Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The modern renaissance could be seen to take place in a few short years and practised by a handful of poets and writers driven by something more than the pursuit of knowledge and truth, it is the abstract of the human condition, of utilising words in such a fashion that expresses more about life than just existing, more than seeing the post-war failings of conversation veer off course and alter the mindset of identity…this is the reality of what was termed the Beat Generation, of melding words and movement in such a way that became a heartbeat that inspired millions.
To find that spoken insistence in the 21st Century, albeit in a form that doesn’t quite match the intensity of Allen Ginsberg, Joanne Kyger, Gregory Curso, or Michael McClure, is sparkling, it is darkness underlined with passion with sunburst, with electricity and precision; and as Bob Reitman recounts what amounts to one of the finest pieces of narration set against the undertone of music to be released for many years, it is to the 12th House we find ourselves escaping to.
Narration is the point in understanding the subconscious’ needs, and in a kind of heavenly delivery, set against the sound of angst and cool driven fears Bob Reitman paces the account of the 12th house with fine tones and sweet release; and across tracks such as the opener Death, David Bowie/Dr. Kissinger Blues, Most Things From ’58, Buddy Holly, Schultz The Cemetery Man, The Revolution Is Here, and It All Came Together, what is revealed is an astonishing backdrop of thoughts and coupled feelings thrust almost serenely into the public view.
12th House is more than a product of the imagination, it is a gift of creativity, of polished inventiveness, and one that neatly underscores the need for a new renaissance in artistry, one that captures humanity’s untapped resource in belief.
Ian D. Hall