Category Archives: Music

Ed Brayshaw, Random Repeat. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Ed Brayshaw is as individual as they come, the sense of the distinct and the specific framing the abundance of ideas and musical outpourings is seemingly personal to him, and despite the immensity of his contribution to others which grace the same playing field, the personality of being is one of character, of a persona who knows exactly the role he is performing and the encompassing truth to which the song never strays.

Following on from the superb Fire Without Water, Ed Brayshaw returns with that deep courage filled persona and musical riches in an album of muscle, command, and imperative belief.

Ed Brayshaw, Random Repeat. Album Review. full post

(399 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Billy Joel, The Vinyl Collection: Volume One. Box Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Rarely, if ever, do we get the chance to be in someone’s life for the entirety of their existence, the best we can often realise is that we are there for the moments that matter, the good, the bad, and possibly the indifferent when summer days are listless and unmoving.

Billy Joel, The Vinyl Collection: Volume One. Box Set Review. full post

(494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Jethro Tull, Benefit. 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

For the Benefit of those who believe that Jethro Tull starts at Aqualung and ends around the time when the golden age of Progressive Rock gave way in time to the neo-Progressive successor, Steven Wilson, who himself is no stranger to the delight and sorcery of the genre has remixed, and indeed given new life to perhaps one of Jethro Tull’s least mentioned, and often least enjoyed in certain circles albums, the 1970 classic Benefit.

Jethro Tull, Benefit. 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition. Album Review. full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Niko, Electric Union. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

What some may believe to be an insult of description of the ‘synthetic’ sound, is in fact an observation of how far we have come in terms of creating a comprehensive and rigorous entity to which anything is possible. Music benefits from its embracement of the once thought abstract, musicians and writers find the value of intrigue and absorbing curiosity, and for the listener, this Electric Union is one where the scheme of stimulus galvanises all the seams together and creates a whole new universe in which to discover.

Niko, Electric Union. Album Review. full post

(414 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Oli Duerden, The Sometimes/Often E.P. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Bruising and full of angst, the torment of the soul as it is released, the freedom that transpires when concern is replaced by possible acceptance; such is the way that the creative side normally associated with the left-hand side of the brain manages to rebuild the soul, to override logic which can be tantalising, but rough to handle when emotions are in play, is quite often the reason why what we might discern as The Sometimes/Often is in reality the agreement we reach with our souls to put all other things aside and get on with creating art for our own sake. 

Oli Duerden, The Sometimes/Often E.P. E.P. Review. full post

(357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Joe Tilston, Tightrope. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Not so much of a balancing act, but a tightrope walk between the sensuality and freedom of Folk, and the hard edged critical honest afforded to one who has illuminated the so called darkness of punk; and one navigated with belief and cool by Joe Tilston, and all without, it seems, by the use of a safety net, nor a large wooden pole to be found.

Joe Tilston, Tightrope. Album Review. full post

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

Martyn Joseph, 1960. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

How we view the world once we find a way to come out the double-barrelled shotgun effect of climate change and the global pandemic that has robbed people of their time together in the last couple of years, is not only important, but it will define how we move forward as a species, how we move on collectively, and for all the time that has been sacrificed, it is to the memories of the cherished people in our lives that will spur us on to make the right decisions.

Martyn Joseph, 1960. Album Review. full post

(457 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Tori Amos, Ocean To Ocean. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Where the waters ebb and flow, where the sea fills the ocean and crashes against the dynamic coast and the jagged rocks where wreckers once lay in waiting, there is the sense of the timeless, a prospect and unveiling of the merging eternal beauty which for the most part does not have a counterpart on land, except perhaps where the rugged yet feminine landscape lends itself to creativity and myth, of wonder and fierce allusion, for it is in the ocean where we look deep within ourselves and see the everlasting depths, and the strange waves that drive us.

Tori Amos, Ocean To Ocean. Album Review. full post

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

It’s Karma It’s Cool, Homesick For Our Future Destinations. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The places we haven’t been to are no more strangers to us than the streets, the stomping grounds, we have played on all our lives, the only difference is the actual sense of physical presence to found compared to the projected images we see when we look to what may be imminent, what may be forthcoming.

It’s Karma It’s Cool, Homesick For Our Future Destinations. Album Review. full post

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

Jake Shimabukuro, Jake & Friends. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Ambition, if channelled wisely, is the gigantic spur of all artistic creation. To create out of freedom, of being able to look at the unblemished, untouched marble that stands between you and eternity, is driven by the unmistakable fact that what the artist sees is potential, to capture something unique in the detail.

No matter the field of artistic endeavour, the chance, the ability to practise what you preach is embedded deeply into the soul, and perhaps if that vision of immortality is shared, combined with another’s impressive prowess, then what is revealed is not only verging on the unique, but also irreplaceable.

Jake Shimabukuro, Jake & Friends. Album Review. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)