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Jessica’s Ghost, Losing Track Of Time. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

No matter what, 2012 could be the year that Jessica’s Ghost became a major force in the all-encompassing world of Liverpool music.

There have been some utterly absorbing albums to come from the region this year and rightly so as the city enjoys yet another renaissance in what people from London to New York to Sydney are expecting to hear from the place where the Mersey Beat first came of age, the eighties revival took hold and now the 21^st century musical barometer is suggesting and predicting.

Jessica’s Ghost, Losing Track Of Time. Album Review. full post

(380 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Still Life, Theatre Review. University Of Liverpool.

Mark Raynor, Iona Campbell, Georgina Rose in Noel Coward’s Stll Life. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Iona Campbell, Jonny Campbell, Jack Conway, Mary Cooper, Barney Eliot, Reuben Green, Mark Raynor, Georgina Rose, Elena Spiegl, Katherine Wright.

With the strains of Noel Coward’s I Went to a Marvellous Party greeting the audience at the University of Liverpool’s intimate theatre space, the stage was set for a renaissance of the great actor and playwrights work performed by L.U.D.S, one of the two amateur dramatic societies that give young budding actors their first real taste of life in front of an audience. Their chosen piece to start their 2012-13 season off was the sublime affair of several hearts, Still Life.

Still Life, Theatre Review. University Of Liverpool. full post

(439 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Steptoe And Son, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Photograph by Steve Tanner. Dean Nolan, Mike Shepherd as Steptoe and Son.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Mike Shepherd, Dean Nolan, Kirsty Woodward.

Albert and Harold Steptoe, national comedy legends that were bought to B.B.C. television by the incredible writing of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, two men bound to each other through blood, despair, apathy and a small measure of distant attachment. No one could have predicted how much the two men would change the television viewing habits of the nation as they settled down each week to watch the Steptoe and Son.

Steptoe And Son, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(427 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Simon McBride, Crossing the Line. Album Review.

This year has seen some incredible blues albums being released and the vast majority of them by women. This is not only great news to see the likes of Beverly McClellan, Beth Hart, Bonnie Raitt and Joanne Shaw Taylor take on the men at their own game but it also sees the new men of Blues raise their standards.

In a similar fashion the punk explosion of the 1970’s that musically threatened the old established figures , what is coming through is exciting and new and whilst led by Joe Bonamassa and some of the older guard like Robert Cray are still the Gods that every one aspires to become. This is no less true in the case of the exceptional Belfast Blues man Simon McBride.

Simon McBride, Crossing the Line. Album Review. full post

(370 words, 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Adam Barnes, Blisters. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Oxford is known for its dreaming spires, its universities that are amongst the pinnacle of world education and thinking and one of the best cities to sit and have the occasional pint in one of its numerous and edifying public houses; what it’s not that well known for is for being a hotbed of young musical talent. Occasionally though a new musician will come through and whose voice breaks down barriers and wins fans in even the most music conscious places in the U.K., it won’t be long before Adam Barnes possibly becomes the most well-known musician to come out the city.

Adam Barnes, Blisters. Album Review. full post

(377 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Ragz, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Ragnhild Nordset or Ragz to her fans and friends alike has been sadly absent from the loving scrutiny of those that come along to watch her perform for 18 months.

All that was soon forgotten as the young Nordic woman with the voice of a siren and the heart of an angel stepped on stage at Leaf on Bold Street and performed as if she had never been away. It might have been a short set but to Ragz and no doubt the assembled crowd, who must have been overjoyed to witness the ‘surprise guest’ make her appearance, every moment that she was once more in the spotlight was to savour and enjoy.

Ragz, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

(391 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Adam Barnes, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is something about the dreaming spires of Oxford that can sometimes bring out the very best and noble intentions in a musician.

For the musician that hails from Liverpool, The Mersey can be a constant source of inspiration and intrigue. The way it feeds into the local psyche is nothing short of admirable, the same can be said for the city of Oxford, its river, the Isis as it is known locally may not be as world renowned but it also carries the dreams of all those that enter the city’s safety.

Adam Barnes, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

(346 words, 1 image, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Megadeth, Countdown To Extiction. 20th Anniversary Edition.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Following on from the 25^th Anniversary release of the Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying album by Megadeth in 2011, the band have once again decided to give new life to an album that in all honesty doesn’t need to be tinkered with but is great fun to enjoy nonetheless. Countdown to Extinction is one of the four great albums of Megadeth’s and Dave Mustaine’s early period and alongside Peace Sells…, So Far, So Good…So What! and Rust In Peace stand out as almost impossible to age and see decrease in stature, no matter how much the ravages of time may try.

Megadeth, Countdown To Extiction. 20th Anniversary Edition. full post

(474 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Blackburner, Planet Earth Attack. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Mix the industrial with a healthy dollop of some of the finest exponents of Progressive Rock, some genre crossing of dubstep and Heavy Metal and finally one of the megastars and iconic figures of Science Fiction film and television and you have the superb new Blackburner album Planet Earth Attack in all its grandiose and lavish glory.

William Shatner, the one and only Captain Kirk from television’s Star Trek,is no stranger to adding his unique tone of voice to another artist’s idea but from the start of the Skyla Talon’s produced album, with its eclectic and brutally dystopian future soundscapes, it sets the ultimate and stunning start to the aggressive and dominant music.

Blackburner, Planet Earth Attack. Album Review. full post

(383 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Matt Breen.

Matt Breen of The Endings. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

The sound of the station announcer’s voice at Liverpool Lime Street Station booms over the crowds making their way home after a hard day’s work in the city or as they pile in to the bars and music venues dotted around arguably the most vibrant city in the North of England. In amongst the organised chaos, the serenity of having a conversation with Matt Breen of The Endings about music, the band and being on the next step of his career is an oasis of calm.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Matt Breen. full post

(1106 words, 1 image, estimated 4:25 mins reading time)