Category Archives: Music

Dave Lee Roth, Skyscraper. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

It had been four years since Dave Lee Roth and Van Halen had released the iconic rock album 1984 and whilst the three remaining members were on a creative and production high with their first U.S.A. Number 1, 5150 and were on the verge of securing the second of 4 top spots on the bounce, ‘Diamond Dave’ was also enjoying his new found status as a solo star. There are very few people that really deserve the moniker before their name, especially when they have been so entwined with a band that had hit such incredible highs but in Dave Lee Roth, the moniker not only fits, it simply oozes polish and craves the title.

Dave Lee Roth, Skyscraper. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(861 words, estimated 3:27 mins reading time)

Phoenix Of Avalon, Reborn. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Phoenix of Avalon may not be a name that is well known in Liverpool just yet but on the back of their debut E.P. it surely won’t be long before the name of the band and the two members, Stephen Redfern and David Connor, are more common place.

Although bands such as the Wirral’s The Guardians and Mashemon have a huge head start in their respective journeys as the foremost young bands in the Liverpool area, the debut E.P. by the group, the tantalisingly titled Reborn, shows the band have much promise in their own material. The songs flow in the best possible way and on the songs Battle of Fallen Angels and Letters To No One, the ferocity of the lyrics are matched well with the beating heart that the music provides.

Phoenix Of Avalon, Reborn. E.P. Review. full post

(327 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Adam Ant, Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It will be an album that divides opinion and there will be those that try their damndest to compare it some of the most iconic albums of Adam Ant’s career. Highly unfair bearing in mind that Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter is the first new studio album by the British charming prince of 1980s pop for 13 years. Why would you want to try and go back to a period which you dominated and in which the scene has moved on, not exactly for the better either? Hard to be a star again, sparkling incessantly against some of the dull and tarnished pop acts of this generation.

Adam Ant, Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter. Album Review. full post

(342 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

Bad Religion, True North. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Like the great British post Punk band Goldblade, there are some bands that typify their genre, the big brash sound and verbal generosity that makes them just sound a cut above so many of their peers and those following in their wake. Bad Religion might not appeal to everyone, but they are truly one of the greats, live and in the studio.

Bad Religion’s latest offering, the sublime True North, follows on their rich tradition of wrapping great stories up in the heat and bitter furnace of punk’s anti authority and like Goldblade they succeed in getting you to question just what is being force fed down the throat.

Bad Religion, True North. Album Review. full post

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

Steve Lukather, Transition. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Following up from the 2010 album All’s Well That Ends Well, Steve Lukather once more comes up with guitar gold in his latest release Transition.

Transition is perhaps an apt title for the album for the former Toto man. It is by far his most biographical release and as each track flows over the listener thoughts and nestles into the conscious, the songs hit home hard that this is a man, a musician, who is looking back at his life and taking issue with the past fall outs and people and who acknowledges that he is bigger and better than any argument.

Steve Lukather, Transition. Album Review. full post

(351 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Maschemon, Various Propositions. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It seems that not only is Mashemon’s live sound something superb to behold but they can also carry that same sense of illicit strength into the studio also. Their latest E.P. Various Propositions has all the hallmarks of something that should be shouted from the top of the Liver Building with passion.

Maschemon, Various Propositions. E.P. Review. full post

(330 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Megadeth, So Far, So Good, So What!. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

Megadeth’s third album So Far, So Good, So What! carried on the fine work made by Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson on Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? Megadeth in the space of two consecutive albums became one of the quintessential American Heavy Metal bands, of which the core group of Mustaine and Ellefson certainly rivalled the Metallica foursome of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and the much missed Cliff Burton and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello and Joey Belladonna as leaders of a brand new pack and iconic American Heavy Metal.

Megadeth, So Far, So Good, So What!. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(1140 words, estimated 4:34 mins reading time)

AC/DC, Blow Up Your Video. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

Any serious rock fan has to only mention AC/DC’s name in any conversation to get sage old head nodding in approval and younger fans salivating as they prepare to hear more tales of one of the hardest rock acts to grace the genre in 40 years. From their 1975 debut High Voltage (Australia, 1976 elsewhere) through to the superb Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, the career defining Back In Black and finally the 1988 Blow Up Your Video, fans knew what to expect and they devoured each album in their droves.

AC/DC, Blow Up Your Video. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(688 words, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

Paul Raymond Project, Terms & Conditions Apply. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Terms & Conditions Apply may sound as foreboding as it is ominous but in the hands of cult hard rock band U.F.O.’s songwriter and rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond it is a statement of musical intent that shows just how influential and talented this talismanic Hertfordshire man is.

Paul Raymond may be better known for his work U.F.O. and the Michael Schenker Group but Terms & Conditions Apply by the Paul Raymond Project is an album of quality and distinction with some incredible small surprises mixed into the venture. Always endeavouring to make sure that the sound he creates is uppermost in the thoughts of the multitude who have listened to his work, whether in the early days with Savoy Brown or in his beloved U.F.O. band.

Paul Raymond Project, Terms & Conditions Apply. Album Review. full post

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

Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). 30th Anniversary Retrospective.

It was the album that made Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox household names and gave life to the blurring of female sexuality in its songs and many accompanying videos. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) saw the pair, in the form of their band Eurythmics, break away from their past music lives completely and take on established bands who had carved out success as part of the electronic revolution that had taken place. Driven by Dave Stewart’s excellent grip on the flourishing medium and Annie Lennox’s distinctive vocals, the pair made their commercial breakthrough with Sweet Dreams… and it was well worth it.

Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). 30th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(804 words, 1 image, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)