Author Archives: admin

They’re Coming To Get You Barbara, Dead Reckoning. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is nothing better than being on board a powerful juggernaut or expensively made motorbike which is haring along the American interstate, the speed getting faster as each mile zips by till finally the only way to come to a grinding halt is to make sure you put everything into the brake, the deep gauging and burning impression left by the tires in the asphalt an indication of just how great the ride was. Listening to Liverpool’s They’re Coming To Get You Barbara’s set of new songs from the E.P. Dead Reckoning is like being on that motorbike but somehow much more enjoyable.

They’re Coming To Get You Barbara, Dead Reckoning. E.P. Review. full post

(392 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac To Tour In 2014.

Following a hugely successful 2013, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are returning in 2014 for their Fleetwood Mac Forever World Tour.

Having performed 500 major concert shows to over a half a million fans around the world since they formed over a decade ago, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac return to the U.K. to present a spectacular new stage production celebrating the music of the legendary rock supergroup Fleetwood Mac. The tour, which starts in Darlington on February 10th, will come to the North-West as the band performs in Salford, Southport and at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Saturday 8th March.  

Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac To Tour In 2014. full post

(303 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

Decade, Good Luck. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

You have to admire the tenacity in which some bands make the most of their very obvious talent, the sheer force of will to get a set of songs together that will hopefully appeal to a wide enough range of fans to have made the whole exercise worthwhile.

For the five musicians that make up Decade, the process in putting together the album Good Luck feels as though they have kept their head above water long enough to make it at least something of tangible note and one that on odd occasions will be one of those that finds itself in the C.D. player and gratefully enjoyed before being neglected for a while unless bought by one of those wonderful fans that play such albums to death.

Decade, Good Luck. Album Review. full post

(362 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Ripper Street, Our Betrayal. Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, Joseph Mawle, Clive Russell, David Dawson, David Wilmot, Damien Molony, Leanne Best, Frank Harper, David Costabile, Justin Salinger, Robert Goodman, Joel Gilman.

Ripper Street, Our Betrayal. Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(547 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

Alastair Clark, Comedy Review. 81 Renshaw Street, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

At 81 Renshaw Street, local comedian and University of Liverpool graduate, Alastair Clark brought an intelligent and ambitious hour of anecdotal stand-up on the theme of the difficulties and conflicts caused by opinions.

The show itself was a stand-alone project and a pre-cursor to his future endeavours which include an upcoming hour long Edinburgh Fringe show. His future audiences can look forward to a confident dead-pan delivery of extended deconstructions of unique political and social observations. One highlight was when he took a thread of Youtube user commentators to task for their misguided and hilariously knee-jerk argument on the page of The Doors’ classic song L.A. Woman (“At this point the web site user weighs in with their view- I’m sure we can trust that to be objective.”) He is at his best here when pitting his wearied rationale against the inane vacuous nature of bad lyricism.

Alastair Clark, Comedy Review. 81 Renshaw Street, Liverpool. full post

(284 words, estimated 1:08 mins reading time)

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Crissy Rock, Amanda Harrington, Paul Danan, Laura Gregory, Herbert Howe, Michael Chapman, Paul Quinn, Joe Cawley.

It is a story as old as Liverpool theatres, the young damsel in distress, hated by her vain and immoral step-mother, of witchcraft, of love and a man in various dresses making all laugh before him. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs is a prime example of the British Pantomime giving all who make their way to the theatre at Christmas a good time, full of songs and cheer and that in the end good will overcome evil. The Epstein Theatre’s festive foray into the world of sparkly tights and vanity mirrors is a delight that kept giving.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(390 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Little Sparrow. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Life really should be made up of more joy than sadness. No matter the person, no matter their situation in life, to condemn a person to abject misery should be seen as sin that requires immediate redressing. However the lead up to the festive period can also bring a sparkle of hope into the world of beige and drab. Like walking through a snow filled forest on Christmas Day and believing that no other creature could surely be out embracing the cold chill that December invariably brings and then stumbling across a small bird chirping away with a song that is heard because no other being in creation dare interrupt it.

Little Sparrow. E.P. Review. full post

(394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Deacon Blue, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool. (2013).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Deacon Blue have performed at the Echo Arena almost as many times as anyone else since the music venue was opened as part of the 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations, quite simply they deserve that honour. Just watching them thrill the many thousands of fans that continually make their way to area of ground in a city that the band patently adore is enough to offer respect to them, they certainly know how to please a set of fans that are as loyal as they come and as hungry to show off their own singing ability as any.

Deacon Blue, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool. (2013). full post

(463 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

The Ragamuffins,The Benefits Of A Downhill Paper Round. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

With a heavy thump, the sound of a jaw can be heard through the noise of life, the backdrop to being alive in the 21st Century and all its relative shenanigans and utterances, that said jaw drops to the floor as the final track of the latest E.P. from the Ragamuffins, The Benefits of a Downhill Paper Round, clicks off and the stunned overwhelming desire to jump for joy at a very cool set of songs is only tempered by the time it takes to pick up the jaw from the floor.

The Ragamuffins,The Benefits Of A Downhill Paper Round. E.P. Review. full post

(367 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)