sylvan (whose natural tonality encompasses the vocal timbre of both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins) to perform the Genesis Revisited set.
This particular tour’s featured chapter from the Book of Genesis was Wind & Wuthering (celebrating its 40th anniversary) with the songs performed from that classic album acting as a superb mini-set in their own right.
Opening brace 'Eleventh Earl of Mar' and 'One for the Vine' are both progtastic and faultless while 'Blood on the Rooftops' (with Spanish guitar intro) is a more delicate highlight featuring Gary O’Toole’s crooner styled lead vocal and Rob Townsend’s complementary saxophone.
A full-on, firing on all cylinders rendition of '…In That Quiet Earth' precedes the inevitable but immense 'Afterglow,' one of the most uplifting and moving ballads to come from any rock band, prog-based or otherwise.
The other numbers featured from the relatively short-lived Then There Were Four period of Genesis are 'Dance on a Volcano' and a rare live outing for the slow build, fast finishing 'Inside Out,' the Wind & Wuthering out-take that found a home on the otherwise dreadful and misguided Spot the Pigeon EP.
The progressive masterworks 'Firth of Fifth' and 'The Musical Box' close out the Revisited set before the band return to encore with the instrumental 'Slogans' (prog power trio Hackett, Townsend & Beggs front and guitar, sax & bass centre) and the powerful 'Los Endos.'
All that’s left is for Steve Hackett (on scintillating six-string form throughout) and band to leave the stage to a roar of approval, a standing ovation and a round of applause that continues as the lights come up, and the credits roll, on the excellent Wuthering Nights : Live in Birmingham.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Black Coffee
As much as reviews are worthwhile promotional tools that can provide a flavour of what to expect, there are times you have to accept that the fan-base and potential buying or listening audience are already familiar with just what to expect in terms of that flavour and the musical aroma created.
Which is certainly the case here, courtesy of a strong and rich Black Coffee from the well-known Hart-Bonamassa brand (even the name is more inviting than Starbucks).
Four and a half years on from Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa’s
#1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw (the highly successful follow up to their Top 3 Billboard Blues charter Don’t Explain) the pair have reunited for a third get-together of blues and soul covers.
And, as with the best coffee, once you’ve found the formula for a good Cup of Joe (and Beth) you don’t mess with the ingredients – other than perhaps adding a few sprinkles.
It’s no surprise therefore to find Kevin Shirley is once again in the production chair for an album that features Hart-Bonamassa returnees Anton Fig (drums) and horn players Lee Thornburg and Ron Dziubla, here joined by such notables (and Bonamassa band members) as Reese Wynans (keyboards), Michael Rhodes (bass), Rob McNelley (rhythm guitar), Paulie Cerra (saxophone) and backing singers Mahalia Barnes, Jade Macrae & Juanita Tippins.
As for those Black Coffee sprinkles mentioned earlier, they are provided by the sweet delve in to some deeper blues, soul and R&B cuts and the savoury surprise of a modern, change-up twist or two.
The opening Black Coffee brace provide both shades of the dynamic Hart-Bonamassa blues-soul duo.
The swagger and soul-horns of Edgar Winter’s 'Give it Everything You Got' (Beth Hart in full-on sass mode, Joe Bonamassa firing off an equally sassy solo) kicks off proceedings before the blues come callin’ with a truly tingling version of 'Damn Your Eyes,' Beth Hart’s vibrato in full, studio shaking cry on the Etta James number.
'Sittin’ on Top of the World,' a song that has been rearranged and covered for a number of genres across the decades, gets a fittingly bluesy makeover while 'Lullaby of the Leaves,' most famously covered by Ella Fitzgerald, has an understated opening (Beth Hart channelling that timeless Fitzgerald emotive melancholy) before Joe Bonamassa steps up to the plate to deliver bar after bar of sympathetic but searing blues guitar.
'Why Don’t You Do Right' adds some finger clicking, jazz-blues swing to proceedings and Leiber & Stoller’s rapid-fire rockabilly-gospel 'Saved' stays faithful to Lavern Baker’s 1961 outing, but it’s when Beth Hart, Joe Bonamassa and the band musically reimagine or reinvent that the bigger impact is made.
The title track, for example, bypasses the Ike & Tina Turner original to base itself firmly on the Steve Marriott and Humble Pie interpretation but with a much fuller sound including Reese Wynans' Hammond B3 swirls and soulful backing singers belt; closing number 'Addicted' on the other hand is a funky, reggae-tinged blues reinterpretation of Austrian trip-hop/ downtempo musician Klaus Waldeck’s original.
Right, I'm off for another hit of Black Coffee. And it won't be a Starbucks.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Which is certainly the case here, courtesy of a strong and rich Black Coffee from the well-known Hart-Bonamassa brand (even the name is more inviting than Starbucks).
Four and a half years on from Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa’s
#1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw (the highly successful follow up to their Top 3 Billboard Blues charter Don’t Explain) the pair have reunited for a third get-together of blues and soul covers.
And, as with the best coffee, once you’ve found the formula for a good Cup of Joe (and Beth) you don’t mess with the ingredients – other than perhaps adding a few sprinkles.
It’s no surprise therefore to find Kevin Shirley is once again in the production chair for an album that features Hart-Bonamassa returnees Anton Fig (drums) and horn players Lee Thornburg and Ron Dziubla, here joined by such notables (and Bonamassa band members) as Reese Wynans (keyboards), Michael Rhodes (bass), Rob McNelley (rhythm guitar), Paulie Cerra (saxophone) and backing singers Mahalia Barnes, Jade Macrae & Juanita Tippins.
As for those Black Coffee sprinkles mentioned earlier, they are provided by the sweet delve in to some deeper blues, soul and R&B cuts and the savoury surprise of a modern, change-up twist or two.
The opening Black Coffee brace provide both shades of the dynamic Hart-Bonamassa blues-soul duo.
The swagger and soul-horns of Edgar Winter’s 'Give it Everything You Got' (Beth Hart in full-on sass mode, Joe Bonamassa firing off an equally sassy solo) kicks off proceedings before the blues come callin’ with a truly tingling version of 'Damn Your Eyes,' Beth Hart’s vibrato in full, studio shaking cry on the Etta James number.
'Sittin’ on Top of the World,' a song that has been rearranged and covered for a number of genres across the decades, gets a fittingly bluesy makeover while 'Lullaby of the Leaves,' most famously covered by Ella Fitzgerald, has an understated opening (Beth Hart channelling that timeless Fitzgerald emotive melancholy) before Joe Bonamassa steps up to the plate to deliver bar after bar of sympathetic but searing blues guitar.
'Why Don’t You Do Right' adds some finger clicking, jazz-blues swing to proceedings and Leiber & Stoller’s rapid-fire rockabilly-gospel 'Saved' stays faithful to Lavern Baker’s 1961 outing, but it’s when Beth Hart, Joe Bonamassa and the band musically reimagine or reinvent that the bigger impact is made.
The title track, for example, bypasses the Ike & Tina Turner original to base itself firmly on the Steve Marriott and Humble Pie interpretation but with a much fuller sound including Reese Wynans' Hammond B3 swirls and soulful backing singers belt; closing number 'Addicted' on the other hand is a funky, reggae-tinged blues reinterpretation of Austrian trip-hop/ downtempo musician Klaus Waldeck’s original.
Right, I'm off for another hit of Black Coffee. And it won't be a Starbucks.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Dizzy Reed - Rock 'N Roll Ain't Easy
What should have been a (physical) release only in Japan, Australia and New Zealand for Dizzy Reed’s debut solo album has blossomed in to worldwide (digital platform) availability, a decision prompted by the global attention and interest given to the Guns N' Roses keyboardist’s first solo venture.
That wasn't just a good decision (sparked by the rave reviews and airplay for singles 'This Don’t Look Like Vegas' and 'I Celebrate'), it was also the right one.
And that's because Rock 'N Roll Ain’t Easy travels well, in both time and space, from the mid to late 80s LA rock scene that Dizzy Reed was part of (before hooking up with a singer called Axl Rose) to the edgier, contemporary rock and roll that’s making a dent in various parts of Europe, the UK and the US.
It doesn’t take more than the first few bars of 'This Don’t Look Like Vegas' to hear what all the fuss was about.
Written by Dizzy Reed, Ricky Warwick and Del James, the opening number raucously rolls across its four minutes with an attack and intensity that sets the Reed rock 'n' roll stall out loudly, clearly and early.
'This Don't Look Like Vegas' marries the searing solo lines delivered by Reed’s Guns N’ Roses bandmate Richard Fortus with honky-tonk piano lines and a suitably stinging rhythm section in the shape of W.A.S.P. bassist Mike Duda and ex W.A.S.P. drummer Mike Dupke.
In short, it sounds like Mott the Hoople had been born and musically bred fifteen years later on the Sunset Strip in the burgeoning LA glam-metal scene of the mid-80s.
Following number 'Mother Theresa' carries that same, raucous US 80s rock intensity (albeit at a slower pace and with a bluesy underpinning) before 'Cheers 2 R Oblivion' mixes the contemporary with 90s power-pop innards that scream to get out of their outer rawk and roll skin.
Lighter shades come by way of the rock ballad 'Fragile Water,' the slightly weightier 'Forgotten Cases' and the title track.
All three highlight that Dizzy Reed isn’t the greatest singer in the world but they work well as foils to the punky rock and pacey roll brace 'Mystery in Exile' and 'Reparations,' and big beat numbers such as second single 'I Celebrate' (a swaggering mid-tempo cacophony of sound, high-voiced hook chorus and a rhythmic outro featuring a not so much wailing as screaming saxophone from Mars Williams).
Dizzy Reed’s first ever solo album (but then where would he have found the time beforehand, what with his Guns N’ Roses day job, previous time spent with the Dead Daisies, tours with the likes of The Psychedelic Furs and his side project Hookers and Blow) isn’t perfect – a number of the songs are cut from the same LA glam rock and metal mould or simply fail to impress (although special mention should be given to the radio friendly and highly effective 'Splendid Isolation,' a bonus track on the digital version of the album).
All that said and criticisms aside, Rock 'N Roll Ain’t Easy?
It is if you stick to your Guns (without the Roses), go with what you know and be true to yourself and where you came from, musically.
In those regards Dizzy Reed most certainly succeeds.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
That wasn't just a good decision (sparked by the rave reviews and airplay for singles 'This Don’t Look Like Vegas' and 'I Celebrate'), it was also the right one.
And that's because Rock 'N Roll Ain’t Easy travels well, in both time and space, from the mid to late 80s LA rock scene that Dizzy Reed was part of (before hooking up with a singer called Axl Rose) to the edgier, contemporary rock and roll that’s making a dent in various parts of Europe, the UK and the US.
It doesn’t take more than the first few bars of 'This Don’t Look Like Vegas' to hear what all the fuss was about.
Written by Dizzy Reed, Ricky Warwick and Del James, the opening number raucously rolls across its four minutes with an attack and intensity that sets the Reed rock 'n' roll stall out loudly, clearly and early.
'This Don't Look Like Vegas' marries the searing solo lines delivered by Reed’s Guns N’ Roses bandmate Richard Fortus with honky-tonk piano lines and a suitably stinging rhythm section in the shape of W.A.S.P. bassist Mike Duda and ex W.A.S.P. drummer Mike Dupke.
In short, it sounds like Mott the Hoople had been born and musically bred fifteen years later on the Sunset Strip in the burgeoning LA glam-metal scene of the mid-80s.
Following number 'Mother Theresa' carries that same, raucous US 80s rock intensity (albeit at a slower pace and with a bluesy underpinning) before 'Cheers 2 R Oblivion' mixes the contemporary with 90s power-pop innards that scream to get out of their outer rawk and roll skin.
Lighter shades come by way of the rock ballad 'Fragile Water,' the slightly weightier 'Forgotten Cases' and the title track.
All three highlight that Dizzy Reed isn’t the greatest singer in the world but they work well as foils to the punky rock and pacey roll brace 'Mystery in Exile' and 'Reparations,' and big beat numbers such as second single 'I Celebrate' (a swaggering mid-tempo cacophony of sound, high-voiced hook chorus and a rhythmic outro featuring a not so much wailing as screaming saxophone from Mars Williams).
Dizzy Reed’s first ever solo album (but then where would he have found the time beforehand, what with his Guns N’ Roses day job, previous time spent with the Dead Daisies, tours with the likes of The Psychedelic Furs and his side project Hookers and Blow) isn’t perfect – a number of the songs are cut from the same LA glam rock and metal mould or simply fail to impress (although special mention should be given to the radio friendly and highly effective 'Splendid Isolation,' a bonus track on the digital version of the album).
All that said and criticisms aside, Rock 'N Roll Ain’t Easy?
It is if you stick to your Guns (without the Roses), go with what you know and be true to yourself and where you came from, musically.
In those regards Dizzy Reed most certainly succeeds.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Joe Satriani – What Happens Next
You’re world renowned rock guitar instrumentalist, Joe Satriani.
You’ve recently topped your acclaimed and high-quality back catalogue with 2013’s Unstoppable Momentum (Satriani’s best work to date in terms of the six-string sculptures created) and, two years later, the immense Shockwave Supernova.
You've also featured the services of a number of notables (drummers Vinnie Colaiuta & Marco Minnemann; bassists Chris Chaney & Bryan Beller) and broadened your sound on those albums, and their related world tours, with keyboard player and fabulous guitarist in his own right, Mike Keneally.
So, having built that momentum and surfed the supernova space so successfully these last four years and across those two outstanding albums, What Happens Next?
You return with a superstar rock rhythm section of Chad Smith and Glenn Hughes and proceed to deliver a more rock and roll orientated, but no less ear catching, 12 tracks and 50 minutes of high-calibre instrumental rock guitar.
'Energy' couldn’t be better named, or a better opener, for Joe Satriani’s sixteenth studio album.
This is high intensity instrumental rock and roll baby, complete with rattling bass, big beats and plenty of fiery licks and fretboard frenzy, yet all tightly controlled.
'Catbot,' with a funkily treated bass line, keeps the beat thumping, but with a slightly slower tempo that allows Joe Satriani’s guitar to squeal in catbot delight.
'Thunder High on the Mountains' then rolls in, flitting between a fittingly thunderous groove and those trademark Satriani runs of melodic atmosphere and power.
But every Joe Satriani album, no matter the primary style or conceptual theme, has mood shifting moments of beauty, melody and blues – here the delicacy of 'Cherry Blossoms' (with heavier mid-section) dovetails perfectly with the melodic and funky AOR ripples of 'Righteous' before the bluesy sway of 'Smooth Soul' takes centre stage.
The concluding six tracks are no less impressive.
Kicking off with the rapid-fire licks and pounding pace of 'Headrush' (the heir apparent to 'Satch Boogie' and, somewhat appropriately, featuring serious boogie bass punch from Glenn Hughes), the album then offers up the fusion styled and slightly off-centre quirkiness of 'Looper' before the title track’s slightly super funky sound (mixed with a splash of Satriani six-string licks 'n' tricks) sets up the fully 'Super Funky Badass.'
The latter number sounds like it started life as a studio jam workout before being honed in to a fully-formed, seven minute groove thang.
In a double whammy bar display of guitar virtuosity, 'Invisible' flexes its melodically charged muscles (firing off a salvo of fusion-tipped guitar notes over a funky, rhythmic time-shift) before the lighter and slower tempo charm of 'Forever and Ever' (with just a soupçon of Hendrix in the opening and closing bars) brings things to a conclusion.
Yep. That’s What Happens Next.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
You’ve recently topped your acclaimed and high-quality back catalogue with 2013’s Unstoppable Momentum (Satriani’s best work to date in terms of the six-string sculptures created) and, two years later, the immense Shockwave Supernova.
You've also featured the services of a number of notables (drummers Vinnie Colaiuta & Marco Minnemann; bassists Chris Chaney & Bryan Beller) and broadened your sound on those albums, and their related world tours, with keyboard player and fabulous guitarist in his own right, Mike Keneally.
So, having built that momentum and surfed the supernova space so successfully these last four years and across those two outstanding albums, What Happens Next?
You return with a superstar rock rhythm section of Chad Smith and Glenn Hughes and proceed to deliver a more rock and roll orientated, but no less ear catching, 12 tracks and 50 minutes of high-calibre instrumental rock guitar.
'Energy' couldn’t be better named, or a better opener, for Joe Satriani’s sixteenth studio album.
This is high intensity instrumental rock and roll baby, complete with rattling bass, big beats and plenty of fiery licks and fretboard frenzy, yet all tightly controlled.
'Catbot,' with a funkily treated bass line, keeps the beat thumping, but with a slightly slower tempo that allows Joe Satriani’s guitar to squeal in catbot delight.
'Thunder High on the Mountains' then rolls in, flitting between a fittingly thunderous groove and those trademark Satriani runs of melodic atmosphere and power.
But every Joe Satriani album, no matter the primary style or conceptual theme, has mood shifting moments of beauty, melody and blues – here the delicacy of 'Cherry Blossoms' (with heavier mid-section) dovetails perfectly with the melodic and funky AOR ripples of 'Righteous' before the bluesy sway of 'Smooth Soul' takes centre stage.
The concluding six tracks are no less impressive.
Kicking off with the rapid-fire licks and pounding pace of 'Headrush' (the heir apparent to 'Satch Boogie' and, somewhat appropriately, featuring serious boogie bass punch from Glenn Hughes), the album then offers up the fusion styled and slightly off-centre quirkiness of 'Looper' before the title track’s slightly super funky sound (mixed with a splash of Satriani six-string licks 'n' tricks) sets up the fully 'Super Funky Badass.'
The latter number sounds like it started life as a studio jam workout before being honed in to a fully-formed, seven minute groove thang.
In a double whammy bar display of guitar virtuosity, 'Invisible' flexes its melodically charged muscles (firing off a salvo of fusion-tipped guitar notes over a funky, rhythmic time-shift) before the lighter and slower tempo charm of 'Forever and Ever' (with just a soupçon of Hendrix in the opening and closing bars) brings things to a conclusion.
Yep. That’s What Happens Next.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Saxon – Saxon / Wheels Of Steel / Strong Arm of the Law reissues; Thunderbolt
For fans of British heavy metal Saxon’s first three, career establishing releases need no introduction.
But those now classic albums are up for reappraisal, the 2009 remasters having been given a 2018 reissue in the collectable shape of 24 page Media Book CDs and coloured Splatter/ Swirl Vinyl editions (both versions include lyrics, rare photos and memorabilia).
The self-titled debut of 1979 was a catch-all of Saxon’s varied styles, including fun-filled rock 'n' roll ('She’s a Big Teaser,' 'Still Fit to Boogie'), progressively tinged melodic rock ('Rainbow Theme-Frozen Rainbow'), the metallic march of 'Militia Guard' and the galloping 'Stallions of the Highway.'
The latter, and the equally brisk and brash 'Backs to the Wall,' were clarion calls to the ever-growing fan-base and pointers to the direction Saxon would soon be heading.
While Saxon showcased diversification and an echo of the band that had been Son of a Bitch (the fourteen bonus tracks include five Saxon tracks in original Son of a Bitch demo form) Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law (both released in 1980) firmly planted the Saxon flag in the metal fields.
Wheels of Steel didn’t just deliver the anthemic, four wheels on the freeway title track and its full throttle two-wheeled partner, 'Motorcycle Man.'
The UK Top #5 album also featured the hit single '747 (Strangers in the Night)' (an early indication that front man Biff Byford’s lyrics were going to stretch well beyond sex, leathers and rock 'n' roll) and melodic riff-rock nugget 'Suzie Hold On' (the reissue also features the eight bonus tracks from the 2009 edition).
Strong Arm of the Law featured its own notable title track (a swaggering, mid-tempo number that pulsed with metal-tinged energy) but will be best remembered as the album that solidified Saxon’s reputation as an act that could deliver 'Heavy Metal Thunder' for the hard core and yet appeal to a wider audience through songs such as the bluesy 'Hungry Years' and 'Dallas 1PM,' the band’s six-and-a-half-minute hard rock reflection on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination of 1963.
Like the reissued Wheels of Steel, the album includes the eight bonus tracks from the 2009 remaster.
Saxon have come a long way since finding the Frozen Rainbow but the band’s appetite for recording and releasing new material, some of which carries a musical fierceness bordering on speed metal (an influence of six-string shredder Doug Scarratt who joined the band in 1996) has not waned.
And with albums such as 2015’s Battering Ram and now Thunderbolt, Saxon have never been heavier.
While not Battering Ram Part 2, Thunderbolt is certainly a sequel to its predecessor in weight and sonic intensity; it features an equally impacting title track and plenty of pedal down pace, exemplified by the turbo-charged 'Speed Merchants.'
The storytelling lyricism of Biff Byford (still in good voice) is to the fore on a number of other tracks including the Gothic metal of 'Nosferatu (The Vampire’s Waltz)' and 'The Secret of Flight,' a Maiden-esque song that travels from the legend of Icarus to the jet age.
Elsewhere on Thunderbolt there’s the mid-tempo dark metal of 'Predator' (featuring guttural growl vocals from Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg) and an honourable nod to fallen comrades on 'They Played Rock and Roll,' a power down, double-time tribute to classic era Motörhead.
Thunderbolt isn’t the strongest album in the Saxon catalogue but it's a solid example of a band who are proudly flying the flag for heavy metal and still rolling those Wheels of Steel down the highways, and across the stages, of the UK and Europe.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But those now classic albums are up for reappraisal, the 2009 remasters having been given a 2018 reissue in the collectable shape of 24 page Media Book CDs and coloured Splatter/ Swirl Vinyl editions (both versions include lyrics, rare photos and memorabilia).
The self-titled debut of 1979 was a catch-all of Saxon’s varied styles, including fun-filled rock 'n' roll ('She’s a Big Teaser,' 'Still Fit to Boogie'), progressively tinged melodic rock ('Rainbow Theme-Frozen Rainbow'), the metallic march of 'Militia Guard' and the galloping 'Stallions of the Highway.'
The latter, and the equally brisk and brash 'Backs to the Wall,' were clarion calls to the ever-growing fan-base and pointers to the direction Saxon would soon be heading.
While Saxon showcased diversification and an echo of the band that had been Son of a Bitch (the fourteen bonus tracks include five Saxon tracks in original Son of a Bitch demo form) Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law (both released in 1980) firmly planted the Saxon flag in the metal fields.
Wheels of Steel didn’t just deliver the anthemic, four wheels on the freeway title track and its full throttle two-wheeled partner, 'Motorcycle Man.'
The UK Top #5 album also featured the hit single '747 (Strangers in the Night)' (an early indication that front man Biff Byford’s lyrics were going to stretch well beyond sex, leathers and rock 'n' roll) and melodic riff-rock nugget 'Suzie Hold On' (the reissue also features the eight bonus tracks from the 2009 edition).
Strong Arm of the Law featured its own notable title track (a swaggering, mid-tempo number that pulsed with metal-tinged energy) but will be best remembered as the album that solidified Saxon’s reputation as an act that could deliver 'Heavy Metal Thunder' for the hard core and yet appeal to a wider audience through songs such as the bluesy 'Hungry Years' and 'Dallas 1PM,' the band’s six-and-a-half-minute hard rock reflection on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination of 1963.
Like the reissued Wheels of Steel, the album includes the eight bonus tracks from the 2009 remaster.
Saxon have come a long way since finding the Frozen Rainbow but the band’s appetite for recording and releasing new material, some of which carries a musical fierceness bordering on speed metal (an influence of six-string shredder Doug Scarratt who joined the band in 1996) has not waned.
And with albums such as 2015’s Battering Ram and now Thunderbolt, Saxon have never been heavier.
While not Battering Ram Part 2, Thunderbolt is certainly a sequel to its predecessor in weight and sonic intensity; it features an equally impacting title track and plenty of pedal down pace, exemplified by the turbo-charged 'Speed Merchants.'
The storytelling lyricism of Biff Byford (still in good voice) is to the fore on a number of other tracks including the Gothic metal of 'Nosferatu (The Vampire’s Waltz)' and 'The Secret of Flight,' a Maiden-esque song that travels from the legend of Icarus to the jet age.
Elsewhere on Thunderbolt there’s the mid-tempo dark metal of 'Predator' (featuring guttural growl vocals from Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg) and an honourable nod to fallen comrades on 'They Played Rock and Roll,' a power down, double-time tribute to classic era Motörhead.
Thunderbolt isn’t the strongest album in the Saxon catalogue but it's a solid example of a band who are proudly flying the flag for heavy metal and still rolling those Wheels of Steel down the highways, and across the stages, of the UK and Europe.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Rick Springfield – The Snake King
While Rick Springfield’s seventeenth studio album might seem like quite the curveball – the highly successful melodic rocker having taken a fork on the road, by-passing hook-laden Hitstown for the dustier and darker (certainly lyrically) location of Bluesville – it’s worth remembering the noted Australian musician’s earliest playing days were in blues bands back home in Oz.
Additionally, with a number of original blues songs in his recent "Stripped Down" tour sets, along with the "shape of humanity’s struggle against this amazing planet," to quote Springfield from his own pre-release soundbites, it becomes clear it’s not a strange musical step but the next, logical one.
The Snake King is also by far Rick Springfield's strongest release lyrically (God, the Devil and metaphors for the state of the world making a fair few appearances) but always with interpretations open to the listener.
Musically, opening number 'In the Land of the Blind' is a great big slice of Springsteen-esque, melodic country-meets contemporary rock but, like most songs on the album there’s a lot going on lyrically.
The famous proverb that makes up the title is expressed in a number of sharp, observational or cynical ways, not least the by the line "Cyclops in the White House understands it, keeps everyone snow-blind from the great West Wing; he knows your rules don't apply here in the snake pit – it’s a land of the blind, and the one eyed man is king."
The Snake King then raises his blues cowled head for following number 'The Devil That You Know' (a Chicago blues 'n' roll number that hollers with blues harmonica and howls with a short, sharp solo from Springfield) and doesn’t slither away until the closing notes of a 21st century take on 'Orpheus in the Underworld.'
The latter, a majestic ten-minute Americana country-blues, nods to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp at their own, modern Americana best.
Between those very different but equally effective tracks The Snake King bites down on another nine numbers including 'Little Demon' (a gritty and groovin’ blues that dynamically shifts in its second half to allow Springfield to lay out some expressive (and sadly still underrated) six-string work), the twelve-bar and piano honky-tonk of 'Judas Tree,' the big-beat shuffle of 'Jesus Was an Atheist,' a foot tappin' title track with catchy chorus, the southern and slide guitar affected stomper 'Voodoo House' and a Devil of a funny number in the rockabilly roll of 'Santa is an Anagram.'
You’ll also find a serious does of bluesy venom injected in the lyrics of the bar-room blues of 'God Don’t Care' and the rockin' 'Suicide Manifesto,' while the more mainstream side of Rick Springfield rises to the surface on the AOR friendly and melodically charged 'Blues for the Disillusioned.'
The Snake King is, as the Aussies would say, an absolute ripper and a bonza piece of work, lyrically.
The Jessie's Girl brigade might have to double-check to make sure it's the same Rick Springfield but may The Snake King bite them on their 80s bedecked asses if they can't appreciate and applaud what is already one of the best blues based albums of the year.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Additionally, with a number of original blues songs in his recent "Stripped Down" tour sets, along with the "shape of humanity’s struggle against this amazing planet," to quote Springfield from his own pre-release soundbites, it becomes clear it’s not a strange musical step but the next, logical one.
The Snake King is also by far Rick Springfield's strongest release lyrically (God, the Devil and metaphors for the state of the world making a fair few appearances) but always with interpretations open to the listener.
Musically, opening number 'In the Land of the Blind' is a great big slice of Springsteen-esque, melodic country-meets contemporary rock but, like most songs on the album there’s a lot going on lyrically.
The famous proverb that makes up the title is expressed in a number of sharp, observational or cynical ways, not least the by the line "Cyclops in the White House understands it, keeps everyone snow-blind from the great West Wing; he knows your rules don't apply here in the snake pit – it’s a land of the blind, and the one eyed man is king."
The Snake King then raises his blues cowled head for following number 'The Devil That You Know' (a Chicago blues 'n' roll number that hollers with blues harmonica and howls with a short, sharp solo from Springfield) and doesn’t slither away until the closing notes of a 21st century take on 'Orpheus in the Underworld.'
The latter, a majestic ten-minute Americana country-blues, nods to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp at their own, modern Americana best.
Between those very different but equally effective tracks The Snake King bites down on another nine numbers including 'Little Demon' (a gritty and groovin’ blues that dynamically shifts in its second half to allow Springfield to lay out some expressive (and sadly still underrated) six-string work), the twelve-bar and piano honky-tonk of 'Judas Tree,' the big-beat shuffle of 'Jesus Was an Atheist,' a foot tappin' title track with catchy chorus, the southern and slide guitar affected stomper 'Voodoo House' and a Devil of a funny number in the rockabilly roll of 'Santa is an Anagram.'
You’ll also find a serious does of bluesy venom injected in the lyrics of the bar-room blues of 'God Don’t Care' and the rockin' 'Suicide Manifesto,' while the more mainstream side of Rick Springfield rises to the surface on the AOR friendly and melodically charged 'Blues for the Disillusioned.'
The Snake King is, as the Aussies would say, an absolute ripper and a bonza piece of work, lyrically.
The Jessie's Girl brigade might have to double-check to make sure it's the same Rick Springfield but may The Snake King bite them on their 80s bedecked asses if they can't appreciate and applaud what is already one of the best blues based albums of the year.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Voodoo Circle – Raised on Rock
There’s many a phrase used in music review for quick-comparison purposes – "borrows heavily from..." "clearly influenced by…" "from the same mould as…"
But German heavy rock / melodic metal outfit Voodoo Circle, the studio project started ten years ago by guitarist Alex Beyrodt that became a fully-fledged band, have, with fifth album Raised on Rock, allowed for the use of "copy and paste" – and it’s clearly intentional.
But then Alex Beyrodt isn’t trying to hide his influences or musical favourites; outwith his six-string duties with German power metal outfits Silent Force and Primal Fear, Voodoo Circle has become Beyrodt’s outlet to celebrate and pay homage to a number of acts including, most noticeably, Whitesnake, and others such as Rainbow, Deep Purple and Yngwie Malmsteen.
This time around however, with new singer Herbie Langhans (Sinbreed, Beyond the Bridge) joining Alex Beyrodt, Mat Sinner (bass) and Francesco Jovino (drums), Voodoo Circle have produced a more heavy melodic rock / euro rock product than the bluesier, metal-edged style of previous albums with then vocalist David Readman (front man of German rock/ metal band Pink Cream 69).
There’s little sign of pastiche or homage on opening number 'Running Away From Love;' instead Voodoo Circle’s penchant for late 80s and 90s high-powered, pedal to the melodic metal euro rock is very much to the fore.
The song borrowing nods start with following number 'Higher Love;' it’s a mighty fine slice of mid-tempo melodic rock with big chorus vocals, but outside of those choruses lies a rhythmic groove and talk-box effected guitar remarks straight out of The Zoo's Scorpions enclosure (similarly, the melodically laden 'Walk On the Line,' which is dressed over an inner Whitesnake skin of 'Crying in the Rain' chord and melody structure).
Outside of the classic rock band reference points Voodoo Circle get their rockin’ melodic country-metal on for 'You Promised Me Heaven,' deliver another big chunk of melodic euro rock with 'Just take My Heart' and hit the fast and furious rock-metal road for 'Ultimate Sin.'
'Chase Me Away' is the true conundrum on the album; it borrows from all the big rock ballads you’ve ever heard yet doesn’t actually sound like any of them; a neat trick and a neat little number.
But it's when the band borrow or copy outright that the best (or blatant) moments of homage come calling.
'Where is the World We Love' is Whitesnake’s 'Is This Love' in chord progression, tempo and melodic atmosphere created... 'The Unknown Stranger' is the best power down rock song the Joe Lynn Turner era of Rainbow never did... 'Dreamchaser' opens as 'Mistreated' (with Alex Beyrodt delivering a sprinkle of tasty notes across the top) before reshaping itself as a melodically framed cousin of the Purple MKIII classic.
Album closer 'Love is an Ocean' takes its lead from Whitesnake’s 'Till the Day I Die' in arrangement terms, but stands proud on its own merits.
The song’s acoustic opening gravitates to a full blown, feel-good rock and bluesy rollin’ beaut of a number, with some great organ flourishes from the album’s featured keyboard player, Corvin Bahn.
Alex Beyrodt’s Voodoo Circle – Raised on Rock, and not afraid to point, very specifically, to where that rock came from.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But German heavy rock / melodic metal outfit Voodoo Circle, the studio project started ten years ago by guitarist Alex Beyrodt that became a fully-fledged band, have, with fifth album Raised on Rock, allowed for the use of "copy and paste" – and it’s clearly intentional.
But then Alex Beyrodt isn’t trying to hide his influences or musical favourites; outwith his six-string duties with German power metal outfits Silent Force and Primal Fear, Voodoo Circle has become Beyrodt’s outlet to celebrate and pay homage to a number of acts including, most noticeably, Whitesnake, and others such as Rainbow, Deep Purple and Yngwie Malmsteen.
This time around however, with new singer Herbie Langhans (Sinbreed, Beyond the Bridge) joining Alex Beyrodt, Mat Sinner (bass) and Francesco Jovino (drums), Voodoo Circle have produced a more heavy melodic rock / euro rock product than the bluesier, metal-edged style of previous albums with then vocalist David Readman (front man of German rock/ metal band Pink Cream 69).
There’s little sign of pastiche or homage on opening number 'Running Away From Love;' instead Voodoo Circle’s penchant for late 80s and 90s high-powered, pedal to the melodic metal euro rock is very much to the fore.
The song borrowing nods start with following number 'Higher Love;' it’s a mighty fine slice of mid-tempo melodic rock with big chorus vocals, but outside of those choruses lies a rhythmic groove and talk-box effected guitar remarks straight out of The Zoo's Scorpions enclosure (similarly, the melodically laden 'Walk On the Line,' which is dressed over an inner Whitesnake skin of 'Crying in the Rain' chord and melody structure).
Outside of the classic rock band reference points Voodoo Circle get their rockin’ melodic country-metal on for 'You Promised Me Heaven,' deliver another big chunk of melodic euro rock with 'Just take My Heart' and hit the fast and furious rock-metal road for 'Ultimate Sin.'
'Chase Me Away' is the true conundrum on the album; it borrows from all the big rock ballads you’ve ever heard yet doesn’t actually sound like any of them; a neat trick and a neat little number.
But it's when the band borrow or copy outright that the best (or blatant) moments of homage come calling.
'Where is the World We Love' is Whitesnake’s 'Is This Love' in chord progression, tempo and melodic atmosphere created... 'The Unknown Stranger' is the best power down rock song the Joe Lynn Turner era of Rainbow never did... 'Dreamchaser' opens as 'Mistreated' (with Alex Beyrodt delivering a sprinkle of tasty notes across the top) before reshaping itself as a melodically framed cousin of the Purple MKIII classic.
Album closer 'Love is an Ocean' takes its lead from Whitesnake’s 'Till the Day I Die' in arrangement terms, but stands proud on its own merits.
The song’s acoustic opening gravitates to a full blown, feel-good rock and bluesy rollin’ beaut of a number, with some great organ flourishes from the album’s featured keyboard player, Corvin Bahn.
Alex Beyrodt’s Voodoo Circle – Raised on Rock, and not afraid to point, very specifically, to where that rock came from.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
