Author Archives: admin

Doctor Who: The Crooked Man. Audio Drama Review, 3.3. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Sarah Smart, Robin Pearce, Richard Earl, Neil Stuke, Lizzie Roper.

Whoever said reading was good for you had never came across the fear that radiates the characters in novels that never get read, the terror that appears when The Crooked Man comes a calling.

Only Child, From Muddy Water To Higher Ground. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It seems an interminable age since Alan O’ Hare put forward the cause. The imposing marriage between the personal thought and the anger that burns within at the way that the world has taken a sudden turn to an extreme position in that all has been made steadily good now comes crashing down amongst the bitterness of memories. Yet there is hope, there should always be the glimmer of optimism that makes each day worthwhile and keeps the anger tucked up inside just that little bit longer. Such is the power of Alan O’ Hare’s writing under the banner of Only Child that the latest album, From Muddy Water To Higher Ground is just that, the anticipation of seeing your loved one smile whilst raging at the past and the future in the same breathe.

Fargo, The Rooster Prince. Episode Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Joshua Close, Adam Goldberg, Russell Harvard, Glenn Howerton, Brian Markinson, Tom Musgrave, Joey King, Rachel Blanchard, Peter Breitmayer, Barry Flatman, Oliver Platt, Spencer Drever, Lori Ravensborg, Gordon S. Miller, Allegra Fulton, David LeReaney, Graeme Black, James Dugan, Peter Strand Rumpel, Paul Braunstein, Sarah Elias, Mart Ronaghan, Leah Cairns, Crystal Brooke, Liam Green, Eve Harlow, Chad Stanley Martin.

Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Welcome to Lovecraft; welcome to the world of Joe Hill but whatever you find it might be better to keep it under Locke & Key.

Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft was the opening graphic novel by the writer Joe Hill and top rated artist Gabriel Rodriguez and as graphic novels go it is sensational. A story of incredible depth but with the added bonus of some of the most interesting comic art to ever see the light of day that its only peers in the last twenty years would be arguably Watchmen and the Sin City series, certainly when it comes to independent graphic novels.

The Grid, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: James Bibby, Esta Bickerstaff, Catherine Brown, Georgina Cummings, Philipa Gaskell, Lucy Harris, Heidi Henders, David Jackson, Gus Kearns, Chloe Nall-Smith, Emily Rainbow, Keeley Ray, Anthony Roberts, Grace Sandison, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, Whitney Suku, Kieran Urquhart, Matthew Woods, Nick Crosby, Tiegan Byrne, Caitlin Carey, Cortney Carey, Poppy Hughes, Kate Keeton, Niamh McCarthy, James O’ Neill, Mark Powell, Darren Pritchard, Jamie Pye, Paislie Ried, Joe Roberts, Nathan Russell, Harry Sargent, Kaila Sharples, Daryl Wafer, Nadia Anim Mohammad Noor, Rachel Barry, Lewis Bray, Jennifer Briggs, Daniel Fitzgerald, Tom Harrington, Tammy Holland, Sean Hyland, Nina Levy, Scott Lewis, Hannah McGowan, Kathryn McGurk, Spencer Montague, Joe Ringwood, Jenny Stock, Jonathan Taylor, Theo Thompson, Tommy Williams, Curtis Wilson.

Mike McCartney, Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll ( I Wish). An Evening With Mike McCartney. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When anybody with the authority of Mike McGear McCartney, celebrated photographer, part of the great Liverpool band The Scaffold and ambassador of many things to do with the city, comes back home and offers the chance to hear him give a talk on his life, it is not just a night out, it is a chance to live through history.

Aquaman: The Others. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Aquaman may well have been the poor relation for many years in terms of superheroes from the big two mainstream makers of comic books and graphic novels but in terms of modern story-telling, the fight against injustice actually going hand in hand with environmental concerns, it really has opened many fans eyes to the possibilities that was afforded to Arthur Curry due to the huge re-boot by D.C. Comics in the New 52 series.

Rita Payne, Stories From a Suitcase. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Everybody has luggage, some more than most; however it is what you do with it that can define you. The belongings that you carted round with you ten years ago is not the same as you carry round today. The bags may be heavier, that could contain less you imagine when you learn to shed some of the skin that surrounds it and occasionally, just occasionally you might misplace one and let the label fall of and flutter away like a winter bird returning to more northern climes. Regardless of how much luggage you carry, the Stories From a Suitcase will always be there to remind you how far you have travelled.

Nick Magnus, N’Monix. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Occasionally it’s possible to see greatness flow from one human being to another, to witness first-hand the skill and temperament that one may have in abundance and slowly be taken on by another. Of course some are born with natural ability and their expertise tends to blow people’s minds. Such is the tantalising prospect awaiting any listener who makes a bee-line for Nick Magnus’ new album N’Monix.

Geoffrey Beevers, The Forgotten Fields. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We perhaps like to think we look at the periods of time that went before us with a modern, dispassionate eye. An eye that picks over the fine details of what made the people of the time the way they were, the condition in which they allowed their lives to flourish or stagnate and the system of which they featured. We are not so far removed from the days that saw the world go to war in 1914, from the rush for Empire in the 19th Century, (instead of countries to conquer, there are now conglomerates who desire to own everything that moves) or even the so-called Dark Ages and the race to collect souls in the name of religion. How will future generations evaluate us, how can they decide what we were like if all they have to go by is the mess that we leave behind? This is the fascinating question that lurks at the heart of Geoffrey Beevers’ novel The Forgotten Fields.