Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Unless humanity finds a way to take the Sun apart, to destroy it on the basis that they can, there will always be a New Day Rising somewhere in the Solar System; it’s almost as inevitable as the Von Hertzen Brothers producing yet another album of tremendous quality.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Divisive is as divisive is allowed to do, like the Presidential namesake in which split the United States of America 40 years ago, Liverpool’s The Sneaky Nixons have seemed to have garnered the same ringing endorsement in how to win friends and influence people. What should matter though is the sound that they generate, and for that the two latest singles from the Nixons’ stable are as keenly, and beautifully discordant, as the push will be allowed to be taken.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
To be able to narrate a deeply personal tale, to share in what adventures you have faced in your life or to even be able to exorcise the demons of a failing or doomed relationship takes guts and the ability to relate to your audience, the ability to look them in the eye as you are talking away and know that they are interested and engaged, not checking their watch every few minutes to see when they themselves can move on.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Rock sometimes gets a bad press, the same can be said of Heavy Metal or any of its splintered but not divisive forms. There will always be those that somewhere along the line use the musical format as a whipping boy, that it is the ideal appearance in which to shove all of a nation’s ills upon. It happens all too frequently in some places in the United States of America and perhaps more disturbingly in some quarters in the land of ever diminishing free speech. The patience of the bully is seemingly absolute and should not be allowed to spread its words or actions.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It is not the first time that Steve Hackett has employed the nature of another place in which to invoke the stirrings of imagery, and yet, the concept of Wolflight is one that perhaps goes further than ever before to reach out beyond the natural and self imposed boundary and limits in which some fans of the virtuoso performer seem to place upon the experiences they feel when listening to the musician. It is a convention that has always required confrontation, one with a velvet glove and a sweet beauty, but still the challenge of perspective freedom must be attained.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It is not against the law to have conflicting emotions when listening to a new song by a band of great repute, to understand those conflictions though when they are born out of knowing that whether past offerings were of very good quality and the immediate impact that a new sound, a solid state of reflection and increased buoyancy, somehow surpasses it; it only goes to show the heart that Things Get Better, no matter how much the past influences the present.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Memories are stirred with equal measure when hearing a album recorded live; passion, regret, the mourning of a long forgotten time and person who shared a moment with you, the extremes of life which culminate in a series of vivid, fleeting recollections and stark reminisce. For the former voice of Runrig and very much his own man, Donnie Munro, memories must surely be held out as if living the moment again and again whilst always striving ever onward, a Sweet Surrender, both to the past and the endless possibilities the future provides.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The art of the confessional poem may be steeped in American post-war history but it takes a suitably British voice, one steeped in the absurdities of the over-flowing English eccentricity and way of life, to truly bring past declarations of admission seem suitably cool and full of understanding.
Not for Vinny Peculiar will you find the hidden message laden, the daring concealed communication that Sylvia Plath employed in Daddy, or the wasted and admirable qualities that Anne Sexton brought to mind, all Vinny Peculiar needs is the distant memory we all acquire, startling observational skills and the gift of putting exquisite poetry to song, all of which comes to fruition in the album Down The Bright Stream.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It is far harder to give away half your heart than to tear the entire beating beast from its crevice. Half a heart can still care, it can still desire and function, it just feels the pain and loss of that it was separated from with more intensity than if the heart stopped with the sudden force of being slammed into obscurity and the unfeeling.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is arguably no such thing as luck, maybe perhaps in the casinos of New Jersey and in the deserts of Nevada, even then it’s doubtful as the flick of a simple switch can always bring the house crashing down; but luck in life? It’s more to do with timing, perseverance, hard work and the abiding kiss of resolution that makes things happen in the way that they do and for Bill Feehely and his latest album, Lucky Struck. It is all down to the singer, the penmanship of quality songs and the observational skills, if this is luck then Bill Feehely is one wonderfully blessed man.