2018 Album Reviews
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 – The Rules Have Changed
The latest project from American musician, vocalist and producer Robert Berry (solo artist, Alliance, Greg Kihn Band) is a one man endeavour as regards performance and recording (Berry played all instrumentation and produced and mixed the album) but in terms of songwriting, arranging, sound and direction The Rules Have Changed is very much a two-man, melodically and progressively themed collaboration.
And a fairly significant and quite poignant one at that…
In 1988 Keith Emerson, Robert Berry and Carl Palmer got together to form the AOR Prog trio, 3.
Their album …To the Power of Three, released on Geffen Records, should have set the band up for bigger and better things but Geffen’s insistence that they get back in the studio quickly to record a follow-up, along with Emerson’s unhappiness at the label’s somewhat inconsistent and stifling strategies (ultimately cutting the success of the first album short) was the writing on the studio wall.
(Songs recorded for the never completed second album would later surface on Robert Berry’s 1995 solo album, Pilgrimage to a Point).
In 2015 conversations about a new 3 album started between Robert Berry, Keith Emerson and Frontiers Records; renewed fan interest and Emerson’s enthusiasm for the project (both bolstered by the release of
3 Live in Boston '88) led to what would have been a rebooted 3 as 3.2.
Sadly it was not to be; Keith Emerson would tragically cut his own life short in 2016 but not before he had provided Berry with a host of musical ideas including old cassette tapes (hearkening back to the original 3), new keyboard parts written over the phone and lengthy song-writing conversations about the album’s framework and direction.
The results are an album that pays musical respect to Keith Emerson and acts as a long-awaited sequel to
…To The Power of Three, but in a more contemporary, thirty years on setting.
Opening track 'One by One' has that big 3 sound and soaring Robert Berry vocal on the choruses but also flits with piano jazz and carries a more modern sound than the 80s AOR polish that was applied to much of
...To the Power of Three.
By contrast 'Powerful Man' is just the sort of song that would have set perfectly on 3’s 1988 album.
A big slice of keyboard led, rhythmically driven AOR prog, back in the day 'Powerful Man' would have been another Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart success much as 3’s 'Talkin' Bout' was (similarly 'What You’re Dreamin' Now' with its weightier, AOR meets Rock sound).
If one song captures Keith Emerson and Robert Berry at their commercially geared, songwriting best it’s 'Somebody’s Watching,' an uplifting and up-tempo number full of whoa-oh ohs and quintessential Emerson keyboard melodies and punctuations – indeed you could be forgiven for believing it’s actually Keith Emerson, such is Robert Berry’s talent and purposeful efforts to lock down the Emerson sound and style, note-for-note.
Beyond the more commercial there's the near seven minute progmospheric title track, the affecting, dual language 'Our Bond' (with punchier, ELP-esque closing section) and another near seven minute outing entitled 'This Letter,' a well-conceived song of two parts where the acoustically arranged, singer-songwriter first half marries exceptionally well with the carnival keyboards of the second.
The Rules have Changed, which closes out with the pacey, Toto-in-prog-mode styled number 'Your Mark On The World,' is the perfect tribute to, and final songwriting word of, Keith Emerson.
It’s also another highly commendable project/ album from the ever-busy and consummate but under-rated musician Robert Berry.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
And a fairly significant and quite poignant one at that…
In 1988 Keith Emerson, Robert Berry and Carl Palmer got together to form the AOR Prog trio, 3.
Their album …To the Power of Three, released on Geffen Records, should have set the band up for bigger and better things but Geffen’s insistence that they get back in the studio quickly to record a follow-up, along with Emerson’s unhappiness at the label’s somewhat inconsistent and stifling strategies (ultimately cutting the success of the first album short) was the writing on the studio wall.
(Songs recorded for the never completed second album would later surface on Robert Berry’s 1995 solo album, Pilgrimage to a Point).
In 2015 conversations about a new 3 album started between Robert Berry, Keith Emerson and Frontiers Records; renewed fan interest and Emerson’s enthusiasm for the project (both bolstered by the release of
3 Live in Boston '88) led to what would have been a rebooted 3 as 3.2.
Sadly it was not to be; Keith Emerson would tragically cut his own life short in 2016 but not before he had provided Berry with a host of musical ideas including old cassette tapes (hearkening back to the original 3), new keyboard parts written over the phone and lengthy song-writing conversations about the album’s framework and direction.
The results are an album that pays musical respect to Keith Emerson and acts as a long-awaited sequel to
…To The Power of Three, but in a more contemporary, thirty years on setting.
Opening track 'One by One' has that big 3 sound and soaring Robert Berry vocal on the choruses but also flits with piano jazz and carries a more modern sound than the 80s AOR polish that was applied to much of
...To the Power of Three.
By contrast 'Powerful Man' is just the sort of song that would have set perfectly on 3’s 1988 album.
A big slice of keyboard led, rhythmically driven AOR prog, back in the day 'Powerful Man' would have been another Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart success much as 3’s 'Talkin' Bout' was (similarly 'What You’re Dreamin' Now' with its weightier, AOR meets Rock sound).
If one song captures Keith Emerson and Robert Berry at their commercially geared, songwriting best it’s 'Somebody’s Watching,' an uplifting and up-tempo number full of whoa-oh ohs and quintessential Emerson keyboard melodies and punctuations – indeed you could be forgiven for believing it’s actually Keith Emerson, such is Robert Berry’s talent and purposeful efforts to lock down the Emerson sound and style, note-for-note.
Beyond the more commercial there's the near seven minute progmospheric title track, the affecting, dual language 'Our Bond' (with punchier, ELP-esque closing section) and another near seven minute outing entitled 'This Letter,' a well-conceived song of two parts where the acoustically arranged, singer-songwriter first half marries exceptionally well with the carnival keyboards of the second.
The Rules have Changed, which closes out with the pacey, Toto-in-prog-mode styled number 'Your Mark On The World,' is the perfect tribute to, and final songwriting word of, Keith Emerson.
It’s also another highly commendable project/ album from the ever-busy and consummate but under-rated musician Robert Berry.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Airrace – Untold Stories
Airrace have paralleled what a number of acts who made their name back in the 80s day have done after an extended hiatus, split or when musical time ran out on them – grabbed a new lease of life in the classic rock resurgence and delivered new material via a label who champions just such bands (in this case 2011’s Back to the Start and Frontiers Records).
The difference with Airrace, however, is it’s to be hoped the third (album) time is the melodically rocking charm…
While the likes of fellow UK melodic rockers FM did all right for themselves, fate, circumstances and sheer bad luck meant Airrace’s 1984 debut Shaft of Light (a critically acclaimed mix of British melodic hard rock, catchy choruses and musical hooks) was just that – a shaft that never widened to the brighter future hoped for.
Despite supporting some of the biggest ever names in rock (including Queen, AC/DC and Meat Loaf) Airrace split in 1985, destined to be remembered primarily as then-teenager Jason Bonham’s first band.
A quarter of a century later and on the back of a 25th Anniversary re-release for Shaft of Light, a revamped Airrace line-up formed around original members Laurie Mansworth (guitars) and Keith Murrel (vocals).
The aptly titled Back to the Start certainly wasn’t a bad band reboot but its mix of songs recorded some twenty years earlier (for the never recorded second album) and newer material penned by Mansworth and Murrel failed to separate itself from the melodically hard rocking pack.
Seven years on however Laurie Mansworth, accompanied by a new Airrace line-up featuring Adam Payne (vocals), Rocky Newton (bass), Linda Kelsey Foster (keyboards) and Dhani Mansworth (drums) has clearly decided the time has come to set the Airrace record (and CD and digital download) straight.
Untold Stories isn’t just a better album than Back to the Start, it’s the strongest work to carry the Airrace name, benefiting from a wider influence of song styles ranging from 70s and 80s rock to more contemporary numbers and arrangements.
Opener 'Running Out of Time' captures both the 80s and 21st century sound of Airrace.
A melodic rock song with a message (the title and lyric convey current global concerns), the Toto-esque track also benefits from strong piano support and some crisp, clean and highly effective guitar lines from Laurie Mansworth.
Following number, the pacey and vibrant 'Innocent,' retains a Toto vibe for the verses but the choruses and melodic bridge are all Airrace, Adam Payne lifting to the vocal highs with rock tenor aplomb.
But Untold Stories isn’t just about catchy hooks and AOR sheen – the slightly edgy but still melodically couched 'Eyes Like Ice' carries a euro rock vibe while 'New Skin' sports a distinctly 80s rock sound.
There’s also a bluesy injection of harder rock through songs such as the 70s styled swagger of 'Different But the Same,' the equally 70s driven, mid-tempo heavyweight number 'Men From the Boys' and the melodically charged rocker, 'Come With Us.'
That Untold Stories is a more up-tempo and weightier proposition is highlighted by the fact only one ballad, 'Lost,' features – but such isolation, along with its acoustic and harmony vocals framing, gives it higher impact value. It’s also, quite simply, just a lovely little song.
Other highlights include 'Love is Love' (the best song Foreigner never wrote if not for, again, the Airrace approved melodic chorus and bridge), the geared for radio play 'Summer Rain' (quintessential AOR for raising the spirits and singing along to) and hard melodic rock-infused album closer, 'Here It Comes.'
Under the wider ranged songwriting guidance of Laurie Mansworth, his goal of delivering something pretty special under the Airrace name all these decades on has been fully realised.
Now we just need everyone else to realise the same thing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The difference with Airrace, however, is it’s to be hoped the third (album) time is the melodically rocking charm…
While the likes of fellow UK melodic rockers FM did all right for themselves, fate, circumstances and sheer bad luck meant Airrace’s 1984 debut Shaft of Light (a critically acclaimed mix of British melodic hard rock, catchy choruses and musical hooks) was just that – a shaft that never widened to the brighter future hoped for.
Despite supporting some of the biggest ever names in rock (including Queen, AC/DC and Meat Loaf) Airrace split in 1985, destined to be remembered primarily as then-teenager Jason Bonham’s first band.
A quarter of a century later and on the back of a 25th Anniversary re-release for Shaft of Light, a revamped Airrace line-up formed around original members Laurie Mansworth (guitars) and Keith Murrel (vocals).
The aptly titled Back to the Start certainly wasn’t a bad band reboot but its mix of songs recorded some twenty years earlier (for the never recorded second album) and newer material penned by Mansworth and Murrel failed to separate itself from the melodically hard rocking pack.
Seven years on however Laurie Mansworth, accompanied by a new Airrace line-up featuring Adam Payne (vocals), Rocky Newton (bass), Linda Kelsey Foster (keyboards) and Dhani Mansworth (drums) has clearly decided the time has come to set the Airrace record (and CD and digital download) straight.
Untold Stories isn’t just a better album than Back to the Start, it’s the strongest work to carry the Airrace name, benefiting from a wider influence of song styles ranging from 70s and 80s rock to more contemporary numbers and arrangements.
Opener 'Running Out of Time' captures both the 80s and 21st century sound of Airrace.
A melodic rock song with a message (the title and lyric convey current global concerns), the Toto-esque track also benefits from strong piano support and some crisp, clean and highly effective guitar lines from Laurie Mansworth.
Following number, the pacey and vibrant 'Innocent,' retains a Toto vibe for the verses but the choruses and melodic bridge are all Airrace, Adam Payne lifting to the vocal highs with rock tenor aplomb.
But Untold Stories isn’t just about catchy hooks and AOR sheen – the slightly edgy but still melodically couched 'Eyes Like Ice' carries a euro rock vibe while 'New Skin' sports a distinctly 80s rock sound.
There’s also a bluesy injection of harder rock through songs such as the 70s styled swagger of 'Different But the Same,' the equally 70s driven, mid-tempo heavyweight number 'Men From the Boys' and the melodically charged rocker, 'Come With Us.'
That Untold Stories is a more up-tempo and weightier proposition is highlighted by the fact only one ballad, 'Lost,' features – but such isolation, along with its acoustic and harmony vocals framing, gives it higher impact value. It’s also, quite simply, just a lovely little song.
Other highlights include 'Love is Love' (the best song Foreigner never wrote if not for, again, the Airrace approved melodic chorus and bridge), the geared for radio play 'Summer Rain' (quintessential AOR for raising the spirits and singing along to) and hard melodic rock-infused album closer, 'Here It Comes.'
Under the wider ranged songwriting guidance of Laurie Mansworth, his goal of delivering something pretty special under the Airrace name all these decades on has been fully realised.
Now we just need everyone else to realise the same thing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Alcatrazz – Parole Denied - Tokyo 2017
In recent years any music reviewer exclaiming "blimey, another release from Bon… usually completes the line with ...amassa?" But it’s getting to the stage where ...net?" can be inserted instead, as yet another Graham Bonnet product comes calling.
In the last four years alone the singer/ solo artist and ex front man of Rainbow, MSG, Alcatrazz and a few other notable associations has released an EP and three albums (two studio, one live) as The Graham Bonnet Band as well as a career defining 2CD&DVD anthology and around half a dozen other archive releases.
He has also featured as part of the Michael Schenker Fest (on Live in Tokyo and recent MSF studio album Resurrection), and now Parole Denied - Tokyo 2017, a live reunion of Alcatrazz founders Bonnet, keyboardist Jimmy Waldo and bassist Gary Shea, accompanied by Graham Bonnet Band member Mark Benquechea (drums) and the band’s then guitarist, Conrado Pesinato.
The live recordings, lifted from a three night special engagement in Tokyo, took place during the Graham Bonnet Band’s 2017 tour of Japan.
Not only did it make logistical, dovetailing sense, Japan was probably always destined to be the first port of call for any Alcatrazz get-together, given the band’s success and popularity there (the third and final Alcatrazz studio album, 1986’s Dangerous Games, was influenced by Japan and the country’s love of melodic rock).
That such an event was recorded and filmed is therefore no surprise, nor is the inclusion of Alcatrazz classic cuts such as the heavy pop rocking and rolling 'God Blessed Video,' the harder hitting 'Jet To Jet,' the melodic brace of 'Island in the Sun' and 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' and Bonnet’s personal / emotive hard rock ballad, 'Suffer Me' (all of which tend to feature in Graham Bonnet 'greatest hits' live sets).
Strong as they are, their ever-present nature mean the seldom played deeper cuts take centre stage in Tokyo, including the short vocal-only intro piece 'Night of the Shooting Stars,' which opens the show, followed, fittingly, by a melodically rockin’ and synth poppin’ rendition of 'Ohayo Tokyo.'
Indeed given that Gary Shea and Graham Bonnet hadn’t performed together for more than thirty years the band are solid throughout; Bonnet is in fine voice, clean on the highs and more throaty on the mid-range, the latter complementing the equally throaty keyboard runs from Jimmy Waldo on heavier songs such as the Rainbow-esque 'Too Yong to Die… Too Drunk to Live.'
Special mention too for guitarist Conrado Pesinato who, much as he had to do with the Graham Bonnet Band (when he had to give it the full Blackmore or Schenker on classic blasts from Bonnet’s past) has to deliver riffs and licks originally delivered by Yngwie Malmsteen and Stevie Via (the guitarists on Alcatrazz debut No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll and second album Disturbing the Peace respectively).
Fortunately Pesinato is slick enough to give the songs lifted from those albums the six-string kick they need.
In addition to the live set there has been some archive searching for a second CD, which features eight previously unreleased tracks (six demos and two rehearsal demos) from 1985.
Highlight/ collector’s item is undoubtedly the spacey rock ballad 'Emotion,' featuring Steve Vai on guitar.
Blimey, another release from Graham Bonnet? Yep; and another good one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
In the last four years alone the singer/ solo artist and ex front man of Rainbow, MSG, Alcatrazz and a few other notable associations has released an EP and three albums (two studio, one live) as The Graham Bonnet Band as well as a career defining 2CD&DVD anthology and around half a dozen other archive releases.
He has also featured as part of the Michael Schenker Fest (on Live in Tokyo and recent MSF studio album Resurrection), and now Parole Denied - Tokyo 2017, a live reunion of Alcatrazz founders Bonnet, keyboardist Jimmy Waldo and bassist Gary Shea, accompanied by Graham Bonnet Band member Mark Benquechea (drums) and the band’s then guitarist, Conrado Pesinato.
The live recordings, lifted from a three night special engagement in Tokyo, took place during the Graham Bonnet Band’s 2017 tour of Japan.
Not only did it make logistical, dovetailing sense, Japan was probably always destined to be the first port of call for any Alcatrazz get-together, given the band’s success and popularity there (the third and final Alcatrazz studio album, 1986’s Dangerous Games, was influenced by Japan and the country’s love of melodic rock).
That such an event was recorded and filmed is therefore no surprise, nor is the inclusion of Alcatrazz classic cuts such as the heavy pop rocking and rolling 'God Blessed Video,' the harder hitting 'Jet To Jet,' the melodic brace of 'Island in the Sun' and 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' and Bonnet’s personal / emotive hard rock ballad, 'Suffer Me' (all of which tend to feature in Graham Bonnet 'greatest hits' live sets).
Strong as they are, their ever-present nature mean the seldom played deeper cuts take centre stage in Tokyo, including the short vocal-only intro piece 'Night of the Shooting Stars,' which opens the show, followed, fittingly, by a melodically rockin’ and synth poppin’ rendition of 'Ohayo Tokyo.'
Indeed given that Gary Shea and Graham Bonnet hadn’t performed together for more than thirty years the band are solid throughout; Bonnet is in fine voice, clean on the highs and more throaty on the mid-range, the latter complementing the equally throaty keyboard runs from Jimmy Waldo on heavier songs such as the Rainbow-esque 'Too Yong to Die… Too Drunk to Live.'
Special mention too for guitarist Conrado Pesinato who, much as he had to do with the Graham Bonnet Band (when he had to give it the full Blackmore or Schenker on classic blasts from Bonnet’s past) has to deliver riffs and licks originally delivered by Yngwie Malmsteen and Stevie Via (the guitarists on Alcatrazz debut No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll and second album Disturbing the Peace respectively).
Fortunately Pesinato is slick enough to give the songs lifted from those albums the six-string kick they need.
In addition to the live set there has been some archive searching for a second CD, which features eight previously unreleased tracks (six demos and two rehearsal demos) from 1985.
Highlight/ collector’s item is undoubtedly the spacey rock ballad 'Emotion,' featuring Steve Vai on guitar.
Blimey, another release from Graham Bonnet? Yep; and another good one.
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
Bad Touch – Shake a Leg
If Norfolk based blues rockers Bad Touch were knocking on the door with 2015 debut album Half Way Home and the following year’s rather tasty Truth Be Told, they’ve stepped over the rock 'n' roll threshold and firmly introduced themselves with Shake a Leg.
"Hey you, yeah you, I wanna see you... come on over here and bring your dancin’ shoes!" declares singer Stevie Westwood on opening number 'Lift Your Head Up' while the rest of the band – guitarists Rob Glendinning and Daniel Seekings, bassist Michael Bailey, drummer George Drewry – give it plenty.
A short, sharp, rhythm 'n' bluesily rockin’ number, 'Lift Your Head Up' typifies and reinforces the band’s modus operandi of southern affected blues rock and musical joie de vivre.
It’s a vibrant, high-energy start that’s guaranteed to be an absolute winner live from a band who never seem to be off the road (the album’s title is a reference to their never-stop-gigging attitude; 'Lift Your Head Up' is a nod to the band’s relationship and rapport with the fans).
That Bad Touch are such a stand-out live band (there’s a solid argument for them being the live act of the British blues rock circuit outside of the ever elevating King King) is in part down to their high gigging rate but it's also, without question, due to the quality of songs carried and performed.
Anyone who has seen Bad Touch on recent tours prior to Shake a Leg being released will have heard tasters of what now sit proudly within the grooves or digital code of the album, including a swaggering, southern-tinged slice of Bad Touch blues rock entitled 'Take Me Away' and the slower, southern blues of 'I Belong.'
An emotive and highly effective song about place and home, 'I Belong' is a perfect example of the band's more personal approach to the lyrics on Shake a Leg – the album delivers in the southern styled blues rock vein of its predecessors (but with a bigger sound courtesy of a production and mix from Andy Hodgson and mastering at Abbey Road Studios) but the more personal and observational lyrical statements separate Shake a Leg from what has gone before.
Between the pacier and the more poignant lies the meat of Shake a Leg – 'Hammer Falls' is a weighty proposition with drummer George Drewry’s big beats echoing the song’s title; lead-off single 'Skyman' is a blues raucous, air punching nod to the high times and all-too-short life of Duane "Skydog" Allman of the Allman Brothers; 'Dressed to Kill' is hip-shakin’ and party dancin’ blues rock, baby.
Other Bad Touch nuggets include the rock and whoa-oh-oh roll of 'Too Many Times,' the slower, southern rock ballad 'Believe in Me' and the melodic, acoustic-to-rock framed 'Slow Tempest.'
The thirteen track album closes with a song that’s a departure for the band, the dark and sombre yet uplifting 'Bury Me (When I’m Gone).'
Recorded in one take with Stevie Westwood, Rob Glendinning and George Drewry sitting in the studio’s live room, 'Bury Me' is a song of sad passing but celebrating that passing through friends that "will all sing my song."
Blues ladies and rock gentleman, nod your head in appreciation, raise a glass to the music and shake a leg to Bad Touch, who have probably scheduled yet another tour in the time it’s taken to read this review.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
"Hey you, yeah you, I wanna see you... come on over here and bring your dancin’ shoes!" declares singer Stevie Westwood on opening number 'Lift Your Head Up' while the rest of the band – guitarists Rob Glendinning and Daniel Seekings, bassist Michael Bailey, drummer George Drewry – give it plenty.
A short, sharp, rhythm 'n' bluesily rockin’ number, 'Lift Your Head Up' typifies and reinforces the band’s modus operandi of southern affected blues rock and musical joie de vivre.
It’s a vibrant, high-energy start that’s guaranteed to be an absolute winner live from a band who never seem to be off the road (the album’s title is a reference to their never-stop-gigging attitude; 'Lift Your Head Up' is a nod to the band’s relationship and rapport with the fans).
That Bad Touch are such a stand-out live band (there’s a solid argument for them being the live act of the British blues rock circuit outside of the ever elevating King King) is in part down to their high gigging rate but it's also, without question, due to the quality of songs carried and performed.
Anyone who has seen Bad Touch on recent tours prior to Shake a Leg being released will have heard tasters of what now sit proudly within the grooves or digital code of the album, including a swaggering, southern-tinged slice of Bad Touch blues rock entitled 'Take Me Away' and the slower, southern blues of 'I Belong.'
An emotive and highly effective song about place and home, 'I Belong' is a perfect example of the band's more personal approach to the lyrics on Shake a Leg – the album delivers in the southern styled blues rock vein of its predecessors (but with a bigger sound courtesy of a production and mix from Andy Hodgson and mastering at Abbey Road Studios) but the more personal and observational lyrical statements separate Shake a Leg from what has gone before.
Between the pacier and the more poignant lies the meat of Shake a Leg – 'Hammer Falls' is a weighty proposition with drummer George Drewry’s big beats echoing the song’s title; lead-off single 'Skyman' is a blues raucous, air punching nod to the high times and all-too-short life of Duane "Skydog" Allman of the Allman Brothers; 'Dressed to Kill' is hip-shakin’ and party dancin’ blues rock, baby.
Other Bad Touch nuggets include the rock and whoa-oh-oh roll of 'Too Many Times,' the slower, southern rock ballad 'Believe in Me' and the melodic, acoustic-to-rock framed 'Slow Tempest.'
The thirteen track album closes with a song that’s a departure for the band, the dark and sombre yet uplifting 'Bury Me (When I’m Gone).'
Recorded in one take with Stevie Westwood, Rob Glendinning and George Drewry sitting in the studio’s live room, 'Bury Me' is a song of sad passing but celebrating that passing through friends that "will all sing my song."
Blues ladies and rock gentleman, nod your head in appreciation, raise a glass to the music and shake a leg to Bad Touch, who have probably scheduled yet another tour in the time it’s taken to read this review.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Kris Barras Band – The Divine And Dirty
British based blues rock singer-guitarist Kris Barras gave himself a hard to act to follow with Lucky 13 in 2016, of which FabricationsHQ said in review "Barras, with Lucky 13, is clearly rolling sevens."
Two years on, with The Divine And Dirty, Kris Barras and band (bassist Elliott Blackler, drummer Will Beavis, keyboardist Josiah J Manning) are rolling the dice again – new label Provogue and Barras are clearly hoping their numbers come up with an album that mixes the blues rock sound of the band's self-titled debut and Lucky 13 alongside tracks with AOR polish, 80s styled melodic rock sounds and bigger production values.
That the musical colours of the Kris Barras Band have been given new shades of blues on The Divine And Dirty is immediately apparent, and with dramatic and striking effect, on the powerful, hard melodic blues cry of 'Kick Me Down' (complete with big harmony vocal backings and a female soul-blues wail that accompanies Barras’s cry of "I won’t pick myself up just to see you kick me down!")
It’s an outstanding start, followed by another belting number, 'Hail Mary;' the riff-driven, southern styled song is given further weight via its a cappella gospel tinged vocal bursts and a tasty solo from Kris Barras.
The two musical sides of the album are then showcased by, first, having the blues come calling on the simple beat and chant-vocal approach of 'I Don’t Owe Nobody Nothing' followed by the radio friendly grooves of 'Propane,' an AOR blues with a catchy chorus.
But it’s a return to rockin’ the blues mid-album, courtesy of the jump joint fun of 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time,' another southern influenced number in the shape of the heavy melodic blues of 'Lovers or Losers,' the rock 'n' bluesy roll and "whoa-oh-ohs" of 'She’s More Than Enough' and the good time, barroom honky tonk rock of 'Stitch Me Up.'
With Kris Barras having seemingly blues’d himself out, the melodic rock themes return to play out the album.
Power-ballad 'Hold On For Tomorrow' will undoubtedly become the marmite song on the album (Barras channels too much Jon Bon Jovi but redeems himself with a melodically charged solo) while the mid-tempo 'Blood On Your Hands' wouldn’t have been out of place on any number of 80s American rock albums (it’s Toto with the blues, baby).
Closing number, the slow blues 'Watching Over Me' (a reworking of the stand-out out song from the Kris Barras Band album) is a fine way to sign off but its fuller sound and fatter arrangement (piano and keys high in the mix, big backing vocals) guarantees a number of discussions and fan arguments about whether you prefer the original or the bigger production version.
Or, for those who favour either polished melodic rock or grittier blues rock, what’s the Divine and what’s the Dirty?
The real question should, of course, be, much as the album itself is trying to say, why can’t there be a place for both?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Two years on, with The Divine And Dirty, Kris Barras and band (bassist Elliott Blackler, drummer Will Beavis, keyboardist Josiah J Manning) are rolling the dice again – new label Provogue and Barras are clearly hoping their numbers come up with an album that mixes the blues rock sound of the band's self-titled debut and Lucky 13 alongside tracks with AOR polish, 80s styled melodic rock sounds and bigger production values.
That the musical colours of the Kris Barras Band have been given new shades of blues on The Divine And Dirty is immediately apparent, and with dramatic and striking effect, on the powerful, hard melodic blues cry of 'Kick Me Down' (complete with big harmony vocal backings and a female soul-blues wail that accompanies Barras’s cry of "I won’t pick myself up just to see you kick me down!")
It’s an outstanding start, followed by another belting number, 'Hail Mary;' the riff-driven, southern styled song is given further weight via its a cappella gospel tinged vocal bursts and a tasty solo from Kris Barras.
The two musical sides of the album are then showcased by, first, having the blues come calling on the simple beat and chant-vocal approach of 'I Don’t Owe Nobody Nothing' followed by the radio friendly grooves of 'Propane,' an AOR blues with a catchy chorus.
But it’s a return to rockin’ the blues mid-album, courtesy of the jump joint fun of 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time,' another southern influenced number in the shape of the heavy melodic blues of 'Lovers or Losers,' the rock 'n' bluesy roll and "whoa-oh-ohs" of 'She’s More Than Enough' and the good time, barroom honky tonk rock of 'Stitch Me Up.'
With Kris Barras having seemingly blues’d himself out, the melodic rock themes return to play out the album.
Power-ballad 'Hold On For Tomorrow' will undoubtedly become the marmite song on the album (Barras channels too much Jon Bon Jovi but redeems himself with a melodically charged solo) while the mid-tempo 'Blood On Your Hands' wouldn’t have been out of place on any number of 80s American rock albums (it’s Toto with the blues, baby).
Closing number, the slow blues 'Watching Over Me' (a reworking of the stand-out out song from the Kris Barras Band album) is a fine way to sign off but its fuller sound and fatter arrangement (piano and keys high in the mix, big backing vocals) guarantees a number of discussions and fan arguments about whether you prefer the original or the bigger production version.
Or, for those who favour either polished melodic rock or grittier blues rock, what’s the Divine and what’s the Dirty?
The real question should, of course, be, much as the album itself is trying to say, why can’t there be a place for both?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Martin Barre - Roads Less Travelled
In 2016, when ex Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre released the solo album Back to Steel, he stated that it was his most important work date – and for good reason.
Back to Steel was the album that helped set Martin Barre free from the musically type-cast Jethro Tull shell that still encased the musician (and his previous solo albums) some four year after Tull’s initial dissolution; it was the start of Barre truly becoming his own artist.
It was a strong offering but Roads Less Travelled is its natural, and better, successor; it drops the covers (Back To Steel featured four including two Jethro Tull numbers), diversifies further and showcases Martin Barre as a good songwriter and not just an exceptional rock guitarist.
Not that traces of Tull will ever leave Martin Barre as the guitarist will readily admit; it’s part of his six-string DNA and was his musical home for some forty-four years.
Those roads well travelled are reflected on a couple of the tracks, not least opening number 'Lone Wolf.'
A song that’s straight out of the Jethro Tull songbook (certainly the band's latter era) 'Lone Wolf' is quirky, folky, rocky and delightfully Tully.
Featuring Martin Barre Band vocalist Dan Crisp (who takes lead vocal on seven of the eleven tracks), 'Lone Wolf' is on the rockier side of Martin Barre’s less well travelled road, which is wide enough to accommodate both the more acoustic or melodic and Barre’s own take on blues rock, which incorporates big chunky slices of quintessential Barre guitar and almost folk-styled riffing.
The rather cracking 'Out of Time' manages to encompass all of the above traits while the mandolin and guitar led 'I’m On My Way' is probably the album’s best example of Martin Barre blues rock.
The melodically framed title track flirts with the potential for commercial radio airplay and features some low in the mix but welcome Hammond from Josiah J.
The keyboardist is more prominent on the album’s weightiest number, '(This is) My Driving Song' before featuring heavily on the most interesting song on the album, six-minute closing track 'And the Band Played Only For Me' (a musically shifting, jazz-flavoured piece of blues rock).
Providing vocal contrast and additional Road Less Travelled textures are guest female singers Alex Hart and Becca Langsford.
Alex Hart, who also featured on Back to Steel, gives beautiful voice to the acoustic poignancy of 'You Are An Angel' (written about a Syrian nurse who ignored the attacks around her to care for children in hospital).
Becca Langsford is suitably bluesy on the acoustically shaped 'Badcore Blues' before returning later to get her jazzier tones on for the aforementioned 'And the Band Played Only For Me.'
Great vocal performances aside, it wouldn’t be a Martin Barre album without an instrumental; the Irish influenced, mandolin and acoustic guitars of 'Trinity' fits the bill perfectly.
In a musical world where many an artist or band stick to the safest route or a familiar path, kudos to Martin Barre for leaving the Farm on the Freeway behind and taking to Roads Less Travelled.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Back to Steel was the album that helped set Martin Barre free from the musically type-cast Jethro Tull shell that still encased the musician (and his previous solo albums) some four year after Tull’s initial dissolution; it was the start of Barre truly becoming his own artist.
It was a strong offering but Roads Less Travelled is its natural, and better, successor; it drops the covers (Back To Steel featured four including two Jethro Tull numbers), diversifies further and showcases Martin Barre as a good songwriter and not just an exceptional rock guitarist.
Not that traces of Tull will ever leave Martin Barre as the guitarist will readily admit; it’s part of his six-string DNA and was his musical home for some forty-four years.
Those roads well travelled are reflected on a couple of the tracks, not least opening number 'Lone Wolf.'
A song that’s straight out of the Jethro Tull songbook (certainly the band's latter era) 'Lone Wolf' is quirky, folky, rocky and delightfully Tully.
Featuring Martin Barre Band vocalist Dan Crisp (who takes lead vocal on seven of the eleven tracks), 'Lone Wolf' is on the rockier side of Martin Barre’s less well travelled road, which is wide enough to accommodate both the more acoustic or melodic and Barre’s own take on blues rock, which incorporates big chunky slices of quintessential Barre guitar and almost folk-styled riffing.
The rather cracking 'Out of Time' manages to encompass all of the above traits while the mandolin and guitar led 'I’m On My Way' is probably the album’s best example of Martin Barre blues rock.
The melodically framed title track flirts with the potential for commercial radio airplay and features some low in the mix but welcome Hammond from Josiah J.
The keyboardist is more prominent on the album’s weightiest number, '(This is) My Driving Song' before featuring heavily on the most interesting song on the album, six-minute closing track 'And the Band Played Only For Me' (a musically shifting, jazz-flavoured piece of blues rock).
Providing vocal contrast and additional Road Less Travelled textures are guest female singers Alex Hart and Becca Langsford.
Alex Hart, who also featured on Back to Steel, gives beautiful voice to the acoustic poignancy of 'You Are An Angel' (written about a Syrian nurse who ignored the attacks around her to care for children in hospital).
Becca Langsford is suitably bluesy on the acoustically shaped 'Badcore Blues' before returning later to get her jazzier tones on for the aforementioned 'And the Band Played Only For Me.'
Great vocal performances aside, it wouldn’t be a Martin Barre album without an instrumental; the Irish influenced, mandolin and acoustic guitars of 'Trinity' fits the bill perfectly.
In a musical world where many an artist or band stick to the safest route or a familiar path, kudos to Martin Barre for leaving the Farm on the Freeway behind and taking to Roads Less Travelled.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Be-Bop Deluxe – Sunburst Finish (3CD & DVD Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset)
Be-Bop Deluxe, under the musical guidance and artistic direction of the ever-creative Bill Nelson, made their rock and roll mark in a relatively short space of time (five studio albums and a live release in seven years of 70s rock activity).
Sunburst Finish, released in 1976, was the band’s third album and featured the classic line up of Bill Nelson (lead vocals, guitars), Andy Clark (keyboards, synthesizer), Charlie Tumahai (bass, backing vocals) and Simon Fox (drums, percussion).
It wasn’t their highest album chart success (that nod goes to Top 10 album Live in the Air Age) but it did go on to become their biggest commercial success.
Remastered from the original master tapes the new version of Sunburst Finish has a little more sonic sparkle about it; it also comes with a second disc of new stereo mixes by noted recording engineer, mixer and sound designer Stephen W. Taylor.
A third disc of live & session recordings and a DVD featuring a 5.1 surround sound mix and three video tracks (the band’s Old Grey Whistle Test appearance from 13th January 1976 and the unreleased promo video for 'Ships In The Night') can also be found within the Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset from Esoteric Recordings.
Musically, Sunburst Finish is the perfect mix of melodic rock and highly accessible art-rock, sometimes blended within the same song (the futuristic and pseudo funky Be-Bop Deluxe classic 'Life in the Air Age').
Melodically framed gems include the masterful pop-rock of 'Ships in the Night' (a Top of The Pops chart success), the foot-tapping 'Like an Old Blues' and the slower, reflective 'Crystal Gazing.'
For prime examples of Be-Bop Deluxe art rock ‘n’ roll look and listen no further than 'Fair Exchange,' 'Sleep That Burns' and closing track, the suitably Be-Bop burnin' 'Blazing Apostles.'
The new stereo mixes stay true to the originals but benefit from a subtle lift on the percussion and, most noticeably, the keyboards.
Andy Clark’s contributions, which were a little subdued on the original mix, are more prominent – for example the piano lines on 'Fair Exchange' and the string-keys on the dreamy 'Heavenly Homes.'
There’s also a nice piano outro flourish to close out 'Sleep That Burns,' replacing the quieter and quicker fade-out of the original.
The live disc features six tracks from BBC Radio One In Concert (15th January 1976) and three recorded for a John Peel Show radio session (10th February 1976).
The news stereo mix disc also includes six bonus track rarities – five alternate or first recording versions of Sunburst Finish songs plus the acoustic 'Mystery Demo.'
No overview of Sunburst Finish would be complete without mention of 'Crying to the Sky.'
A relatively simple ballad in songwriting terms, its arrangement and melodic charm have made it one of the band’s most revered numbers.
Gorgeous little number that it is, the true resonance of 'Crying to the Sky’ lies within its two short but highly impacting guitar solos – Bill Nelson used his Gibson ES 345 and a Carlsboro 100 watt amp, turned the amp up as high as it could go and gave it the full Hendrix; the results are two of the great rock guitar solos of the 70s.
Sunburst Finish is Be-Bop Deluxe and Bill Nelson at the peak of their commercial art-rock powers.
This Deluxe Boxset (which also boasts a 68 page booklet with new essay from Bill Nelson, four postcards, replica poster and a facsimile of the Sunburst Finish tour programme), reminds, underlines and reinforces just how melodically classy and artistic Bill Nelson’s music was during his Life in the Airplay Age.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Esoteric Recordings will also release a 2CD version featuring the remastered album, the new stereo mixes (with the six bonus tracks) and the booklet. Both versions are due for release on the 16th of November.
Sunburst Finish, released in 1976, was the band’s third album and featured the classic line up of Bill Nelson (lead vocals, guitars), Andy Clark (keyboards, synthesizer), Charlie Tumahai (bass, backing vocals) and Simon Fox (drums, percussion).
It wasn’t their highest album chart success (that nod goes to Top 10 album Live in the Air Age) but it did go on to become their biggest commercial success.
Remastered from the original master tapes the new version of Sunburst Finish has a little more sonic sparkle about it; it also comes with a second disc of new stereo mixes by noted recording engineer, mixer and sound designer Stephen W. Taylor.
A third disc of live & session recordings and a DVD featuring a 5.1 surround sound mix and three video tracks (the band’s Old Grey Whistle Test appearance from 13th January 1976 and the unreleased promo video for 'Ships In The Night') can also be found within the Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset from Esoteric Recordings.
Musically, Sunburst Finish is the perfect mix of melodic rock and highly accessible art-rock, sometimes blended within the same song (the futuristic and pseudo funky Be-Bop Deluxe classic 'Life in the Air Age').
Melodically framed gems include the masterful pop-rock of 'Ships in the Night' (a Top of The Pops chart success), the foot-tapping 'Like an Old Blues' and the slower, reflective 'Crystal Gazing.'
For prime examples of Be-Bop Deluxe art rock ‘n’ roll look and listen no further than 'Fair Exchange,' 'Sleep That Burns' and closing track, the suitably Be-Bop burnin' 'Blazing Apostles.'
The new stereo mixes stay true to the originals but benefit from a subtle lift on the percussion and, most noticeably, the keyboards.
Andy Clark’s contributions, which were a little subdued on the original mix, are more prominent – for example the piano lines on 'Fair Exchange' and the string-keys on the dreamy 'Heavenly Homes.'
There’s also a nice piano outro flourish to close out 'Sleep That Burns,' replacing the quieter and quicker fade-out of the original.
The live disc features six tracks from BBC Radio One In Concert (15th January 1976) and three recorded for a John Peel Show radio session (10th February 1976).
The news stereo mix disc also includes six bonus track rarities – five alternate or first recording versions of Sunburst Finish songs plus the acoustic 'Mystery Demo.'
No overview of Sunburst Finish would be complete without mention of 'Crying to the Sky.'
A relatively simple ballad in songwriting terms, its arrangement and melodic charm have made it one of the band’s most revered numbers.
Gorgeous little number that it is, the true resonance of 'Crying to the Sky’ lies within its two short but highly impacting guitar solos – Bill Nelson used his Gibson ES 345 and a Carlsboro 100 watt amp, turned the amp up as high as it could go and gave it the full Hendrix; the results are two of the great rock guitar solos of the 70s.
Sunburst Finish is Be-Bop Deluxe and Bill Nelson at the peak of their commercial art-rock powers.
This Deluxe Boxset (which also boasts a 68 page booklet with new essay from Bill Nelson, four postcards, replica poster and a facsimile of the Sunburst Finish tour programme), reminds, underlines and reinforces just how melodically classy and artistic Bill Nelson’s music was during his Life in the Airplay Age.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Esoteric Recordings will also release a 2CD version featuring the remastered album, the new stereo mixes (with the six bonus tracks) and the booklet. Both versions are due for release on the 16th of November.
Black King Cobra – Law of Attraction EP
The name Black King Cobra might give the impression of venomous amps to 11 rock but the Glasgow based band, led by engaging front man Callum Moran and featuring some none-too-shabby interplay from Ross Clark (guitars), Rob Kennedy (bass) and Stephen Buggy (drums), are a groove-rock outfit who put the emphasis firmly on the word groove and add a whole dose of funk and rhythmic punctuation to their rock.
Following their ear catching 2017 debut EP Blood Rush (featuring the funked up power-punch of the title track and pulsating groove and hooky melody of 'Wrack N' Ruin') comes Law of Attraction, a 4-track EP that showcases the growing maturity of the new line-up (co-founders Johnny Keel (bass) and Steve Todd (drums) departed the band earlier this year).
It also doesn’t hurt that outside of the ridiculously infectious 'Wrack N' Ruin' the band have recorded what is arguably the strongest quartet of songs from their current repertoire.
Lead-off track 'Harvest Moon,' following a short but wicked opening from Ross Clark, rocks out with old school bravado (and a groove so heavy it probably cut a channel in the studio floor) interspersed with Callum Moran’s comeuppance driven lyric ("Can’t you see it! Harvest Moon is on the way!") and a frantic finish featuring an intense spray of notes from Clark and a driving rhythm from new boys Rob Kennedy and Stephen Buggy.
By Black King contrast 'Shiver' opens with a low-key, slow-soul beginning before building to not just the grooving shiver of its title, but to shimmer and shake (make that shimmer and snake) with melodically funkified purpose.
'Ball and Chain,' a live favourite ever since its first outing, sways as much as it rocks within its wholly contemporary framework while 'Quake,' rather appropriately, positively shakes with power-down purpose.
The band’s most rock orientated number, 'Quake' goes on to produce a bass rumbling and band rattling finish to both the song and the EP.
These days, outside of the established acts and biggest hitters, nothing is guaranteed, not even for the most talented of new bands or those with individualistic, distinct or highly creative credentials (Black King Cobra tick all three boxes).
But if there’s any musical justice, based on the quality of the debut EP and now Law of Attraction, there should be a solidly grooved future for Black King Cobra.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Following their ear catching 2017 debut EP Blood Rush (featuring the funked up power-punch of the title track and pulsating groove and hooky melody of 'Wrack N' Ruin') comes Law of Attraction, a 4-track EP that showcases the growing maturity of the new line-up (co-founders Johnny Keel (bass) and Steve Todd (drums) departed the band earlier this year).
It also doesn’t hurt that outside of the ridiculously infectious 'Wrack N' Ruin' the band have recorded what is arguably the strongest quartet of songs from their current repertoire.
Lead-off track 'Harvest Moon,' following a short but wicked opening from Ross Clark, rocks out with old school bravado (and a groove so heavy it probably cut a channel in the studio floor) interspersed with Callum Moran’s comeuppance driven lyric ("Can’t you see it! Harvest Moon is on the way!") and a frantic finish featuring an intense spray of notes from Clark and a driving rhythm from new boys Rob Kennedy and Stephen Buggy.
By Black King contrast 'Shiver' opens with a low-key, slow-soul beginning before building to not just the grooving shiver of its title, but to shimmer and shake (make that shimmer and snake) with melodically funkified purpose.
'Ball and Chain,' a live favourite ever since its first outing, sways as much as it rocks within its wholly contemporary framework while 'Quake,' rather appropriately, positively shakes with power-down purpose.
The band’s most rock orientated number, 'Quake' goes on to produce a bass rumbling and band rattling finish to both the song and the EP.
These days, outside of the established acts and biggest hitters, nothing is guaranteed, not even for the most talented of new bands or those with individualistic, distinct or highly creative credentials (Black King Cobra tick all three boxes).
But if there’s any musical justice, based on the quality of the debut EP and now Law of Attraction, there should be a solidly grooved future for Black King Cobra.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Blue Nation - The Kaftan Society
The "ones to watch" tag has been applied to many an up and coming act who ply their trade in the New Wave of British Rock movement, including Birmingham based trio, Blue Nation.
In this particular case the watching brief has been appraisal for Blue Nation’s high-energy live sets, as seen recently supporting the likes of Dirty Thrills, Skid Row and Brian Downey’s Alive & Dangerous.
But the band’s studio product has always been worth a listen too – bristling, hard soul-tinged rock songs that cleverly mix retro/ 70s (Cream and touches of Zeppelin being most evident), Brit Pop and the more contemporary.
With The Kaftan Society however the band – Neil Murdoch (vocals, guitars), Luke Weston (bass, backing vocals) and Chris Bloor (drums, backing vocals) – have delivered their strongest album to date and one that covers all the Blue Nation bases from the soul-rock sway of slow and heavy opener 'Gimme Some Time' (Neil Murdoch’s vocal and grungy styled guitar sitting atop a Zeppelin-esque groove from Luke Weston and Chris Bloor) through to final track, the plaintively arranged acoustic and strings of 'It Ain’t Easy.'
Concisely packed between (with an average song length of less than three-and-a-half minutes The Kaftan Society favours the less-is-more approach) you will find plenty of other Blue Nation nuggets including a mid-tempo, soul-blues rock brace in the shape of 'She’s Gone' and 'Good Times,' the melodically framed and fully Brit-popped 'Be Back Soon' and the funky little verses and chunkier/ weightier choruses that make up 'Rich Girl.'
Other highlights include the geared for live performance 'Down by The River' (where Heavy and Sway both demand capital letters) and the short, sweet and delightfully folky 'Cold Night' (mandolin and strings featuring within the instrumentation).
Strings reappear on, and provide perfect accentuation to, 'She’s a Storm.'
The track's title belies the more subdued vocal-verse sequences but the swirling and highly effective strings and guitar passages give the number high impact value.
For those curious the album’s title is a statement on the band’s be who you are / look how you want to look attitudes, something that is evident, and not a little humorous, when you catch the band live and hear Neil Murdoch say "admit it, when you saw us and how we looked you thought we were an Oasis tribute band!"
Given their talents and the Brit-pop styling that sits within part of their rock orientated framework, Blue Nation probably could be an Oasis tribute band if they wanted – and a bloody good one.
However, as The Kaftan Society proves, both musically and with its title, Blue Nation are very much their own men, bringing with them a wide range of influences that combine to provide the band with their own soul-rock sound.
If there was any doubt about Blue Nation being ones to watch, there should be no doubt now.
More power to your Kaftans, boys.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
In this particular case the watching brief has been appraisal for Blue Nation’s high-energy live sets, as seen recently supporting the likes of Dirty Thrills, Skid Row and Brian Downey’s Alive & Dangerous.
But the band’s studio product has always been worth a listen too – bristling, hard soul-tinged rock songs that cleverly mix retro/ 70s (Cream and touches of Zeppelin being most evident), Brit Pop and the more contemporary.
With The Kaftan Society however the band – Neil Murdoch (vocals, guitars), Luke Weston (bass, backing vocals) and Chris Bloor (drums, backing vocals) – have delivered their strongest album to date and one that covers all the Blue Nation bases from the soul-rock sway of slow and heavy opener 'Gimme Some Time' (Neil Murdoch’s vocal and grungy styled guitar sitting atop a Zeppelin-esque groove from Luke Weston and Chris Bloor) through to final track, the plaintively arranged acoustic and strings of 'It Ain’t Easy.'
Concisely packed between (with an average song length of less than three-and-a-half minutes The Kaftan Society favours the less-is-more approach) you will find plenty of other Blue Nation nuggets including a mid-tempo, soul-blues rock brace in the shape of 'She’s Gone' and 'Good Times,' the melodically framed and fully Brit-popped 'Be Back Soon' and the funky little verses and chunkier/ weightier choruses that make up 'Rich Girl.'
Other highlights include the geared for live performance 'Down by The River' (where Heavy and Sway both demand capital letters) and the short, sweet and delightfully folky 'Cold Night' (mandolin and strings featuring within the instrumentation).
Strings reappear on, and provide perfect accentuation to, 'She’s a Storm.'
The track's title belies the more subdued vocal-verse sequences but the swirling and highly effective strings and guitar passages give the number high impact value.
For those curious the album’s title is a statement on the band’s be who you are / look how you want to look attitudes, something that is evident, and not a little humorous, when you catch the band live and hear Neil Murdoch say "admit it, when you saw us and how we looked you thought we were an Oasis tribute band!"
Given their talents and the Brit-pop styling that sits within part of their rock orientated framework, Blue Nation probably could be an Oasis tribute band if they wanted – and a bloody good one.
However, as The Kaftan Society proves, both musically and with its title, Blue Nation are very much their own men, bringing with them a wide range of influences that combine to provide the band with their own soul-rock sound.
If there was any doubt about Blue Nation being ones to watch, there should be no doubt now.
More power to your Kaftans, boys.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Graham Bonnet Band – Meanwhile Back in the Garage
In the late 70s and 80s (and earlier pop-based career) Graham Bonnet was one of the most popular and recognisable voices in rock through his work as a solo artist, short-lived tenures as front man for Rainbow and MSG, the band Alcatrazz and a handful of other projects where his voice was a sought after asset.
Remarkable then (or perhaps not, given the demand for classic rock by classic voices that can still cut it – and for the most part Mr. Bonnet still can, the only noticeable difference being the strain on the chords for higher vocal lifts) that Graham Bonnet, at 70 years old, is as vocally prolific now as he was then.
Since forming the Graham Bonnet Band in 2015 and delivering full-length debut The Book (a tasty little album of all new material in homage to classic 80s rock with a re-recorded hits bonus disc), there has been a career spanning anthology, tours with the Michael Schenker Fest (as well as a MSF live release and a studio album), a Graham Bonnet Band live album and now the second GBB studio album for Frontiers Records, Meanwhile Back in the Garage.
In a clear case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix the 80s rock sound and arrangements, Graham Bonnet and his
band – Beth-Ami Heavenstone (bass), Jimmy Waldo (keys), Mark Benquechea (drums) and previous GBB guitarist Joey Tafolla (the latter’s replacement Kurt James features on one track, the fully AOR’s rock of 'Livin’ in Suspicion') – haven’t quite produced The Book Part 2, but they have written the second volume.
Meanwhile Back in the Garage delivers a collection of songs that, while employing a little contemporary weight (such as the edgier 'Sea of Trees'), more obviously recall Alcatrazz and Graham Bonnet led Rainbow and MSG, all mixed with catchy choruses, hooks and big vocal harmonies.
Occasionally those previous era/ band influences merge in one song.
Opening number and title track, written about the countless number of young bands practicing in their garages striving to be the next big thing, is both a rapid-fire rock romp (Graham Bonnet’s Alcatrazz band-mate Jimmy Waldo’s punchy and jabbing synth-keys high in the mix) and an MSG-Rainbow-Bonnet double-time hybrid.
'The Hotel,' which follows, is quintessential Graham Bonnet melodic power rock, with big harmony vocals supporting that now slightly thinner but still impressive Bonnet rock tenor voice.
Other numbers, such as 'Long Island Tea' and Graham Bonnet’s anti-gun smack-down 'America… Where Have You Gone,' deliver with a similar pace and energy to the title track while contrast is provided by tracks such as the slower and slightly sultry 'The House;' the song has an ambiguous lyric where the abode in question could be anything you wish – or dream – it to be.
The album is not without its surprises; a cover of 'We Don’t Need Another Hero' makes an appearance (although it’s perfect for Graham Bonnet’s pop-rock sensibilities) and 'The Crying Chair,' a Scorpions-esque rock ballad, is a standout, if unexpected, addition.
Meanwhile Back in the Garage, bolstered by the inclusion of a live DVD recorded at Daryl’s House Club (Daryl Hall’s famous restaurant and live music venue in New York) isn’t the greatest rock album you will ever hear but it’s the latest in a noteworthy run of releases in what is a great period for Graham Bonnet, his followers and fans of 80s styled hard rock.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Remarkable then (or perhaps not, given the demand for classic rock by classic voices that can still cut it – and for the most part Mr. Bonnet still can, the only noticeable difference being the strain on the chords for higher vocal lifts) that Graham Bonnet, at 70 years old, is as vocally prolific now as he was then.
Since forming the Graham Bonnet Band in 2015 and delivering full-length debut The Book (a tasty little album of all new material in homage to classic 80s rock with a re-recorded hits bonus disc), there has been a career spanning anthology, tours with the Michael Schenker Fest (as well as a MSF live release and a studio album), a Graham Bonnet Band live album and now the second GBB studio album for Frontiers Records, Meanwhile Back in the Garage.
In a clear case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix the 80s rock sound and arrangements, Graham Bonnet and his
band – Beth-Ami Heavenstone (bass), Jimmy Waldo (keys), Mark Benquechea (drums) and previous GBB guitarist Joey Tafolla (the latter’s replacement Kurt James features on one track, the fully AOR’s rock of 'Livin’ in Suspicion') – haven’t quite produced The Book Part 2, but they have written the second volume.
Meanwhile Back in the Garage delivers a collection of songs that, while employing a little contemporary weight (such as the edgier 'Sea of Trees'), more obviously recall Alcatrazz and Graham Bonnet led Rainbow and MSG, all mixed with catchy choruses, hooks and big vocal harmonies.
Occasionally those previous era/ band influences merge in one song.
Opening number and title track, written about the countless number of young bands practicing in their garages striving to be the next big thing, is both a rapid-fire rock romp (Graham Bonnet’s Alcatrazz band-mate Jimmy Waldo’s punchy and jabbing synth-keys high in the mix) and an MSG-Rainbow-Bonnet double-time hybrid.
'The Hotel,' which follows, is quintessential Graham Bonnet melodic power rock, with big harmony vocals supporting that now slightly thinner but still impressive Bonnet rock tenor voice.
Other numbers, such as 'Long Island Tea' and Graham Bonnet’s anti-gun smack-down 'America… Where Have You Gone,' deliver with a similar pace and energy to the title track while contrast is provided by tracks such as the slower and slightly sultry 'The House;' the song has an ambiguous lyric where the abode in question could be anything you wish – or dream – it to be.
The album is not without its surprises; a cover of 'We Don’t Need Another Hero' makes an appearance (although it’s perfect for Graham Bonnet’s pop-rock sensibilities) and 'The Crying Chair,' a Scorpions-esque rock ballad, is a standout, if unexpected, addition.
Meanwhile Back in the Garage, bolstered by the inclusion of a live DVD recorded at Daryl’s House Club (Daryl Hall’s famous restaurant and live music venue in New York) isn’t the greatest rock album you will ever hear but it’s the latest in a noteworthy run of releases in what is a great period for Graham Bonnet, his followers and fans of 80s styled hard rock.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Brew – Art of Persuasion
The Brew are perfectly named.
For some twelve years and across a clutch of hard 'n' heavy studio albums the Grimsby based outfit have blended sixties, seventies and contemporary rock to deliver a musical fermentation of heavy psychedelia, gritty blues rock, monster hooks and unfettered power-trio energy from axe slinging’ lead vocalist Jason Barwick and the punchy, rattling bass notes and big, beefy beats of father and son rhythm section Tim and Kurtis Smith, respectively.
They pretty much bottle all of the above in 'Seven Days Too Long,' the heavily grooving opening number of seventh studio album, Art of Persuasion.
Previous album Shake the Tree was, arguably, the band’s strongest studio outing but Art of Persuasion may well be the band’s weightiest, heavy duty release to date.
Relentless in its musical onslaught, rhythmic drive and sonic swagger, Art of Persuasion makes its high energy, sweat-drenched rock mark through numbers such as the power down and pacey 'One Line Crimes,' the driving beat of 'Gin Soaked Loving Queen,' the quick-fire bombast of 'Shaking the Room' and the pounding riff ‘n’ rhythm of 'Excess' (where hard psychedelic rock meets blues shuffle).
It’s not until the album’s ninth track, 'Carry the News,' that there is any sort of let-up, and that’s primarily due to the more spacious verses that act as the set-up for the heavyweight choruses and driving bridge (all of which makes for an exceptionally strong song).
Following number 'Ghost of the Nation' has a slower tempo but retains the sonic intensity; Jason Barwick’s guitar screams and howls in psychedelic sympathy to the ghost-like backing voices.
Closing track 'Pink Noise King' is The Brew personified.
Carrying a sixties meets early seventies rock vibe and heavy on the psychedelia (well, with a title like that it wasn’t ever going to be a country tune) the song sways and swaggers with purposeful intent, showcasing the band in full three-piece cry.
Interestingly, 'Pink Noise King' mirrors opening number 'Seven Days Too Long' in song length; at five and a half minutes the bookend numbers are also the album’s longest songs by quite some way.
(The Brew tend to keep it short and sharp for maximum (sound) effect – Art of Persuasion weightily rocks in and psychedelically swaggers back out at forty-one minutes across eleven tracks).
The Brew are an excellent live act who have a solid blues/rock club following in the UK; their true strongholds however are European territories such Germany, Poland and Spain.
Which means The Brew, outside of their loyal fan-base and those that attend and support the club gig circuit, are one of the UK’s best kept hard rock secrets.
It’s highly likely that, no matter what The Brew do now or in the future, that will never change – but with the band employing the Art Of Persuasion, who knows?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
For some twelve years and across a clutch of hard 'n' heavy studio albums the Grimsby based outfit have blended sixties, seventies and contemporary rock to deliver a musical fermentation of heavy psychedelia, gritty blues rock, monster hooks and unfettered power-trio energy from axe slinging’ lead vocalist Jason Barwick and the punchy, rattling bass notes and big, beefy beats of father and son rhythm section Tim and Kurtis Smith, respectively.
They pretty much bottle all of the above in 'Seven Days Too Long,' the heavily grooving opening number of seventh studio album, Art of Persuasion.
Previous album Shake the Tree was, arguably, the band’s strongest studio outing but Art of Persuasion may well be the band’s weightiest, heavy duty release to date.
Relentless in its musical onslaught, rhythmic drive and sonic swagger, Art of Persuasion makes its high energy, sweat-drenched rock mark through numbers such as the power down and pacey 'One Line Crimes,' the driving beat of 'Gin Soaked Loving Queen,' the quick-fire bombast of 'Shaking the Room' and the pounding riff ‘n’ rhythm of 'Excess' (where hard psychedelic rock meets blues shuffle).
It’s not until the album’s ninth track, 'Carry the News,' that there is any sort of let-up, and that’s primarily due to the more spacious verses that act as the set-up for the heavyweight choruses and driving bridge (all of which makes for an exceptionally strong song).
Following number 'Ghost of the Nation' has a slower tempo but retains the sonic intensity; Jason Barwick’s guitar screams and howls in psychedelic sympathy to the ghost-like backing voices.
Closing track 'Pink Noise King' is The Brew personified.
Carrying a sixties meets early seventies rock vibe and heavy on the psychedelia (well, with a title like that it wasn’t ever going to be a country tune) the song sways and swaggers with purposeful intent, showcasing the band in full three-piece cry.
Interestingly, 'Pink Noise King' mirrors opening number 'Seven Days Too Long' in song length; at five and a half minutes the bookend numbers are also the album’s longest songs by quite some way.
(The Brew tend to keep it short and sharp for maximum (sound) effect – Art of Persuasion weightily rocks in and psychedelically swaggers back out at forty-one minutes across eleven tracks).
The Brew are an excellent live act who have a solid blues/rock club following in the UK; their true strongholds however are European territories such Germany, Poland and Spain.
Which means The Brew, outside of their loyal fan-base and those that attend and support the club gig circuit, are one of the UK’s best kept hard rock secrets.
It’s highly likely that, no matter what The Brew do now or in the future, that will never change – but with the band employing the Art Of Persuasion, who knows?
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Del Bromham – White Feather
Del Bromham will always be best known as the guitarist and primary songwriter of London based 70s rock band Stray, cited by many a fan and music critic as the greatest little rock act never to make it big.
But Del Bromham, who is at the helm of the 21st century Stray, is also an ever gigging blues rock performer (Del Bromham’s Blue Devils) and solo artist – blues album Devil’s Highway (2004; re-released 2011) and the mix of acoustic blues and Stray styled rock that shaped Nine Yards (2013) are strong offerings but White Feather is the musician’s best, and most personal work, to date.
It’s also his most eclectic, incorporating rock, pop, blues and soul.
The personal nature of the album comes from the loss of Del Bromham’s eldest daughter, Zoe, in 2016 while the album’s title relates to the belief that a white feather appearing out of nowhere signifies the presence of a loved one recently passed (Bromham’s own white feather experiences are described in the liner notes).
Many of the songs on White Feather are personal lyrical statements from Del Bromham but given the breadth of musical styles contained within it’s also an album with huge universal appeal, from the soul-rock 'n' funky feel-good opening number 'Let’s Get This Show Started' (with bright bursts of soulful blues guitar) through to the rock and Rolling Stones-y vibe of 'Let It Go' and on to the Lennon-esque, album closing title track.
"Is it really real? Or just All in Our Mind" reflects Bromham in a line that cleverly and poignantly nods to his Stray past, and loved ones passed.
Elsewhere Del Bromham gets his blues rock on for the musically weighty 'Champagne' and the wild west inspired tale 'Land of the Free' which also, cleverly and intentionally, reflects on the current wilds of the western world ("It seems man has learned nothing, looking back upon our history; why people can’t live together, will always be a mystery to me").
Providing lighter contrast are songs such as the delightful country-pop of 'Paradise' (lyrically expressing the joy of a full life and "memories now past") and the poignant pop-rock of six-and-a-half-minute number 'Never Let You Go,' which features some tasty guitar lines on the two minute closing section.
While all twelve tracks are new, two have a near fifty year history of sitting waiting for the right place and time to shine.
The melodically psychedelic 'Life,' a perfect fit for White Feather, was one of the first psychedelically themed songs Del Bromham ever wrote; the hard pop meets Stray rock of Genevieve was originally slated to be on a Del Bromham solo album way back in the Stray day, but never materialised.
For songwriters and musicians, expressions of personal loss can manifest themselves in albums best described as a musical catharsis; that’s the very route luminary singer Steve Perry took with his long-awaited return to the music scene through solo album Traces (his return and the album were heavily influenced by profound loss).
But Del Bromham, while expressing himself similarly on a number of the songs, has produced an album (with right hand man, recording engineer and co-producer Jamie Masters) that explores life, love and loss in equal measure.
The results are an uplifting, wonderful and all-encompassing listen – and another (white) feather in his musical cap.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But Del Bromham, who is at the helm of the 21st century Stray, is also an ever gigging blues rock performer (Del Bromham’s Blue Devils) and solo artist – blues album Devil’s Highway (2004; re-released 2011) and the mix of acoustic blues and Stray styled rock that shaped Nine Yards (2013) are strong offerings but White Feather is the musician’s best, and most personal work, to date.
It’s also his most eclectic, incorporating rock, pop, blues and soul.
The personal nature of the album comes from the loss of Del Bromham’s eldest daughter, Zoe, in 2016 while the album’s title relates to the belief that a white feather appearing out of nowhere signifies the presence of a loved one recently passed (Bromham’s own white feather experiences are described in the liner notes).
Many of the songs on White Feather are personal lyrical statements from Del Bromham but given the breadth of musical styles contained within it’s also an album with huge universal appeal, from the soul-rock 'n' funky feel-good opening number 'Let’s Get This Show Started' (with bright bursts of soulful blues guitar) through to the rock and Rolling Stones-y vibe of 'Let It Go' and on to the Lennon-esque, album closing title track.
"Is it really real? Or just All in Our Mind" reflects Bromham in a line that cleverly and poignantly nods to his Stray past, and loved ones passed.
Elsewhere Del Bromham gets his blues rock on for the musically weighty 'Champagne' and the wild west inspired tale 'Land of the Free' which also, cleverly and intentionally, reflects on the current wilds of the western world ("It seems man has learned nothing, looking back upon our history; why people can’t live together, will always be a mystery to me").
Providing lighter contrast are songs such as the delightful country-pop of 'Paradise' (lyrically expressing the joy of a full life and "memories now past") and the poignant pop-rock of six-and-a-half-minute number 'Never Let You Go,' which features some tasty guitar lines on the two minute closing section.
While all twelve tracks are new, two have a near fifty year history of sitting waiting for the right place and time to shine.
The melodically psychedelic 'Life,' a perfect fit for White Feather, was one of the first psychedelically themed songs Del Bromham ever wrote; the hard pop meets Stray rock of Genevieve was originally slated to be on a Del Bromham solo album way back in the Stray day, but never materialised.
For songwriters and musicians, expressions of personal loss can manifest themselves in albums best described as a musical catharsis; that’s the very route luminary singer Steve Perry took with his long-awaited return to the music scene through solo album Traces (his return and the album were heavily influenced by profound loss).
But Del Bromham, while expressing himself similarly on a number of the songs, has produced an album (with right hand man, recording engineer and co-producer Jamie Masters) that explores life, love and loss in equal measure.
The results are an uplifting, wonderful and all-encompassing listen – and another (white) feather in his musical cap.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
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
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
Buckets Rebel Heart – 20 Good Summers
While Dave "Bucket" Colwell’s 2010 Bucket & Co album Guitars, Beers & Tears (and subsequent live dates as DBC & Friends) garnered some attention, as did 2014 single 'Whiskeyland' / 'Bulletproof,' the highly respected British guitarist is still best known for his time with Bad Company (the successful Robert Hart led variant of the band from mid to late 90s through to 2002 and the return of Paul Rodgers).
That Bad Company’s melodic / US radio geared blues rock of the time was an influence on Dave Colwell (he also co-wrote a number of songs for the studio albums during his tenure) is evident on both Guitars, Beers & Tears and Buckets Rebel Heart, a new band project featuring Colwell and drummer Paul Edwards (co-writers of the majority of the album, the pair are also producer and co-producer respectively).
On debut album 20 Good Summers, a classy and ear-catching melodically blues rocking, twelve track affair (sequenced as Side 1 and Side 2 – gotta love the old-school record approach) the other featured musicians are singer Jim Stapley and bassist Tom Swann (Dave Boyce has since joined as bass player in the live band).
The quartet are augmented by a dozen other contributing musicians, including the late Mikael Fässberg and Georgia Satellites singer Rick Richards (providing the guitar solo, and lead vocal, on the Steve Earle styled 'Radio State of Mind').
The album also works, to a degree, as a sequel to Guitars, Beers & Tears (there is similarity within their blues rock cores) but 20 Good Summers is the stronger (in song craft) and more cohesive, melodically structured work.
Side 1 opener 'Animal Beat' is a snarling but melodically leashed piece of mid-tempo blues rock; by contrast the uncluttered arrangement of "love will never fade" ballad 'Mexican Sun / El Diablo' allows Jim Stapley and Dave Colwell to vocally and instrumentally shine.
The Side 2 cuts, including melodic blues ballad 'When Angels Fall' and the swinging horns rock of 'Customised Car' (featuring a sassy Lyla D’Souza lead vocal) add further contrast and quality.
But then every song on 20 Good Summers is a highlight, from the infectious AOR blues rock title track and Gospel-tinged rock ballad 'Rebel Heart' through to the Nashville bar at 2am styled 'Faraway Blues' (featuring pianist Sam tanner and Richard Young on Hammond organ) and piano, vocal and string-backed closing number, 'If You Need Me.'
There’s also a deserved place for the aforementioned 'Whiskeyland' and 'Bulletproof.'
The former is a raunchy slice of thick guitar chords and melodic blues rock (and would have sat comfortably on a Bad Company album of any era) while the latter’s lyrically reflective strength is in its acoustic simplicity.
Earlier in the year Buckets Rebel Heart played an extremely well received set at Sweden Rock Festival 2018.
20 Good Summers, now bolstered by a worldwide distribution deal, deserves to be equally well received.
It’s also the strongest work to feature Dave "Bucket" Colwell, in good Rebel Heart company, since his days of keeping Bad Company.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
That Bad Company’s melodic / US radio geared blues rock of the time was an influence on Dave Colwell (he also co-wrote a number of songs for the studio albums during his tenure) is evident on both Guitars, Beers & Tears and Buckets Rebel Heart, a new band project featuring Colwell and drummer Paul Edwards (co-writers of the majority of the album, the pair are also producer and co-producer respectively).
On debut album 20 Good Summers, a classy and ear-catching melodically blues rocking, twelve track affair (sequenced as Side 1 and Side 2 – gotta love the old-school record approach) the other featured musicians are singer Jim Stapley and bassist Tom Swann (Dave Boyce has since joined as bass player in the live band).
The quartet are augmented by a dozen other contributing musicians, including the late Mikael Fässberg and Georgia Satellites singer Rick Richards (providing the guitar solo, and lead vocal, on the Steve Earle styled 'Radio State of Mind').
The album also works, to a degree, as a sequel to Guitars, Beers & Tears (there is similarity within their blues rock cores) but 20 Good Summers is the stronger (in song craft) and more cohesive, melodically structured work.
Side 1 opener 'Animal Beat' is a snarling but melodically leashed piece of mid-tempo blues rock; by contrast the uncluttered arrangement of "love will never fade" ballad 'Mexican Sun / El Diablo' allows Jim Stapley and Dave Colwell to vocally and instrumentally shine.
The Side 2 cuts, including melodic blues ballad 'When Angels Fall' and the swinging horns rock of 'Customised Car' (featuring a sassy Lyla D’Souza lead vocal) add further contrast and quality.
But then every song on 20 Good Summers is a highlight, from the infectious AOR blues rock title track and Gospel-tinged rock ballad 'Rebel Heart' through to the Nashville bar at 2am styled 'Faraway Blues' (featuring pianist Sam tanner and Richard Young on Hammond organ) and piano, vocal and string-backed closing number, 'If You Need Me.'
There’s also a deserved place for the aforementioned 'Whiskeyland' and 'Bulletproof.'
The former is a raunchy slice of thick guitar chords and melodic blues rock (and would have sat comfortably on a Bad Company album of any era) while the latter’s lyrically reflective strength is in its acoustic simplicity.
Earlier in the year Buckets Rebel Heart played an extremely well received set at Sweden Rock Festival 2018.
20 Good Summers, now bolstered by a worldwide distribution deal, deserves to be equally well received.
It’s also the strongest work to feature Dave "Bucket" Colwell, in good Rebel Heart company, since his days of keeping Bad Company.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Kid Carlos Band - Cannonball
With the greatest of respect to the six-string talents of Kid Carlos (aka Spanish guitarist Carlos Moreno) it’s very likely he’d need a Google search by blues fans in the UK if not for his ear-catching role in Mike Vernon & the Mighty Combo.
The latter, a tight, tidy and bags of blues swinging fun six-piece led by legendary producer Mike Vernon, played a number of tour and festival dates in the UK in 2018.
Those appearances helped to showcase that not only has Mike Vernon found a second lease of out-of-retirement life in front of a microphone, he has quite the secret six-string weapon in Kid Carlos who, with his own band and "tribute to" album Cannonball, proves it don’t mean a thing if it ain't got that Freddie King swing.
There isn’t any tribute, homage, or classic covers nod to late and great Texas blues guitarist Freddie King that doesn’t include or feature the Don Nix penned blues standard 'Going Down,' 'I’m Tore Down' or 'Hideaway.'
The fact that very trio make up the triple-hitter opening on the sixteen track Cannonball could be construed as a little obvious, but it’s a three-tune salvo that makes for a purposeful, as opposed to predictable, opening.
Each also carries its own little Kid Carlos twist – 'Going Down' features an outro that’s as much Joe Walsh in James Gang territory as it is blues while 'I’m Tore down' (which opens with a needle-on-scratchy-record sound before jumping to present day production polish) features Kid Carlos Band vocalist Txaco Jones giving it plenty of soulful sass, drummer Stefano Di Rubbo and bassist Lalo Cordon hitting a shuffling groove and Andrea Salvador’s piano supporting Kid Carlos’ crying blues notes.
The instrumental 'Hideaway' allows the guitarist and his band to get more than a little funky.
But it‘s not all about the Freddie King hits.
Deeper or lesser known King cuts also get the Kid Carlos Band treatment, including slow blues number 'Only Getting Second Best' (Kid Carlos in full, Peter Green styled melodic flow behind a Mike Vernon vocal; the Mighty Combo leader steps back up to the microphone on 'Lonesome Whistle Blues') and the ultra-funky, keyboard led 'Big Legged Woman.'
However it’s the better known Freddie King cuts that will likely get the most attention, such as the rocking rendition of 'Palace of the King' and a grooving take of King’s jazzy blues number 'I'd Rather Be Blind.'
The aforementioned 'Hideaway' is not the only instrumental to get an outing on Cannonball.
'San-How-Zayn' / 'Sen-Sa–Shun' makes for the perfect two-in-one funky R&B medley; 'Side Tracked' lazily shuffles across its four minutes in fine, Kid Carlos style; closing track, 'Guitar Boogie,' is all its title suggests and more.
Inspired by the Texas King of the blues, Carlos Moreno and his band have fired a cannonball that declares there’s a new blues Kid in town – and not just in the pueblos.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The latter, a tight, tidy and bags of blues swinging fun six-piece led by legendary producer Mike Vernon, played a number of tour and festival dates in the UK in 2018.
Those appearances helped to showcase that not only has Mike Vernon found a second lease of out-of-retirement life in front of a microphone, he has quite the secret six-string weapon in Kid Carlos who, with his own band and "tribute to" album Cannonball, proves it don’t mean a thing if it ain't got that Freddie King swing.
There isn’t any tribute, homage, or classic covers nod to late and great Texas blues guitarist Freddie King that doesn’t include or feature the Don Nix penned blues standard 'Going Down,' 'I’m Tore Down' or 'Hideaway.'
The fact that very trio make up the triple-hitter opening on the sixteen track Cannonball could be construed as a little obvious, but it’s a three-tune salvo that makes for a purposeful, as opposed to predictable, opening.
Each also carries its own little Kid Carlos twist – 'Going Down' features an outro that’s as much Joe Walsh in James Gang territory as it is blues while 'I’m Tore down' (which opens with a needle-on-scratchy-record sound before jumping to present day production polish) features Kid Carlos Band vocalist Txaco Jones giving it plenty of soulful sass, drummer Stefano Di Rubbo and bassist Lalo Cordon hitting a shuffling groove and Andrea Salvador’s piano supporting Kid Carlos’ crying blues notes.
The instrumental 'Hideaway' allows the guitarist and his band to get more than a little funky.
But it‘s not all about the Freddie King hits.
Deeper or lesser known King cuts also get the Kid Carlos Band treatment, including slow blues number 'Only Getting Second Best' (Kid Carlos in full, Peter Green styled melodic flow behind a Mike Vernon vocal; the Mighty Combo leader steps back up to the microphone on 'Lonesome Whistle Blues') and the ultra-funky, keyboard led 'Big Legged Woman.'
However it’s the better known Freddie King cuts that will likely get the most attention, such as the rocking rendition of 'Palace of the King' and a grooving take of King’s jazzy blues number 'I'd Rather Be Blind.'
The aforementioned 'Hideaway' is not the only instrumental to get an outing on Cannonball.
'San-How-Zayn' / 'Sen-Sa–Shun' makes for the perfect two-in-one funky R&B medley; 'Side Tracked' lazily shuffles across its four minutes in fine, Kid Carlos style; closing track, 'Guitar Boogie,' is all its title suggests and more.
Inspired by the Texas King of the blues, Carlos Moreno and his band have fired a cannonball that declares there’s a new blues Kid in town – and not just in the pueblos.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Popa Chubby – Prime Cuts : The Very Beast of The Beast From the East
New York blues dude Popa Chubby (aka Ted Horowitz) needs no introduction to many a blues and blues rock fan either side of the pond but for those still unfamiliar with the big man of the blues Prime Cuts : The Very Beast of The Beast From the East is the perfect career spanning place to start.
And for both Popa Chubby newbie and long-time fan there’s plenty to chew through on the fifteen Prime Cuts in this collection; not only does it pick out some of the very best moments from Popa Chubby’s near thirty-year career (as chosen by the man himself), there’s room for fan favourite live cover of 'Hey Joe,' the beautifully bluesy interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s uber-classic 'Hallelujah' and two previously unreleased songs.
As regards the latter each has its own, distinctly topical and distinctly seasonal, flavour – 'Go Fuck Yourself' is forthright Popa Chubby social commentary on current state of affairs (the spacier number also features the violin stylings of daughter Theodora Horowitz) while the Phil Spector sounding 'There on Christmas' has found a perfect home on Prime Cuts (not least because the album was released in the final quarter of the year).
The other eleven tracks that make up this Very Best Of are hard to argue with, from matter of factual blues opener 'Life is a Beatdown' and earlier career cuts (the bluesy sway and cry of 'Angel on My Shoulder;' the horns and blues-swing of 'Sweet Goddess of Love and Beer;' the decidedly funky 'Stoop Down Baby') through to expressive, eight-and-a-half minute guitar instrumental 'San Catri' and a fast 'n' fun live take of rhythm and blues swing number, 'Caffeine and Nicotine.'
Three tracks from 2002’s The Good, The Bad and The Chubby (one of the best releases of Popa Chubby’s entire career) also appear – the swampy-esque slide guitar and groove of 'Somebody Let the Devil Out,' the country-tinged blues ballad 'I Can’t See the Light of Day' and the gritty funk-blues of 'Dirty Lie.'
There’s also space for country meets funky rap blues track 'Daddy Played the Guitar (and Mama was a Disco Queen)' from the autobiographical How’d a White Boy Get the Blues?, released in 2000, and outstanding "in the middle of the night" blues number 'Grown Man Crying Blues' (a highlight of 2008’s Deliveries After Dark and featuring some of Popa Chubby’s most inspired and unfettered blues playing).
Prime Cuts. Prime choice. Prime Popa.
Go get some.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
And for both Popa Chubby newbie and long-time fan there’s plenty to chew through on the fifteen Prime Cuts in this collection; not only does it pick out some of the very best moments from Popa Chubby’s near thirty-year career (as chosen by the man himself), there’s room for fan favourite live cover of 'Hey Joe,' the beautifully bluesy interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s uber-classic 'Hallelujah' and two previously unreleased songs.
As regards the latter each has its own, distinctly topical and distinctly seasonal, flavour – 'Go Fuck Yourself' is forthright Popa Chubby social commentary on current state of affairs (the spacier number also features the violin stylings of daughter Theodora Horowitz) while the Phil Spector sounding 'There on Christmas' has found a perfect home on Prime Cuts (not least because the album was released in the final quarter of the year).
The other eleven tracks that make up this Very Best Of are hard to argue with, from matter of factual blues opener 'Life is a Beatdown' and earlier career cuts (the bluesy sway and cry of 'Angel on My Shoulder;' the horns and blues-swing of 'Sweet Goddess of Love and Beer;' the decidedly funky 'Stoop Down Baby') through to expressive, eight-and-a-half minute guitar instrumental 'San Catri' and a fast 'n' fun live take of rhythm and blues swing number, 'Caffeine and Nicotine.'
Three tracks from 2002’s The Good, The Bad and The Chubby (one of the best releases of Popa Chubby’s entire career) also appear – the swampy-esque slide guitar and groove of 'Somebody Let the Devil Out,' the country-tinged blues ballad 'I Can’t See the Light of Day' and the gritty funk-blues of 'Dirty Lie.'
There’s also space for country meets funky rap blues track 'Daddy Played the Guitar (and Mama was a Disco Queen)' from the autobiographical How’d a White Boy Get the Blues?, released in 2000, and outstanding "in the middle of the night" blues number 'Grown Man Crying Blues' (a highlight of 2008’s Deliveries After Dark and featuring some of Popa Chubby’s most inspired and unfettered blues playing).
Prime Cuts. Prime choice. Prime Popa.
Go get some.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Zal Cleminson’s /Sin’Dogs/ - Vol 1
Any thoughts on the return of Scottish guitarist Zal Cleminson to the rock music scene being accompanied by a host of Sensational Alex Harvey Band numbers or with a sound akin to the more melodically enthused rock of Nazareth during his short time with that band were shattered by the sheer weight of the contemporary, heavy guitar led rock-metal of the /Sin’Dogs/ EP in 2017.
'Hungry Heart' was a heavy rock-metal ballad that came complete with a soundtrack styled introduction and piano embellishments while 'Bloodstream' carried some serious swagger behind the big beat, gritty guitars and gruff vocal style of Zal Cleminson (a guitarist first and singer a distant second, Cleminson’s deliveries do, however, suit the material down to the sinful ground).
The EP and band's title track was a one-dimensional (in rock-beat ‘n’ riff terms) power down slab of rock-metal but a pretty badass one – "gonna rise up, on a headstone made for two!" barked chief 'Dog Cleminson on a line (and lyric) Alice Cooper would sell his soul to old Beelzebub for, if he hadn’t already done so.
If the /Sin’Dogs/ EP was the appetiser then full-length, eight song debut Vol 1 is the even meatier main course.
One listen to the brooding intro and heavyweight slab of gritty guitars on opener 'Armageddon Day' and you’d be forgiven for thinking that day had actually arrived, in grinding, Gothic shaped, musical form.
Following number, the dark-edged 'Guns of God,' spits venom rather than the bullets of the lyric, punctuated by some suitably fiery lead work from Zal Cleminson.
Not that it’s all about the harsher Cleminson vocals and those still vibrant if now more piercing, to suit the material, solos (his outro guitar cries on the spacier 'IOU' are a highlight of the entire album).
With Nelson McFarlane (bass) and Scott Cowie (drums) Cleminson has a rock solid foundation from which to build his heavyweight slabs of music, accompanied by William McGonagle on guitars (making for thick but complementary rhythm and lead, rhythm and riff and twin-lead tandems) and balanced by David Cowan on keyboards, who plays a larger part in the /Sin’Dogs/ sound, in terms of fills, textures and atmospheres (such as on the metal ballad 'Magic Love') than may first be realised.
The heaviest and angriest album passages come via 'Evolution Road' (a heavy dark metal thumbs up for Darwinists) and the razor sharp rock and metal roll of 'Lachrymator.'
The latter could also be, through its title, a nod to Zal Cleminson’s pre-SAHB band Tear Gas who, in their more progressive or rockier moments, might now be heard as a proto /Sin’Dogs/, albeit nearly fifty years earlier and about fifty decibels quieter.
For those who want even more meat on their /Sin’Dogs/ bone, there’s an extended version of the album that comes with two bonus tracks, the acoustic to metal blues of 'Govan Boy' and heavy rock instrumental 'Still Breathing,' featuring some sharp and tasty Zal Cleminson guitar licks.
Zal Cleminson took ten years out from music, but (re)bitten by the six-string bug in 2017 and influenced by his favoured heavier rock acts of both past and present (and with a darker eyed stage persona than the white-faced mime clown of SAHB 40 years prior), it’s fair to say the /Sin’Dogs/ have guaranteed his return is quite the sonically impacting one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
'Hungry Heart' was a heavy rock-metal ballad that came complete with a soundtrack styled introduction and piano embellishments while 'Bloodstream' carried some serious swagger behind the big beat, gritty guitars and gruff vocal style of Zal Cleminson (a guitarist first and singer a distant second, Cleminson’s deliveries do, however, suit the material down to the sinful ground).
The EP and band's title track was a one-dimensional (in rock-beat ‘n’ riff terms) power down slab of rock-metal but a pretty badass one – "gonna rise up, on a headstone made for two!" barked chief 'Dog Cleminson on a line (and lyric) Alice Cooper would sell his soul to old Beelzebub for, if he hadn’t already done so.
If the /Sin’Dogs/ EP was the appetiser then full-length, eight song debut Vol 1 is the even meatier main course.
One listen to the brooding intro and heavyweight slab of gritty guitars on opener 'Armageddon Day' and you’d be forgiven for thinking that day had actually arrived, in grinding, Gothic shaped, musical form.
Following number, the dark-edged 'Guns of God,' spits venom rather than the bullets of the lyric, punctuated by some suitably fiery lead work from Zal Cleminson.
Not that it’s all about the harsher Cleminson vocals and those still vibrant if now more piercing, to suit the material, solos (his outro guitar cries on the spacier 'IOU' are a highlight of the entire album).
With Nelson McFarlane (bass) and Scott Cowie (drums) Cleminson has a rock solid foundation from which to build his heavyweight slabs of music, accompanied by William McGonagle on guitars (making for thick but complementary rhythm and lead, rhythm and riff and twin-lead tandems) and balanced by David Cowan on keyboards, who plays a larger part in the /Sin’Dogs/ sound, in terms of fills, textures and atmospheres (such as on the metal ballad 'Magic Love') than may first be realised.
The heaviest and angriest album passages come via 'Evolution Road' (a heavy dark metal thumbs up for Darwinists) and the razor sharp rock and metal roll of 'Lachrymator.'
The latter could also be, through its title, a nod to Zal Cleminson’s pre-SAHB band Tear Gas who, in their more progressive or rockier moments, might now be heard as a proto /Sin’Dogs/, albeit nearly fifty years earlier and about fifty decibels quieter.
For those who want even more meat on their /Sin’Dogs/ bone, there’s an extended version of the album that comes with two bonus tracks, the acoustic to metal blues of 'Govan Boy' and heavy rock instrumental 'Still Breathing,' featuring some sharp and tasty Zal Cleminson guitar licks.
Zal Cleminson took ten years out from music, but (re)bitten by the six-string bug in 2017 and influenced by his favoured heavier rock acts of both past and present (and with a darker eyed stage persona than the white-faced mime clown of SAHB 40 years prior), it’s fair to say the /Sin’Dogs/ have guaranteed his return is quite the sonically impacting one.
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
Kat Danser – Goin’ Gone
Opening with a 'Goin’ Gone' train ride down the (title) track in the company of suitably click clackin’ guitar, percussion and train horn harmonica, Kat Danser gets the rootsy, dusty and at times swampy American Deep South blues of her fifth album on the road (and on the rails) in fine style.
Such influences may seem strange for a Canadian musician or those unfamiliar with the multi award winning singer songwriter but the rootsy blues gal with Polish-Gypsy heritage (and one of the best names in the blues business) lives and breathes that very music.
She is equally passionate about the history, culture and aspects of such deeply rooted music – musician Kat Danser is also Dr. Kat Danser, with a PhD in Ethnomusicology.
As the title track suggests, there’s a distinct travellin’ blues and dusty roads ‘n’ train tracks theme to Goin’ Gone, evident not just though some of the songs but the album’s cover (that’s a 1949 Ford Lead Sled in the background, classic car lovers) and CD sleeve note credits (the musicians are the Mechanics; the special thanks nods go to the Performance Team; producers, sound engineers, graphic designers et al are the Pit Crew).
Such vehicular blues translates musically and lyrically through the two covers on Goin’ Gone.
Sam McGee’s country-pickin’ number 'Chevrolet Car' has been given a folksy foot-tappin’ engine overhaul, its primary gas supply coming from the fiddle of Matt Combs, while Mississippi Fred McDowall’s oft-covered 'Train I Ride' is a slow and easy six-minute excursion via fittingly rhythmic guitars, some slide and saxophone interjections from Jim Hoke.
When parked or derailed however there’s still plenty to get your rootsy 'n' bluesy teeth in to.
'Voodoo Groove' has a touch of Cajun behind its countrified guitar twangs while 'Memphis, Tennessee' (another to feature Jim Hoke, this time on harmonica), couldn’t be about anywhere else (although clearly its arrived via the neighbouring Mississippi Delta).
There’s some 450 miles of travel involved to get from 'Memphis, Tennessee' to the slow musical lane of 'Kansas City Blues' but it’s worth the trip; Kat Danser’s lazy but perfectly phrased vocals complement Steve Dawson’s pedal steel remarks in perfect, and bluesy, harmony.
Mention of Steve Dawson also brings necessary praise for his wider work on the album.
As with Kat Danser’s previous release, Baptized by the Mud, Goin' Gone is a collaboration between Danser and the Juno award-winning producer – Steve Dawson is responsible for the excellent production and sound mix, placing the instrumentation just where it needs to be to best serve the songs, Kat Danser’s voice and her story-telling lyricism.
Other highlights across the ten, Deep South blues nuggets that make up Goin’ Gone include the political call to arms of 'Light the Flame' (saxophone jabs and electric guitar cries flitting between the mandolins) and slow and smoky album closer, 'Time For Me To Go' ("t’aint nobody’s doin’, that’s just how the river flows" laments Kat Danser with a line that’s as lyrical as it is southern).
Kat Danser may be Goin’ places but on this sort of form, with this level of rootsy authenticity, she certainly won’t be Gone anytime soon.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Such influences may seem strange for a Canadian musician or those unfamiliar with the multi award winning singer songwriter but the rootsy blues gal with Polish-Gypsy heritage (and one of the best names in the blues business) lives and breathes that very music.
She is equally passionate about the history, culture and aspects of such deeply rooted music – musician Kat Danser is also Dr. Kat Danser, with a PhD in Ethnomusicology.
As the title track suggests, there’s a distinct travellin’ blues and dusty roads ‘n’ train tracks theme to Goin’ Gone, evident not just though some of the songs but the album’s cover (that’s a 1949 Ford Lead Sled in the background, classic car lovers) and CD sleeve note credits (the musicians are the Mechanics; the special thanks nods go to the Performance Team; producers, sound engineers, graphic designers et al are the Pit Crew).
Such vehicular blues translates musically and lyrically through the two covers on Goin’ Gone.
Sam McGee’s country-pickin’ number 'Chevrolet Car' has been given a folksy foot-tappin’ engine overhaul, its primary gas supply coming from the fiddle of Matt Combs, while Mississippi Fred McDowall’s oft-covered 'Train I Ride' is a slow and easy six-minute excursion via fittingly rhythmic guitars, some slide and saxophone interjections from Jim Hoke.
When parked or derailed however there’s still plenty to get your rootsy 'n' bluesy teeth in to.
'Voodoo Groove' has a touch of Cajun behind its countrified guitar twangs while 'Memphis, Tennessee' (another to feature Jim Hoke, this time on harmonica), couldn’t be about anywhere else (although clearly its arrived via the neighbouring Mississippi Delta).
There’s some 450 miles of travel involved to get from 'Memphis, Tennessee' to the slow musical lane of 'Kansas City Blues' but it’s worth the trip; Kat Danser’s lazy but perfectly phrased vocals complement Steve Dawson’s pedal steel remarks in perfect, and bluesy, harmony.
Mention of Steve Dawson also brings necessary praise for his wider work on the album.
As with Kat Danser’s previous release, Baptized by the Mud, Goin' Gone is a collaboration between Danser and the Juno award-winning producer – Steve Dawson is responsible for the excellent production and sound mix, placing the instrumentation just where it needs to be to best serve the songs, Kat Danser’s voice and her story-telling lyricism.
Other highlights across the ten, Deep South blues nuggets that make up Goin’ Gone include the political call to arms of 'Light the Flame' (saxophone jabs and electric guitar cries flitting between the mandolins) and slow and smoky album closer, 'Time For Me To Go' ("t’aint nobody’s doin’, that’s just how the river flows" laments Kat Danser with a line that’s as lyrical as it is southern).
Kat Danser may be Goin’ places but on this sort of form, with this level of rootsy authenticity, she certainly won’t be Gone anytime soon.
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
Djabe & Steve Hackett - Life is A Journey : The Budapest Live Tapes (2CD/DVD)
Acclaimed Hungarian jazz group Djabe and Steve Hackett have become quite the musical combination.
Following a number of successful shows together Djabe and Hackett released the live album Summer Storms and Rocking Rivers (recorded in Bratislava and Budapest) in 2012.
Five years later they located to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and set up a recording studio next to a medieval church amidst scenery and countryside unchanged since ancient times.
Such imagery, surroundings and inspirations resulted in 2017’s Life Is A Journey : The Sardinia Tapes, a compositions-from-extended-jam-sessions work that blended their expressive musical talents in some fine style.
And now Life Is A Journey : The Budapest Live Tapes, a 2CD performance that includes a DVD film of the band’s October 2017 show in Budapest.
From opening number 'Lava Lamp' (a fittingly viscous ten minutes of Djabe music that constantly changes its percussive jazz shape) through a selection of other, earlier Djabe numbers, three Genesis tracks, a trio of Steve Hackett tunes and on to a quartet of Life Is A Journey studio numbers, The Budapest Live Tapes is an all-encompassing progressive jazz showcase that allows Steve Hackett to stretch and explore beyond his already broad repertoire of styles.
However the live performance is about the ensemble first and Steve Hackett second, albeit the renowned guitarist and his associated songs add additional colours and progressive textures.
Nor is Hackett the only guitarist; Djabe’s Attila Égerházi plays his six-string (and percussion) roles admirably and features on the delicate guitar piece, 'Life Spirit.'
Every member of the on stage septet plays their part – bassist Tamás Barabás is the star of 'Busy Butterfly;' the atmospheric keys and introductory piano lines from János Nagy set up the pacey and spacey full band jazz-prog of '4000;' the set’s ten minute closing number, 'Clouds Dance,' is another full band outing with dual drummers Péter Kaszás and the Icelandic born Gulli Briem deep in the groove.
Following 'Clouds Dance' are two bonus tracks recorded live in 2018 – Steve Hackett’s 'The Steppes,' featuring trumpeter Áron Koós-Hutás (recorded in Prague) and the blues affected jazz-rock of 'Distant Dance' (recorded in Kaposvar).
The Life Is A Journey album tracks performed, including an extended version of soft jazz-rock number 'Golden Sand' and funky jazz fusion tune 'Buzzy Island,' are unsurprisingly highlights as are Genesis numbers 'Los Endos' (suitably jazz-rock dressed for the occasion), 'Fly on a Windshield' and the closing instrumental half of 'Firth of Fifth.'
Steve Hackett’s 'Please Don’t Touch' and 'Last Train To Istanbul' (a true Turkish influenced delight) also get jazzified airings – given the more exploratory style of some of Hackett’s earliest solo works the former is a good fit here, but the latter works so well you could be forgiven for thinking this is how Hackett originally envisaged it being performed and arranged.
If jazz, in any of its myriad forms, doesn’t rock (or pop) your world The Budapest Live Tapes may well be a hell of a Life Journey you'd best not undertake.
For the modern jazz-fusion buff however, and those with a penchant for progressive styled expressiveness and exploration within the jazz medium, Steve Hackett and Djabe is a marriage made in musical heaven.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Following a number of successful shows together Djabe and Hackett released the live album Summer Storms and Rocking Rivers (recorded in Bratislava and Budapest) in 2012.
Five years later they located to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and set up a recording studio next to a medieval church amidst scenery and countryside unchanged since ancient times.
Such imagery, surroundings and inspirations resulted in 2017’s Life Is A Journey : The Sardinia Tapes, a compositions-from-extended-jam-sessions work that blended their expressive musical talents in some fine style.
And now Life Is A Journey : The Budapest Live Tapes, a 2CD performance that includes a DVD film of the band’s October 2017 show in Budapest.
From opening number 'Lava Lamp' (a fittingly viscous ten minutes of Djabe music that constantly changes its percussive jazz shape) through a selection of other, earlier Djabe numbers, three Genesis tracks, a trio of Steve Hackett tunes and on to a quartet of Life Is A Journey studio numbers, The Budapest Live Tapes is an all-encompassing progressive jazz showcase that allows Steve Hackett to stretch and explore beyond his already broad repertoire of styles.
However the live performance is about the ensemble first and Steve Hackett second, albeit the renowned guitarist and his associated songs add additional colours and progressive textures.
Nor is Hackett the only guitarist; Djabe’s Attila Égerházi plays his six-string (and percussion) roles admirably and features on the delicate guitar piece, 'Life Spirit.'
Every member of the on stage septet plays their part – bassist Tamás Barabás is the star of 'Busy Butterfly;' the atmospheric keys and introductory piano lines from János Nagy set up the pacey and spacey full band jazz-prog of '4000;' the set’s ten minute closing number, 'Clouds Dance,' is another full band outing with dual drummers Péter Kaszás and the Icelandic born Gulli Briem deep in the groove.
Following 'Clouds Dance' are two bonus tracks recorded live in 2018 – Steve Hackett’s 'The Steppes,' featuring trumpeter Áron Koós-Hutás (recorded in Prague) and the blues affected jazz-rock of 'Distant Dance' (recorded in Kaposvar).
The Life Is A Journey album tracks performed, including an extended version of soft jazz-rock number 'Golden Sand' and funky jazz fusion tune 'Buzzy Island,' are unsurprisingly highlights as are Genesis numbers 'Los Endos' (suitably jazz-rock dressed for the occasion), 'Fly on a Windshield' and the closing instrumental half of 'Firth of Fifth.'
Steve Hackett’s 'Please Don’t Touch' and 'Last Train To Istanbul' (a true Turkish influenced delight) also get jazzified airings – given the more exploratory style of some of Hackett’s earliest solo works the former is a good fit here, but the latter works so well you could be forgiven for thinking this is how Hackett originally envisaged it being performed and arranged.
If jazz, in any of its myriad forms, doesn’t rock (or pop) your world The Budapest Live Tapes may well be a hell of a Life Journey you'd best not undertake.
For the modern jazz-fusion buff however, and those with a penchant for progressive styled expressiveness and exploration within the jazz medium, Steve Hackett and Djabe is a marriage made in musical heaven.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Doomsday Outlaw – Hard Times
With Hard Times Doomsday Outlaw’s musical makeover from decent metal-blues band to excellent heavy blues rock outfit is complete.
Debut album Black River (2015) had a solid, riff based metal core with a bluesier outer edge but on Suffer More (2016) these Derby based 'Outlaws expanded their sound and struck a balance between heavy blues and metal.
Along with the noticeable change of direction on Suffer More came new singer Phil Poole, who brought a rangier, blues inflected rock tenor voice to proceedings (original singer Carl Batten’s rawer, deeper vocal swam just fine on Black River but would have drowned in bluesier waters).
The step up and steps taken with Suffer More and Phil Poole have come to full fruition on Hard Times; album number three is an outstanding heavy blues rock affair with some well placed lighter shades.
Hard Times catches the attention immediately with the southern affected mid-tempo swagger of the title track followed by the big 'n' beefy 'Over And Over.'
The latter encapsulates the band's sound and style perfectly – thick riffing and six-string attack from the guitars of Steve Broughton and Gavin Mills, a soulfully bluesy vocal from Phil Poole and a simple but solid groove delivered by from drummer John "Ironfoot" Willis and bassist Indy Chanda.
The raunchy and rockin' 'Spirit That Made Me' carries a more contemporary blues rock vibe across its five and a half minutes (while also channelling that classic 70s rock sound with a touch of Zeppelin in the vocal/ verses) before the pace and dynamic change for the melancholic but genuinely touching piano, strings and vocal ballad 'Into The Light.'
If you didn’t know who you were listening to on 'Bring It On Home' you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled across Glenn Hughes blues'n it large on one of his big on the chorus, heavy on the rock numbers (and indeed Mr Hughes is probably wondering why that isn’t the case).
'Days Since I Saw The Sun' is the radio friendly side of Doomsday Outlaw, catchy chorus and all, while the near eight minute heavy soul-rock ballad 'Will You Wait' (featuring a high-crying vocal from Phil Poole and punctuated by two relatively short but perfectly fitting guitar solos) is the band’s finest moment thus far.
The funkier blues rock of 'Break You' grooves as much as it rocks while the heavyweight 'Come My Way' is not so much underpinned as fully powered by Indy Chanda’s low-end bass lines.
The slower but purposeful (and seriously weighty) closing brace of 'Were You Ever Mine' and 'Too Far Left To Fall' bring an outstanding album to a close.
Suffer More deservedly got Doomsday Outlaw noticed further afield than Derbyshire (it led to Frontiers Records signing them up for a start) but with the quality showcased right across their third album and that Frontiers backing (a label who have a healthy collection of excellent new wave of British rock bands on their roster including Inglorious, Bigfoot, Mason Hill and now Doomsday Outlaw) the only Hard Times this quintet will hopefully see are the ones that form the words on the album cover.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Debut album Black River (2015) had a solid, riff based metal core with a bluesier outer edge but on Suffer More (2016) these Derby based 'Outlaws expanded their sound and struck a balance between heavy blues and metal.
Along with the noticeable change of direction on Suffer More came new singer Phil Poole, who brought a rangier, blues inflected rock tenor voice to proceedings (original singer Carl Batten’s rawer, deeper vocal swam just fine on Black River but would have drowned in bluesier waters).
The step up and steps taken with Suffer More and Phil Poole have come to full fruition on Hard Times; album number three is an outstanding heavy blues rock affair with some well placed lighter shades.
Hard Times catches the attention immediately with the southern affected mid-tempo swagger of the title track followed by the big 'n' beefy 'Over And Over.'
The latter encapsulates the band's sound and style perfectly – thick riffing and six-string attack from the guitars of Steve Broughton and Gavin Mills, a soulfully bluesy vocal from Phil Poole and a simple but solid groove delivered by from drummer John "Ironfoot" Willis and bassist Indy Chanda.
The raunchy and rockin' 'Spirit That Made Me' carries a more contemporary blues rock vibe across its five and a half minutes (while also channelling that classic 70s rock sound with a touch of Zeppelin in the vocal/ verses) before the pace and dynamic change for the melancholic but genuinely touching piano, strings and vocal ballad 'Into The Light.'
If you didn’t know who you were listening to on 'Bring It On Home' you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled across Glenn Hughes blues'n it large on one of his big on the chorus, heavy on the rock numbers (and indeed Mr Hughes is probably wondering why that isn’t the case).
'Days Since I Saw The Sun' is the radio friendly side of Doomsday Outlaw, catchy chorus and all, while the near eight minute heavy soul-rock ballad 'Will You Wait' (featuring a high-crying vocal from Phil Poole and punctuated by two relatively short but perfectly fitting guitar solos) is the band’s finest moment thus far.
The funkier blues rock of 'Break You' grooves as much as it rocks while the heavyweight 'Come My Way' is not so much underpinned as fully powered by Indy Chanda’s low-end bass lines.
The slower but purposeful (and seriously weighty) closing brace of 'Were You Ever Mine' and 'Too Far Left To Fall' bring an outstanding album to a close.
Suffer More deservedly got Doomsday Outlaw noticed further afield than Derbyshire (it led to Frontiers Records signing them up for a start) but with the quality showcased right across their third album and that Frontiers backing (a label who have a healthy collection of excellent new wave of British rock bands on their roster including Inglorious, Bigfoot, Mason Hill and now Doomsday Outlaw) the only Hard Times this quintet will hopefully see are the ones that form the words on the album cover.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Eden's Curse - Testament : The Best Of Eden's Curse
The new 2CD compilation from melodic metal exponents Eden’s Curse is well named.
Not only is it a testament to the best of the consistently strong material you will find on the five studio albums released thus far, it also mixes (with a track sequencing that emulates a live show set-list) both the old and new musical testaments of Eden’s Curse.
The core of the multinational band was originally formed around the voice of American vocalist Michael Eden (who appeared on the self-titled debut, Second Coming and Trinity), Scottish bassist/ backing vocalist Paul Logue and German guitarist Thorsten Köhne.
Logue and Köhne remain as the Eden’s Curse ever-presents and guiding forces, now bolstered by powerful Serbian vocalist Nikola Mijić (who joined in 2013 for fourth album Symphony of Sin) and, as featured on latest album, Cardinal, Finnish keyboardist Christian "Chrism" Pulkkinen and Scottish drummer John Clelland.
Testament instantly showcases what Eden’s Curse are all all about on the perfectly titled 'Symphony of Sin.'
Entering the fray with its symphonically scored opening, the song kicks in to a delightfully sinful six and a half minutes of melodically thick rock-metal with Nikola Mijić in full vocal cry, gritty guitars, short but effective guitar and keyboard solos and a bigger percussive and rhythmic backdrop than you may first hear.
From there on in Testament truly is The Best Of Eden’s Curse, a fourteen track selection that includes the classic rock meets metal and hook-choruses of 'Masquerade Ball,' melodic Euro rockers 'The Great Pretender' and 'Fly Away,' AOR metal nuggets 'Sell Your Soul' and 'Unbreakable,' longer form Eden’s Curse classics 'Jerusalem Sleeps' and 'Jericho' (songs Dream Theater and Iron Maiden would be happy to have as their own, respectively) and the bristling 'Angels & Demons.'
'Angels and Demons,' featuring Pamela Moore in duet with Michael Eden, is one of four tracks with guest or featured vocal contributions – completing the quartet are the darker melodic metal of 'Black Widow' (w/ Andi Deris), the Dio-esque 'No Holy Man' (w/ James LaBrie) and the radio friendly 'Unconditional' (w/ Liv Kristine).
Testament includes a second disc that collects the best of the band’s bonus material.
Another fourteen track selection, CD2 features seven acoustic treatments, the piano mix of Trinity ballad 'Children of the Tide,' five other studio recordings (including the Nikola Mijić version of 2012 single 'Time to Breathe' and the band’s cover of Dokken’s 'Unchain the Night') and a new song, 'Forever.'
The latter, a song Paul Logue had on the back burner since 2005, has been reshaped by Logue and Thorsten Köhne to fully represent where Eden’s Curse are now.
At twenty-eight tracks across 2CDs this well-conceived compilation from Eden’s Curse is one of the better value-for-money Best Of buys, even for the fan who already has all the songs (especially as it finally collects all the bonus material).
For those unfamiliar with Eden’s Curse or who have just dipped in and out of the band’s catalogue these last dozen years or so, it’s also the perfect place to start – and that’s the FabricationsHQ Testament.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Not only is it a testament to the best of the consistently strong material you will find on the five studio albums released thus far, it also mixes (with a track sequencing that emulates a live show set-list) both the old and new musical testaments of Eden’s Curse.
The core of the multinational band was originally formed around the voice of American vocalist Michael Eden (who appeared on the self-titled debut, Second Coming and Trinity), Scottish bassist/ backing vocalist Paul Logue and German guitarist Thorsten Köhne.
Logue and Köhne remain as the Eden’s Curse ever-presents and guiding forces, now bolstered by powerful Serbian vocalist Nikola Mijić (who joined in 2013 for fourth album Symphony of Sin) and, as featured on latest album, Cardinal, Finnish keyboardist Christian "Chrism" Pulkkinen and Scottish drummer John Clelland.
Testament instantly showcases what Eden’s Curse are all all about on the perfectly titled 'Symphony of Sin.'
Entering the fray with its symphonically scored opening, the song kicks in to a delightfully sinful six and a half minutes of melodically thick rock-metal with Nikola Mijić in full vocal cry, gritty guitars, short but effective guitar and keyboard solos and a bigger percussive and rhythmic backdrop than you may first hear.
From there on in Testament truly is The Best Of Eden’s Curse, a fourteen track selection that includes the classic rock meets metal and hook-choruses of 'Masquerade Ball,' melodic Euro rockers 'The Great Pretender' and 'Fly Away,' AOR metal nuggets 'Sell Your Soul' and 'Unbreakable,' longer form Eden’s Curse classics 'Jerusalem Sleeps' and 'Jericho' (songs Dream Theater and Iron Maiden would be happy to have as their own, respectively) and the bristling 'Angels & Demons.'
'Angels and Demons,' featuring Pamela Moore in duet with Michael Eden, is one of four tracks with guest or featured vocal contributions – completing the quartet are the darker melodic metal of 'Black Widow' (w/ Andi Deris), the Dio-esque 'No Holy Man' (w/ James LaBrie) and the radio friendly 'Unconditional' (w/ Liv Kristine).
Testament includes a second disc that collects the best of the band’s bonus material.
Another fourteen track selection, CD2 features seven acoustic treatments, the piano mix of Trinity ballad 'Children of the Tide,' five other studio recordings (including the Nikola Mijić version of 2012 single 'Time to Breathe' and the band’s cover of Dokken’s 'Unchain the Night') and a new song, 'Forever.'
The latter, a song Paul Logue had on the back burner since 2005, has been reshaped by Logue and Thorsten Köhne to fully represent where Eden’s Curse are now.
At twenty-eight tracks across 2CDs this well-conceived compilation from Eden’s Curse is one of the better value-for-money Best Of buys, even for the fan who already has all the songs (especially as it finally collects all the bonus material).
For those unfamiliar with Eden’s Curse or who have just dipped in and out of the band’s catalogue these last dozen years or so, it’s also the perfect place to start – and that’s the FabricationsHQ Testament.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Enuff Z’Nuff - Diamond Boy
Nearly thirty years on from their biggest successes, (a self-titled 1989 debut that spawned the airplay and MTV hits 'New Thing' and 'Fly High Michelle;' the harder edged 1991 follow-up album Strength) Enuff Z’Nuff, centred around co-founder, vocalist and bassist Chip Z’Nuff, long-time guitarist Tory Stoffregen and newer members, ex Ultravox vocalist Tony Fennell (rhythm guitar) and Dan Hill (drums), are still power-popping, melodically rocking and socking out those big, hook laden choruses.
Diamond Boy, the band’s thirteenth album of all-new material and second release for Frontiers Records (2016’s Clown’s Lounge was built around previously unreleased late 80s material) helps reinforce just that, while also being a different sounding proposition vocally following the departure of co-founder, guitarist and lead vocalist on all previous albums, Donnie Vie, in 2013.
The short and introductory A Capella harmonies of 'Transcendence' give way to 'Diamond Boy' who, as it turns out is the "lips… hips… heels… and wheels" pretty guy subject of a pacey glam 'n' roll number featuring Chip Z’Nuff’s huskier (as opposed to Donni Vie’s throatier) vocal, double tracked or harmonised across most of the album to provide a fuller sound as part of the band’s new vocal identity.
Following number 'Where Did You Go' delivers in a more rhythmic, mid-tempo groove (with a fiery little finish) which, in terms of weight and pacing, sets the tempo for most of the album.
Diamond Boy forgoes pacier, power-pop punch for a slower approach with more emphasis on harmonies, choruses and little embellishments such as the keyboard jabs on the melodic power poppery of 'We’re All the Same.'
Not that there aren’t a few surprise influences or change-ups to be heard – 'Fire & Ice' has a distinctly Oasis vibe to its verses but the big guitar outro stanzas are the 'Würm' in everything but admitting why, YES, it is, name.
Other slower but effective numbers include the power-pop blues of 'Down On Luck,' the charming little pop-waltz 'Love is On the Line,' the slightly Beatles-tinged ballad 'Dopesick' (the withdrawal blues for love or drugs; you decide) and album closer, 'Imaginary Man.'
Those who prefer the band to step it up however can get their up-tempo kicks through edgier, Cheap Trickified material such as 'Metalheart' (a number you could hear the original Tricksters covering as their own) and the rocking, raunchy and howlin’ guitars of 'Faith, Hope & Luv.'
With the departure of Donnie Vie in 2013 it could have been a genuine case of Enuff Z’Nuff.
But as Diamond Boy proves, it’s actually a case Z’Till a bit more to offer.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Diamond Boy, the band’s thirteenth album of all-new material and second release for Frontiers Records (2016’s Clown’s Lounge was built around previously unreleased late 80s material) helps reinforce just that, while also being a different sounding proposition vocally following the departure of co-founder, guitarist and lead vocalist on all previous albums, Donnie Vie, in 2013.
The short and introductory A Capella harmonies of 'Transcendence' give way to 'Diamond Boy' who, as it turns out is the "lips… hips… heels… and wheels" pretty guy subject of a pacey glam 'n' roll number featuring Chip Z’Nuff’s huskier (as opposed to Donni Vie’s throatier) vocal, double tracked or harmonised across most of the album to provide a fuller sound as part of the band’s new vocal identity.
Following number 'Where Did You Go' delivers in a more rhythmic, mid-tempo groove (with a fiery little finish) which, in terms of weight and pacing, sets the tempo for most of the album.
Diamond Boy forgoes pacier, power-pop punch for a slower approach with more emphasis on harmonies, choruses and little embellishments such as the keyboard jabs on the melodic power poppery of 'We’re All the Same.'
Not that there aren’t a few surprise influences or change-ups to be heard – 'Fire & Ice' has a distinctly Oasis vibe to its verses but the big guitar outro stanzas are the 'Würm' in everything but admitting why, YES, it is, name.
Other slower but effective numbers include the power-pop blues of 'Down On Luck,' the charming little pop-waltz 'Love is On the Line,' the slightly Beatles-tinged ballad 'Dopesick' (the withdrawal blues for love or drugs; you decide) and album closer, 'Imaginary Man.'
Those who prefer the band to step it up however can get their up-tempo kicks through edgier, Cheap Trickified material such as 'Metalheart' (a number you could hear the original Tricksters covering as their own) and the rocking, raunchy and howlin’ guitars of 'Faith, Hope & Luv.'
With the departure of Donnie Vie in 2013 it could have been a genuine case of Enuff Z’Nuff.
But as Diamond Boy proves, it’s actually a case Z’Till a bit more to offer.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Federal Charm – Passenger
Federal Charm have always emphasised the rock in their blues rock; the original line-up proved that punchier point on their self-titled debut album of 2013 and the broader, bluesy light and rockier shade of Across the Divide two years later.
However the Manchester band’s third offering Passenger, while using the previous two albums as its musical platform, is the launch pad that lifts the newly shaped Federals' to sonically bigger and better things.
New recruits Tom Guyer (vocals) and Josh Zahler (drums) are the perfect fit and choice for where original members Paul Bowe (guitars) and L.D. Morawski (bass) want to take the band, in terms of direction and sound.
Josh Zahler is a drummer who foregoes the lead footed, big-beat statements for a more percussive and rhythmic approach; the shapes and grooves that Zahler and L.D. Morawski create have quickly become an important and integral part of the re-tooled Federal Charm sound ('Get Through,' 'Can’t Rule Me').
Original singer Nick Bowden and Tom Guyer are not too dissimilar in vocal attack and delivery but where Bowden had a bluesier tonality Guyer is throwback rock tenor, with a slightly higher core vocal and upper register than his predecessor.
Guyer’s wails and full-on vocality are up-front and centre on the opening salvo of 'Swing Sinner' (a blues rattlin' and rhythmically rockin' story of murder and townsfolk noose-justice) and 'Choke,' a musically hefty and lyrically savage rebuke to the braggadocio of the self-satisfied and manipulative.
"What makes you think you’re King of the world!" hollers Guyer with serious vocal venom on 'Choke' (the singer contributes a number of based on personal experience lyrical tales to Passenger).
As intimated by that one-two power-punch opening Passenger is a far heavier proposition than the two previous offerings but it's not without its varying blues rock shades (something of Federal Charm trait).
'Emerald Haze' is a bluesier take on the green-eyed monster while 'Concrete Creature' is a weightier, spacey cry against those who chase profit and power while apathetic onlookers are fed the lowest common denominator in consumer commodities.
There are also damning indictments on the current state of local or national affairs.
'Speak Out' is a musically spikey and lyrically sharp blast on Governmental failures while 'Death Rattle' is a blues rocking cry for the loss (and motives behind such losses) of so many "home away from home| music venues in the UK.
The final minute of 'Death Rattle,' where Paul Bowe’s fainter guitar lines echo like ghosts in the long gone venues, is a nice lamenting touch.
Equally lamenting, but with a very different musical mood (flitting from reflective moments to heavier passages) is 'Nowhere Is Home;' the song is an ever-travelling, rootless cry from Tom Guyer for all those who have no specific place to call home.
'Parting Words,' which carries a distinctly 70s vibe (and a discernible echo of Zeppelin), closes out Passenger in atmospheric and spacey rock blues fashion.
When Federal Charm went out in the road as part of a Planet Rock’s 2016 Roadstars tour it was promotionally sub-titled The Best in Breaking Blues Rock.
While that particular scene is burgeoning in the UK very few bands have made it out beyond the confines of the club sized circuit to the bigger rock world of larger venues and wider audiences (King King being the obvious, breaking out beyond example).
But two years on with a new line-up (which also features Kyle Ross on second guitars and keys) the musically, lyrically and sonically weightier Federal Charm have most certainly delivered one of the best in breaking blues rock albums.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
However the Manchester band’s third offering Passenger, while using the previous two albums as its musical platform, is the launch pad that lifts the newly shaped Federals' to sonically bigger and better things.
New recruits Tom Guyer (vocals) and Josh Zahler (drums) are the perfect fit and choice for where original members Paul Bowe (guitars) and L.D. Morawski (bass) want to take the band, in terms of direction and sound.
Josh Zahler is a drummer who foregoes the lead footed, big-beat statements for a more percussive and rhythmic approach; the shapes and grooves that Zahler and L.D. Morawski create have quickly become an important and integral part of the re-tooled Federal Charm sound ('Get Through,' 'Can’t Rule Me').
Original singer Nick Bowden and Tom Guyer are not too dissimilar in vocal attack and delivery but where Bowden had a bluesier tonality Guyer is throwback rock tenor, with a slightly higher core vocal and upper register than his predecessor.
Guyer’s wails and full-on vocality are up-front and centre on the opening salvo of 'Swing Sinner' (a blues rattlin' and rhythmically rockin' story of murder and townsfolk noose-justice) and 'Choke,' a musically hefty and lyrically savage rebuke to the braggadocio of the self-satisfied and manipulative.
"What makes you think you’re King of the world!" hollers Guyer with serious vocal venom on 'Choke' (the singer contributes a number of based on personal experience lyrical tales to Passenger).
As intimated by that one-two power-punch opening Passenger is a far heavier proposition than the two previous offerings but it's not without its varying blues rock shades (something of Federal Charm trait).
'Emerald Haze' is a bluesier take on the green-eyed monster while 'Concrete Creature' is a weightier, spacey cry against those who chase profit and power while apathetic onlookers are fed the lowest common denominator in consumer commodities.
There are also damning indictments on the current state of local or national affairs.
'Speak Out' is a musically spikey and lyrically sharp blast on Governmental failures while 'Death Rattle' is a blues rocking cry for the loss (and motives behind such losses) of so many "home away from home| music venues in the UK.
The final minute of 'Death Rattle,' where Paul Bowe’s fainter guitar lines echo like ghosts in the long gone venues, is a nice lamenting touch.
Equally lamenting, but with a very different musical mood (flitting from reflective moments to heavier passages) is 'Nowhere Is Home;' the song is an ever-travelling, rootless cry from Tom Guyer for all those who have no specific place to call home.
'Parting Words,' which carries a distinctly 70s vibe (and a discernible echo of Zeppelin), closes out Passenger in atmospheric and spacey rock blues fashion.
When Federal Charm went out in the road as part of a Planet Rock’s 2016 Roadstars tour it was promotionally sub-titled The Best in Breaking Blues Rock.
While that particular scene is burgeoning in the UK very few bands have made it out beyond the confines of the club sized circuit to the bigger rock world of larger venues and wider audiences (King King being the obvious, breaking out beyond example).
But two years on with a new line-up (which also features Kyle Ross on second guitars and keys) the musically, lyrically and sonically weightier Federal Charm have most certainly delivered one of the best in breaking blues rock albums.
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
Ghost – Prequelle
On album, Swedish band Ghost are an outfit that mix and merge a number of styles including heavy metal, melodically framed rock and synth-keyboard pop.
On stage/ performance wise however, Ghost make their look as, if not more, important as the music.
The always masked band, led by front man Cardinal Copia aka Papa Emeritus (in reality Swedish singer-songwriter Tobias Forge) and five instrumentalists known only as the Nameless Ghouls wear robes and attire that mimic the Catholic Church but reversed to worship Satan.
The results are a spectacle that either enhances or detracts from the music, depending on your point of theatrical view.
Personally, in the visual spectrum, I can’t take Ghost seriously (shaking my head not to the beat of their music but at the absurdity of it all) yet they have created such an image that they are making waves well beyond Sweden and Europe via their on-stage personas (and the obvious controversy – and everyone loves a good controversy, except the Catholic Church).
Dress sense aside, Ghost’s music is interesting because the band happily wear a number of influences on those strangely attired sleeves, presenting everything from the psychedelic colours of the likes of Iron Butterfly, choral voices backing the lead vocal, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest styled metal riffage and pop sensibilities that range from Abba and the Eurythmics to synth and electro pop acts such as the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode (a quartet of pop based acts that have been covered by Ghost for bonus tracks or EP releases).
Fourth full-length studio outing Prequelle starts in far weightier and metal shod terms however.
The short 'Ashes' (which would make for a great horror movie intro piece) leads to the heavy slab of rodent rock-metal, 'Rats.'
'Faith' follows in the same melodically gothic style of 'Rats' but with even more metal-edged intensity before 'See the Light' mixes quieter keyboard passages with the band’s trademark heavy on riff, heavy on melody approach to arrangements.
The pseudo-prog instrumental 'Miasma,' synth lines leading the big beats and rock guitar charge (and saxophone solo) of the number, is a highlight of the album as is the other instrumental, the medieval themed 'Helvetesfönster.'
Further Ghost styles are displayed on 'Dance Macabre' (pacey Euro-rock meets Euro-pop) while rock ballads 'Pro Memoria,' 'Witch Image' and closing number 'Life Eternal' have more than a touch of rock musical/ theatre about them.
The ten track Prequelle is increased to twelve on the Deluxe Edition with two covers.
A faithful to the original take of 'It’s a Sin' by the Pet Shop Boys and a rock rendition of Leonard Cohen’s 'Avalanche' make for intriguing bedfellows to Ghost’s conceptually death and doom material; they also help showcase the band’s wider influences.
Ghost are referred to as a hard rock or metal band but in reality they are difficult to pigeonhole.
Label or "file under…" discussions aside, far more important is the fact that they are, through their cross genre appeal and theatrical live shows, a band that’s becoming hard if not impossible to ignore.
Unless, I suspect, you’re the Catholic Church.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
On stage/ performance wise however, Ghost make their look as, if not more, important as the music.
The always masked band, led by front man Cardinal Copia aka Papa Emeritus (in reality Swedish singer-songwriter Tobias Forge) and five instrumentalists known only as the Nameless Ghouls wear robes and attire that mimic the Catholic Church but reversed to worship Satan.
The results are a spectacle that either enhances or detracts from the music, depending on your point of theatrical view.
Personally, in the visual spectrum, I can’t take Ghost seriously (shaking my head not to the beat of their music but at the absurdity of it all) yet they have created such an image that they are making waves well beyond Sweden and Europe via their on-stage personas (and the obvious controversy – and everyone loves a good controversy, except the Catholic Church).
Dress sense aside, Ghost’s music is interesting because the band happily wear a number of influences on those strangely attired sleeves, presenting everything from the psychedelic colours of the likes of Iron Butterfly, choral voices backing the lead vocal, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest styled metal riffage and pop sensibilities that range from Abba and the Eurythmics to synth and electro pop acts such as the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode (a quartet of pop based acts that have been covered by Ghost for bonus tracks or EP releases).
Fourth full-length studio outing Prequelle starts in far weightier and metal shod terms however.
The short 'Ashes' (which would make for a great horror movie intro piece) leads to the heavy slab of rodent rock-metal, 'Rats.'
'Faith' follows in the same melodically gothic style of 'Rats' but with even more metal-edged intensity before 'See the Light' mixes quieter keyboard passages with the band’s trademark heavy on riff, heavy on melody approach to arrangements.
The pseudo-prog instrumental 'Miasma,' synth lines leading the big beats and rock guitar charge (and saxophone solo) of the number, is a highlight of the album as is the other instrumental, the medieval themed 'Helvetesfönster.'
Further Ghost styles are displayed on 'Dance Macabre' (pacey Euro-rock meets Euro-pop) while rock ballads 'Pro Memoria,' 'Witch Image' and closing number 'Life Eternal' have more than a touch of rock musical/ theatre about them.
The ten track Prequelle is increased to twelve on the Deluxe Edition with two covers.
A faithful to the original take of 'It’s a Sin' by the Pet Shop Boys and a rock rendition of Leonard Cohen’s 'Avalanche' make for intriguing bedfellows to Ghost’s conceptually death and doom material; they also help showcase the band’s wider influences.
Ghost are referred to as a hard rock or metal band but in reality they are difficult to pigeonhole.
Label or "file under…" discussions aside, far more important is the fact that they are, through their cross genre appeal and theatrical live shows, a band that’s becoming hard if not impossible to ignore.
Unless, I suspect, you’re the Catholic Church.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Groundbreaker – Groundbreaker
Groundbreaker, quite melodically and simply, sound like British melodic rockers FM meets Swedish melodic rockers Work of Art, with a hint of the rockier edge of a band such as W.E.T.
But that’s the least surprising review comment or overview you’ll hear this year, given that Groundbreaker is a collaboration between melodically like-minded FM vocalist Steve Overland and Work of Art’s guitarist Robert Sall (who is also part of hard melodic rock supergroup W.E.T. featuring Jeff Scott Soto and Erik Mårtensson).
This particular union also captures the best of their own melodic rock worlds as well as their obvious influences – it’s the FM and Work of Art’s melodic rock sound with touches of Toto, Journey and Giant.
All of which means before you’ve played as much as a second of opener 'Over My Shoulder' you’ve already heard it, or at least know what to expect in terms of the up-tempo rhythm, fluid guitar lines, hook chorus and keyboard flourishes.
The trick, therefore, becomes making sure what you have produced is not just another collection of run of the melodic rock mill songs but something that delivers higher song quality and musicianship that separates you from the pack – for the most part, outside of a couple of by-the-numbers tracks, Groundbreaker have succeeded in doing just that.
But then a higher quality of product should be the case, given the pedigree of the main protagonists, here joined by bassist Nalley Pahlsson, Work of Art drummer Herman Furin and Alessandro Del Vecchio on keys.
(Del Vecchio, vocalist, keyboardist, producer and studio engineer on many a project, also produced the album, providing the audio polish and sonic sheen that’s mandatory for such releases).
The songs themselves are split between Roberts Sall as main composer and songwriting from Steve Overland and Alessandro Del Vecchio; tracks such as the pacey and punchy 'Eighteen ‘Til I Die' and 'Only Time Will Tell' have the mark of Robert Sall/ Work of Art while the keyboard fuelled 'Standing Up For Love' and melodic power ballad 'Something Worth Fighting For' sound like Overland-Del Vecchio songs, the latter fleshed out by Robert Sall’s ever-melodic six-string remarks.
Mention of 'Something Worth Fighting For' leads to the observation and conclusion that, depending on what you want from your melodic rock, that song either becomes your back-lit iPhone in the air anthem or the track that will have you hitting the skip button in double quick time – more dubious however is 'Tonight,' a throwaway and rhythmic soft-rock number that should never have made it past demo stage.
The album closes out much as it opened, on a quintessential piece of melodic rock entitled 'The Way It Goes.'
It’s a song that wouldn’t have been out of place on FM’s acclaimed debut Indiscreet or even their latest offering, Atomic Generation, which intentionally hearkens back to those mid-80s days.
A Groundbreaker of a release in the world of melodic rock?
Hardly.
But a fine example of the genre at its most polished with all the clichéd phrases of heartfelt vocals, huge melodies, big keyboards, hook choruses and soaring guitars up front and centre?
Absolutely.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But that’s the least surprising review comment or overview you’ll hear this year, given that Groundbreaker is a collaboration between melodically like-minded FM vocalist Steve Overland and Work of Art’s guitarist Robert Sall (who is also part of hard melodic rock supergroup W.E.T. featuring Jeff Scott Soto and Erik Mårtensson).
This particular union also captures the best of their own melodic rock worlds as well as their obvious influences – it’s the FM and Work of Art’s melodic rock sound with touches of Toto, Journey and Giant.
All of which means before you’ve played as much as a second of opener 'Over My Shoulder' you’ve already heard it, or at least know what to expect in terms of the up-tempo rhythm, fluid guitar lines, hook chorus and keyboard flourishes.
The trick, therefore, becomes making sure what you have produced is not just another collection of run of the melodic rock mill songs but something that delivers higher song quality and musicianship that separates you from the pack – for the most part, outside of a couple of by-the-numbers tracks, Groundbreaker have succeeded in doing just that.
But then a higher quality of product should be the case, given the pedigree of the main protagonists, here joined by bassist Nalley Pahlsson, Work of Art drummer Herman Furin and Alessandro Del Vecchio on keys.
(Del Vecchio, vocalist, keyboardist, producer and studio engineer on many a project, also produced the album, providing the audio polish and sonic sheen that’s mandatory for such releases).
The songs themselves are split between Roberts Sall as main composer and songwriting from Steve Overland and Alessandro Del Vecchio; tracks such as the pacey and punchy 'Eighteen ‘Til I Die' and 'Only Time Will Tell' have the mark of Robert Sall/ Work of Art while the keyboard fuelled 'Standing Up For Love' and melodic power ballad 'Something Worth Fighting For' sound like Overland-Del Vecchio songs, the latter fleshed out by Robert Sall’s ever-melodic six-string remarks.
Mention of 'Something Worth Fighting For' leads to the observation and conclusion that, depending on what you want from your melodic rock, that song either becomes your back-lit iPhone in the air anthem or the track that will have you hitting the skip button in double quick time – more dubious however is 'Tonight,' a throwaway and rhythmic soft-rock number that should never have made it past demo stage.
The album closes out much as it opened, on a quintessential piece of melodic rock entitled 'The Way It Goes.'
It’s a song that wouldn’t have been out of place on FM’s acclaimed debut Indiscreet or even their latest offering, Atomic Generation, which intentionally hearkens back to those mid-80s days.
A Groundbreaker of a release in the world of melodic rock?
Hardly.
But a fine example of the genre at its most polished with all the clichéd phrases of heartfelt vocals, huge melodies, big keyboards, hook choruses and soaring guitars up front and centre?
Absolutely.
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
Steve Hill – The One Man Blues Rock Band
Canadian musician Steve Hill could well be in the running to add another award to the JUNO and Maple Blues awards he already owns – for the most accurate, self-explanatory and straight to the musical point album title of the year.
That said while The One Man Blues Rock Band tells you all you need to know about Steve Hill and the solo performance you will find behind the cover, it can’t tell you how full-sounding Hill’s brand of one man blues is – until you hit play (unless of course you have seen and heard the musician perform, the good news being the album, recorded at La Chapelle in Quebec in November 2017, does a fine job of capturing the energy of Steve Hill live).
Steve Hill’s primary weapon for his raucous, riff-driven blues is his guitar, but an arsenal of surrounding instrumentation – bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, crash cymbal (the latter pair the recipients of a guitar head stick skewered with a maraca), an octave pedal hooked up to a bass amp (Hill’s guitar has an extra, offset pick-up to catch the three top strings) and a stereo output collectively showcase a one man band that sounds and plays like a hard hitting, blues rocking trio.
All the above are featured loudly and clearly on The One Man Blues Rock Band, which opens with the perfectly titled 'Rhythm All Over,' a foot tapping and drum thumping slice of riffy blues with plenty of percussive punctuation while the top string of Steve Hill’s guitar plucks out the bass line over a meaty rhythm.
'Rhythm All Over' is one of four tracks to feature from current album Solo Recordings Vol 3 (Steve Hills tends to tell you exactly what you are getting with his album titles) while previous release, the JUNO Award winning Vol 2, is responsible for six of the fourteen tracks on The One Man Blues Rock Band, including the heavyweight 'I Can’t Go On' (with suitably boisterous and improvised opening; Hill likes to play around with intros and song finales live, helping keep the shows musically spontaneous) and the swampy, deeper voiced blues of 'The Collector.'
While the improv intro of 'I Can’t Go On,' the harmonica blues of 'Nothing New,' a couple of acoustic interludes ('Tough Love,' 'Out of Phase') and three covers including the Little Walter number 'Hate To See You Go' (extended from the Solo Recordings Vol 2 version) and a bombastic version of 'Voodoo Child' (on this particular performance percussion is ignored so Steve Hill can extend and crank on the solo) all help to positively shape the album, the live vibe and continuity of The One Man Blues Rock Band is unfortunately interrupted by the between song edits, resulting in a lack of continuity.
But in a digital day and personal play-list age that’s a small gripe and price to pay for what is still a blues bristling Best of Steve Hill (thus far) in the live environment.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
That said while The One Man Blues Rock Band tells you all you need to know about Steve Hill and the solo performance you will find behind the cover, it can’t tell you how full-sounding Hill’s brand of one man blues is – until you hit play (unless of course you have seen and heard the musician perform, the good news being the album, recorded at La Chapelle in Quebec in November 2017, does a fine job of capturing the energy of Steve Hill live).
Steve Hill’s primary weapon for his raucous, riff-driven blues is his guitar, but an arsenal of surrounding instrumentation – bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, crash cymbal (the latter pair the recipients of a guitar head stick skewered with a maraca), an octave pedal hooked up to a bass amp (Hill’s guitar has an extra, offset pick-up to catch the three top strings) and a stereo output collectively showcase a one man band that sounds and plays like a hard hitting, blues rocking trio.
All the above are featured loudly and clearly on The One Man Blues Rock Band, which opens with the perfectly titled 'Rhythm All Over,' a foot tapping and drum thumping slice of riffy blues with plenty of percussive punctuation while the top string of Steve Hill’s guitar plucks out the bass line over a meaty rhythm.
'Rhythm All Over' is one of four tracks to feature from current album Solo Recordings Vol 3 (Steve Hills tends to tell you exactly what you are getting with his album titles) while previous release, the JUNO Award winning Vol 2, is responsible for six of the fourteen tracks on The One Man Blues Rock Band, including the heavyweight 'I Can’t Go On' (with suitably boisterous and improvised opening; Hill likes to play around with intros and song finales live, helping keep the shows musically spontaneous) and the swampy, deeper voiced blues of 'The Collector.'
While the improv intro of 'I Can’t Go On,' the harmonica blues of 'Nothing New,' a couple of acoustic interludes ('Tough Love,' 'Out of Phase') and three covers including the Little Walter number 'Hate To See You Go' (extended from the Solo Recordings Vol 2 version) and a bombastic version of 'Voodoo Child' (on this particular performance percussion is ignored so Steve Hill can extend and crank on the solo) all help to positively shape the album, the live vibe and continuity of The One Man Blues Rock Band is unfortunately interrupted by the between song edits, resulting in a lack of continuity.
But in a digital day and personal play-list age that’s a small gripe and price to pay for what is still a blues bristling Best of Steve Hill (thus far) in the live environment.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Malcolm Holcombe – Come Hell or High Water
Come Hell or High Water, the sixteenth studio release from North Carolina singer songwriter and American folk troubadour Malcolm Holcombe, is built upon the same Blue Ridge, Southern Appalachians and small town ground as 2017’s Pretty Little Troubles.
But where Malcolm Holcombe’s previous album had a recurring theme of blue collar hardships and real life troubles Come Hell or High Water is more a mix of Holcombe’s earthy and honest lyricism on the subjects of life and reflection (typified by the album’s poignant closing track, 'Torn and Wrinkled') and the folklore and mystery of the North Carolina hills, woods and mountains.
Indeed Malcomb Holcombe’s music isn’t so much steeped in the history of those areas as pulled from the bedrock of the mountains and earth of the woodlands a century past – as if transported from a mountain cabin and the stitching together of hides to the modern recording studio and the stitching together of digital audio.
That duality is never more evident than on 'In the Winter,' a song that seems to come from another time yet carrying more contemporary lyrical sections ("fifteen below, four days in a row, gone stir crazy in a lunatic mind; no man’s land, under cardboard on the sidewalk, the sun goes down, in the winter").
More importantly, the twelve self-penned originals that make up Come Hell or High Water have, collectively, produced another outstanding and authentic American folk outing for Malcolm Holcombe and his acoustic guitar, in the company of Marco Giovino (drums percussion), Jared Tyler (dobro, mandolin, guitars, vocals) and vocal accompaniment from acclaimed roots-couple Iris DeMent and Greg Brown.
Iris DeMent’s voice is heavily featured on Come Hell or High Water, beautifully complementing Malcolm Holcombe’s dry, earthy and at time cynically phrased vocal – 'I Don’t Wanna Disappear,' the more foot-tapping by the fireside track 'New Damnation Alley' and the country gospel of 'Gone by the Ol’ Sunrise' all benefit from DeMent’s vocal presence.
Such numbers are contrasted by the more matter-of-fact blues folk of 'It Is What It Is,' the guitar pickin’ and country-shaped 'Black Bitter Moon' (another to feature Iris DeMent, this time providing harmony vocal on the choruses) and the other side of the festive spirit,' Merry Christmas' ("sellin’ grit for a nickel, shovel coal in the stoker, daddy’s drunk don’cha know it... merry Christmas").
Malcolm Holcombe has been compared to a stripped back to the folklore bone Springsteen and the likes of Ray Wylie Hubbard, James McMurty and Steve Earl.
All are valid comparisons but at his musical heart and lyrical soul Malcolm Holcombe is, more simply and significantly, Malcolm Holcombe; a Blue Ridge mined treasure of North Carolina and American folk.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But where Malcolm Holcombe’s previous album had a recurring theme of blue collar hardships and real life troubles Come Hell or High Water is more a mix of Holcombe’s earthy and honest lyricism on the subjects of life and reflection (typified by the album’s poignant closing track, 'Torn and Wrinkled') and the folklore and mystery of the North Carolina hills, woods and mountains.
Indeed Malcomb Holcombe’s music isn’t so much steeped in the history of those areas as pulled from the bedrock of the mountains and earth of the woodlands a century past – as if transported from a mountain cabin and the stitching together of hides to the modern recording studio and the stitching together of digital audio.
That duality is never more evident than on 'In the Winter,' a song that seems to come from another time yet carrying more contemporary lyrical sections ("fifteen below, four days in a row, gone stir crazy in a lunatic mind; no man’s land, under cardboard on the sidewalk, the sun goes down, in the winter").
More importantly, the twelve self-penned originals that make up Come Hell or High Water have, collectively, produced another outstanding and authentic American folk outing for Malcolm Holcombe and his acoustic guitar, in the company of Marco Giovino (drums percussion), Jared Tyler (dobro, mandolin, guitars, vocals) and vocal accompaniment from acclaimed roots-couple Iris DeMent and Greg Brown.
Iris DeMent’s voice is heavily featured on Come Hell or High Water, beautifully complementing Malcolm Holcombe’s dry, earthy and at time cynically phrased vocal – 'I Don’t Wanna Disappear,' the more foot-tapping by the fireside track 'New Damnation Alley' and the country gospel of 'Gone by the Ol’ Sunrise' all benefit from DeMent’s vocal presence.
Such numbers are contrasted by the more matter-of-fact blues folk of 'It Is What It Is,' the guitar pickin’ and country-shaped 'Black Bitter Moon' (another to feature Iris DeMent, this time providing harmony vocal on the choruses) and the other side of the festive spirit,' Merry Christmas' ("sellin’ grit for a nickel, shovel coal in the stoker, daddy’s drunk don’cha know it... merry Christmas").
Malcolm Holcombe has been compared to a stripped back to the folklore bone Springsteen and the likes of Ray Wylie Hubbard, James McMurty and Steve Earl.
All are valid comparisons but at his musical heart and lyrical soul Malcolm Holcombe is, more simply and significantly, Malcolm Holcombe; a Blue Ridge mined treasure of North Carolina and American folk.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Howling Tides – The Howling Tides EP
If you’re looking for the definition of "hard hitting" (in musical terms), Staffordshire based hard rock quartet The Howling Tides and their self-titled five track EP might just be your boys.
The band – Rob Baynes (vocals/guitar), Hayden Kirk (guitar/vocals), Luke Lawley (bass/vocals) and Steven "Herbie" Herbert (drums) – have a personal and musical chemistry (lifelong friends with a mutual fondness for hard rock, metal and blues rock) that has combined to produce a high-energy presentation of original material with an edgy, heavy and at times rockingly bluesy vibe.
The latter trait, one might surmise, has been emphasised through having the EP produced by British blues rock stalwart Aynsley Lister.
Not that you’ll find any of that blues medicine in 'Cheap Painkiller,' the first track on the EP.
The contemporary swagger of the opening number is just the sort of punchy, pile driving song (sitting on the sonic border between relentless rock drive and metal) that’s making such a mark in the New Wave of British Rock, through up and coming bands such as The Bad Flowers.
Similarly weighty is 'Death by Exile,' which carries a discernible blues rock vibe through its feisty and thick guitar work and Ron Baynes "hey yeah!" vocal punctuations.
Adding further riff-blues to proceedings is the booming 'He Told Me' (which comes across like Bad Touch at their heaviest and edgiest) before the EP’s lead-off single and strongest number 'Crack My Soul' grooves and riffs its way across its three minutes of big beat, high energy rock.
'Running Blind,' which carries classic rock DNA within its blues rock body closes out the short (the five tracks are over and done in less than 20 minutes), sharp and decidedly heavy EP.
The Howling Tides are still relative newcomers to the rock ‘n’ roll landscape but have already played hundreds of shows, including sharing gig line-ups with the likes of The Dead Daisies, RavenEye and Bad Touch.
They have also released two previous EP’s and received radio airplay (most significantly from Planet Rock's Paul Antony & Kerrang!'s Johnny Doom) under their previous moniker, Anonymous.
With their self-titled EP however (which doesn’t so much knock loudly on your door for attention as kick it down) The Howling Tides may not be so Anonymous any more.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The band – Rob Baynes (vocals/guitar), Hayden Kirk (guitar/vocals), Luke Lawley (bass/vocals) and Steven "Herbie" Herbert (drums) – have a personal and musical chemistry (lifelong friends with a mutual fondness for hard rock, metal and blues rock) that has combined to produce a high-energy presentation of original material with an edgy, heavy and at times rockingly bluesy vibe.
The latter trait, one might surmise, has been emphasised through having the EP produced by British blues rock stalwart Aynsley Lister.
Not that you’ll find any of that blues medicine in 'Cheap Painkiller,' the first track on the EP.
The contemporary swagger of the opening number is just the sort of punchy, pile driving song (sitting on the sonic border between relentless rock drive and metal) that’s making such a mark in the New Wave of British Rock, through up and coming bands such as The Bad Flowers.
Similarly weighty is 'Death by Exile,' which carries a discernible blues rock vibe through its feisty and thick guitar work and Ron Baynes "hey yeah!" vocal punctuations.
Adding further riff-blues to proceedings is the booming 'He Told Me' (which comes across like Bad Touch at their heaviest and edgiest) before the EP’s lead-off single and strongest number 'Crack My Soul' grooves and riffs its way across its three minutes of big beat, high energy rock.
'Running Blind,' which carries classic rock DNA within its blues rock body closes out the short (the five tracks are over and done in less than 20 minutes), sharp and decidedly heavy EP.
The Howling Tides are still relative newcomers to the rock ‘n’ roll landscape but have already played hundreds of shows, including sharing gig line-ups with the likes of The Dead Daisies, RavenEye and Bad Touch.
They have also released two previous EP’s and received radio airplay (most significantly from Planet Rock's Paul Antony & Kerrang!'s Johnny Doom) under their previous moniker, Anonymous.
With their self-titled EP however (which doesn’t so much knock loudly on your door for attention as kick it down) The Howling Tides may not be so Anonymous any more.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Colin James – Miles To Go
In musical terms Miles To Go is a perfect example of the oft used phrase "if it ain’t broke don’t fix it" because with his sixteenth studio album multi-award winning Canadian artist Colin James has come up with not so much a sequel to previous release Blue Highways as a continuation of that excellent, and rightly acclaimed, 2016 blues covers album.
The back-to-back studio releases also carry the same sound, vibe and feel – both were recorded by Dave Meszaros (and co-produced by Meszaros & Colin James) with recordings done in a fairly compact time.
As with Blue Highways the album features Colin James (this time with a Gibson ES-335 as primary blues weapon of choice) and his band getting their blues on, here bolstered by a number of contributing musicians, including a horn section and harmonica player Steve Marriner.
The results are another authentic and celebratory blues outing from Colin James paying, and playing, homage to some of the blues greats via a selection of hand-picked numbers.
Some songs remain fairly faithful to the originals while other choices have been fully re-imagined.
Muddy Waters for example is paid gritty, howlin’ slow blues homage on 'Still a Fool' but is given a blues cool, funky horns 'n' harmonica makeover on 'One More Mile,' which also features at the end of the twelve track album as an acoustic bonus track.
Further tasty blues-covered delicacies include a modern styled outing for Howlin' Wolf’s 'Ooh Baby Hold Me,' a 2am piano bar blues re-imagining of Little Willie John’s 'Need Your Love So Bad' (great to hear a cover that isn’t based on the famous Fleetwood Mac version) and the slow, late evening blues of the Jessie Mae Robinson penned 'Black Night,' a song first sung by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown.
The latter features some tasteful and understated guitar remarks from Colin James and forlorn, blues sprinkled piano from Chris Gestrin.
A couple of pre-war blues greats are also given respectful nods via the rhythmic and acoustic-electric arrangement of Blind Willie Johnson’s gospel-blues 'Soul of a Man' and the vocal and acoustic guitar homage to Blind Lemon Jefferson as delivered on 'See That My Grave is Kept Clean.'
It’s said that you never really truly learn to play the blues until you’ve been steeped in it, or played it, for not years but decades.
Having travelled up and down the Blue Highways Colin James most certainly doesn’t have Miles To Go to stake his claim as an accomplished and noted practitioner of the blues.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The back-to-back studio releases also carry the same sound, vibe and feel – both were recorded by Dave Meszaros (and co-produced by Meszaros & Colin James) with recordings done in a fairly compact time.
As with Blue Highways the album features Colin James (this time with a Gibson ES-335 as primary blues weapon of choice) and his band getting their blues on, here bolstered by a number of contributing musicians, including a horn section and harmonica player Steve Marriner.
The results are another authentic and celebratory blues outing from Colin James paying, and playing, homage to some of the blues greats via a selection of hand-picked numbers.
Some songs remain fairly faithful to the originals while other choices have been fully re-imagined.
Muddy Waters for example is paid gritty, howlin’ slow blues homage on 'Still a Fool' but is given a blues cool, funky horns 'n' harmonica makeover on 'One More Mile,' which also features at the end of the twelve track album as an acoustic bonus track.
Further tasty blues-covered delicacies include a modern styled outing for Howlin' Wolf’s 'Ooh Baby Hold Me,' a 2am piano bar blues re-imagining of Little Willie John’s 'Need Your Love So Bad' (great to hear a cover that isn’t based on the famous Fleetwood Mac version) and the slow, late evening blues of the Jessie Mae Robinson penned 'Black Night,' a song first sung by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown.
The latter features some tasteful and understated guitar remarks from Colin James and forlorn, blues sprinkled piano from Chris Gestrin.
A couple of pre-war blues greats are also given respectful nods via the rhythmic and acoustic-electric arrangement of Blind Willie Johnson’s gospel-blues 'Soul of a Man' and the vocal and acoustic guitar homage to Blind Lemon Jefferson as delivered on 'See That My Grave is Kept Clean.'
It’s said that you never really truly learn to play the blues until you’ve been steeped in it, or played it, for not years but decades.
Having travelled up and down the Blue Highways Colin James most certainly doesn’t have Miles To Go to stake his claim as an accomplished and noted practitioner of the blues.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Gary Johnstone – Cardboard Engine
In 2016 FabricationsHQ wrote of Glasgow based singer-songwriter-musician Gary Johnstone that while debut album Failure is Not an Option was a solid and quite tasty guitar rock-blues (with a splash of melodic country-pop) starting point "there is a lot more, and a lot better, to come from an artist who is striving to keep music live and keep that music real."
Cardboard Engine proves that point emphatically and, when he cranks the amps up (Gary Johnstone’s influences range from Nashville and melodic pop to blues rock and the Foo Fighters) pretty damn forcefully, as heard on the muscly, mid-tempo title track (used by British wrestler Timm "Tango" Wylie as his theme music).
While a couple of the songs on Failure is Not an Option didn’t quite pass muster or were a tad too derivative of the chosen genre, each of the twelve tracks on Cardboard Engine has something to offer, bolstered by a clear and obvious decision to widen the musical palette.
In other words, never the same song twice and a short sharp approach (five tracks under three minutes; only one stretches over four) to allow for maximum impact and instant ear wormery – the latter trait making its mark on hard melodic rock opening cut 'I Know Who I Am' and across songs such as the airplay rock of 'Ain’t Got Time to Miss You' and the country blues-pop of 'Down in Nashville.'
But Gary Johnstone can rock it up as well as he can pop it out – along with the aforementioned title track there’s edgy, contemporary guitar rock to be heard on 'How to Steal a Heart,' the had-it-up-to-here statement that is 'Lies and Static' and the pacey, Hendrix-esque 'Queen of Midnight.'
Elsewhere, for contrast, you’ll find horns swingin' on 'No Complaints' and some funky pop quirkiness on 'Hypochondriac.'
As good as Cardboard Engine is and as strong as Failure is Not an Option was, Gary Johnstone is one of so many musicians across the country with something to say but not the larger platform they deserve to say it.
Or at least in terms of his own material – Johnstone’s other musical outlet, covers and event band Three Card Trick (featuring bassist / vocalist Dean Johnstone and drummer Alasdair "Gibby" Gibson; both play on Cardboard Engine) have a reputation as one of the best and most talented function bands in the business, with a repertoire that can span from Ceilidh to chart pop to classic rock.
In many ways then it’s the best of both function (band) and (top) form worlds for Gary Johnstone.
It's just a pity more in the latter world aren’t aware of his songwriting and playing credentials (he’s also a tidy guitarist) but that’s primarily because he doesn’t follow fashion or fit a musical formula – something that’s not lost on Mr Johnstone as declared on Foo Fighter-ish rocker 'Who’s Buying This Shit?'
Gary Johnstone is as likely to be seen and heard playing covers to his Three Card Trick audience as he is delivering original material with the Gary Johnstone Band to a blues rock crowd, but either way this is a seriously good performer with seriously good band/s.
And Cardboard Engine is a seriously good album from seriously good songwriter.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Cardboard Engine proves that point emphatically and, when he cranks the amps up (Gary Johnstone’s influences range from Nashville and melodic pop to blues rock and the Foo Fighters) pretty damn forcefully, as heard on the muscly, mid-tempo title track (used by British wrestler Timm "Tango" Wylie as his theme music).
While a couple of the songs on Failure is Not an Option didn’t quite pass muster or were a tad too derivative of the chosen genre, each of the twelve tracks on Cardboard Engine has something to offer, bolstered by a clear and obvious decision to widen the musical palette.
In other words, never the same song twice and a short sharp approach (five tracks under three minutes; only one stretches over four) to allow for maximum impact and instant ear wormery – the latter trait making its mark on hard melodic rock opening cut 'I Know Who I Am' and across songs such as the airplay rock of 'Ain’t Got Time to Miss You' and the country blues-pop of 'Down in Nashville.'
But Gary Johnstone can rock it up as well as he can pop it out – along with the aforementioned title track there’s edgy, contemporary guitar rock to be heard on 'How to Steal a Heart,' the had-it-up-to-here statement that is 'Lies and Static' and the pacey, Hendrix-esque 'Queen of Midnight.'
Elsewhere, for contrast, you’ll find horns swingin' on 'No Complaints' and some funky pop quirkiness on 'Hypochondriac.'
As good as Cardboard Engine is and as strong as Failure is Not an Option was, Gary Johnstone is one of so many musicians across the country with something to say but not the larger platform they deserve to say it.
Or at least in terms of his own material – Johnstone’s other musical outlet, covers and event band Three Card Trick (featuring bassist / vocalist Dean Johnstone and drummer Alasdair "Gibby" Gibson; both play on Cardboard Engine) have a reputation as one of the best and most talented function bands in the business, with a repertoire that can span from Ceilidh to chart pop to classic rock.
In many ways then it’s the best of both function (band) and (top) form worlds for Gary Johnstone.
It's just a pity more in the latter world aren’t aware of his songwriting and playing credentials (he’s also a tidy guitarist) but that’s primarily because he doesn’t follow fashion or fit a musical formula – something that’s not lost on Mr Johnstone as declared on Foo Fighter-ish rocker 'Who’s Buying This Shit?'
Gary Johnstone is as likely to be seen and heard playing covers to his Three Card Trick audience as he is delivering original material with the Gary Johnstone Band to a blues rock crowd, but either way this is a seriously good performer with seriously good band/s.
And Cardboard Engine is a seriously good album from seriously good songwriter.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
JW-Jones - Live
One of the reasons Maple Blues Award winning Canadian artist JW-Jones hasn’t released a live album until now could well be because it’s impossible to capture and record the energy of those shows, not to mention the animated antics when Jones and band kick in to the fun stuff such as the now famous 'themes' medley and their instrument changing routines.
JW-Jones Live however comes as close as its possible without the visuals or the instrument switching; featuring a collection of old blues tunes and deeper cut covers (a one-off, specially chosen set recorded over two sold out nights at La Basoche theatre in Gatineau) the album is as blues smooth as it is rock ‘n’ roll raucous.
The cool smoothness of the band (JW-Jones, his tried, trusted and tight rhythm section of bassist Laura Greenberg and drummer Will Laurin, Hammond player Don Cummings) is up front and center stage on Robert Cray’s 'A Memo' (featuring some equally smooth harmony chorus vocals) and the delicately shaped cover of Bob Dylan’s 'Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You.'
The more rockin’ vibrancy of JW-Jones and band is displayed on the thicker, overdriven guitar sounds of Ben Harper’s 'I Don’t Believe a Word You Say;' the song is extended to allow Jones to stretch on his favoured Gold Top Gibson Les Paul.
The band stretch even further on the pacey, nine minute version of Howlin’ Wolf’s 'Moaning’ At Midnight.'
JW-Jones’ guitar is fittingly howlin' (and improvising) across the psychedelically charged instrumental section, including a little Hendrix in the shape of a blues syrupy 'Third Stone From the Sun.'
There’s also more traditional blues crying moments (Albert King’s 'You’re Gonna need Me;' Jimmy Rogers' 'That’s Alight') and some R&B styled, foot-moving and band grooving fun via B.B. King’s 'Early Every Morning.'
The now obligatory 'Medley' (a highlight of any and every JW-Jones show) closes out the album, here segued after the rockabilly-swing of Deke Dickerson's 'I Might Not Come Home At All.'
Featuring seventeen song snippets, 'Medley' is a surfin' blues and rockabilly romp through classic TV themes and famous rock and pop riffs; James Bond shares the stage with Batman and Hawaii Five-O while the Stones find some satisfaction alongside The Shadows.
The release of, and reasoning behind, JW-Jones Live was because the fans demanded it; subsequently
JW-Jones had the fans take part-ownership when he ran a Kickstarter campaign to part-fund the album and its recording.
JW-Jones is hardly the first nor will he be the last musician to run a pledging campaign to help fund a project but in this particular case it made perfect sense and was suitably fan-base fitting – a live album for the fans by the fans, featuring a unique covers only set.
The result, in terms of track listing, is a true one-off release, and one that finally puts JW-Jones on the live album map – hopefully it will go on to travel as far as Jones does when he and his band pack their cases to hit the blues rockin’ roads for their always captivating live shows.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
JW-Jones Live however comes as close as its possible without the visuals or the instrument switching; featuring a collection of old blues tunes and deeper cut covers (a one-off, specially chosen set recorded over two sold out nights at La Basoche theatre in Gatineau) the album is as blues smooth as it is rock ‘n’ roll raucous.
The cool smoothness of the band (JW-Jones, his tried, trusted and tight rhythm section of bassist Laura Greenberg and drummer Will Laurin, Hammond player Don Cummings) is up front and center stage on Robert Cray’s 'A Memo' (featuring some equally smooth harmony chorus vocals) and the delicately shaped cover of Bob Dylan’s 'Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You.'
The more rockin’ vibrancy of JW-Jones and band is displayed on the thicker, overdriven guitar sounds of Ben Harper’s 'I Don’t Believe a Word You Say;' the song is extended to allow Jones to stretch on his favoured Gold Top Gibson Les Paul.
The band stretch even further on the pacey, nine minute version of Howlin’ Wolf’s 'Moaning’ At Midnight.'
JW-Jones’ guitar is fittingly howlin' (and improvising) across the psychedelically charged instrumental section, including a little Hendrix in the shape of a blues syrupy 'Third Stone From the Sun.'
There’s also more traditional blues crying moments (Albert King’s 'You’re Gonna need Me;' Jimmy Rogers' 'That’s Alight') and some R&B styled, foot-moving and band grooving fun via B.B. King’s 'Early Every Morning.'
The now obligatory 'Medley' (a highlight of any and every JW-Jones show) closes out the album, here segued after the rockabilly-swing of Deke Dickerson's 'I Might Not Come Home At All.'
Featuring seventeen song snippets, 'Medley' is a surfin' blues and rockabilly romp through classic TV themes and famous rock and pop riffs; James Bond shares the stage with Batman and Hawaii Five-O while the Stones find some satisfaction alongside The Shadows.
The release of, and reasoning behind, JW-Jones Live was because the fans demanded it; subsequently
JW-Jones had the fans take part-ownership when he ran a Kickstarter campaign to part-fund the album and its recording.
JW-Jones is hardly the first nor will he be the last musician to run a pledging campaign to help fund a project but in this particular case it made perfect sense and was suitably fan-base fitting – a live album for the fans by the fans, featuring a unique covers only set.
The result, in terms of track listing, is a true one-off release, and one that finally puts JW-Jones on the live album map – hopefully it will go on to travel as far as Jones does when he and his band pack their cases to hit the blues rockin’ roads for their always captivating live shows.
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
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
Robert Lane – Only a Flight Away
British singer-songwriter Robert Lane is doing all right for himself, thank you very much (extensive support and headline touring in the UK; at last count five tours of Germany; tours of Scandinavia and Holland on the 2018 radar).
But when you listen to, and appreciate, the quality of Lane’s third offering Only a Flight Away (which follows on from his self-titled debut and extended EP Ends and Starts) you wonder how and why he’s not a bigger proposition in the great musical scheme of things and a staple of mainstream radio airplay.
The breadth of Lane’s songwriting skills are captured concisely and delightfully across the opening four tracks.
The short instrumental 'The Hundred House' has a distinctly 70s melodic vibe, as do many of the songs, including second number 'Man of the Moment.'
A rockier proposition with a punchy chorus, 'Man of the Moment' lyrically points to any (but with one very obvious Presidential target) where the seat of power is more important than what they do with that power:
"To sit in judgement on a gilded throne, what chance I wonder you’ll ever atone… if the pledge you made has come to nothing, it was always clear that you were bluffing."
The following two numbers, 'Baby Knows' and 'Right By My Side,' fall in to the category of classic singer-songwriter material but with very different stylings – the former is an effective and ear catching acoustic number backed by little more than hand-claps and a harmony chorus vocals while the charm of the latter is in its fuller, string-effected arrangement.
That Robert Lane should be seen and heard as a serious singer-songwriter force is reinforced as the album progresses – the slower and plaintive 'Far Too Busy' (a plea for those ignored by society) is a change of pace that sits comfortably alongside the acoustic guitar and Crosby Stills & Nash influenced harmonies that follow on 'The Instigator.'
The melodically framed 'Take as Long as You Need,' 'Hoping For anything (But You)' (a rhythmic, rocky and highly contemporary twist on the 'if I ever see you again it will be too soon' farewell) and the song that inspired the album's title, 'Bill Frost’s Flying Machine' (a spacious, primarily acoustic number that’s preceded by a reprisal of 'The Hundred House') more than make their mark before the album closes out with 'Who Do You Think You’re Talking For,' an acoustic singer-songwriter protest number that acts as the lyrical partner to 'Man of the Moment.'
Yes, Robert Lane is definitely doing all right for himself, but then if you’re selected to attend a song writing retreat course with Ray Davies, one of Britain’s most successful and renowned pop songwriters, to learn from and work out any compositional Kinks (sorry) – and then Davies himself waxes lyrical about you, you have little to worry about in terms of your craft.
Only a Flight Away confirms just that, and in seriously impressive style.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But when you listen to, and appreciate, the quality of Lane’s third offering Only a Flight Away (which follows on from his self-titled debut and extended EP Ends and Starts) you wonder how and why he’s not a bigger proposition in the great musical scheme of things and a staple of mainstream radio airplay.
The breadth of Lane’s songwriting skills are captured concisely and delightfully across the opening four tracks.
The short instrumental 'The Hundred House' has a distinctly 70s melodic vibe, as do many of the songs, including second number 'Man of the Moment.'
A rockier proposition with a punchy chorus, 'Man of the Moment' lyrically points to any (but with one very obvious Presidential target) where the seat of power is more important than what they do with that power:
"To sit in judgement on a gilded throne, what chance I wonder you’ll ever atone… if the pledge you made has come to nothing, it was always clear that you were bluffing."
The following two numbers, 'Baby Knows' and 'Right By My Side,' fall in to the category of classic singer-songwriter material but with very different stylings – the former is an effective and ear catching acoustic number backed by little more than hand-claps and a harmony chorus vocals while the charm of the latter is in its fuller, string-effected arrangement.
That Robert Lane should be seen and heard as a serious singer-songwriter force is reinforced as the album progresses – the slower and plaintive 'Far Too Busy' (a plea for those ignored by society) is a change of pace that sits comfortably alongside the acoustic guitar and Crosby Stills & Nash influenced harmonies that follow on 'The Instigator.'
The melodically framed 'Take as Long as You Need,' 'Hoping For anything (But You)' (a rhythmic, rocky and highly contemporary twist on the 'if I ever see you again it will be too soon' farewell) and the song that inspired the album's title, 'Bill Frost’s Flying Machine' (a spacious, primarily acoustic number that’s preceded by a reprisal of 'The Hundred House') more than make their mark before the album closes out with 'Who Do You Think You’re Talking For,' an acoustic singer-songwriter protest number that acts as the lyrical partner to 'Man of the Moment.'
Yes, Robert Lane is definitely doing all right for himself, but then if you’re selected to attend a song writing retreat course with Ray Davies, one of Britain’s most successful and renowned pop songwriters, to learn from and work out any compositional Kinks (sorry) – and then Davies himself waxes lyrical about you, you have little to worry about in terms of your craft.
Only a Flight Away confirms just that, and in seriously impressive style.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Robert Larrabee – High Water
Robert Larrabee was the first country artist to be featured on FabricationsHQ when the site reviewed his 2013 album Middle of Something.
But while there have been a few trips down a country road since you certainly won’t find any Barn Dance or Grand Ole Opry forms of the genre on FabricationsHQ because that, as mentioned before, would have this reviewer running for the Scottish hills with an iPod full of Todd Rundgren or Pat Metheny (which, admittedly, would have most country fans running in the opposite direction).
But Robert Larrabee manages to carry both a genuine sincerity and accessibility through his country music, perhaps because as a Canadian he’s not stuffed full of the Nashville DNA that overpower so many country artists (where it’s all about the trademark sound or another heart-breaking lyric).
Larrabee is, however, heavily influenced by that Nashville sound as well as major country-pop acts such as Glen Campbell.
A pioneering crossover artist and country legend, Glen Campbell is given central billing on the title track of Robert Larrabee's latest album, High Water.
Written about Glen Campbell and his move to LA and subsequent music stardom ("The boy from Arkansas, heading down the road to LA… just floating on high water, the Rhinestone Cowboy is on his way"), the mid-tempo number is based around chord structures Campbell used and vocal tones and inflections from Robert Larrabee that intentionally sound like Campbell (Larrabee is also a talented vocal mimic/ tribute artist who has toured across Canada with his one-man show, An Evening With The Legends).
Further, there is Glen Campbell-esque vibe across most of the album – not in any mimicking sense but in terms of the relaxed, accessible nature of High Water ('Country Boy Like Me;' the Mexican border country of 'My Friend') and well-crafted country-styled ballads such as 'Gonna Be Alright,' 'Made My Baby Cry' and, most strikingly, 'Morning Song.'
Another tribute nod comes mid-album via 'Days of Rock & Roll,' a reflective, country-pop look back to the birth of that genre and a young man by the name of Elvis Aaron Presley.
Robert Larrabee’s faith is celebrated through a couple of Christian Country tracks but, as was also the case on Middle of Something, they are sincere declarations of that faith and not the all-too-common overbearing or preachy derivatives – 'Bible in His Hand' is just that (as opposed to raising it high and bashing you over the head with it) while closing track 'Thy Will Be Done' is akin to a countrified reworking of The Lord’s Prayer.
High Water is traditional country with a pop sensibility and a touch of country-influenced power balladeering (the Celtic-tinged 'Wounded Warrior' is a genuinely strong and poignant statement).
It’s also a modern approach to a very old and revered music tradition or, as Robert Larrabee categorises himself, "an old soul in a new age."
I’d tip my Stetson to that accurate and fitting statement if I wore one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But while there have been a few trips down a country road since you certainly won’t find any Barn Dance or Grand Ole Opry forms of the genre on FabricationsHQ because that, as mentioned before, would have this reviewer running for the Scottish hills with an iPod full of Todd Rundgren or Pat Metheny (which, admittedly, would have most country fans running in the opposite direction).
But Robert Larrabee manages to carry both a genuine sincerity and accessibility through his country music, perhaps because as a Canadian he’s not stuffed full of the Nashville DNA that overpower so many country artists (where it’s all about the trademark sound or another heart-breaking lyric).
Larrabee is, however, heavily influenced by that Nashville sound as well as major country-pop acts such as Glen Campbell.
A pioneering crossover artist and country legend, Glen Campbell is given central billing on the title track of Robert Larrabee's latest album, High Water.
Written about Glen Campbell and his move to LA and subsequent music stardom ("The boy from Arkansas, heading down the road to LA… just floating on high water, the Rhinestone Cowboy is on his way"), the mid-tempo number is based around chord structures Campbell used and vocal tones and inflections from Robert Larrabee that intentionally sound like Campbell (Larrabee is also a talented vocal mimic/ tribute artist who has toured across Canada with his one-man show, An Evening With The Legends).
Further, there is Glen Campbell-esque vibe across most of the album – not in any mimicking sense but in terms of the relaxed, accessible nature of High Water ('Country Boy Like Me;' the Mexican border country of 'My Friend') and well-crafted country-styled ballads such as 'Gonna Be Alright,' 'Made My Baby Cry' and, most strikingly, 'Morning Song.'
Another tribute nod comes mid-album via 'Days of Rock & Roll,' a reflective, country-pop look back to the birth of that genre and a young man by the name of Elvis Aaron Presley.
Robert Larrabee’s faith is celebrated through a couple of Christian Country tracks but, as was also the case on Middle of Something, they are sincere declarations of that faith and not the all-too-common overbearing or preachy derivatives – 'Bible in His Hand' is just that (as opposed to raising it high and bashing you over the head with it) while closing track 'Thy Will Be Done' is akin to a countrified reworking of The Lord’s Prayer.
High Water is traditional country with a pop sensibility and a touch of country-influenced power balladeering (the Celtic-tinged 'Wounded Warrior' is a genuinely strong and poignant statement).
It’s also a modern approach to a very old and revered music tradition or, as Robert Larrabee categorises himself, "an old soul in a new age."
I’d tip my Stetson to that accurate and fitting statement if I wore one.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Jim Lea - Lost in Space EP
For the great majority of British rock music fans it would appear as if James Whild Lea, better known as Jim Lea, the bass swinging multi-instrumentalist and co-songwriting force of Slade in their mizpelt 70s hay dayz and later 80s resurgence, had disappeared of the face of the rock and roll earth after departing Slade in 1992.
Actually, he did, preferring to remove himself from the music industry and stage spotlight and getting involved in the property business and the study of psychology.
But he never stopped putting down music.
Ever the songwriter, Jim Lea released a few low key singles under pseudonyms in the mid-90s, and another in 2000, before delivering the solo album Therapy in 2007.
An accomplished hard-pop based album, Therapy was criminally ignored, but it did receive a deserved
re-release with bonus tracks on Wienerworld in 2017 complete with the recording of Jim Lea’s live outing at the Robin 2 in Bilston in 2002.
And so to Lost in Space, a six-track EP that covers all the Jim Lea musical bases from his pop sensibilities to Slade-styled guitar rock and roll and a couple of more contemporary numbers.
The reason for the variation in song styles is twofold; Jim Lea’s wide-ranging scope as a songwriter and the fact the songs were written at different periods – 'Megadrive' for example, driven by thick guitar chords a la Slade’s 'We’re All Crazee Now' sound but with melodic harmony voiced choruses, was first heard in 2000 as a B-side to the single 'I’ll Be John, You’ll Be Yoko'.
The one pure pop song on the EP is the delightfully light and airy (make that spacey) string affected title track, which is clearly geared to achieve the mainstream airplay it richly deserves but probably won’t receive.
(If Jeff Lynne recorded 'Lost in Space' with a bigger production value it would never be off the radio and heralded as another poptastic success).
'Pure Power' is a number that in a different musical time and space would have been the perfect companion and sequel to Billy Squier’s 'The Stroke' while the cynically driven lyric and Celtic-tinged big-beat rock of 'What in the World' would have been a great fit for Slade’s latter releases Rogues Gallery or You Boyz Make Big Noize (and the sort of musical kick up the too-keyboard-driven backside those albums needed, frankly).
The EP finishes with the two heaviest numbers, 'Going Back to Birmingham' (written as an original song to play at the aforementioned 2002 show and a song any number of present day hard rock power trios would love to have in their repertoire) and 'Through the Fire,' a slightly Indie, contemporary and rockin' slice of feisty guitars and musical verve.
Welcome back from Therapy, Jim; you’ve been missed.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Actually, he did, preferring to remove himself from the music industry and stage spotlight and getting involved in the property business and the study of psychology.
But he never stopped putting down music.
Ever the songwriter, Jim Lea released a few low key singles under pseudonyms in the mid-90s, and another in 2000, before delivering the solo album Therapy in 2007.
An accomplished hard-pop based album, Therapy was criminally ignored, but it did receive a deserved
re-release with bonus tracks on Wienerworld in 2017 complete with the recording of Jim Lea’s live outing at the Robin 2 in Bilston in 2002.
And so to Lost in Space, a six-track EP that covers all the Jim Lea musical bases from his pop sensibilities to Slade-styled guitar rock and roll and a couple of more contemporary numbers.
The reason for the variation in song styles is twofold; Jim Lea’s wide-ranging scope as a songwriter and the fact the songs were written at different periods – 'Megadrive' for example, driven by thick guitar chords a la Slade’s 'We’re All Crazee Now' sound but with melodic harmony voiced choruses, was first heard in 2000 as a B-side to the single 'I’ll Be John, You’ll Be Yoko'.
The one pure pop song on the EP is the delightfully light and airy (make that spacey) string affected title track, which is clearly geared to achieve the mainstream airplay it richly deserves but probably won’t receive.
(If Jeff Lynne recorded 'Lost in Space' with a bigger production value it would never be off the radio and heralded as another poptastic success).
'Pure Power' is a number that in a different musical time and space would have been the perfect companion and sequel to Billy Squier’s 'The Stroke' while the cynically driven lyric and Celtic-tinged big-beat rock of 'What in the World' would have been a great fit for Slade’s latter releases Rogues Gallery or You Boyz Make Big Noize (and the sort of musical kick up the too-keyboard-driven backside those albums needed, frankly).
The EP finishes with the two heaviest numbers, 'Going Back to Birmingham' (written as an original song to play at the aforementioned 2002 show and a song any number of present day hard rock power trios would love to have in their repertoire) and 'Through the Fire,' a slightly Indie, contemporary and rockin' slice of feisty guitars and musical verve.
Welcome back from Therapy, Jim; you’ve been missed.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest – The 50th Anniversary Concert (2CD & DVD)
Anniversary milestones and decade celebrations by classic rock bands tend to, perhaps naturally and by fan demand, concentrate around the dominant or most successful eras.
On the 6th May 2018, at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music, John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest (Lees - vocals, electric & acoustic guitars; Craig Fletcher - bass guitar, vocals, 12-string guitar; Jez Smith - keyboards, whistle, acoustic guitar, backing vocals; Kevin Whitehead - drums, percussion) bucked that trend by taking a well conceived,
all-encompassing approach.
Classic Barclay James Harvest material is present and correct ('She Said,' 'Mockingbird' and 'Hymn' to name but three) but The 50th Anniversary Concert includes deeper cuts (including some never previously performed live) alongside more recent material that helps emphasise the part John Lees' variant of the band have played in keeping BJH music alive since the original group’s split / schism in 1998.
That this was going to be a very special and musically interesting anniversary performance (hence its recording and filming) is made clear from the get-go with the curio to classic opening brace of 'Mr. Sunshine' (the acoustic B-side to the band's 1968 single 'Early Morning', which also features) and the melodic and majestic sweep of one of Barclay James Harvest’s most loved songs, 'Child of the Universe.'
The 50th Anniversary Concert isn’t so much a performance as a celebration of Barclay James Harvest, complemented by songs from the John Lees’ BJH repertoire, including the poignant 'On Leave' (a coming-to-terms catharsis on the suicide of original BJH keyboardist/ vocalist Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme) and the melodic soft prog of 'North.'
Not that it's all about the band’s classic, melodically progressive material and John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest.
The original band’s 80s period features through tracks such as the emotive 'In Memory of the Martyrs,' the sea breezy 'Paraiso De Cavelos' and, seguing from the former, the soft melodic rock of 'Sideshow.'
The results of such a cross section of material is a genuinely warm sounding, and warmly performed, show, due also in part to some of the arrangements employed (a twelve minute, six song acoustic medley, including guest musician J.J. Lees on cornet on 'Just a Day Away,' is one of many highlights).
The one obvious sadness in such a joyous celebration of Barclay James Harvest music is that it features only one of the original BJH quartet.
With the sad passing of drummer Mel Pritchard in 2004 and the tragic loss of Wooly Wolstenholme in 2010 (there’s a lovely tribute by way of inclusion of Wolstenholme’s ballad 'The Iron Maiden') no full-band reunions or celebrations are possible, which makes the separate BJH bands led by Lees and original bassist/ vocalist Les Holroyd all the more unfortunate at such significant anniversary times.
But the reality of the schism producing situation is it’s the best of both worlds for the Barclay James Harvest fans, who get two BJH bands for the price of one – Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd play sets based around Holroyd’s songs while John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest cover Lees’ BJH numbers plus the best of their own material.
That’s a bountiful Harvest in anyone’s music book, as is The 50th Anniversary Concert from Messrs Lees, Fletcher, Smith and Whitehead.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
On the 6th May 2018, at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music, John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest (Lees - vocals, electric & acoustic guitars; Craig Fletcher - bass guitar, vocals, 12-string guitar; Jez Smith - keyboards, whistle, acoustic guitar, backing vocals; Kevin Whitehead - drums, percussion) bucked that trend by taking a well conceived,
all-encompassing approach.
Classic Barclay James Harvest material is present and correct ('She Said,' 'Mockingbird' and 'Hymn' to name but three) but The 50th Anniversary Concert includes deeper cuts (including some never previously performed live) alongside more recent material that helps emphasise the part John Lees' variant of the band have played in keeping BJH music alive since the original group’s split / schism in 1998.
That this was going to be a very special and musically interesting anniversary performance (hence its recording and filming) is made clear from the get-go with the curio to classic opening brace of 'Mr. Sunshine' (the acoustic B-side to the band's 1968 single 'Early Morning', which also features) and the melodic and majestic sweep of one of Barclay James Harvest’s most loved songs, 'Child of the Universe.'
The 50th Anniversary Concert isn’t so much a performance as a celebration of Barclay James Harvest, complemented by songs from the John Lees’ BJH repertoire, including the poignant 'On Leave' (a coming-to-terms catharsis on the suicide of original BJH keyboardist/ vocalist Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme) and the melodic soft prog of 'North.'
Not that it's all about the band’s classic, melodically progressive material and John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest.
The original band’s 80s period features through tracks such as the emotive 'In Memory of the Martyrs,' the sea breezy 'Paraiso De Cavelos' and, seguing from the former, the soft melodic rock of 'Sideshow.'
The results of such a cross section of material is a genuinely warm sounding, and warmly performed, show, due also in part to some of the arrangements employed (a twelve minute, six song acoustic medley, including guest musician J.J. Lees on cornet on 'Just a Day Away,' is one of many highlights).
The one obvious sadness in such a joyous celebration of Barclay James Harvest music is that it features only one of the original BJH quartet.
With the sad passing of drummer Mel Pritchard in 2004 and the tragic loss of Wooly Wolstenholme in 2010 (there’s a lovely tribute by way of inclusion of Wolstenholme’s ballad 'The Iron Maiden') no full-band reunions or celebrations are possible, which makes the separate BJH bands led by Lees and original bassist/ vocalist Les Holroyd all the more unfortunate at such significant anniversary times.
But the reality of the schism producing situation is it’s the best of both worlds for the Barclay James Harvest fans, who get two BJH bands for the price of one – Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd play sets based around Holroyd’s songs while John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest cover Lees’ BJH numbers plus the best of their own material.
That’s a bountiful Harvest in anyone’s music book, as is The 50th Anniversary Concert from Messrs Lees, Fletcher, Smith and Whitehead.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Milk Men - Gold Top
Full Phat, the debut album from The Milk Men, was a British rhythm 'n' blues fun get-together featuring The Mustangs front man Adam Norsworthy, ex Pirate drummer Mike Roberts, bassist Lloyd Green (son of the late and legendary Pirate guitarist Mick Green) and singer Jamie Smy.
While Gold Top doesn’t stray too far from the ingredients that made the full phatted debut so refreshing, it certainly has some tasty additives and additional flavours – and all of them musically healthy.
The Milk Men come out riffing and rocking on 'Shoot the Lights,' a gritty little number that’s as sharp on the beat as it is classic era Dr Feelgood in style, punctuated by a very simple but melodically effective chorus.
It’s also the perfect vehicle for Jamie Smy’s gravel-blues vocal (a defining strength and trait of The Milk Men sound), who takes the majority of the leads over Adam Norsworthy, The Mustangs man putting his guitar to the front and most of his vocal contributions to the back.
'Rag N Bone Lady' and 'Tambourine' are the sort of modern R&B numbers Full Phat delivered so successfully and the type of tracks that are peppered throughout The Mustang’s catalogue (a band that also mix and match blues, rock, country and melodic pop with consummate ease).
The distinctly Stonesy and melodic 'This is the Last Time' (written by Lloyd Green, his brother Brad and their late father) has radio play appeal, as does the funkier melodic blues pop of 'Taking Control.'
By contrast 'The Operator' starts off as another track faithful to the Dr Feelgood sound but quickly evolves in to something both quirky and fun in only two minutes and twenty seconds.
'Give Me a Reason' is a traditionally styled slow blues with plenty of space for Adam Norsworthy’s guitar notes to ripple across while 'Trouble' manages to blend pub rock R&B with catchy, melodic pop.
A different musical blending can be heard on 'Gimme Some Blues,' which incorporates a little rockin' country through its southern styled, foot-tapping rhythm.
The one cover on the album is the wonderfully titled 'Give Me Back My Wig' by "Hound Dog" Taylor.
The fast paced Chicago blues number retains its original Hound Dog tempo, but here becomes an R&B romp with blues harp backing.
The ballad 'Hard Woman to Love' closes out Gold Top in classy, semi-acoustic style; the female backing vocals towards the song’s end give it extra soulful purpose.
It’s also a song that, stripped back even further, would sit and shine happily on an Adam Norsworthy solo album.
As stated in FabricationsHQ’s review of Full Phat, at the core of the debut were four friends and like-minded musicians simply having fun with old school rock ‘n’ roll R&B.
The Milk Men’s second album is cut from the same mould, but musically expanded and broadened to become a more serious endeavour.
Gold Top by name, Gold Star by its successful musical nature.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
While Gold Top doesn’t stray too far from the ingredients that made the full phatted debut so refreshing, it certainly has some tasty additives and additional flavours – and all of them musically healthy.
The Milk Men come out riffing and rocking on 'Shoot the Lights,' a gritty little number that’s as sharp on the beat as it is classic era Dr Feelgood in style, punctuated by a very simple but melodically effective chorus.
It’s also the perfect vehicle for Jamie Smy’s gravel-blues vocal (a defining strength and trait of The Milk Men sound), who takes the majority of the leads over Adam Norsworthy, The Mustangs man putting his guitar to the front and most of his vocal contributions to the back.
'Rag N Bone Lady' and 'Tambourine' are the sort of modern R&B numbers Full Phat delivered so successfully and the type of tracks that are peppered throughout The Mustang’s catalogue (a band that also mix and match blues, rock, country and melodic pop with consummate ease).
The distinctly Stonesy and melodic 'This is the Last Time' (written by Lloyd Green, his brother Brad and their late father) has radio play appeal, as does the funkier melodic blues pop of 'Taking Control.'
By contrast 'The Operator' starts off as another track faithful to the Dr Feelgood sound but quickly evolves in to something both quirky and fun in only two minutes and twenty seconds.
'Give Me a Reason' is a traditionally styled slow blues with plenty of space for Adam Norsworthy’s guitar notes to ripple across while 'Trouble' manages to blend pub rock R&B with catchy, melodic pop.
A different musical blending can be heard on 'Gimme Some Blues,' which incorporates a little rockin' country through its southern styled, foot-tapping rhythm.
The one cover on the album is the wonderfully titled 'Give Me Back My Wig' by "Hound Dog" Taylor.
The fast paced Chicago blues number retains its original Hound Dog tempo, but here becomes an R&B romp with blues harp backing.
The ballad 'Hard Woman to Love' closes out Gold Top in classy, semi-acoustic style; the female backing vocals towards the song’s end give it extra soulful purpose.
It’s also a song that, stripped back even further, would sit and shine happily on an Adam Norsworthy solo album.
As stated in FabricationsHQ’s review of Full Phat, at the core of the debut were four friends and like-minded musicians simply having fun with old school rock ‘n’ roll R&B.
The Milk Men’s second album is cut from the same mould, but musically expanded and broadened to become a more serious endeavour.
Gold Top by name, Gold Star by its successful musical nature.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Molly Hatchet – Fall of the Peacemakers 1980-1985
Molly Hatchett’s rise in southern rock was as critical to the genre (the Jacksonville based band made their recording debut a year after Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash tragedy) as their self-titled debut and follow-up Flirtin’ With Disaster were critically acclaimed.
Molly Hatchet’s initial brace of albums arguably remains the band’s best work but their early to mid-80s transition from southern rock to a more commercial sound (but retaining their southern roots) is Hatchet’s most interesting musical journey, coupled as it was with the differences the departure of vocalist Danny Joe Brown, addition of new front man Jimmy Farrar and subsequent return of Brown, brought to proceedings.
That era is presented (and revisited by Xavier Russell’s accompanying 4000+ word CD booklet essay, which includes interview snippets with Hatchet
co-founder and guitarist Dave Hlubek) in the Fall of the Peacemakers 1980-1985 4CD clamshell box set.
Take No Prisoners, the band’s fourth studio album and second to feature Jimmy Farrar, had a rockier intent due, in part, to Farrar’s grittier vocal style.
Molly Hatchet's southern cry was still heard through songs like the pacey 'Bloody Reunion' and 'Dead Giveaway,' but with tracks such as the harder edged 'Loss of Control' and 'All Mine' the band were starting to leave Gator Country behind.
The return of Danny Joe Brown however heralded an equally significant return of the original Hatchet sound, but with a more melodic sensibility and keyboard contributions form Jai Winding and ex Danny Joe Brown member John Galvin.
1983’s No Guts…No Glory included radio friendly cuts such as the southern pop-rock of 'Kinda Like Love' and the instrumental 'Both Sides' but at the album’s heart were trademark Hatchet numbers such as 'What Does it Matter?' and the band’s crowning achievement, 'Fall of the Peacemakers.'
In 1984, inspired by the massive success of ZZ Top’s Eliminator the year before, Epic Records and the band took an FM rock radio meets southern rock road for The Deed is Done.
Dropping to two guitarists and bringing in John Galvin as a permanent member, the new boy made his keyboard presence felt on rock radio hits 'Satisfied Man' and 'Stone in Your Heart,' the latter including his own synthesised intro piece.
But the band’s southern roots were certainly not forgotten – the ZZ Top affected 'Good Smoke and Whiskey' is a fun three-and-a-half minutes, Frankie Miller’s 'Heartbreak Radio' gets the southern honky-tonk barroom treatment and 'Straight Shooter' is just that.
In 1985 recordings from Molly Hatchet's always impressive live performances were captured on Double Trouble Live.
The album includes an outing for the Danny Joe Brown Band song 'Edge of Sundown,' showcases two previously unreleased numbers and features debut album cuts 'Bounty Hunter,' 'Gator Country' and the band's powerful cover of the Allman Brothers 'Dreams I’ll Never See.'
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern anthem 'Freebird' is also covered, in faithful and fine style.
Molly Hatchet continue to fly the southern flag but with a host of line-up changes over the years (only John Galvin remains from the period covered on this anthology) and the sad passing of many who contributed to their greatest successes (including Danny Joe Brown and Dave Hlubek) they are as much southern brand as southern band.
But Fall of the Peacemakers 1980-1985 (which includes tracks from the Live 1980 radio promo album and a number of Radio Edit and Short Version bonus tracks) documents the radio friendly but still southern rooted rock of one of the great southern rock bands.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Molly Hatchet’s initial brace of albums arguably remains the band’s best work but their early to mid-80s transition from southern rock to a more commercial sound (but retaining their southern roots) is Hatchet’s most interesting musical journey, coupled as it was with the differences the departure of vocalist Danny Joe Brown, addition of new front man Jimmy Farrar and subsequent return of Brown, brought to proceedings.
That era is presented (and revisited by Xavier Russell’s accompanying 4000+ word CD booklet essay, which includes interview snippets with Hatchet
co-founder and guitarist Dave Hlubek) in the Fall of the Peacemakers 1980-1985 4CD clamshell box set.
Take No Prisoners, the band’s fourth studio album and second to feature Jimmy Farrar, had a rockier intent due, in part, to Farrar’s grittier vocal style.
Molly Hatchet's southern cry was still heard through songs like the pacey 'Bloody Reunion' and 'Dead Giveaway,' but with tracks such as the harder edged 'Loss of Control' and 'All Mine' the band were starting to leave Gator Country behind.
The return of Danny Joe Brown however heralded an equally significant return of the original Hatchet sound, but with a more melodic sensibility and keyboard contributions form Jai Winding and ex Danny Joe Brown member John Galvin.
1983’s No Guts…No Glory included radio friendly cuts such as the southern pop-rock of 'Kinda Like Love' and the instrumental 'Both Sides' but at the album’s heart were trademark Hatchet numbers such as 'What Does it Matter?' and the band’s crowning achievement, 'Fall of the Peacemakers.'
In 1984, inspired by the massive success of ZZ Top’s Eliminator the year before, Epic Records and the band took an FM rock radio meets southern rock road for The Deed is Done.
Dropping to two guitarists and bringing in John Galvin as a permanent member, the new boy made his keyboard presence felt on rock radio hits 'Satisfied Man' and 'Stone in Your Heart,' the latter including his own synthesised intro piece.
But the band’s southern roots were certainly not forgotten – the ZZ Top affected 'Good Smoke and Whiskey' is a fun three-and-a-half minutes, Frankie Miller’s 'Heartbreak Radio' gets the southern honky-tonk barroom treatment and 'Straight Shooter' is just that.
In 1985 recordings from Molly Hatchet's always impressive live performances were captured on Double Trouble Live.
The album includes an outing for the Danny Joe Brown Band song 'Edge of Sundown,' showcases two previously unreleased numbers and features debut album cuts 'Bounty Hunter,' 'Gator Country' and the band's powerful cover of the Allman Brothers 'Dreams I’ll Never See.'
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern anthem 'Freebird' is also covered, in faithful and fine style.
Molly Hatchet continue to fly the southern flag but with a host of line-up changes over the years (only John Galvin remains from the period covered on this anthology) and the sad passing of many who contributed to their greatest successes (including Danny Joe Brown and Dave Hlubek) they are as much southern brand as southern band.
But Fall of the Peacemakers 1980-1985 (which includes tracks from the Live 1980 radio promo album and a number of Radio Edit and Short Version bonus tracks) documents the radio friendly but still southern rooted rock of one of the great southern rock bands.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Mr Big – Live From Milan (2CD+Blu-ray)
Mr. Big don't kid themselves it’s still the platinum and gold plated early 90s but, nearly thirty years on from being Addicted To That Rush of fast fingered virtuosity from Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert, high calibre vocality from Eric Martin and some serious percussive weight and drum style from Pat Torpey, the band are "still rolling."
Indeed little has changed for Mr. Big, certainly in terms of the verve and energy of live performances (as heard and seen on Live From Milan) or their musicianship.
Messrs Sheehan and Gilbert are still as fleet fingered as ever, emphasised on rapid fire opener 'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song).'
The song’s bracketed suffix comes to live life when Sheehan and Gilbert run power drills across the strings with their right hands while the fingers of the pair’s left hands run the frets.
Similarly Eric Martin can still deliver vocally; he might not have the top end he once had but he’s on song and on vocal point for the two What If numbers (the band’s 2011 reunion album) that follow, the pacey 'American Beauty' and heavy melodic punch of 'Undertow.'
The one noticeable difference is in the engine room where the rock solid Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Burning Rain) has been the band’s touring drummer since 2014 when Pat Torpey was officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Not that you can keep a good man and musician down.
Pat Torpey continued to tour and make appearances with Mr. Big and his introduction to the stage in Milan produced one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Torpey, who sadly passed from complications of Parkinson’s disease in February of this year, plays percussion on the band’s swaggering and bluesy 'Alive and Kickin' and a handful of other numbers; he also gets behind the kit for the ballad 'Just Take My Heart.'
The Lean Into It hit is one of five numbers to feature from Mr. Big’s most successful album, including the melodic-hard pop of 'Green Tinted Sixties Mind' and their biggest chart success, the vocal-led ballad, 'To Be With You.'
To balance the past with the present latest studio outing Defying Gravity weighs in with five songs of its own including the big beats and bluesy underbelly of 'Everybody Needs a Little Trouble,' the rockin’ groove of 'Open Your Eyes' and '1992,' a melodically rockin’, self-effacing and nostalgic nod to the band’s high-charting successes of the past.
The results of all the above are a band on fierce form on Live From Milan, interrupted only by the solo spots from Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, which break up the continuity of a great song after great song set.
(The solos are also unnecessary; Gilbert and Sheehan are so fluid, sinewy and expressive with their respective six and four-string musicality that such spotlight moments become redundant).
However a mid-set acoustic interlude (Cat Stevens' 'Wild World' and Defying Gravity’s foot-tapping 'Damn I’m In Love Again'), a suitably blistering and extended 'Addicted To That Rush' and a show closing brace of the quick-fire 'Colorado Bulldog' and the hard pop 'n' roll of 'Defying Gravity' help redress the balance.
Mr. Big by name, Mr. Big by nature. And by Live From Milan performance.
And by those bloody solos.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Indeed little has changed for Mr. Big, certainly in terms of the verve and energy of live performances (as heard and seen on Live From Milan) or their musicianship.
Messrs Sheehan and Gilbert are still as fleet fingered as ever, emphasised on rapid fire opener 'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song).'
The song’s bracketed suffix comes to live life when Sheehan and Gilbert run power drills across the strings with their right hands while the fingers of the pair’s left hands run the frets.
Similarly Eric Martin can still deliver vocally; he might not have the top end he once had but he’s on song and on vocal point for the two What If numbers (the band’s 2011 reunion album) that follow, the pacey 'American Beauty' and heavy melodic punch of 'Undertow.'
The one noticeable difference is in the engine room where the rock solid Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Burning Rain) has been the band’s touring drummer since 2014 when Pat Torpey was officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Not that you can keep a good man and musician down.
Pat Torpey continued to tour and make appearances with Mr. Big and his introduction to the stage in Milan produced one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Torpey, who sadly passed from complications of Parkinson’s disease in February of this year, plays percussion on the band’s swaggering and bluesy 'Alive and Kickin' and a handful of other numbers; he also gets behind the kit for the ballad 'Just Take My Heart.'
The Lean Into It hit is one of five numbers to feature from Mr. Big’s most successful album, including the melodic-hard pop of 'Green Tinted Sixties Mind' and their biggest chart success, the vocal-led ballad, 'To Be With You.'
To balance the past with the present latest studio outing Defying Gravity weighs in with five songs of its own including the big beats and bluesy underbelly of 'Everybody Needs a Little Trouble,' the rockin’ groove of 'Open Your Eyes' and '1992,' a melodically rockin’, self-effacing and nostalgic nod to the band’s high-charting successes of the past.
The results of all the above are a band on fierce form on Live From Milan, interrupted only by the solo spots from Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, which break up the continuity of a great song after great song set.
(The solos are also unnecessary; Gilbert and Sheehan are so fluid, sinewy and expressive with their respective six and four-string musicality that such spotlight moments become redundant).
However a mid-set acoustic interlude (Cat Stevens' 'Wild World' and Defying Gravity’s foot-tapping 'Damn I’m In Love Again'), a suitably blistering and extended 'Addicted To That Rush' and a show closing brace of the quick-fire 'Colorado Bulldog' and the hard pop 'n' roll of 'Defying Gravity' help redress the balance.
Mr. Big by name, Mr. Big by nature. And by Live From Milan performance.
And by those bloody solos.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Photo by William Hames
Live From Milan documents one of Pat Torpey’s last appearances with
Mr. Big.
While the band’s musical virtuosity was built around the skills of Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert and led by the vocal talents of Eric Martin this was a band that made its name by firing on all four of its cylinders.
Pat Torpey wasn’t just a good drummer, he was a great one, and a musician that was addicted to that musical rush as highly as any.
Pat Torpey (1953-2018)
Mr. Big.
While the band’s musical virtuosity was built around the skills of Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert and led by the vocal talents of Eric Martin this was a band that made its name by firing on all four of its cylinders.
Pat Torpey wasn’t just a good drummer, he was a great one, and a musician that was addicted to that musical rush as highly as any.
Pat Torpey (1953-2018)
Nazareth – Tattooed On My Brain
No matter your thoughts on ever-changing line-ups, bands becoming brands or who has the rights to the name this week, the fact remains it’s part of the rock and roll fabric attached to the once (and in some cases still) classic rock bands who continue to perform and record in this digital download day and re-imagined age.
But there was always going to be a little eyebrow raising when famed Scottish rockers Nazareth decided to record a new album without acetylene gargling vocalist Dan McCafferty (now limited in vocality due to the health issues that led to him formally retiring from the band in 2013), leaving bassist Pete Agnew as the only ever-present.
However guitarist Jimmy Murrison and drummer Lee Agnew have been part of the band since 1994 and 1999 respectively so outside of recent vocal changes (Dan McCafferty was replaced by fellow Dunfermline singer Linton Osborne (who released the rather tasty album Drunk At Breakfast this year) before Carl Sentance took over the microphone in 2015), there has been a core consistency – ironically the very thing Tattooed On My Brain doesn’t have.
The album starts strongly enough with the raunchy and mid-tempo 'Never Dance With The Devil,' a quintessential sounding Nazareth song (certainly in more recent recording years) that suits high-ranging vocalist Carl Sentance down to the hard rock ground.
The newly shaped Nazareth have also changed things up on a couple of numbers – the punky title track is not a million notes away from US Garage and Indie-rock while 'State of Emergency' is the rattling and rolling version of those same influences.
'Rubik’s Romance' is a mid-tempo, melodic Naz-rock affair while following number 'Pole to Pole' is a punchy and pacey with an early AC/DC vibe. It’s also one of the strongest songs on Tattooed On My Brain, hence its choice as lead-off taster track prior to the album’s release.
While following number, the bluesy 'Push' (which allows Carl Sentance to add a lower vocal drawl to proceedings) is an interesting change of pace, a drop-off then ensues via a run of half-a-dozen slow or mid-tempo weighted numbers that are not strong enough in quality, or too similarly structured.
The heavier 'Silent Symphony' and the lighter verses to metallic choruses of 'Change' try hard to separate themselves from the pack and closing number, the sparse and bluesy six-minute ballad 'You Call Me,' featuring a Pete Agnew vocal, redeem things a little, but there are a number of songs on Tattooed On My Brain that wouldn’t have made the cut, or passed quality control, back in the day.
In retrospect the band would have been better served introducing the new line-up via a five or six track EP featuring the best of the new material – the perfect middle ground for an album that will inevitably generate as many Five-Star reviews from the Raz-Ama-Naztastic faithful as there will be those totally dismissive of a Dan McCafferty-less studio album from Nazareth.
Because that’s the pole to polarising reality for classic rock bands who have become classic rock brands in the 21st century.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But there was always going to be a little eyebrow raising when famed Scottish rockers Nazareth decided to record a new album without acetylene gargling vocalist Dan McCafferty (now limited in vocality due to the health issues that led to him formally retiring from the band in 2013), leaving bassist Pete Agnew as the only ever-present.
However guitarist Jimmy Murrison and drummer Lee Agnew have been part of the band since 1994 and 1999 respectively so outside of recent vocal changes (Dan McCafferty was replaced by fellow Dunfermline singer Linton Osborne (who released the rather tasty album Drunk At Breakfast this year) before Carl Sentance took over the microphone in 2015), there has been a core consistency – ironically the very thing Tattooed On My Brain doesn’t have.
The album starts strongly enough with the raunchy and mid-tempo 'Never Dance With The Devil,' a quintessential sounding Nazareth song (certainly in more recent recording years) that suits high-ranging vocalist Carl Sentance down to the hard rock ground.
The newly shaped Nazareth have also changed things up on a couple of numbers – the punky title track is not a million notes away from US Garage and Indie-rock while 'State of Emergency' is the rattling and rolling version of those same influences.
'Rubik’s Romance' is a mid-tempo, melodic Naz-rock affair while following number 'Pole to Pole' is a punchy and pacey with an early AC/DC vibe. It’s also one of the strongest songs on Tattooed On My Brain, hence its choice as lead-off taster track prior to the album’s release.
While following number, the bluesy 'Push' (which allows Carl Sentance to add a lower vocal drawl to proceedings) is an interesting change of pace, a drop-off then ensues via a run of half-a-dozen slow or mid-tempo weighted numbers that are not strong enough in quality, or too similarly structured.
The heavier 'Silent Symphony' and the lighter verses to metallic choruses of 'Change' try hard to separate themselves from the pack and closing number, the sparse and bluesy six-minute ballad 'You Call Me,' featuring a Pete Agnew vocal, redeem things a little, but there are a number of songs on Tattooed On My Brain that wouldn’t have made the cut, or passed quality control, back in the day.
In retrospect the band would have been better served introducing the new line-up via a five or six track EP featuring the best of the new material – the perfect middle ground for an album that will inevitably generate as many Five-Star reviews from the Raz-Ama-Naztastic faithful as there will be those totally dismissive of a Dan McCafferty-less studio album from Nazareth.
Because that’s the pole to polarising reality for classic rock bands who have become classic rock brands in the 21st century.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
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
Adam Norsworthy - The Circus Moon
In 2016 Adam Norsworthy (front man and guitarist of multi-styled British blues rock outfit The Mustangs) received the Singer Songwriter Album Of The Year nod from FabricationsHQ for his solo album, Rainbird.
A highly accomplished and truly genre-less work, Rainbird delivered melancholy, storytelling, uplifting melodies and up-beat rhythms in equal measure.
Given how strong an album Rainbird was it’s perhaps no surprise that latest solo offering, The Circus Moon, doesn’t reinvent the Adam Norsworthy singer songwriter wheel – nor, however, is it a case of if the guitar string ain’t broke, don’t ix it.
Where Rainbird carried a fuller sound, courtesy of a number of guest musicians including King King drummer Wayne Proctor (who co-produced the album with Adam Norsworthy), The Circus Moon is more pastel in musical tone and texture (reflecting the strikingly effective album cover by artist Abel Kesteven).
Additionally, aside from guest player Amy Heggart (violin), Adam Norsworthy played all the instruments and produced the album; the results are a more sonically subdued and musically intimate sound, with a complementary and well-balanced mix from Wayne Proctor and House of Tone colleague Steve Wright.
In terms of songcraft and performance across the ten tracks The Circus Moon is no less impacting than Rainbird, from the delicate, acoustic charm of 'Mary’s Song' (one of many tracks to be graced by Amy Heggart’s violin) and reflective "miss you" number 'Healing Hands' to the plaintive cries for an escape from the 9 to 5 on the wonderfully titled 'Jobtied and Boatless' and melodic folk-pop of lyrically welcoming opening number, 'Everyone Round Mine.'
Pick of the bunch however is 'Let Your Red Hair Fall.'
The cleverly arranged track sounds like it could be a fit for the Moody Blues "magnificent seven" album period of 1967-1972 yet, if you were to strip back the first half of the number and substitute acoustic guitar for a lyre, it could travel centuries back to a time of medieval minstrels.
The up-tempo and rhythmic closing section, featuring some cool and bluesy electric guitar bursts, is very much of this age however.
Elsewhere the comfortable but classy melodic pop of 'Tip Toe' and 'Hard Luck Saturday' are perfect candidates for BBC Radio 2 playlisting (but Adam Norsworthy doesn't 'Sing' like Ed Sheeran nor does he 'Cassy O' oh oh all over the place like George Ezra so all bets are off) while the bright guitar chimes of pop-rock number 'Rollercoaster' make for a fine ending to a very fine album.
"If life’s a prison and you’re dying to break free from Social Media, Reality TV… everyone round mine!" invites Adam Norsworthy.
I’ll be first at your door, Adam; I’ll bring a bottle of the good stuff, you supply the quality music and we'll watch those hooked on the apps and addictions you just mentioned dance under a Circus Moon.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Circus Moon will be released on Friday 19th October.
A highly accomplished and truly genre-less work, Rainbird delivered melancholy, storytelling, uplifting melodies and up-beat rhythms in equal measure.
Given how strong an album Rainbird was it’s perhaps no surprise that latest solo offering, The Circus Moon, doesn’t reinvent the Adam Norsworthy singer songwriter wheel – nor, however, is it a case of if the guitar string ain’t broke, don’t ix it.
Where Rainbird carried a fuller sound, courtesy of a number of guest musicians including King King drummer Wayne Proctor (who co-produced the album with Adam Norsworthy), The Circus Moon is more pastel in musical tone and texture (reflecting the strikingly effective album cover by artist Abel Kesteven).
Additionally, aside from guest player Amy Heggart (violin), Adam Norsworthy played all the instruments and produced the album; the results are a more sonically subdued and musically intimate sound, with a complementary and well-balanced mix from Wayne Proctor and House of Tone colleague Steve Wright.
In terms of songcraft and performance across the ten tracks The Circus Moon is no less impacting than Rainbird, from the delicate, acoustic charm of 'Mary’s Song' (one of many tracks to be graced by Amy Heggart’s violin) and reflective "miss you" number 'Healing Hands' to the plaintive cries for an escape from the 9 to 5 on the wonderfully titled 'Jobtied and Boatless' and melodic folk-pop of lyrically welcoming opening number, 'Everyone Round Mine.'
Pick of the bunch however is 'Let Your Red Hair Fall.'
The cleverly arranged track sounds like it could be a fit for the Moody Blues "magnificent seven" album period of 1967-1972 yet, if you were to strip back the first half of the number and substitute acoustic guitar for a lyre, it could travel centuries back to a time of medieval minstrels.
The up-tempo and rhythmic closing section, featuring some cool and bluesy electric guitar bursts, is very much of this age however.
Elsewhere the comfortable but classy melodic pop of 'Tip Toe' and 'Hard Luck Saturday' are perfect candidates for BBC Radio 2 playlisting (but Adam Norsworthy doesn't 'Sing' like Ed Sheeran nor does he 'Cassy O' oh oh all over the place like George Ezra so all bets are off) while the bright guitar chimes of pop-rock number 'Rollercoaster' make for a fine ending to a very fine album.
"If life’s a prison and you’re dying to break free from Social Media, Reality TV… everyone round mine!" invites Adam Norsworthy.
I’ll be first at your door, Adam; I’ll bring a bottle of the good stuff, you supply the quality music and we'll watch those hooked on the apps and addictions you just mentioned dance under a Circus Moon.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Circus Moon will be released on Friday 19th October.
Linton Osborne – Drunk At Breakfast
Scottish singer songwriter Linton Osborne, having delivered his collection of notable Scottish folk songs, Ballads & Battles, last year, has got his rock back on for latest offering Drunk At Breakfast.
But then Osborne, who sang with Nazareth for year before fronting ex Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton’s UK based band is, as those legendary rock names suggest, as passionate about his rock as he is not just Scottish folk music but country, rockabilly and Americana (showcased to great effect on his 2007 solo album Pigeonhole).
That he also fronts his own classic rock covers band, the tight and tidy L.O.M.R.E (Linton Osborne Maximum Rock Experience) and stars through August in Bon The Musical, an Edinburgh Fringe show by the Kingdom Theatre Company (a charity that promotes new writing and training, now in their sixth successful year at the Fringe) helps reinforce those rock credentials.
Given the vocal persona required for Bon The Musical it’s perhaps unsurprising that Drunk at Breakfast mixes both Linton Osborne’s rock self and a channelling of his inner Bon Scott (Osborne’s natural upper register and head voice allows for the Bon Scott styled belts as well as the acetylene highs as delivered by classic-era Dan McCafferty – hence getting those associated gigs).
Except that it is a bit of a surprise, even, initially, to Linton Osborne...
The new album was originally to be a country music project until Osborne asked Edinburgh guitarist Kevin Singer to record some guitar parts for the demos.
The reworked numbers were so rock orientated, and Osborne and Singer found themselves so musically simpatico, that a new and almost certainly ongoing partnership (a second album is already in the works) was formed.
With the addition of bassist William Winsborough (who threads some brilliantly funky four-string lines through the quirky 'It’s a Hard Life') and drummer Dominic Hardy (who also did a fine job sonically, engineering, producing and mastering the album) Drunk At Breakfast was suddenly only a little bit country (The Doors-eque, country-noir of 'Mud;' the Western twang of 'The Devil is Strong,' the 50’s styled Nashville of 'Who Let the Cat Out the Bag') and a lot more rock 'n' roll.
Hard rock cases in point include a heavyweight nod to the MC5 in 'Revolution Rock,' feisty Nazareth affected number 'Pressure Cooker' and the fast-paced ‘City of Sin’ (featuring some nifty solo licks from Kevin Singer).
For the Bon Scott nods, look and listen no further than ‘Turn it Up’ (an old school slice of rock that would have sat comfortably on any Bon Scott era AC/DC album you fancy), ‘No One Will Love You’ and the similarly weighted but slightly more Stonesy title track.
As made clear in this review Linton Osborne has more than one string to his musical bow but as an Independent, Cottage Industry artist, that bow isn’t ever going to be as big or far reaching as those owned by the label backed or heavily promoted bands.
But Drunk At Breakfast can take pride in the fact it can go toe to toe with many rock releases that carry bigger backing, bigger production values and bigger budgets.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But then Osborne, who sang with Nazareth for year before fronting ex Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton’s UK based band is, as those legendary rock names suggest, as passionate about his rock as he is not just Scottish folk music but country, rockabilly and Americana (showcased to great effect on his 2007 solo album Pigeonhole).
That he also fronts his own classic rock covers band, the tight and tidy L.O.M.R.E (Linton Osborne Maximum Rock Experience) and stars through August in Bon The Musical, an Edinburgh Fringe show by the Kingdom Theatre Company (a charity that promotes new writing and training, now in their sixth successful year at the Fringe) helps reinforce those rock credentials.
Given the vocal persona required for Bon The Musical it’s perhaps unsurprising that Drunk at Breakfast mixes both Linton Osborne’s rock self and a channelling of his inner Bon Scott (Osborne’s natural upper register and head voice allows for the Bon Scott styled belts as well as the acetylene highs as delivered by classic-era Dan McCafferty – hence getting those associated gigs).
Except that it is a bit of a surprise, even, initially, to Linton Osborne...
The new album was originally to be a country music project until Osborne asked Edinburgh guitarist Kevin Singer to record some guitar parts for the demos.
The reworked numbers were so rock orientated, and Osborne and Singer found themselves so musically simpatico, that a new and almost certainly ongoing partnership (a second album is already in the works) was formed.
With the addition of bassist William Winsborough (who threads some brilliantly funky four-string lines through the quirky 'It’s a Hard Life') and drummer Dominic Hardy (who also did a fine job sonically, engineering, producing and mastering the album) Drunk At Breakfast was suddenly only a little bit country (The Doors-eque, country-noir of 'Mud;' the Western twang of 'The Devil is Strong,' the 50’s styled Nashville of 'Who Let the Cat Out the Bag') and a lot more rock 'n' roll.
Hard rock cases in point include a heavyweight nod to the MC5 in 'Revolution Rock,' feisty Nazareth affected number 'Pressure Cooker' and the fast-paced ‘City of Sin’ (featuring some nifty solo licks from Kevin Singer).
For the Bon Scott nods, look and listen no further than ‘Turn it Up’ (an old school slice of rock that would have sat comfortably on any Bon Scott era AC/DC album you fancy), ‘No One Will Love You’ and the similarly weighted but slightly more Stonesy title track.
As made clear in this review Linton Osborne has more than one string to his musical bow but as an Independent, Cottage Industry artist, that bow isn’t ever going to be as big or far reaching as those owned by the label backed or heavily promoted bands.
But Drunk At Breakfast can take pride in the fact it can go toe to toe with many rock releases that carry bigger backing, bigger production values and bigger budgets.
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
Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters
How Edinburgh based blues musician Jed Potts and his safe, reliable and tidy Hillman Hunters (anyone of an age will immediately get the associated gist) Jonny Christie (drums) and Charlie Wild (bass) have found the time to record and release an album is anyone’s guess, given that Potts seems to be gigging constantly and is a staple of the burgeoning blues scene in Scotland’s capital.
But there’s a lot of blues fans, especially those steeped in 50s styled R&B, who should be very glad he did.
Opening with a short but swinging version of B.B. King’s 'Days of Old' (carrying the joie de vivre of the original and pace of the Clapton-King rework) Jed Potts and his Hillmans travel across thirteen tracks of the primarily old, plus a few originals, within a core theme of 50s styled R&B, old school bar-room blues appeal and a whole does of fun.
Freddie King’s finger picking instrumental 'Sen-Sa-Shun' stays fairly close to the original while 'Uh Uh Baby' is a shufflin' little take on Little Willie John’s R&B version.
The band then slow the pace for the first of three originals, the seven-and-a-half minute traditional blues 'Four Leaf Clover.'
A lyrical good luck charm, the song is set against the jazzy little remarks and blues lines delivered by Jed Potts while Charlie Wild and Jonny Christie give him the space to play.
Second original, a pacey rockabilly blues instrumental, might have its musical roots embedded in 1950s USA but being titled 'Puttin' it Aboot' tells you this is very much a Scottish band.
The other original (and another instrumental), Draughts, is a mid-tempo and jazzier affair that shuffles along like a tight and tidy jam-workout.
Since first recorded by the Eagles (no, the other one, the 50s R&B group) 'Trying to Get You' has been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to The Animals to Ian Gillan, so why not Jed Potts (it’s also a perfect fit for the band’s musical Modus Operandi).
Robert Petway’s 'Fishin' After Me' (also known as 'Catfish Blues') is the oldest song on the album but it’s up-tempo arrangement is another great fit.
A second Freddie King number, 'See See Baby,' gets the feet shuffling and tapping while a third FK offering, the instrumental 'Side Tracked,' helps prove, if proof were needed, that Freddie King is a major influence on, and inspiration to, Jed Potts.
Other notable covers include Johnny Guitar Watson’s 'Gangster of Love,' 'Down in the Alley' (as recorded by Nappy Brown and the Gibralters – now there’s a name) and Rudy Greene’s jump 'n' jive number, 'Juicy Fruit.'
Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters haven’t delivered the best blues album you will hear this year nor have they brought anything new to proceedings (more intentionally, quite the opposite).
But what they have done is delivered a fun little slice of 50s inspired US blues and R&B to the east of Scotland and, one would hope, going forward, much further afield.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But there’s a lot of blues fans, especially those steeped in 50s styled R&B, who should be very glad he did.
Opening with a short but swinging version of B.B. King’s 'Days of Old' (carrying the joie de vivre of the original and pace of the Clapton-King rework) Jed Potts and his Hillmans travel across thirteen tracks of the primarily old, plus a few originals, within a core theme of 50s styled R&B, old school bar-room blues appeal and a whole does of fun.
Freddie King’s finger picking instrumental 'Sen-Sa-Shun' stays fairly close to the original while 'Uh Uh Baby' is a shufflin' little take on Little Willie John’s R&B version.
The band then slow the pace for the first of three originals, the seven-and-a-half minute traditional blues 'Four Leaf Clover.'
A lyrical good luck charm, the song is set against the jazzy little remarks and blues lines delivered by Jed Potts while Charlie Wild and Jonny Christie give him the space to play.
Second original, a pacey rockabilly blues instrumental, might have its musical roots embedded in 1950s USA but being titled 'Puttin' it Aboot' tells you this is very much a Scottish band.
The other original (and another instrumental), Draughts, is a mid-tempo and jazzier affair that shuffles along like a tight and tidy jam-workout.
Since first recorded by the Eagles (no, the other one, the 50s R&B group) 'Trying to Get You' has been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to The Animals to Ian Gillan, so why not Jed Potts (it’s also a perfect fit for the band’s musical Modus Operandi).
Robert Petway’s 'Fishin' After Me' (also known as 'Catfish Blues') is the oldest song on the album but it’s up-tempo arrangement is another great fit.
A second Freddie King number, 'See See Baby,' gets the feet shuffling and tapping while a third FK offering, the instrumental 'Side Tracked,' helps prove, if proof were needed, that Freddie King is a major influence on, and inspiration to, Jed Potts.
Other notable covers include Johnny Guitar Watson’s 'Gangster of Love,' 'Down in the Alley' (as recorded by Nappy Brown and the Gibralters – now there’s a name) and Rudy Greene’s jump 'n' jive number, 'Juicy Fruit.'
Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters haven’t delivered the best blues album you will hear this year nor have they brought anything new to proceedings (more intentionally, quite the opposite).
But what they have done is delivered a fun little slice of 50s inspired US blues and R&B to the east of Scotland and, one would hope, going forward, much further afield.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Dan Reed Network – Origins
For the follow-up to reunion album Fight Another Day (2016) the Dan Reed Network have, as the title states, returned to their Origins for some revisited inspiration.
They also invited fans and DRN supporters to the four different studios where the album was recorded (two in the US, one in the UK and one in Sweden) to lend their voices to the four re-records and four new songs laid down.
The new numbers showcase four very different sides of the Dan Reed Network but the quartet of tunes, quite fittingly, sit four-square and central to what the 21st century DRN are all about.
'Fade To Light,' recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, is an uplifting, mid-tempo piece of melodically Networked rock with a lyric of overcoming personal, external or global conflict by fading to light and not darkness.
The DRN fan-audience are in full voice on the "fade to love, fade to light" choruses, resulting in extra positivity and joyous celebration of the song’s theme.
Recorded at the Power Station in NYC, the up-beat and pop rocking 'Right in Front Of Me' reminds us to be grateful for what we already have, but all too often take for granted ("everything I ever needed, was right in front of me..." declares Dan Reed in vocal gratitude).
'Right in Front Of Me' would sit comfortably on a Dan Reed solo album but here has been fully Networked with big, bright guitar remarks from Brion James.
The atmospheric and sonically intense 'Shameless,' recorded at Nia Studios in the band’s hometown of Portland, is a celebration of the "shameless love" of the soul-mate relationship; whether platonic or romantic. Rob Daiker’s keyboard textures shine on a song that could only come from the Dan Reed Network.
'One Last Time,' recorded at Studio 4 in Stockholm, is an intentional and welcome return to the classic DRN sound with a funkier groove vibrating within its rocky shell.
Lyrically the song keeps to the album’s theme of relationships and the bonds formed (in this case a nod to those who stand by your side, even when it’s not easy to do so).
The four re-recorded numbers are placed behind each of the new songs they shared a studio with; it’s an new followed by old sequencing that works well.
'Ritual' is funkily faithful to the original but with a modern, sonic punch and big, fan chorus chants.
Similarly, 'Forgot to Make Her Mine' remains faithful to the dirty-funk vibe of the original but here is slightly slower, giving the song more room to breathe; the band also took advantage of Power Station studio's big drum sound for the re-recording (a similarly huge drum sound was achieved on the Bruce Fairbairn produced debut album three decades prior).
Fan favourite 'Let it Go' has been completely re-imagined for Origins.
Transformed in to an uplifting, guitar-led soul-pop number, the re-record also benefits from a cool solo from Brion James and the big, fan-voiced outro choruses.
There would have been a Public Enquiry if 'Rainbow Child' hadn’t been included in a DRN set of re-records.
Recorded in Stockholm (Sweden embraced the song first time around like no other country) the infectious and trippy number has been re-recorded with a slightly lighter touch but, in structure and arrangement, is a classic case of If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It.
Thirty years on from their Origins, the Dan Reed Network remain a funkily geared vehicle for musical celebration in an uncertain world, through news songs and old.
Fade to Light, baby.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
For FabricationsHQ's recent Interview feature with Dan Reed click here
They also invited fans and DRN supporters to the four different studios where the album was recorded (two in the US, one in the UK and one in Sweden) to lend their voices to the four re-records and four new songs laid down.
The new numbers showcase four very different sides of the Dan Reed Network but the quartet of tunes, quite fittingly, sit four-square and central to what the 21st century DRN are all about.
'Fade To Light,' recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, is an uplifting, mid-tempo piece of melodically Networked rock with a lyric of overcoming personal, external or global conflict by fading to light and not darkness.
The DRN fan-audience are in full voice on the "fade to love, fade to light" choruses, resulting in extra positivity and joyous celebration of the song’s theme.
Recorded at the Power Station in NYC, the up-beat and pop rocking 'Right in Front Of Me' reminds us to be grateful for what we already have, but all too often take for granted ("everything I ever needed, was right in front of me..." declares Dan Reed in vocal gratitude).
'Right in Front Of Me' would sit comfortably on a Dan Reed solo album but here has been fully Networked with big, bright guitar remarks from Brion James.
The atmospheric and sonically intense 'Shameless,' recorded at Nia Studios in the band’s hometown of Portland, is a celebration of the "shameless love" of the soul-mate relationship; whether platonic or romantic. Rob Daiker’s keyboard textures shine on a song that could only come from the Dan Reed Network.
'One Last Time,' recorded at Studio 4 in Stockholm, is an intentional and welcome return to the classic DRN sound with a funkier groove vibrating within its rocky shell.
Lyrically the song keeps to the album’s theme of relationships and the bonds formed (in this case a nod to those who stand by your side, even when it’s not easy to do so).
The four re-recorded numbers are placed behind each of the new songs they shared a studio with; it’s an new followed by old sequencing that works well.
'Ritual' is funkily faithful to the original but with a modern, sonic punch and big, fan chorus chants.
Similarly, 'Forgot to Make Her Mine' remains faithful to the dirty-funk vibe of the original but here is slightly slower, giving the song more room to breathe; the band also took advantage of Power Station studio's big drum sound for the re-recording (a similarly huge drum sound was achieved on the Bruce Fairbairn produced debut album three decades prior).
Fan favourite 'Let it Go' has been completely re-imagined for Origins.
Transformed in to an uplifting, guitar-led soul-pop number, the re-record also benefits from a cool solo from Brion James and the big, fan-voiced outro choruses.
There would have been a Public Enquiry if 'Rainbow Child' hadn’t been included in a DRN set of re-records.
Recorded in Stockholm (Sweden embraced the song first time around like no other country) the infectious and trippy number has been re-recorded with a slightly lighter touch but, in structure and arrangement, is a classic case of If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It.
Thirty years on from their Origins, the Dan Reed Network remain a funkily geared vehicle for musical celebration in an uncertain world, through news songs and old.
Fade to Light, baby.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
For FabricationsHQ's recent Interview feature with Dan Reed click here
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
Renaissance – Prologue (remastered and expanded edition)
In a wonderfully strange contradiction in the annals of early 70s progressive rock Prologue couldn’t have been better yet more confusingly named during the early Renaissance period…
Prologue is the debut album by the Annie Haslam fronted Renaissance featuring the piano, keyboards and arrangements of John Tout, bassist/ vocalist Jon Camp and drummer/ percussionist Terry Sullivan.
Prologue also featured guitarist Rob Hendry, who would leave shortly after the album's release; both band and album also benefited from the songwriting and arrangement skills of guitarist Michael Dunford (who played with an earlier incarnation of the band and would join permanently during sessions for the next album) and lyrics from Betty Thatcher
(the Cornish based lyricist would write and supply the majority of the band’s lyrics over the next ten years).
The original Renaissance however were formed in 1969 by former Yardbirds members Jim McCarty and Keith Relf and featured Jane Relf (Keith Relf’s sister) on vocals.
Their own progressive sound can be heard across the albums Renaissance and Illusion (the latter featuring some writing contributions from Michael Dunford and Betty Thatcher) but the sands of time and tidal changes in line-ups (between Illusion and what would become the reborn Renaissance on Prologue there was a revolving door of musicians) have all but washed away the original band’s history.
By June of 1972 Renaissance, at the insistence of then manager Miles Copeland, had morphed in to a completely different band built around the five octave voice of Annie Haslam.
As Prologue highlights there was a classical themed element to the new band’s sound, particularly through the piano stylings of John Tout, as evidenced on the opening bars of the lead-off title track.
Primarily an instrumental, the jazzy and progressive number was augmented by Annie Haslam’s soprano highs and "vocalese" (as the singer terms her vocal contributions in the new liner/ interview notes that accompany this remastered edition).
The progressive motifs of the band were to the fore on the eleven-and-a-half minute closing track 'Rajah Khan' which, as the title suggests, carries a distinctly Indian flavour through Rob Hendry’s guitar shapes, Annie Haslam’s vocal accompaniments and the vocal harmonies.
The song also features a VCS3 synthesizer solo from Curved Air’s Francis Monkman.
Between the bookend numbers are four other tracks, two of which are Jim McCarty-Betty Thatcher compositions written prior to McCarty leaving the band.
Both are perfect fits for the new Renaissance – the near eight minute 'Kiev,' featuring a lead vocal from Jon Camp, is a melodically progressive highlight while the piano led 'Bound For Infinity' is a showcase for the beautiful voice of Annie Haslam.
The album is completed by the seven minute 'Sounds of the Sea' (a background of shoreline waves and seabird cries accompanying a lilting Annie Haslam vocal) and the melodically framed 'Spare Some Love.'
The latter was also released as a single and the edited Single Edition is included a bonus track, appearing on CD for the first time.
Prologue set the scene for what would be a fifteen year, nine studio album (plus the outstanding Live at Carnegie Hall) run for the Annie Haslam led Renaissance (subsequent off-shoots, reunions and a couple of studio albums led to a 21st century Renaissance, fronted by Haslam).
More significantly, as a third album debut, Prologue holds its own against anything that would come later.
Or, indeed, came before.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Prologue is the debut album by the Annie Haslam fronted Renaissance featuring the piano, keyboards and arrangements of John Tout, bassist/ vocalist Jon Camp and drummer/ percussionist Terry Sullivan.
Prologue also featured guitarist Rob Hendry, who would leave shortly after the album's release; both band and album also benefited from the songwriting and arrangement skills of guitarist Michael Dunford (who played with an earlier incarnation of the band and would join permanently during sessions for the next album) and lyrics from Betty Thatcher
(the Cornish based lyricist would write and supply the majority of the band’s lyrics over the next ten years).
The original Renaissance however were formed in 1969 by former Yardbirds members Jim McCarty and Keith Relf and featured Jane Relf (Keith Relf’s sister) on vocals.
Their own progressive sound can be heard across the albums Renaissance and Illusion (the latter featuring some writing contributions from Michael Dunford and Betty Thatcher) but the sands of time and tidal changes in line-ups (between Illusion and what would become the reborn Renaissance on Prologue there was a revolving door of musicians) have all but washed away the original band’s history.
By June of 1972 Renaissance, at the insistence of then manager Miles Copeland, had morphed in to a completely different band built around the five octave voice of Annie Haslam.
As Prologue highlights there was a classical themed element to the new band’s sound, particularly through the piano stylings of John Tout, as evidenced on the opening bars of the lead-off title track.
Primarily an instrumental, the jazzy and progressive number was augmented by Annie Haslam’s soprano highs and "vocalese" (as the singer terms her vocal contributions in the new liner/ interview notes that accompany this remastered edition).
The progressive motifs of the band were to the fore on the eleven-and-a-half minute closing track 'Rajah Khan' which, as the title suggests, carries a distinctly Indian flavour through Rob Hendry’s guitar shapes, Annie Haslam’s vocal accompaniments and the vocal harmonies.
The song also features a VCS3 synthesizer solo from Curved Air’s Francis Monkman.
Between the bookend numbers are four other tracks, two of which are Jim McCarty-Betty Thatcher compositions written prior to McCarty leaving the band.
Both are perfect fits for the new Renaissance – the near eight minute 'Kiev,' featuring a lead vocal from Jon Camp, is a melodically progressive highlight while the piano led 'Bound For Infinity' is a showcase for the beautiful voice of Annie Haslam.
The album is completed by the seven minute 'Sounds of the Sea' (a background of shoreline waves and seabird cries accompanying a lilting Annie Haslam vocal) and the melodically framed 'Spare Some Love.'
The latter was also released as a single and the edited Single Edition is included a bonus track, appearing on CD for the first time.
Prologue set the scene for what would be a fifteen year, nine studio album (plus the outstanding Live at Carnegie Hall) run for the Annie Haslam led Renaissance (subsequent off-shoots, reunions and a couple of studio albums led to a 21st century Renaissance, fronted by Haslam).
More significantly, as a third album debut, Prologue holds its own against anything that would come later.
Or, indeed, came before.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Paul Rodgers – Free Spirit
If there’s going to be a celebration of Free music, led by the still stellar voice of Paul Rodgers, and that celebration is going to be recorded and filmed, best make it the sold-out show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall.
Recorded (and filmed) at the world famous London venue on the 28h May 2017, the last date of Paul Rodgers’ successful music of Free tour, Free Spirit the album is a first class memento of Free Spirit the show featuring Pal Rodgers and Pete Bullick (guitars), Ian Rowley (bass), Rich Newman (drums) and Gerard "G" Lewis (keyboards).
'Little Bit of Love' gets the Free flowing party started in fine style, Ian Rowley and Rich Newman making it as much about the groove as the rhythm, while Pete Bullick plays six-string foil to one of the greatest voices in rock, from the now classic late 60s and 70s era through to the current day.
Still vocally fit, Paul Rodgers sings back the years as if it were yesterday and not the four-and-half to five decades since the likes of 'Wishing Well,' 'My Brother Jake' and 'All Right Now' were first heard on rock radio and deeper Free cuts graced the vinyl grooves (kudos to Rodgers for not scripting a Greatest Hits set).
There’s even space for songs never performed live by Free – soulful ballad 'Love You So' from Highway gets an airing as does Catch a Train, the opening number from Free at Last.
The latter number closes out the sixteen song collection in big, brash and barnstorming style.
It's also worth noting this is no official Free tribute band; as already stated this is a celebration of Free music as opposed to any sort of pastiche.
But then it couldn’t be done any other way – the late Andy Fraser had a unique bass style; dovetailing with Simon Kirke the pair delivered a powerful but uncluttered rhythm that allowed Paul Kossoff and Rodgers to fill the space.
The legendary Paul Kossoff was one of the great rock guitarists; his lazy but beautifully effective style of playing and quick-fire vibrato are hard if not impossible to emulate.
Paul Rodgers and band honour the spirit of the originals but with their own style – the rhythm section may be a little too busy for some but it’s effective enough and Pete Bullick captures the essence of Paul Kossoff without ever trying to copy (but then no other guitarist should, nor probably could).
Bullick also shines on a number of the solos, including the ever blues-soulful 'Be My Friend' and the aforementioned 'Love You So.'
There have been a number of Bad Company reunion shows, tours and live releases in recent years.
Now, fifty years on from when a young Paul Rodgers met an even younger Paul Kossoff and decided to form a band with Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser, Rodgers' other lasting band legacy from the days when British blues rock giants walked the earth has deservedly been toured and showcased – in Free spirit.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Recorded (and filmed) at the world famous London venue on the 28h May 2017, the last date of Paul Rodgers’ successful music of Free tour, Free Spirit the album is a first class memento of Free Spirit the show featuring Pal Rodgers and Pete Bullick (guitars), Ian Rowley (bass), Rich Newman (drums) and Gerard "G" Lewis (keyboards).
'Little Bit of Love' gets the Free flowing party started in fine style, Ian Rowley and Rich Newman making it as much about the groove as the rhythm, while Pete Bullick plays six-string foil to one of the greatest voices in rock, from the now classic late 60s and 70s era through to the current day.
Still vocally fit, Paul Rodgers sings back the years as if it were yesterday and not the four-and-half to five decades since the likes of 'Wishing Well,' 'My Brother Jake' and 'All Right Now' were first heard on rock radio and deeper Free cuts graced the vinyl grooves (kudos to Rodgers for not scripting a Greatest Hits set).
There’s even space for songs never performed live by Free – soulful ballad 'Love You So' from Highway gets an airing as does Catch a Train, the opening number from Free at Last.
The latter number closes out the sixteen song collection in big, brash and barnstorming style.
It's also worth noting this is no official Free tribute band; as already stated this is a celebration of Free music as opposed to any sort of pastiche.
But then it couldn’t be done any other way – the late Andy Fraser had a unique bass style; dovetailing with Simon Kirke the pair delivered a powerful but uncluttered rhythm that allowed Paul Kossoff and Rodgers to fill the space.
The legendary Paul Kossoff was one of the great rock guitarists; his lazy but beautifully effective style of playing and quick-fire vibrato are hard if not impossible to emulate.
Paul Rodgers and band honour the spirit of the originals but with their own style – the rhythm section may be a little too busy for some but it’s effective enough and Pete Bullick captures the essence of Paul Kossoff without ever trying to copy (but then no other guitarist should, nor probably could).
Bullick also shines on a number of the solos, including the ever blues-soulful 'Be My Friend' and the aforementioned 'Love You So.'
There have been a number of Bad Company reunion shows, tours and live releases in recent years.
Now, fifty years on from when a young Paul Rodgers met an even younger Paul Kossoff and decided to form a band with Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser, Rodgers' other lasting band legacy from the days when British blues rock giants walked the earth has deservedly been toured and showcased – in Free spirit.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Steve Rodgers – Head Up High
Many a rock fan might raise a curious eyebrow or have a cursory glance at the name Steve Rodgers and his debut album Head Up High (now re-released worldwide after its US only distribution in 2017).
They’d be all ears if they then heard Steve Rodgers sing, which immediately gives the famous father game away.
While Steve Rodgers has an uncanny similarity in timbre (and some of the vocal inflections and nuances) to father Paul (and a strong physical resemblance), there’s a world of difference musically – Paul Rodgers is one of the legendary voices in rock, but multi-instrumentalist Steve Rodgers is a singer songwriter who is more about the mellow, soulful and emotional; primarily in acoustic hues with electric instrumentation for additional colour.
Opening with a piano ballad is a brave choice but given the atmospheric strength of the blues-tinged 'I Will Grow' (which slowly builds in instrumentation) and Steve Rodgers’ beautifully framed vocal it’s a strong statement, and one that showcases the soulful similarities of father and son (there’s many a music fan 'of an age' who will think they have stumbled across a long lost Paul Rodgers solo or early, Rodgers penned Bad Company track on first listen; similarly 'Something About You').
By contrast the album’s title track is a walking in the summer sands, calypso pop rock song that should be a BBC Radio 2 song of the week, while the voice and guitar opening to marching drums finale of 'So High' features, title fittingly, higher-voiced lifts on the "You make me feel so high!" choruses.
The acoustic guitar and piano framed 'Sorrow' is more up-tempo than the title suggests (and another that showcases just how similar Steve Rodgers is to father Paul when they are in front of a microphone); 'Your Eyes' meanwhile is a charming little vocal and ukulele, by-your-side number that you fully expect to segue in to the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' (surely an influence on the song and its arrangement).
Other highlights among the eleven track album are the piano and "whisper in my dreams" vocal melancholy of 'Haunted,' the acoustically short but sweet 'Walk On' and an intimate, live band take of the album’s easy listening and closing number, 'Norah.'
Steve Rodgers is a chip off the old vocal block in everything but the musical genres father and son ply their trade in.
Which leads to the conclusion if you want that Paul Rodgers expressive and soulful vocality but from the emotive voice of a consummate singer-songwriter on a quite lovely album produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Paolo Nutini) and beautifully mixed by Adrian Bushby, Rodgers Junior is your man.
And, given the quality threaded through that album, Steve Rodgers should be walking and singing with Head Up High.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
They’d be all ears if they then heard Steve Rodgers sing, which immediately gives the famous father game away.
While Steve Rodgers has an uncanny similarity in timbre (and some of the vocal inflections and nuances) to father Paul (and a strong physical resemblance), there’s a world of difference musically – Paul Rodgers is one of the legendary voices in rock, but multi-instrumentalist Steve Rodgers is a singer songwriter who is more about the mellow, soulful and emotional; primarily in acoustic hues with electric instrumentation for additional colour.
Opening with a piano ballad is a brave choice but given the atmospheric strength of the blues-tinged 'I Will Grow' (which slowly builds in instrumentation) and Steve Rodgers’ beautifully framed vocal it’s a strong statement, and one that showcases the soulful similarities of father and son (there’s many a music fan 'of an age' who will think they have stumbled across a long lost Paul Rodgers solo or early, Rodgers penned Bad Company track on first listen; similarly 'Something About You').
By contrast the album’s title track is a walking in the summer sands, calypso pop rock song that should be a BBC Radio 2 song of the week, while the voice and guitar opening to marching drums finale of 'So High' features, title fittingly, higher-voiced lifts on the "You make me feel so high!" choruses.
The acoustic guitar and piano framed 'Sorrow' is more up-tempo than the title suggests (and another that showcases just how similar Steve Rodgers is to father Paul when they are in front of a microphone); 'Your Eyes' meanwhile is a charming little vocal and ukulele, by-your-side number that you fully expect to segue in to the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' (surely an influence on the song and its arrangement).
Other highlights among the eleven track album are the piano and "whisper in my dreams" vocal melancholy of 'Haunted,' the acoustically short but sweet 'Walk On' and an intimate, live band take of the album’s easy listening and closing number, 'Norah.'
Steve Rodgers is a chip off the old vocal block in everything but the musical genres father and son ply their trade in.
Which leads to the conclusion if you want that Paul Rodgers expressive and soulful vocality but from the emotive voice of a consummate singer-songwriter on a quite lovely album produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Paolo Nutini) and beautifully mixed by Adrian Bushby, Rodgers Junior is your man.
And, given the quality threaded through that album, Steve Rodgers should be walking and singing with Head Up High.
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
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
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
Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project - Album №1
At the tail end of 2018 Moscow based multi-instrumentalist fusion musician Valeriy Stepanov released a new album to little fanfare or press coverage; a travesty of promotional justice given the quality of Album №1 and its featured players (joining Stepanov are guitarists Martin Miller and Alex Hutchings, saxophonist Steve Tavaglione, bassist Johannes Zetterberg and drummers Sebastian Lanser, Steven Williams, Marcus Thomas and Jerohn Garnett.
Album opener 'Victims of Disasters' is a disturbing, cinematic type soundscape which could easily fit in a Bladerunner styled movie.
Following number 'Earthquake' is Valeriy Stepanov further developing his signature sound, which includes a clavinet driving the funk-inspired number; there's also a mind-blowing Martin Miller solo.
'Prank' recalls the Chick Corea Elektric Band at their funkiest (helped in no small way by Johannes Zetterberg’s top notch bass line and amazing solo towards the end) while a change of pace is presented by 'Sense of Home,' which is reminiscent of Stevie Wonder.
Valeriy Stepanov cuts loose on 'Sense of Home' (primarily on synth and organ sounds) but amply illustrates what you leave out is as important as what you play.
The track also includes some vocalisation, which can be fraught with the danger of veering into elevator music, but the exemplary musicianship of all concerned wins the day.
'Air' is one of the album’s highlights.
A repeating bass pattern grounds the number behind an off-beat drum pattern while Valeriy Stepanov delivers more keyboard gymnastics (Stepanov can shred with the best of them but never loses sight of the melody and structure of a song); saxophonist Steve Tavaglione then demonstrates fantastic tone and lightness of touch.
Vocals also feature on 'Air' but are less James Last than 'Sense of Home' threatened.
'Freak' returns to the funk vibe but feels a bit like album filler as it treads ground that has been well covered by Valeriy Stepanov on previous albums; Stepanov makes up for the slight musical dip however with the final two numbers.
'Childhood Landscapes' has a synth taking lead melody before dropping down to a constantly evolving Rhodes solo (which is incredible for both its musicality and virtuosity); a very tasteful fretless bass solo closes the number out.
With 'Voyage' Valeriy Stepanov doesn’t quite leave the best to last (a nod that probably goes to 'Earthquake'), but this is a strong contender; Alex Hutchings provides the guitar counterpoint and contributes a blues inflected solo after Stepanov’s piano solo.
In summary Album №1 by the Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project does exactly what it says on the tin.
If you like jazz fusion instrumental albums you will love this release; the fusion template was put together in the 70s by the likes of Return To Forever and Weather Report but this is the genre brought up to date with some of the best musicians on the planet and great production values.
Nelson McFarlane
for FabricationsHQ
Album opener 'Victims of Disasters' is a disturbing, cinematic type soundscape which could easily fit in a Bladerunner styled movie.
Following number 'Earthquake' is Valeriy Stepanov further developing his signature sound, which includes a clavinet driving the funk-inspired number; there's also a mind-blowing Martin Miller solo.
'Prank' recalls the Chick Corea Elektric Band at their funkiest (helped in no small way by Johannes Zetterberg’s top notch bass line and amazing solo towards the end) while a change of pace is presented by 'Sense of Home,' which is reminiscent of Stevie Wonder.
Valeriy Stepanov cuts loose on 'Sense of Home' (primarily on synth and organ sounds) but amply illustrates what you leave out is as important as what you play.
The track also includes some vocalisation, which can be fraught with the danger of veering into elevator music, but the exemplary musicianship of all concerned wins the day.
'Air' is one of the album’s highlights.
A repeating bass pattern grounds the number behind an off-beat drum pattern while Valeriy Stepanov delivers more keyboard gymnastics (Stepanov can shred with the best of them but never loses sight of the melody and structure of a song); saxophonist Steve Tavaglione then demonstrates fantastic tone and lightness of touch.
Vocals also feature on 'Air' but are less James Last than 'Sense of Home' threatened.
'Freak' returns to the funk vibe but feels a bit like album filler as it treads ground that has been well covered by Valeriy Stepanov on previous albums; Stepanov makes up for the slight musical dip however with the final two numbers.
'Childhood Landscapes' has a synth taking lead melody before dropping down to a constantly evolving Rhodes solo (which is incredible for both its musicality and virtuosity); a very tasteful fretless bass solo closes the number out.
With 'Voyage' Valeriy Stepanov doesn’t quite leave the best to last (a nod that probably goes to 'Earthquake'), but this is a strong contender; Alex Hutchings provides the guitar counterpoint and contributes a blues inflected solo after Stepanov’s piano solo.
In summary Album №1 by the Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project does exactly what it says on the tin.
If you like jazz fusion instrumental albums you will love this release; the fusion template was put together in the 70s by the likes of Return To Forever and Weather Report but this is the genre brought up to date with some of the best musicians on the planet and great production values.
Nelson McFarlane
for 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 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 deserve.
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
SuidAkrA – Cimbric Yarns
Celtic influenced German melodic death metal outfit SuidAkrA have taken a more ambient and acoustic route with new album Cimbric Yarns.
The band's thirteenth album is a conceptually framed work based on a fantasy world created during the artwork / music collaboration between Belgian painter Kris Verwimp and SuidAkrA main-man Arkadius Antonik for previous album Realms Of Odoric – yet for those unfamiliar with SuidAkrA it works just as well in isolation as an ambient and acoustic journey through medieval and Celtic inspired music.
The songs and themes are linked to Realms of Odoric but here they tell of an era thousands of years before Odoric’s time.
However the the songs and music are influenced as much by reality as fantasy – inspiration was also lifted from ancient Celtic texts and the megalithic sites that can be found all over the world.
Opening with the short and atmospheric 'Echtra' (with a spoken word narrative/ intro), Cimbric scene is set for the following nine Yarns, each with a very defined sound but with their own individual character – the medieval balladry of 'Serpentine Origins' (featuring guest vocalist Tina Stabel) has an olde authenticity to it while following track 'Ode to Arma' flits between the more Celtic/ rhythmic and a modern, progressive balladeering style with little more than piano, vocal and acoustic guitar.
The symphonically tinged 'Snakehenge' (complete with banjo, flute and fiddle) is an interesting slice of megalithic folk but I can’ be the only one who immediately hears (and sees) Spinal Tap playing the introduction and instrumental section of their, ahem, megalithic classic, 'Stonehenge.'
Taking more traditional folk roots for their inspiration are 'At Nine Light Night' and the melancholic 'Birth and Despair;' both have influences in Irish folk balladering.
The latter genre is an influence in the band’s distinct sounding Celtic death metal, which helps separate SuidAkrA from the pagan metal pack, as do their obvious Scottish influences (look or listen no further for previous use of bagpipes and whistles or the albums Auld Lang Syne and Caledonia).
There are also a few numbers that could, with a lyrical makeover, be perfect fits as incidental or themed music for the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones (the instrumental 'Black Dawn' for example could be conjuring images of the White Walkers on the march and not tales from the Realms of Odric).
The rise and fall of 'Assault on Urlár' is more akin to what you would expect from a metal band playing Celtic folk before the lighter and somewhat jaunty 'Caoine Cruác' brings Cimbric Yarns to a fantasy realm conclusion.
SuidAkrA’s marrying of Celtic music and death metal is an acquired taste (and one FabricationsHQ readily admits to never having an appetite for, even with the Scottish & Celtic folk influences and instrumentation).
But the ten tales on Cimbric Yarns are more than worth a listen to over an ale or three in yon Odoric tavern.
Or your iPod or preferred digital player, depending on your chosen millennia.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The band's thirteenth album is a conceptually framed work based on a fantasy world created during the artwork / music collaboration between Belgian painter Kris Verwimp and SuidAkrA main-man Arkadius Antonik for previous album Realms Of Odoric – yet for those unfamiliar with SuidAkrA it works just as well in isolation as an ambient and acoustic journey through medieval and Celtic inspired music.
The songs and themes are linked to Realms of Odoric but here they tell of an era thousands of years before Odoric’s time.
However the the songs and music are influenced as much by reality as fantasy – inspiration was also lifted from ancient Celtic texts and the megalithic sites that can be found all over the world.
Opening with the short and atmospheric 'Echtra' (with a spoken word narrative/ intro), Cimbric scene is set for the following nine Yarns, each with a very defined sound but with their own individual character – the medieval balladry of 'Serpentine Origins' (featuring guest vocalist Tina Stabel) has an olde authenticity to it while following track 'Ode to Arma' flits between the more Celtic/ rhythmic and a modern, progressive balladeering style with little more than piano, vocal and acoustic guitar.
The symphonically tinged 'Snakehenge' (complete with banjo, flute and fiddle) is an interesting slice of megalithic folk but I can’ be the only one who immediately hears (and sees) Spinal Tap playing the introduction and instrumental section of their, ahem, megalithic classic, 'Stonehenge.'
Taking more traditional folk roots for their inspiration are 'At Nine Light Night' and the melancholic 'Birth and Despair;' both have influences in Irish folk balladering.
The latter genre is an influence in the band’s distinct sounding Celtic death metal, which helps separate SuidAkrA from the pagan metal pack, as do their obvious Scottish influences (look or listen no further for previous use of bagpipes and whistles or the albums Auld Lang Syne and Caledonia).
There are also a few numbers that could, with a lyrical makeover, be perfect fits as incidental or themed music for the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones (the instrumental 'Black Dawn' for example could be conjuring images of the White Walkers on the march and not tales from the Realms of Odric).
The rise and fall of 'Assault on Urlár' is more akin to what you would expect from a metal band playing Celtic folk before the lighter and somewhat jaunty 'Caoine Cruác' brings Cimbric Yarns to a fantasy realm conclusion.
SuidAkrA’s marrying of Celtic music and death metal is an acquired taste (and one FabricationsHQ readily admits to never having an appetite for, even with the Scottish & Celtic folk influences and instrumentation).
But the ten tales on Cimbric Yarns are more than worth a listen to over an ale or three in yon Odoric tavern.
Or your iPod or preferred digital player, depending on your chosen millennia.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Swampcandy - MINE
Re-imagining is the twenty-first century buzzword for all sorts of reinvented entertainment, from classic TV series remakes and rebooted franchises to many a musical genre.
But as regards taking rootsy, folk based early American music and bringing it in to the present with a serious makeover, while still retaining glimpses of its past, no-one does it quite like Swampcandy, a two-piece band who take a myriad of early influences (jug band, folk, bluegrass and polka to name but four) and distil it in to their own brand.
Originally a vehicle for the folksy, roots-blues vocal and rhythmic guitar styles of Ruben Dobbs Swampcandy have, since the addition in 2010 of Joey Mitchell (electric and upright basses, kick drum), created a sound that dovetails around the pair’s musicality and musicianship – or it might be the early American music & Delta blues Yin of Dobbs to the jazz, rock and classical musical theory academia of Mitchell’s Yang.
Either way it’s a partnership that’s been paying dividends ever since and on releases such as 2013's double album Midnight Creep / Noonday Stomp.
As regards that fine art of distillation from so many musical ingredients the thirteen track MINE might just be Swampcandy’s strongest work to date, bolstered by an instrumentation breadth and musical width courtesy of contributions from a dozen or so other musicians and singers including auxiliary Swampcandy live members, drummer/ percussionist Dominic Fragman and keyboardist/ percussionist Gina Cottey (who forgoes her instruments on MINE to provide featured and backing vocals).
Opener 'JC’s Revenge' is Grade A, Ruben Dobbs & Joey Mitchell Swampcandy.
Rhythmic beats and piano (from Larry Byrne) drive the lyrical tale of a condemned man who sees it as a happy, if decidedly dark, ending ("now they say I’m gone away, but it’s alright... at least she’ll leave me be").
The band’s diversity then starts to showcase itself through the bluegrass swing of 'Party With the Devil' (featuring Gina Cottey), the contrasting, plaintive country folk of 'Holy Rope' (the forlorn vocal of Ruben Dobbs backed by acoustic instrumentation and strings) and the folk holler and stomp of 'San Francisco.'
But there’s even more strings to Swampcandy's bows than the ones strung across the fiddles on the Gypsy folk of 'Anger' – there’s the full-on, southern punk of 'Dead Man Walking' (The Damned clearly planted their New Rose in the Delta dirt) followed by the haunting piano chords and echoing female backing vocals that support Ruben Dobbs' lament to those sent to war, never to return.
Swampcandy even manage to get their American alt-rocking blues on for 'Favourite Sack Of Bones' before Gypsy and polka meet to 'Burn the Meadow' while having a sing-along party.
The album closes on 'Never Going Back,' an interestingly structured track formed around rhythmic lines and punctuating bass notes (Swampcandy sound-traits).
Authentic yet fresh, MINE isn’t so much a re-imagining of earlier musical forms as, quite simply, the sound of Swampcandy.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But as regards taking rootsy, folk based early American music and bringing it in to the present with a serious makeover, while still retaining glimpses of its past, no-one does it quite like Swampcandy, a two-piece band who take a myriad of early influences (jug band, folk, bluegrass and polka to name but four) and distil it in to their own brand.
Originally a vehicle for the folksy, roots-blues vocal and rhythmic guitar styles of Ruben Dobbs Swampcandy have, since the addition in 2010 of Joey Mitchell (electric and upright basses, kick drum), created a sound that dovetails around the pair’s musicality and musicianship – or it might be the early American music & Delta blues Yin of Dobbs to the jazz, rock and classical musical theory academia of Mitchell’s Yang.
Either way it’s a partnership that’s been paying dividends ever since and on releases such as 2013's double album Midnight Creep / Noonday Stomp.
As regards that fine art of distillation from so many musical ingredients the thirteen track MINE might just be Swampcandy’s strongest work to date, bolstered by an instrumentation breadth and musical width courtesy of contributions from a dozen or so other musicians and singers including auxiliary Swampcandy live members, drummer/ percussionist Dominic Fragman and keyboardist/ percussionist Gina Cottey (who forgoes her instruments on MINE to provide featured and backing vocals).
Opener 'JC’s Revenge' is Grade A, Ruben Dobbs & Joey Mitchell Swampcandy.
Rhythmic beats and piano (from Larry Byrne) drive the lyrical tale of a condemned man who sees it as a happy, if decidedly dark, ending ("now they say I’m gone away, but it’s alright... at least she’ll leave me be").
The band’s diversity then starts to showcase itself through the bluegrass swing of 'Party With the Devil' (featuring Gina Cottey), the contrasting, plaintive country folk of 'Holy Rope' (the forlorn vocal of Ruben Dobbs backed by acoustic instrumentation and strings) and the folk holler and stomp of 'San Francisco.'
But there’s even more strings to Swampcandy's bows than the ones strung across the fiddles on the Gypsy folk of 'Anger' – there’s the full-on, southern punk of 'Dead Man Walking' (The Damned clearly planted their New Rose in the Delta dirt) followed by the haunting piano chords and echoing female backing vocals that support Ruben Dobbs' lament to those sent to war, never to return.
Swampcandy even manage to get their American alt-rocking blues on for 'Favourite Sack Of Bones' before Gypsy and polka meet to 'Burn the Meadow' while having a sing-along party.
The album closes on 'Never Going Back,' an interestingly structured track formed around rhythmic lines and punctuating bass notes (Swampcandy sound-traits).
Authentic yet fresh, MINE isn’t so much a re-imagining of earlier musical forms as, quite simply, the sound of Swampcandy.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Greig Taylor – #Songbook1
Greig Taylor has been cited many times as not just one of Scotland’s hardest working musicians but one of the UK’s finest blues-based vocalists.
Notable achievements on Greig Taylor’s Blues CV include two albums with GT’s Boos Band featuring guitarist John Boos, a tenure with the Glasgow based Brian Rawson Band, ongoing acoustic blues project The Blind Lemon Gators, his new and outstanding band The Greig Taylor Blues Combo (featuring former Blues 'N Trouble six-stringer Sandy Tweeddale) and recent, highly acclaimed Gospel-vocal shows with noted American blues singer Earl Thomas.
Adding yet another string to Greig Taylor’s blues bow is #Songbook1, a laid-back and beautifully delivered set of covers, many of which have been reinterpreted by Taylor as soulful, soft blues numbers.
The album also showcases Greig Taylor’s wide range of artist influences and personal song favourites.
Collectively, songs and singer combine to deliver what is primarily an understated work but one that features Taylor’s most soulful blues expressions to date.
Opening with country pop-blues tune 'A Woman Like You' by Scots born country artist Johnny Reid, Songbook 1 goes on to deliver effectively arranged cover after cover that perfectly suit Greig Taylor’s slightly smoky, blues-hued vocality (not dissimilar to a young Joe Cocker in cadence and emphasis, which makes the piano and gospel-blues cover of 'You Are So Beautiful' an obvious and essential Songbook choice).
Van Morrison’s 'Days Like This,' 'Stones' by Neil Diamond and Paul Carrack’s 'Satisfy My Soul' are perhaps not unexpected, blues-tinted inclusions but it’s the more surprising choices that really catch the attention.
Taking on any Alicia Keys number, let alone her signature song, is asking for vocal trouble but Greig Taylor’s less vocally busy and slightly softer arrangement of 'Falling' (featuring Stacey Bell on backing vocals) is a justified inclusion.
Foreigner’s monster hit 'I Want To Know What Love Is' builds from soft rock beginnings to a full gospel choir but it works well here as a stripped back, acoustically framed ballad.
Adding a little weight to proceedings is Chris Rea’s 'Road to Hell' – the atmospheric Part One is the perfect vehicle for Greig Taylor’s impassioned vocal before the more well-known melodic blues rock of Part Two kicks in.
Each track on #Songbook1 stands strong on its own merit but the highlights may well be two numbers that have also become highlights of Greig Taylor Blues Combo shows.
The cover of lesser known Willie Nelson track 'God’s Problem Child' (featuring Jim Harcus on blues harp) is deceptive in its multi-layered simplicity; Depeche Mode’s 'Personal Jesus' meanwhile has been reworked in to a gritty, big-beat, southern-styled blues.
A perfectly fitting bonus track is included in the shape of Greig Taylor’s choral ballad interpretation of Bruce Springsteen’s 'Dancing in the Dark,' released as a charity single in 2017.
#Songbook1 (the numeric simply hints at the possibility of a follow-up; Greig Taylor has so many blues hot irons in the fire there is no guarantee of a sequel) is an album you might not expect from Greig Taylor.
But it’s the album he both wanted to make and needed to make.
We should all be very glad he did.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Every digital purchase of #Songbook1 will lead to a donation to SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health)
Notable achievements on Greig Taylor’s Blues CV include two albums with GT’s Boos Band featuring guitarist John Boos, a tenure with the Glasgow based Brian Rawson Band, ongoing acoustic blues project The Blind Lemon Gators, his new and outstanding band The Greig Taylor Blues Combo (featuring former Blues 'N Trouble six-stringer Sandy Tweeddale) and recent, highly acclaimed Gospel-vocal shows with noted American blues singer Earl Thomas.
Adding yet another string to Greig Taylor’s blues bow is #Songbook1, a laid-back and beautifully delivered set of covers, many of which have been reinterpreted by Taylor as soulful, soft blues numbers.
The album also showcases Greig Taylor’s wide range of artist influences and personal song favourites.
Collectively, songs and singer combine to deliver what is primarily an understated work but one that features Taylor’s most soulful blues expressions to date.
Opening with country pop-blues tune 'A Woman Like You' by Scots born country artist Johnny Reid, Songbook 1 goes on to deliver effectively arranged cover after cover that perfectly suit Greig Taylor’s slightly smoky, blues-hued vocality (not dissimilar to a young Joe Cocker in cadence and emphasis, which makes the piano and gospel-blues cover of 'You Are So Beautiful' an obvious and essential Songbook choice).
Van Morrison’s 'Days Like This,' 'Stones' by Neil Diamond and Paul Carrack’s 'Satisfy My Soul' are perhaps not unexpected, blues-tinted inclusions but it’s the more surprising choices that really catch the attention.
Taking on any Alicia Keys number, let alone her signature song, is asking for vocal trouble but Greig Taylor’s less vocally busy and slightly softer arrangement of 'Falling' (featuring Stacey Bell on backing vocals) is a justified inclusion.
Foreigner’s monster hit 'I Want To Know What Love Is' builds from soft rock beginnings to a full gospel choir but it works well here as a stripped back, acoustically framed ballad.
Adding a little weight to proceedings is Chris Rea’s 'Road to Hell' – the atmospheric Part One is the perfect vehicle for Greig Taylor’s impassioned vocal before the more well-known melodic blues rock of Part Two kicks in.
Each track on #Songbook1 stands strong on its own merit but the highlights may well be two numbers that have also become highlights of Greig Taylor Blues Combo shows.
The cover of lesser known Willie Nelson track 'God’s Problem Child' (featuring Jim Harcus on blues harp) is deceptive in its multi-layered simplicity; Depeche Mode’s 'Personal Jesus' meanwhile has been reworked in to a gritty, big-beat, southern-styled blues.
A perfectly fitting bonus track is included in the shape of Greig Taylor’s choral ballad interpretation of Bruce Springsteen’s 'Dancing in the Dark,' released as a charity single in 2017.
#Songbook1 (the numeric simply hints at the possibility of a follow-up; Greig Taylor has so many blues hot irons in the fire there is no guarantee of a sequel) is an album you might not expect from Greig Taylor.
But it’s the album he both wanted to make and needed to make.
We should all be very glad he did.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Every digital purchase of #Songbook1 will lead to a donation to SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health)
Bram Tchaikovsky – Strange Men Changed Men : The Complete Recordings 1978-1981
Strange Man, Changed Man (1979) sets the guitar tones, bright chimes and rhythms of the rock and roll meets power-pop vibe of Bram Tchaikovsky’s relatively short-lived but noted three album four year solo/ band career.
From the melodic foot tapping yet strangely sinister 'Robber' to high-speed rock and rolling album closer 'Turn On the Light' (here followed by seven bonus tracks of singles and non-album track B-sides), Strange Man, Changed Man showcases a musician delivering something similar to, but a step up from, previous band The Motors (whose punchy brand of pub rock was heard to best effect in 1977 on their excellent, and never bettered, debut album, 1).
But as with The Motors (aside from hits such as 'Airport'), Bram’s Tchaikovsky’s guitar-led power trio and later quartet (both originally featuring Tchaikovsky’s co-songwriter and bassist Micky Broadbent) were caught between the rise of punk, new wave and the new romantics and melodic rock movements that would square off on their respective sides of the pond as the 80s appeared.
All three albums were well received critically but, other than the debut becoming a Top 40 US Billboard album, did very little business commercially.
There are echoes of punk in Bram Tchaikovsky’s debut solo album, but trapped within a far more melodic and structured framework, exemplified by the title track and its segue to the similarly weighted 'Lonely Dancer.'
Commerciality and hooks are also on offer ('I’m the One That’s Leaving;' US Top 40 hit 'Girl of My Dreams,' which has a far more unromantic lyric than most ever realised) as well as the lighter harmonies of 'Lady From the USA' and an interesting reworking of one of The Monkees biggest hits (a Status Quo pastiche of the Neil Diamond penned 'I’m A Believer').
Second album The Russians Are Coming, originally released in 1980, delivered more of the same (catchy opener 'Let’s Dance;' the power popping 'Heartache') but with more of an edge, as displayed on the angry blues rock of 'Mr. President,' the rock and marching feet roll of the title track and the punky energy that powers the rock and roll of 'New York Paranoia.'
There are lighter moments such as 'Missfortune' and, on this edition, seven bonus tracks including two live recordings.
Funland (1981), the third and final album from Bram Tchaikovsky (here complete with two bonus tracks including 'Solid Ball of Rock,' which would become a fully metal-ised signature song for Saxon ten years later) was a more melodic affair geared for the US market as typified by 'Stand and Deliver,' 'Shall We Dance,' the foot-tapping fun of 'Used To Be My Used To Be' and the pacey power-pop of 'Soul Surrender' (written by The Motors’ Nick Garvey three years earlier).
The album also includes a rocking cover of 'Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache,' a Motown Soul hit for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon in 1968.
Bram Tchaikovsky walked away from the recording-and-touring treadmill in 1981 (the reasons for which are covered in the accompanying and highly informative 24 page booklet) but his legacy, outside of The Motors hits that had us Dancing the Night Away, are three solo albums that more than held their own in an uncertain and changing musical climate – and still stand tall today.
Or, to use the Scottish vernacular (for which the non-Scots will have to head to Google or Wiki-slang), what could be collectively and fittingly described as a trio Brammers.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
From the melodic foot tapping yet strangely sinister 'Robber' to high-speed rock and rolling album closer 'Turn On the Light' (here followed by seven bonus tracks of singles and non-album track B-sides), Strange Man, Changed Man showcases a musician delivering something similar to, but a step up from, previous band The Motors (whose punchy brand of pub rock was heard to best effect in 1977 on their excellent, and never bettered, debut album, 1).
But as with The Motors (aside from hits such as 'Airport'), Bram’s Tchaikovsky’s guitar-led power trio and later quartet (both originally featuring Tchaikovsky’s co-songwriter and bassist Micky Broadbent) were caught between the rise of punk, new wave and the new romantics and melodic rock movements that would square off on their respective sides of the pond as the 80s appeared.
All three albums were well received critically but, other than the debut becoming a Top 40 US Billboard album, did very little business commercially.
There are echoes of punk in Bram Tchaikovsky’s debut solo album, but trapped within a far more melodic and structured framework, exemplified by the title track and its segue to the similarly weighted 'Lonely Dancer.'
Commerciality and hooks are also on offer ('I’m the One That’s Leaving;' US Top 40 hit 'Girl of My Dreams,' which has a far more unromantic lyric than most ever realised) as well as the lighter harmonies of 'Lady From the USA' and an interesting reworking of one of The Monkees biggest hits (a Status Quo pastiche of the Neil Diamond penned 'I’m A Believer').
Second album The Russians Are Coming, originally released in 1980, delivered more of the same (catchy opener 'Let’s Dance;' the power popping 'Heartache') but with more of an edge, as displayed on the angry blues rock of 'Mr. President,' the rock and marching feet roll of the title track and the punky energy that powers the rock and roll of 'New York Paranoia.'
There are lighter moments such as 'Missfortune' and, on this edition, seven bonus tracks including two live recordings.
Funland (1981), the third and final album from Bram Tchaikovsky (here complete with two bonus tracks including 'Solid Ball of Rock,' which would become a fully metal-ised signature song for Saxon ten years later) was a more melodic affair geared for the US market as typified by 'Stand and Deliver,' 'Shall We Dance,' the foot-tapping fun of 'Used To Be My Used To Be' and the pacey power-pop of 'Soul Surrender' (written by The Motors’ Nick Garvey three years earlier).
The album also includes a rocking cover of 'Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache,' a Motown Soul hit for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon in 1968.
Bram Tchaikovsky walked away from the recording-and-touring treadmill in 1981 (the reasons for which are covered in the accompanying and highly informative 24 page booklet) but his legacy, outside of The Motors hits that had us Dancing the Night Away, are three solo albums that more than held their own in an uncertain and changing musical climate – and still stand tall today.
Or, to use the Scottish vernacular (for which the non-Scots will have to head to Google or Wiki-slang), what could be collectively and fittingly described as a trio Brammers.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
THEIA – The Ghost Light
OK. here’s the thing (or THEIAing)...
Opening with an atmospheric, on-the-march intro that’s only
20 seconds long and not part of your normal repertoire only results in an unnecessary (false) start to proceedings.
Said intro is made all the more redundant by the gritty guitar riff and drum pound that kicks in, and kicks off, 'What You Want,' a cracking classic-meets contemporary rock number with melodic chorus and declaration of THEIA’s seriously rocking intent on album number three.
And let’s be clear we come to praise THEIA, not to bury them under an unrequired introductory short – the intro is mentioned simply because it’s the only complaint in what is otherwise another excellent album from the boys from Burton-on-Trent.
Previous offering, the rather tasty Back in Line, was a healthy and dose of new rock built upon classic ground from Kyle Lamley (vocals, guitars), Paul Edwards (bass, vocals) and Jake Dalton (drums) and with The Ghost Light the trio have delivered the goods again.
The difference this time around is a further expansion and broadening of the THEIA sound, which features the melodic and catchy, the gritty and heavy and the bluesy rockin’ in equal measure.
The latter genre is worth highlighting because while the band are a contemporary rock band with classic roots (exemplified by the linked brace of the brooding, bass-led title track and the bristling, guitar-edgy
'No Crisis,' with a lyric that takes on religion) THEIA are not averse to bringing a bit of bluesier rock to proceedings – 'Dirty Livin’' has some riff rockin’ blues attached to its punchy up-tempo groove (as well as a KISS me quick-fire nod to 'Love Gun') while 'Revelator' is a southern rock riffing, heading for the wilder west, harmonica-in-the-distance affair.
But it’s the breadth of styles generated within a solid rock framework that truly make The Ghost Light shine.
'Mask of the Day' has an AC/DC riff-rock opening but develops in to a hard melodic rock number with backing harmonies, catchy chorus and plenty of guitar-led gusto while 'Bring It Down' is pulsing, rhythmic contemporary rock with echoes of The Cult.
Further contrast is provided by 'Over the City,' a rock ballad that provides an opportunity for Kyle Lamley to deliver a more purposeful and mature vocal in complement to his own guitar remarks.
Then there’s the fun side of THEIA while still taking a point-the-finger stance.
'Children of Change' opens with Kyle Lamley channelling Jon Bon Jovi / 'It’s My Life' (with similar opening lyric theme) over as song that clearly and intentionally uses Metallica riffage as it’s back-bone, but with pop rockingly infectious chorus.
The song also delivers pointed lyric after pointed lyric ("Another fucking song that you can relate to… You hold your smile while the cameras’ flash") before the band close out with the optimistic, repeating refrain of "Back your words up, let’s get it started! We’re the children of change!"
'Throw Me a Bone,' an AC/DC weighted rock number with a cynical (but too close for nuclear comfort) political and world overview ("You put a monkey in a suit and the world in his hands… that big red button is much bigger than yours") closes out what is a short (ten songs, 34 minutes), musically sharp and exceptionally good album from one of the best, yet under-rated, bands in the UK's New Wave of Classic Rock.
Time for the Children of Change to step up and get it started.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Opening with an atmospheric, on-the-march intro that’s only
20 seconds long and not part of your normal repertoire only results in an unnecessary (false) start to proceedings.
Said intro is made all the more redundant by the gritty guitar riff and drum pound that kicks in, and kicks off, 'What You Want,' a cracking classic-meets contemporary rock number with melodic chorus and declaration of THEIA’s seriously rocking intent on album number three.
And let’s be clear we come to praise THEIA, not to bury them under an unrequired introductory short – the intro is mentioned simply because it’s the only complaint in what is otherwise another excellent album from the boys from Burton-on-Trent.
Previous offering, the rather tasty Back in Line, was a healthy and dose of new rock built upon classic ground from Kyle Lamley (vocals, guitars), Paul Edwards (bass, vocals) and Jake Dalton (drums) and with The Ghost Light the trio have delivered the goods again.
The difference this time around is a further expansion and broadening of the THEIA sound, which features the melodic and catchy, the gritty and heavy and the bluesy rockin’ in equal measure.
The latter genre is worth highlighting because while the band are a contemporary rock band with classic roots (exemplified by the linked brace of the brooding, bass-led title track and the bristling, guitar-edgy
'No Crisis,' with a lyric that takes on religion) THEIA are not averse to bringing a bit of bluesier rock to proceedings – 'Dirty Livin’' has some riff rockin’ blues attached to its punchy up-tempo groove (as well as a KISS me quick-fire nod to 'Love Gun') while 'Revelator' is a southern rock riffing, heading for the wilder west, harmonica-in-the-distance affair.
But it’s the breadth of styles generated within a solid rock framework that truly make The Ghost Light shine.
'Mask of the Day' has an AC/DC riff-rock opening but develops in to a hard melodic rock number with backing harmonies, catchy chorus and plenty of guitar-led gusto while 'Bring It Down' is pulsing, rhythmic contemporary rock with echoes of The Cult.
Further contrast is provided by 'Over the City,' a rock ballad that provides an opportunity for Kyle Lamley to deliver a more purposeful and mature vocal in complement to his own guitar remarks.
Then there’s the fun side of THEIA while still taking a point-the-finger stance.
'Children of Change' opens with Kyle Lamley channelling Jon Bon Jovi / 'It’s My Life' (with similar opening lyric theme) over as song that clearly and intentionally uses Metallica riffage as it’s back-bone, but with pop rockingly infectious chorus.
The song also delivers pointed lyric after pointed lyric ("Another fucking song that you can relate to… You hold your smile while the cameras’ flash") before the band close out with the optimistic, repeating refrain of "Back your words up, let’s get it started! We’re the children of change!"
'Throw Me a Bone,' an AC/DC weighted rock number with a cynical (but too close for nuclear comfort) political and world overview ("You put a monkey in a suit and the world in his hands… that big red button is much bigger than yours") closes out what is a short (ten songs, 34 minutes), musically sharp and exceptionally good album from one of the best, yet under-rated, bands in the UK's New Wave of Classic Rock.
Time for the Children of Change to step up and get it started.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Jamie Thyer and The Worried Men – Cafe Racer
As emphatically underlined on Cafe Racer, Jamie Thyer and The Worried Men don’t do blues rocking fashions or fads.
There’s no fancy flourishes, guitar histrionics, extended solos or numbers outstaying their just another 24 bars and we’ll be done welcome; this is a musician and band who continue to deliver (now on their eight album) unashamedly earthy and honest blues rock that flits between high-energy boogie blues (think George Thorogood) and the classic British pub rock sound as championed by Dr. Feelgood (the short and feisty 'Hot Valves' being a pub rockin’ case of beer in point).
Related to the back in the day Feelgood boys, Wilko Johnson has been cited as an influence but that’s more to do with the straightforward, no nonsense approach employed by both artists than any comparison to Johnson’s famous chop-guitar sound and technique (although 'Devil in the Fog' takes the Johnson chop-vibe and simple beat route).
Where Jamie Thyer and Wilko Johnson do share a trait is in their straightforward, narrative style of vocal.
Neither will ever win any greatest singer awards but their vocal deliveries suit their material down to the earthy voiced ground – on Cafe Racer, the repeating bass line and rolling drums of 'Ape Neck Sweeney' and the mid-tempo beat and guitar cries of 'Teenage Firewater Queen' also double as the perfect story-telling vocal examples.
Not that the Worried Men stick to any sort of gritty guitars and solid beat template.
'Long Ride Home' is a pacey southern 'n' slide styled throwback while the instrumental 'Green Lights' is a change of pace that allows Jamie Thyer to deliver understated but effective guitar remarks before the more traditional crying blues lines take centre stage (similarly the other, slower instrumental, 'The Harlot’s Ghost'). But the real strength of those instrumentals is in their simplicity.
The third and final instrumental to feature, the rapid guitar fire of the album's title track, closes out Cafe Racer in short, sharp, blues rockin’ style, which couldn’t be more fitting…
The album is titled after a 1960s but still popular motorcycle customisation style where the bikes are retuned and redesigned for speed and powered control over comfort, geared (no pun intended) for shorter but exuberant rides.
Given the similarly customised style of Jamie Thyer and the Worried Men and their own fast but short distanced Cafe Racer (ten tracks done and road dusted in 35 minutes) it couldn’t be a better named album.
And one that’s well worth taking that short-distance spin on.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
There’s no fancy flourishes, guitar histrionics, extended solos or numbers outstaying their just another 24 bars and we’ll be done welcome; this is a musician and band who continue to deliver (now on their eight album) unashamedly earthy and honest blues rock that flits between high-energy boogie blues (think George Thorogood) and the classic British pub rock sound as championed by Dr. Feelgood (the short and feisty 'Hot Valves' being a pub rockin’ case of beer in point).
Related to the back in the day Feelgood boys, Wilko Johnson has been cited as an influence but that’s more to do with the straightforward, no nonsense approach employed by both artists than any comparison to Johnson’s famous chop-guitar sound and technique (although 'Devil in the Fog' takes the Johnson chop-vibe and simple beat route).
Where Jamie Thyer and Wilko Johnson do share a trait is in their straightforward, narrative style of vocal.
Neither will ever win any greatest singer awards but their vocal deliveries suit their material down to the earthy voiced ground – on Cafe Racer, the repeating bass line and rolling drums of 'Ape Neck Sweeney' and the mid-tempo beat and guitar cries of 'Teenage Firewater Queen' also double as the perfect story-telling vocal examples.
Not that the Worried Men stick to any sort of gritty guitars and solid beat template.
'Long Ride Home' is a pacey southern 'n' slide styled throwback while the instrumental 'Green Lights' is a change of pace that allows Jamie Thyer to deliver understated but effective guitar remarks before the more traditional crying blues lines take centre stage (similarly the other, slower instrumental, 'The Harlot’s Ghost'). But the real strength of those instrumentals is in their simplicity.
The third and final instrumental to feature, the rapid guitar fire of the album's title track, closes out Cafe Racer in short, sharp, blues rockin’ style, which couldn’t be more fitting…
The album is titled after a 1960s but still popular motorcycle customisation style where the bikes are retuned and redesigned for speed and powered control over comfort, geared (no pun intended) for shorter but exuberant rides.
Given the similarly customised style of Jamie Thyer and the Worried Men and their own fast but short distanced Cafe Racer (ten tracks done and road dusted in 35 minutes) it couldn’t be a better named album.
And one that’s well worth taking that short-distance spin on.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Tomorrow Is Lost – The Shadowman EP
Newcastle upon Tyne's Tomorrow Is Lost are one of many melodic rock-metal bands fighting for space in what is becoming a saturated market of similar genre contenders.
And while the Geordie rockers (Cass King - vocals, Ryan O’Hara and Joe McDermott - guitars, Adam Clements - bass, Marc Rush - drums) are cut from the same metallic mould as many others they are, with Cass King’s high register vocals and a knack for change ups or quick-switches from meaty riffs and big rhythmic grooves to slower (but no less weighty) bridges or full voiced hook choruses, in with a shout of separating themselves from the pack.
'We Are the Lost' not only opens the band’s debut EP, The Shadowman, it also contains all the aforementioned traits, as well as twin-guitar harmony lines from Messrs O’Hara and McDermott and a lifting to screamer vocal from Cass King toward song’s end (unfortunately such high registers get lost in an audio mix that's vocally crying out for more high frequency bandwidth or separation).
The band also benefit from having light and shade as part of their metal-plated armoury – the mid-tempo and less sonically cluttered 'Insane' succeeds in balancing melancholy, metal and melody while the shorter and sharper 'Rapture' is uplifting, fist pumping melodic metal-rock, with a joyous intensity that matches its title.
More typical contemporary rock metal – big gritty riff, incessant power-down beat and stabbing, repetitive bass line – is present and correct on 'No-One Knows;' however those Tomorrow Is Lost change-ups return in the guise of slower choruses, a piercing well-placed solo and a song that finishes far stronger than it started.
The best has been kept to last with 'Shadowman.'
The EP’s title track is a one part brooding, one part atmospheric, near five minute heavy ballad that showcases a different side of Tomorrow is Lost; it’s also the one number that brings comparisons to female fronted American rock band Halestorm.
The Shadowman EP isn’t perfect (it’s crying out for a bigger production value for a start) but given Tomorrow Is Lost stepped on to a stage for the first time only eighteen months previously (they have however managed to cover the length and breadth of the UK since that inaugural hometown gig in Newcastle) and that 'We Are The Lost' was part of Planet Rock Radio’s playlist earlier this year, it’s a pretty solid musical CV.
It's still very much about Today for the young band but Tomorrow is lost? Certainly not on this showing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
And while the Geordie rockers (Cass King - vocals, Ryan O’Hara and Joe McDermott - guitars, Adam Clements - bass, Marc Rush - drums) are cut from the same metallic mould as many others they are, with Cass King’s high register vocals and a knack for change ups or quick-switches from meaty riffs and big rhythmic grooves to slower (but no less weighty) bridges or full voiced hook choruses, in with a shout of separating themselves from the pack.
'We Are the Lost' not only opens the band’s debut EP, The Shadowman, it also contains all the aforementioned traits, as well as twin-guitar harmony lines from Messrs O’Hara and McDermott and a lifting to screamer vocal from Cass King toward song’s end (unfortunately such high registers get lost in an audio mix that's vocally crying out for more high frequency bandwidth or separation).
The band also benefit from having light and shade as part of their metal-plated armoury – the mid-tempo and less sonically cluttered 'Insane' succeeds in balancing melancholy, metal and melody while the shorter and sharper 'Rapture' is uplifting, fist pumping melodic metal-rock, with a joyous intensity that matches its title.
More typical contemporary rock metal – big gritty riff, incessant power-down beat and stabbing, repetitive bass line – is present and correct on 'No-One Knows;' however those Tomorrow Is Lost change-ups return in the guise of slower choruses, a piercing well-placed solo and a song that finishes far stronger than it started.
The best has been kept to last with 'Shadowman.'
The EP’s title track is a one part brooding, one part atmospheric, near five minute heavy ballad that showcases a different side of Tomorrow is Lost; it’s also the one number that brings comparisons to female fronted American rock band Halestorm.
The Shadowman EP isn’t perfect (it’s crying out for a bigger production value for a start) but given Tomorrow Is Lost stepped on to a stage for the first time only eighteen months previously (they have however managed to cover the length and breadth of the UK since that inaugural hometown gig in Newcastle) and that 'We Are The Lost' was part of Planet Rock Radio’s playlist earlier this year, it’s a pretty solid musical CV.
It's still very much about Today for the young band but Tomorrow is lost? Certainly not on this showing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Bernie Tormé - Shadowland
Guitarist Bernie Tormé, through his time with Gillan and with a style that mixes his love of mid-70s British punk and hard rock,
is a player with an immediately recognisable six-string signature
sound – those thick chords and gritty riffs, accentuated and punctuated by whammy bar driven squeals and earthy growls, could only be Bernie Tormé.
In the 21st century the Dublin born Tormé settled in to the life of a recording and touring musician with a small but satisfying piece of the pie – recent album releases have been highly successful, fan funded pledge campaigns, which suit both the artist and his fan base down to their genuine affection for each other ground.
Latest release Shadowland is all the more poignant as it would seem to be the last album Bernie Tormé will promote and support on the road, having made mention that the run of UK club dates he undertook through November 2018 were, as the "Final Fling" tour title more than suggested, his last.
Shadowland is a double CD’s worth of material, with the addition of a bonus disc for the pledgers entitled
A’s and B’s 1977-1981, which collects the six singles and seven B-sides released by the earliest incarnations of the Bernie Tormé Band.
While the compilation is a great little collector’s piece for the fans (and a nice trip back down Tormé-punk lane) the musical meat and muscle resides within Shadowland.
Featuring Mik Gaffney (drums) and Sy Morton (bass, backing vocals), with ex Gillan colleague Colin Towns providing keyboards on six of the fifteen tracks, Bernie Tormé and his band of musical brothers deliver the raw and rockin’ goods in trademark Tormé style – drawl vocals, those six-string squeals, howls 'n' growls, big beats and punchy bass lines.
All the above feature on riff and roll opener 'One to Blame' before Bernie Tormé gets his bluesier rock on for 'Water Into Wine.'
Other CD1 highlights include the punky 'Getaway' (the 1978 Bernie Tormé Band in 2018 clothing) and rhythm and blues quickie 'Honey to the Bee' (the latter featuring honky-tonk piano splashes from Colin Towns).
The eight minute 'Forever' is a fairly weighty stand out on CD1 while CD2’s change of pace 'Sun in Splendour', which mixes acoustic scene setting with electric histrionics, is of similar length.
The second disc’s near fifteen minute work out 'Innovative Jam / Chaos Theory' features contributions from eight "Play On The Album" pledger musicians sharing guitar space with Bernie Tormé.
CD2 also weighs in with the rock and punky roll of '6 Foot' and album closer 'A Farewell to Arms - Slán Leis An Cogaidh,' a cry of instrumental rock-guitar anguish against the seemingly impossible hope of an end to all war.
For the last five years or so Bernie Tormé has showcased himself as a prolific solo artist (four studio releases since 2014) and a performer that loves to play, and loves the fans he plays for – a timely reminder of which manifested itself during the Final Fling tour…
When Bernie Tormé played WinterStorm 2018 he received one of the biggest ovations of the entire festival weekend – that Mr Tormé left the stage with shouts of "Bern-ee! Bern-ee!" ringing in his ears and a tear in his eye was clearly a Final rallying cry to the hope he decides to Fling himself back on to a few UK stages in the future.
Until that time, musically immerse yourself in the rocky, bluesy and punky Shadowland world of Bernie Tormé.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
is a player with an immediately recognisable six-string signature
sound – those thick chords and gritty riffs, accentuated and punctuated by whammy bar driven squeals and earthy growls, could only be Bernie Tormé.
In the 21st century the Dublin born Tormé settled in to the life of a recording and touring musician with a small but satisfying piece of the pie – recent album releases have been highly successful, fan funded pledge campaigns, which suit both the artist and his fan base down to their genuine affection for each other ground.
Latest release Shadowland is all the more poignant as it would seem to be the last album Bernie Tormé will promote and support on the road, having made mention that the run of UK club dates he undertook through November 2018 were, as the "Final Fling" tour title more than suggested, his last.
Shadowland is a double CD’s worth of material, with the addition of a bonus disc for the pledgers entitled
A’s and B’s 1977-1981, which collects the six singles and seven B-sides released by the earliest incarnations of the Bernie Tormé Band.
While the compilation is a great little collector’s piece for the fans (and a nice trip back down Tormé-punk lane) the musical meat and muscle resides within Shadowland.
Featuring Mik Gaffney (drums) and Sy Morton (bass, backing vocals), with ex Gillan colleague Colin Towns providing keyboards on six of the fifteen tracks, Bernie Tormé and his band of musical brothers deliver the raw and rockin’ goods in trademark Tormé style – drawl vocals, those six-string squeals, howls 'n' growls, big beats and punchy bass lines.
All the above feature on riff and roll opener 'One to Blame' before Bernie Tormé gets his bluesier rock on for 'Water Into Wine.'
Other CD1 highlights include the punky 'Getaway' (the 1978 Bernie Tormé Band in 2018 clothing) and rhythm and blues quickie 'Honey to the Bee' (the latter featuring honky-tonk piano splashes from Colin Towns).
The eight minute 'Forever' is a fairly weighty stand out on CD1 while CD2’s change of pace 'Sun in Splendour', which mixes acoustic scene setting with electric histrionics, is of similar length.
The second disc’s near fifteen minute work out 'Innovative Jam / Chaos Theory' features contributions from eight "Play On The Album" pledger musicians sharing guitar space with Bernie Tormé.
CD2 also weighs in with the rock and punky roll of '6 Foot' and album closer 'A Farewell to Arms - Slán Leis An Cogaidh,' a cry of instrumental rock-guitar anguish against the seemingly impossible hope of an end to all war.
For the last five years or so Bernie Tormé has showcased himself as a prolific solo artist (four studio releases since 2014) and a performer that loves to play, and loves the fans he plays for – a timely reminder of which manifested itself during the Final Fling tour…
When Bernie Tormé played WinterStorm 2018 he received one of the biggest ovations of the entire festival weekend – that Mr Tormé left the stage with shouts of "Bern-ee! Bern-ee!" ringing in his ears and a tear in his eye was clearly a Final rallying cry to the hope he decides to Fling himself back on to a few UK stages in the future.
Until that time, musically immerse yourself in the rocky, bluesy and punky Shadowland world of Bernie Tormé.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Uriah Heep – Living the Dream
Guitarist Mick Box may be the only original and ever-present of Uriah Heep, but with keyboard player Phil Lanzon and front man Bernie Shaw now thirty-two year veterans of the band and a powerful rhythm section in the shape of drummer Russell Gilbrook and bassist Davey Rimmer (who joined in 2007 and 2013 respectively) the Heep are still, as the title of their latest album states, Living The Dream.
The band's twenty-fifth studio album was produced by Jay Ruston, chosen by the band who explained “…we admire his work with The Winery Dogs, Stone Sour, Black Star Riders, Paul Gilbert and Europe ...he brought a fresh approach to Heep.”
That fresh approach gives the album an added vitality and a timely reminder of just how good Uriah Heep still are.
Living The Dream comes in at just under an hour long with ten tracks providing a mix of classic hard rock, kick-ass guitar riffs, keyboard breaks, drum fills and energetic vocals; all feature on opening number 'Grazed by Heaven.'
Following number, the album’s title track, slows the tempo (it's also reminiscent of Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers period) before 'Take Away My Soul' increases the pace once again.
Featuring epic vocals from Bernie Shaw 'Take Away My Soul' combines lyrics and superlative musicianship that would grace any of the classic rock / metal albums of the 80s released by the likes of Iron Maiden.
'Knocking at My Door' is another slice of classic rock, featuring blistering bass and drums and a melodic hook that gets inside your head.
A number of other songs reference back to Uriah Heep’s early material or allow the band to tip their combined musical hats toward groups that have musical elements of the progressive rock style of Heep.
Case in point is the eight-minute (and soon to be Heep classic) 'Rocks in the Road.'
The song starts off as pure Heep before drifting into a hint of Marillion; there follows a Dio influenced bass hook from Davey Rimmer, accompanied by the guitar riff of Mick Box.
The introduction of the keyboard skills of Phil Lanzon gives the song an early Deep Purple sound (think Jon Lord at his best) before a final blast of classic Heep and metal.
The tracks 'Falling Under Your Spell,' 'Waters Flowin',' 'It’s All Been Said' and 'Goodbye to Innocence' are classic Uriah Heep that take you back to the early 70s and albums such as Look at Yourself and The Magician’s Birthday.
The album closes with 'Dreams of Yesteryear,' a song that lyrically describes those halcyon days while carrying a chorus that would, back in the day, have the lighters waving in the air (now its back-lit iPhones).
Living The Dream is an excellent release that highlights the individual talents of the band members; it's also an album that proves a near fifty-year-old formula for rock music can still sound fresh and innovative.
The results are an album that will satisfy the Heep faithful and one that would sit comfortably in the collection of any die-hard heavy metal, hard rock or progressive rock music lover.
Additionally, for the the younger classic rock fan who wants to get into the band for the first time, it’s the perfect place to start before taking a recommended journey through the 'Eavy and 'Umble ones back catalogue.
Stewart Taylor
for FabricationsHQ
The band's twenty-fifth studio album was produced by Jay Ruston, chosen by the band who explained “…we admire his work with The Winery Dogs, Stone Sour, Black Star Riders, Paul Gilbert and Europe ...he brought a fresh approach to Heep.”
That fresh approach gives the album an added vitality and a timely reminder of just how good Uriah Heep still are.
Living The Dream comes in at just under an hour long with ten tracks providing a mix of classic hard rock, kick-ass guitar riffs, keyboard breaks, drum fills and energetic vocals; all feature on opening number 'Grazed by Heaven.'
Following number, the album’s title track, slows the tempo (it's also reminiscent of Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers period) before 'Take Away My Soul' increases the pace once again.
Featuring epic vocals from Bernie Shaw 'Take Away My Soul' combines lyrics and superlative musicianship that would grace any of the classic rock / metal albums of the 80s released by the likes of Iron Maiden.
'Knocking at My Door' is another slice of classic rock, featuring blistering bass and drums and a melodic hook that gets inside your head.
A number of other songs reference back to Uriah Heep’s early material or allow the band to tip their combined musical hats toward groups that have musical elements of the progressive rock style of Heep.
Case in point is the eight-minute (and soon to be Heep classic) 'Rocks in the Road.'
The song starts off as pure Heep before drifting into a hint of Marillion; there follows a Dio influenced bass hook from Davey Rimmer, accompanied by the guitar riff of Mick Box.
The introduction of the keyboard skills of Phil Lanzon gives the song an early Deep Purple sound (think Jon Lord at his best) before a final blast of classic Heep and metal.
The tracks 'Falling Under Your Spell,' 'Waters Flowin',' 'It’s All Been Said' and 'Goodbye to Innocence' are classic Uriah Heep that take you back to the early 70s and albums such as Look at Yourself and The Magician’s Birthday.
The album closes with 'Dreams of Yesteryear,' a song that lyrically describes those halcyon days while carrying a chorus that would, back in the day, have the lighters waving in the air (now its back-lit iPhones).
Living The Dream is an excellent release that highlights the individual talents of the band members; it's also an album that proves a near fifty-year-old formula for rock music can still sound fresh and innovative.
The results are an album that will satisfy the Heep faithful and one that would sit comfortably in the collection of any die-hard heavy metal, hard rock or progressive rock music lover.
Additionally, for the the younger classic rock fan who wants to get into the band for the first time, it’s the perfect place to start before taking a recommended journey through the 'Eavy and 'Umble ones back catalogue.
Stewart Taylor
for FabricationsHQ
VEGA – Only Human
Like the best modern melodic rockers VEGA have both a mandatory for the genre sound and their own identity within that sound.
In terms of the former that’s plenty of harmonies, hooks and memorable melodies but as regards the latter they have always brought a little edge to their game, primarily through the twin guitar attack of six-stringers Marcus Thurston and Mikey Kew (on many a VEGA song the guitars are the weight while the keyboards of James Martin are the melodic purpose).
But with fifth album Only Human the UK six-piece have sharpened those edges, upped the energy and injected a fair old splash of modern rock in to the VEGA engine.
The results are the band's most contemporary and vibrant outing to date and a release that features both a bolder rock sound and a sonic sheen more associated with the likes of Canada’s outstanding melodic rockers Harem Scarem (the latter is not coincidental; Harem Scarem’s Harry Hess mixed and mastered the band produced album).
That contemporary edge and heavier weight is heard loud and clear on the opening salvo of 'Let’s Have Fun Tonight' (not so much electro rock as electric rock) and the air punching 'Worth Dying For,' but anyone worried that VEGA’s trademark hooks and harmonies have been lost in the more modern framework need not fret – 'Last Man Standing' serves that melodic purpose perfectly (although the DJ styled intro and outro is ultimately throwaway and unnecessary) while the slower 'Come Back Again' and the rhythmic pulse of reflective rock ballad 'Turning Pages' provide for the arms aloft sing-along brigade.
And if you want those bona fide melodic rock songbook numbers that wouldn’t have been off melodic rock radio back in the 80s look or listen no further than 'All Over Now' and the AOR vibe of the strong title track.
("We wear our love of 80s rock music on our sleeve" stated VEGA front man Nick Workman in pre-release commentary – on numbers such as the aforementioned it’s not so much on the sleeve as emblazoned boldly on the back of the tour jacket).
But for all the 80s affectations it’s that modern or contemporary twist that makes Only Human so effective, exemplified by the bigger Euro rock sound of songs such as 'Standing Still,' 'Gravity' and bristling album closer 'Go to War.'
Previous album Who We Are led by its title and defined who VEGA were to that point; it also gave their fans everything they could want in a VEGA album.
Album number five delivers even more – to the degree that it might (and deservedly should) widen their audience and fanbase.
But then that was probably the goal – they’re Only Human after all.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
In terms of the former that’s plenty of harmonies, hooks and memorable melodies but as regards the latter they have always brought a little edge to their game, primarily through the twin guitar attack of six-stringers Marcus Thurston and Mikey Kew (on many a VEGA song the guitars are the weight while the keyboards of James Martin are the melodic purpose).
But with fifth album Only Human the UK six-piece have sharpened those edges, upped the energy and injected a fair old splash of modern rock in to the VEGA engine.
The results are the band's most contemporary and vibrant outing to date and a release that features both a bolder rock sound and a sonic sheen more associated with the likes of Canada’s outstanding melodic rockers Harem Scarem (the latter is not coincidental; Harem Scarem’s Harry Hess mixed and mastered the band produced album).
That contemporary edge and heavier weight is heard loud and clear on the opening salvo of 'Let’s Have Fun Tonight' (not so much electro rock as electric rock) and the air punching 'Worth Dying For,' but anyone worried that VEGA’s trademark hooks and harmonies have been lost in the more modern framework need not fret – 'Last Man Standing' serves that melodic purpose perfectly (although the DJ styled intro and outro is ultimately throwaway and unnecessary) while the slower 'Come Back Again' and the rhythmic pulse of reflective rock ballad 'Turning Pages' provide for the arms aloft sing-along brigade.
And if you want those bona fide melodic rock songbook numbers that wouldn’t have been off melodic rock radio back in the 80s look or listen no further than 'All Over Now' and the AOR vibe of the strong title track.
("We wear our love of 80s rock music on our sleeve" stated VEGA front man Nick Workman in pre-release commentary – on numbers such as the aforementioned it’s not so much on the sleeve as emblazoned boldly on the back of the tour jacket).
But for all the 80s affectations it’s that modern or contemporary twist that makes Only Human so effective, exemplified by the bigger Euro rock sound of songs such as 'Standing Still,' 'Gravity' and bristling album closer 'Go to War.'
Previous album Who We Are led by its title and defined who VEGA were to that point; it also gave their fans everything they could want in a VEGA album.
Album number five delivers even more – to the degree that it might (and deservedly should) widen their audience and fanbase.
But then that was probably the goal – they’re Only Human after all.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Mike Vernon & The Mighty Combo – Beyond The Blue Horizon
For a producer, Mike Vernon isn’t a bad blues-swinging front man.
Quips aside, there is no question the noted producer, who did as much for the late 60s to early 70s British Blues movement as any of those bands or musicians, is known more for his work at a production desk than he is on the other side of the glass in front of a microphone.
Not that he hasn’t had his musical and vocal moments.
Mike Vernon was the baritone singer with Rocky Sharpe & The Replays in the late 70s and early 80s; prior to The Replays, he was part of studio band The Olympic Runners.
He also released two studio albums – Bring It Back Home (1971) and Moment Of Madness (1973).
But flash – or rather swing – forward from those 70s and 80s vocal dabblings to Mike Vernon’s solo album in 2015 (with Spanish band Los y Garcia) Just a Little Bit, the 2017 EP A Little Bit More and now the more accomplished and complete Beyond The Blue Horizon, the debut album from Vernon’s live/ touring band The Mighty Combo.
Beyond The Blue Horizon (title wise, a tip of the producer’s hat to his label owning past) gets to the very swing-time soul of Mike Vernon and his passion for 40s and 50s R&B swing blues, in the company of Mike Hellier (drums), Matt Little (keyboards), Ian Jennings (upright bass), Paul Tasker (saxophone) and relatively new "kid" on the block, guitarist Kid Carlos Moreno (who featured with Los Y Garcia).
Mike Vernon & The Mighty Combo have also taken Irving Mills’ famous and prophetic title lyric It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing to musical heart, emphasised to full effect on opening number 'We’re Gonna Rock the Joint' (a statement of live performance intent where the band’s energy is three-fold to the smoother but still up-tempo vibe of the studio) and wrapped up in fine shake, rattle and rolling style on appropriately titled closing track, 'Hate to Leave (Hate to Say goodbye).'
And there are plenty more originals where that swinging pair came from.
Mike Vernon isn’t just a singer but an old-time styled songwriter, one who has tapped in to the sound of artists such as Fats Domino, Louis Jordan and Clarence "Frogman" Henry to produce nine new songs that are homages to those greats but still very much originals in their self-penned character (the foot-tapping fun of 'I Can Fix It' and the call and answer of 'Be On That Train' are two party dancing cases in point).
But there’s a trio of tributes too, in the shape of Brook Benton’s 'Kiddio,' the wonderfully titled 'Your Mind is on Vacation' by Mose Allison and the aforementioned Frogman Henry’s R&B swing-pop classic, '(I Don’t Know Why I Love You) But I Do.'
With the rhythm and groove set by Mike Hellier and Ian Jennings, the piano sprinkles of Matt Little, some serious sax appeal from Paul Tasker and Kid Carlos’ six-string rhythms and rock ‘n’ roll leads backing the baritone blues swing voice of Mike Vernon, The Mighty Combo are a mighty fine and fun-times throwback to a different era.
You know what?
For a blues swinging front-man, Mike Vernon isn’t a bad producer.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Quips aside, there is no question the noted producer, who did as much for the late 60s to early 70s British Blues movement as any of those bands or musicians, is known more for his work at a production desk than he is on the other side of the glass in front of a microphone.
Not that he hasn’t had his musical and vocal moments.
Mike Vernon was the baritone singer with Rocky Sharpe & The Replays in the late 70s and early 80s; prior to The Replays, he was part of studio band The Olympic Runners.
He also released two studio albums – Bring It Back Home (1971) and Moment Of Madness (1973).
But flash – or rather swing – forward from those 70s and 80s vocal dabblings to Mike Vernon’s solo album in 2015 (with Spanish band Los y Garcia) Just a Little Bit, the 2017 EP A Little Bit More and now the more accomplished and complete Beyond The Blue Horizon, the debut album from Vernon’s live/ touring band The Mighty Combo.
Beyond The Blue Horizon (title wise, a tip of the producer’s hat to his label owning past) gets to the very swing-time soul of Mike Vernon and his passion for 40s and 50s R&B swing blues, in the company of Mike Hellier (drums), Matt Little (keyboards), Ian Jennings (upright bass), Paul Tasker (saxophone) and relatively new "kid" on the block, guitarist Kid Carlos Moreno (who featured with Los Y Garcia).
Mike Vernon & The Mighty Combo have also taken Irving Mills’ famous and prophetic title lyric It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing to musical heart, emphasised to full effect on opening number 'We’re Gonna Rock the Joint' (a statement of live performance intent where the band’s energy is three-fold to the smoother but still up-tempo vibe of the studio) and wrapped up in fine shake, rattle and rolling style on appropriately titled closing track, 'Hate to Leave (Hate to Say goodbye).'
And there are plenty more originals where that swinging pair came from.
Mike Vernon isn’t just a singer but an old-time styled songwriter, one who has tapped in to the sound of artists such as Fats Domino, Louis Jordan and Clarence "Frogman" Henry to produce nine new songs that are homages to those greats but still very much originals in their self-penned character (the foot-tapping fun of 'I Can Fix It' and the call and answer of 'Be On That Train' are two party dancing cases in point).
But there’s a trio of tributes too, in the shape of Brook Benton’s 'Kiddio,' the wonderfully titled 'Your Mind is on Vacation' by Mose Allison and the aforementioned Frogman Henry’s R&B swing-pop classic, '(I Don’t Know Why I Love You) But I Do.'
With the rhythm and groove set by Mike Hellier and Ian Jennings, the piano sprinkles of Matt Little, some serious sax appeal from Paul Tasker and Kid Carlos’ six-string rhythms and rock ‘n’ roll leads backing the baritone blues swing voice of Mike Vernon, The Mighty Combo are a mighty fine and fun-times throwback to a different era.
You know what?
For a blues swinging front-man, Mike Vernon isn’t a bad producer.
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
Rich Young – Unseen Vol One
The title of Rich Young’s latest solo album would lead you to believe it’s a collection of previously unreleased "from the vaults" type material with further offerings to follow.
While there may well be an as yet Unseen second volume the title actually refers to the British singer-songwriter’s touring travels around upstate New York and Pennsylvania and his abiding memories, through stop-offs at small, now semi-deserted towns, of those places and their inhabitants ("unseen" by Young until his visits and the capturing of those visits through some 2000 photographs, a small number of which feature on the inner pages of the CD booklet).
Multi-instrumentalist Rich Young also has a "worked with…" résumé as long as your arm and a knack for being able to deliver the goods in many genres and mediums (including pop, rock, folk, pieces for TV and radio) but Unseen Vol One is where his musical and travelling heart lie – in Americana and melodic country-pop.
The story telling lyricism of the album is to the fore on up-tempo opener 'Lordville Pt 1,' which tells the tale of the town and its townsfolk via warmly authentic and acoustically driven Americana country & folk-pop (the slower, reflective and somewhat haunting 'Lordville Pt 2' sits in the middle of the album; if 'Pt 1' is positivity for the town’s then present and future, 'Pt 2' is the ghost of that once hopeful past).
Following 'Lordville Pt 1,' in the company of drummer Mark Gordon and a handful of guest players (including electric guitar contributions from Tim Slater and "Sci-Fi" Jim Byatt), Rich Young and his companions travel across upstate New York and Pennsylvania (and surrounding areas) via a further eleven storytelling tracks; they call in along the way on the dusty road hardships of 'Blame (in the Heartland),' take a detour for the stark verses and melodically framed choruses of 'Hollow Ground' (recalling the 1939 Duvin coal mining disaster in Providence, Kentucky) and stop off to deliver the Americana pop of 'Railroad Man' and the up-beat, harmonica pop-blues of 'The Crystal Band.'
Further up-tempo tunes arrive in the shape of 'Refugee' and the AOR Americana of 'Highway Rain' while contrast is provided by tracks such as the bluesy, lazy groove of 'Long Weekend' and the musically atmospheric and lyrically poignant album closer, 'Song For a Soldier' ("When an empty chair speaks so loud; when some empty words try to make you proud").
Unseen Vol One is a memento of a specific time and geographical place in the travels of Rich Young but its Americana heart, blue collar subject matter and revealing imagery (both lyrically and through the collection of booklet photos) collectively underline just what life and music is all about for the musician.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
While there may well be an as yet Unseen second volume the title actually refers to the British singer-songwriter’s touring travels around upstate New York and Pennsylvania and his abiding memories, through stop-offs at small, now semi-deserted towns, of those places and their inhabitants ("unseen" by Young until his visits and the capturing of those visits through some 2000 photographs, a small number of which feature on the inner pages of the CD booklet).
Multi-instrumentalist Rich Young also has a "worked with…" résumé as long as your arm and a knack for being able to deliver the goods in many genres and mediums (including pop, rock, folk, pieces for TV and radio) but Unseen Vol One is where his musical and travelling heart lie – in Americana and melodic country-pop.
The story telling lyricism of the album is to the fore on up-tempo opener 'Lordville Pt 1,' which tells the tale of the town and its townsfolk via warmly authentic and acoustically driven Americana country & folk-pop (the slower, reflective and somewhat haunting 'Lordville Pt 2' sits in the middle of the album; if 'Pt 1' is positivity for the town’s then present and future, 'Pt 2' is the ghost of that once hopeful past).
Following 'Lordville Pt 1,' in the company of drummer Mark Gordon and a handful of guest players (including electric guitar contributions from Tim Slater and "Sci-Fi" Jim Byatt), Rich Young and his companions travel across upstate New York and Pennsylvania (and surrounding areas) via a further eleven storytelling tracks; they call in along the way on the dusty road hardships of 'Blame (in the Heartland),' take a detour for the stark verses and melodically framed choruses of 'Hollow Ground' (recalling the 1939 Duvin coal mining disaster in Providence, Kentucky) and stop off to deliver the Americana pop of 'Railroad Man' and the up-beat, harmonica pop-blues of 'The Crystal Band.'
Further up-tempo tunes arrive in the shape of 'Refugee' and the AOR Americana of 'Highway Rain' while contrast is provided by tracks such as the bluesy, lazy groove of 'Long Weekend' and the musically atmospheric and lyrically poignant album closer, 'Song For a Soldier' ("When an empty chair speaks so loud; when some empty words try to make you proud").
Unseen Vol One is a memento of a specific time and geographical place in the travels of Rich Young but its Americana heart, blue collar subject matter and revealing imagery (both lyrically and through the collection of booklet photos) collectively underline just what life and music is all about for the musician.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ