Author Archives: admin

Jacqui Dankworth And Charlie Wood, Gig Review. St. George’s Hall Small Concert Room, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It has to be said that if there is a finer venue in which to stage an intimate evening of quality and interesting Jazz, Blues and Pop than the Small Concert Room of St George’s Hall, then many will never have to worry about seeing it, with Jacqui Dankworth, the daughter of the illustrious music visionary couple Dame Clio Laine and Sir John Dankworth, Charlie Cook and a superb trio of musicians on stage, then things – to papraphrase D-Ream – can’t get any better.

Jacqui Dankworth And Charlie Wood, Gig Review. St. George’s Hall Small Concert Room, Liverpool. full post

(315 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

It Is From Inside The Cell.

It is from inside the cell

that I write to you,

as I do everyday,

on the off

chance

that someone will revoke

the charge and set me

free

or finally come to their sentences

and order the execution.

I write to you out of hope

for either

and not be trapped alone

for a minute more

than I can bear, sweat

driven and festering

in a half state of perpetual ghost

state at the hands of those who run my state;

It Is From Inside The Cell. full post

(120 words, estimated 29 secs reading time)

Andy Bell, Torsten The Beautiful Libertine. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Whatever you want to accuse Andy Bell of, being beige is not one of the indictments that should cross the bridge between the brain and the wagging tongue, being understated or not interesting should be considered taboo and foul of speech. If the words from the lips deny that he is own man and not attention grabbing then they should be forcibly whipped and sentenced to their own miserable existence in a cold heartless lexicon; for Andy Bell is if nothing else a performer who knows where and who to kick out at.

Andy Bell, Torsten The Beautiful Libertine. Album Review. full post

(442 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Låpsley, Long Way Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It doesn’t seem five minutes since Låpsley was performing in venues in Liverpool and beyond the Merseyside border, it feels even less than that she was recognised by various media institutions across the city; in such a space of Time that has occurred, Låpsley has become an institution of great and impeccable renown.

From this point on where her debut album is now a physical entity in its own right, there is no going back, there is no Time in which to feel the urge to play Dorothy and follow a certain road back to when it was all less complicated; for in reality the music is playful, absorbing and dynamic, it really is a Long Way Home from here.

Låpsley, Long Way Home. Album Review. full post

(450 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Henry Sparks, Latest Waxing. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Folk music has this wonderful habit of sounding more polished when listening to it live or in the deep pleasure of a recording than arguably any other genre, its sincerity of spirit, its more natural appeal resounds with earthy refinement without having to play to the gallery of expectation and offer an over abundance of gloss. In is in that Earthy feel that Henry Sparks sits, almost musically naked and exposed, and with elegance of voice performs his newest E.P. Latest Waxing with diligence and care.

Henry Sparks, Latest Waxing. E.P. Review. full post

(371 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

The Reason I Hold Your Hand.

If

I have held your hand

and told you that I love you,

then I have meant every damn letter

in that short sentence,

but don’t be misled

I have loved almost everybody

I have come into contact with;

for in their eyes I see possible and hopeless redemption,

I see a yearning to be understood

and I have tried my best to value that.

 

I have adored you like a eunuch lover,

I have told you in no uncertain terms

that I love you but I have not slept

The Reason I Hold Your Hand. full post

(161 words, estimated 39 secs reading time)

Stevie Jones & The Wildfires, Stratigraphic Heart. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The diary seems to be a long forgotten art, relegated to history by the insistence of social media where the everyday action is calculated, commented up and then soon abandoned in the search for the next gratification hit. There is no build up, no harmony of what has happened before and no concern for what the words hastily written down and unchecked will bring. The diary has the appeal in the modern age of appointments rubbed out and the condensed form of language strung out.

Stevie Jones & The Wildfires, Stratigraphic Heart. Album Review. full post

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

Geoff Carne And The Hatz, Get Close. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In the modern age it seems that to get close to someone, to understand them and take a deep interest in their lives is almost the same as reducing yourself down to the level of some scurrilous gossip magazine or even be seen as intrusive. Contact must be made between people if we are to avoid being creatures afraid to come out from behind a computer driven persona, too scared of allowing the mask and guise of personality created by a social media hash tag, citizens of every country must find a way to Get Close once more and be seen to be someone who inhabits reason and rationale.

Geoff Carne And The Hatz, Get Close. Album Review. full post

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

Shetland, Series Three. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Douglas Henshall, Alison O’ Donnell, Steven Robertson, Mark Bonar, Julie Graham, Stewart Porter, Erin Armstrong, Anna Chancellor, Ciarán Hinds, James Cosmo, Saskia Reeves, Sara Vickers, Ace Bhatti, Andrew Rothney, Archie Panjabi, Jamie Michie, Jack Greenlees, Mark Cox, Struan Rodger, Kate Donnely.

The fairly uncomplicated lives of those who reside on the outlying islands of the United Kingdom is one that is prized and highly valued, it is a way of life that has many attractions and one that many could adapt to if they put their minds to it. However, for those forced to relocate out in to the storm tossed seas that surround the mainland, the islands can represent a jail with no locks, keys or guards, the solitude is enough to drive them to the point of no return.

Shetland, Series Three. Television Review. full post

(518 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Drawing The Line With Time.

I want to see the dawn approach

and the dead

of the night, in all its mundane glory

and sheltered sideways repose,

disappear into the distance

from the point where twilight begins

in earnest and the ghosts of memory

are caught in perpetual agony,

screaming for forgiveness

and let loose once penance is served.

 

I want to stand, shoulders back,

not hunched over like a carved and varnished stick,

worn by clutched hand and frightened

sentiment, I want to greet the dawn

with purpose and smile,

Drawing The Line With Time. full post

(134 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)