The minstrel, once wandering upon many high seas,
now happy in contentment, leans over to hear the pleas
and thank you’s for bringing Neil Sedaka to life
upon a Sunday afternoon for the city and its colourful wife.
It’s the richness of the voice, the sadness in the detail
and the desire to bring some freshness to what else the month makes stale.
The delicate sound of a raindrop pouring on silk is full of love,
tickles the ears and brings praise to the lord of the voicebox from up above.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
In some respects Al Capone may have had the greatest of intentions, albeit ultimately flawed and with murderous, evil intent, that to stage a massacre on Valentine’s Day would be remembered in the headlines of the papers of Chicago and further afield forever. However in the scheme of things and perhaps arguably with more noble and cherished intentions, the day does belong to those who make the most of the moving and special quality that a card and a prohibition gun can’t quite cut through.
Cal Ruddy, Zanzibar, Liverpool. February 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
To become a hero, to wallow just for a short while in deserved applause, the aspiring musician need not sell his soul to sit in the reflected glory of a highly profitable television programme, all they need to do is come through the possible agony of a live performance in front of friends and family in which some difficulties, otherwise known as real life, are met head on and beaten by sheer force of will and the demeanour of one born to succeed.
Ben Higgs at Zanzibar, February 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Watching the impressive Ben Higgs on stage is like witnessing the eclipse of the sun. You are aware of the potential that comes with the awe inspiring, you may have read accounts of it happening and taken in videos and short clips of the event, but it doesn’t prepare you for the sheer spectacle of strength that unfolds before you.
When it comes to history, the theatres in Liverpool are so entrenched, so immersed in the ‘pool of life, that when it comes to putting on a production that deals in part with the chronicle of the city, with the fabric of the people who have made the streets and buildings, the city, what it is today then that history somehow takes on a more meaningful and significant expression of artistic value.
Will they check the law courts and swab the dock for flour,
Come away happy, pose for pictures, wig arrested,
the lawyers all standing round being tested
and the chambers closed down in hours?
Will they go to go to the Golf course lunch for retired heads,
swab the tees for signs of powdered chalk
and entertain the local paper with absurdist talk
and have the private hospital closed for abuse of meds?
Will they roll up en masse at Parliament Hill
and with convenience in mind forget the hate crimes,
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The ancient civilisations such as the Greeks and Romans had words to defend the meaning of when supreme beings banded together to take on a foe that threatened their way of life. As with all things, poetic quality has been lost in translation over the corresponding centuries and now the only phrase that seems to justify the immensity of talent that comes in the shape of Revolution Saints and their superb eponymous debut album is one of a Titan’s fury, a divinity of rock elegance and soaring spirit.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
The way the world is squeezing the creativity out of people as a whole, it’s always heartening to when you come across an album that may have taken a while to record, possibly because of many different factors but sounds as though each delicate step was thought out, processed with great care and attention. In the end, it is a testament to their inventiveness and never say die attitude.
Who would be a poet, writer or scribe in the modern world?
How much more exciting and soul destroying
it must have been in days when Kerouac could slump over a typewriter
and bang his head in withdrawn frustration
on the polished and
d
e
n
t
e
d
desk.
The pile of A4 paper to his left , ever dwindling, never being pregnant with word
upon word, upon life sentence, instead cluttering up the floor
in a moon scarred landscape that defeats the purpose
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Siobhan Redmond, Andrew Bone, Becky Wright, Mike Noble, Charlie Morton.
In the saddest of circumstances comes lightness, it just may take a while for the listener to see it for what it truly is.
When a much loved actor from a television programme passes on it can be hard to imagine anyone playing their character again. In the world of soap-operas they could, if they so desired perhaps get away with an actor coming in a year or two later having had facial surgery or recovering from a major operation. In others, the character would just be allowed to be retired and thought of with ceremonial fondness every now and then. In science fiction though, the sheer possibilities are endless and enjoyable.