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The sound of classic harmonies are filtered alongside moments of great bass guitar, the incredible pockets of a violin, mandolin, oboe, trumpet and clarinet playing and above all the music experience of witnessing an unexpectedly formidable and enjoyable play in little known venue in a part of town that you wouldn’t normally go to. This is the world of the great New York band Onward Chariots and their stunning debut album This is My Confession.
The late 70s and early 80s saw American music defy the punk explosion that had become so entrenched in British pop culture and forge ahead with the style that encompassed A.O.R. There were a great number of bands that the American public could latch onto in either camp but the conservative America could be seen as winning through and amongst their musical heroes were bands like Toto.
There has been so much written about Dark Side of the Moon that to even attempt to add more could be seen as either reckless folly, a journey of writing insanity or a grandiose piece of that is seen as just adding to the cannon and millions of words that have surrounded Pink Floyd’s much admired 1973 album.
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In a rare bout of musical honesty Annie Hardy of L.A. rock outfit Giant Drag has put herself through a seven year hell in making what has become a really decent and heart felt album full of pathos, catchy tunes but with an element that many would shy away from, namely the look hard look at what she has gone through in her life, especially the last few years which has seen prescription drug addiction and others around her having mental health issues and the final over riding result is the excellent album Waking Up Is Hard To Do.
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There is no comparison readily available to the voice that made The Moody Blues one of the finest bands to ever come out of Britain. In Justin Hayward the talent he possesses is phenomenal, a real delight in a world that can seem cynical of a person still recording good quality music after nearly fifty years. That musical talent is yet again laid bare for listeners to revel in and take an hour or two out their ever-increasing busy and demanding lives in his first solo album since 1996, the exquisite and beautiful Spirits of the Western Sky.
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It is not the first time that poetry has been set to or inspired a musical score and it certainly won’t be the last but with the indomitable spirit and really sensuous voice that runs through the very core of Steve Macfarlane, the enchanting Billy Hui on piano and the words of the impressive poet Peter Grant, the musical orchestration of Happy Daze is a poet’s dream come true and hugely enjoyable to listen to.
As his persona and as the leader of the American shock rock band Alice Cooper, the man named Vincent Furnier at birth must have appeared to some as the devil incarnate, the man who was leading the nations younger music lovers astray with the bands songs which suggested and spoke of subjects such as necrophilia, political instability and shocking church groups. Looking back with 40 years of hindsight, Alice Cooper’s sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies, it is nothing more than sensational and shows the leader of this much talked of group as nothing more than perhaps the ultimate music showman, the Barnum of the staged three ring rock circus.
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The Scandinavian countries have a proud history of producing some really great music that catches the ear in more ways to the British ear than say music from Southern Europe. From Abba, A-Ha, Lena Marlin, In The Woods, Jacob Bro, Lars Ulrich of Metallica fame and Candlemass have all made an impression somewhere along the lines in the lives of music lovers from the U.K. They are hard acts to live up to and newer bands trying to make any head way in their own country has a huge mountain to climb.
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If you are going to do an album of cover songs by one of the greatest duos of American popular music then it not only has to be good, it has to be sensational and given a new twist. Thankfully Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, the folk singer Will Oldham, have not only managed this but have done it with such style and with due deference to the Everly Brothers that the songs could well have been written in the last year given their freshness and contemporary feel.
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Watching Erica Nockalls on stage, the first thing you notice is her absolute belief in what she is playing, whether as part of Wonderstuff or going out on the road with Miles Hunt and touring intimate venues, the way she handles the violin marks her out as one amazing performer. This conviction is carried over into her debut solo album Imminent Room and it is a work of pure and fantastic art.