Category Archives: Music

The World Is Yours, Motorhead. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 17th 2011.

The very name of British heavy metal band Motorhead was once enough to strike fear into the hearts of fans worldwide, their overpowering guitar driven anthems, Lemmy’s persona and the very image they fully lived up to always meant they were a bit of a Marmite band, you either didn’t get them or you thought they were out of this world. There was no way you could be indifferent about the band.

What if… Mr. Big. Album Review.

 Originally published by L.S. Media. January 25th 2011.

What if…is the first studio album in ten years by the L.A rock giants Mr. Big and if you are going to go away for that long and then do an album, it has to be a cracking one. Thankfully Eric Martin, Pat Torpey, Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert deliver an album high on octane and memories of past glories withheld at the studio door.

Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy. Remastered Deluxe Edition. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 2nd 2011.

For those that lived through 1976, the time came to remembered for the heat wave that struck Britain culminating in drought conditions unseen for generations, it was also noted for the then Chancellor of the exchequer Dennis Healy applying to the I.M.F for a loan of 5.3 Billion Dollars to help bail out Britain and the death of the Peoples Republic of China leader Mao Zedong. In the world of rock music it was the coming of age of a band that had threatened to become one of the biggest recording acts of the decade.

Robin Beck, The Great Escape. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 16th 2011.

It has been the best part of 23 years since New York singer songwriter Robin Beck made any type of impact with her music in Britain. Although chiefly remembered for her only U.K. number one, the power ballad First Time, the quiet American has released albums which have done well in her native homeland and in other parts of Europe but not touched the consciousness of the record-buying public in this country.

Bob Geldof, How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 23rd 2011.

Bob Geldof has for so long been associated with the ideals of political activism and one of the great modern philanthropists that for some people his days as a Punk/ Rock rebel and musician are long in the distant past. In certain quarters the songs that he created with the Boomtown Rats may seem like a relic to the man he no longer is, and it is has been such a long time since he recorded anything of note that those critics may have a point.

Blancmange, Blanc Burn. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 26th 2011.

With other bands from the 80’s pop scene making waves with talks of come backs and releasing new albums for their fans in what can be seen as a blaze of glory, there is one band that has quietly been going about its business and creating a new album that stirs the desire for the Synth Pop era that they were at the forefront of at the time.

Blancmange gained a reputation for their style of recording great, memorable songs and even covering tracks by Abba’s The Day Before You Came to great critical effect.

R.E.M., Collapse Into Now. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.

R.E.M have made many notable and groundbreaking albums over the years, so many in fact that their fan base have been spoilt by the richness and depth of the recordings, with many different styles and themes running through each individually tailored album there has been a lot to like and admire of the Georgia band.

Collapse into now is an album that should have followed suit and been amongst the very best that this once mighty band have produced. However with a few exceptions, notably on Oh My Heart and Every day is Yours to Win which sees the band at their melancholic, delightful best, the album seems cliché ridden, desperate to please and tired.

Jump, The Beachcomber. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.

The Beachcomber is the new studio album by British Rock Band Jump and as ever the guys never let their loyal fan base down with an album crammed with songs that are bound to become crowd pleasers when they play them live.

John Dexter Jones has been one of the best and underrated songwriters of the last twenty years, his personal and sometimes dramatic stories making their way onto albums with apparent ease and yet you know just by listening to songs such as Kingston Corner Blues which deals with the idea of people declaring their life stories on the phone in public and the incredible No One Spoke.

Elbow, Build A Rocket Boys. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.

It is easy to see why Elbow has been one of the most talked about bands of the last ten years, with a Mercury Prize being a pinnacle of a very achieving career. With four top twenty albums on the spin, Elbow have released what could be their biggest album yet in the form of the brilliantly titles Build a Rocket Boys!

The Trestles, What Do You See. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 14th 2011.

If there is a young musician or group of disaffected teenagers currently playing their own music whilst holed up in garages and bedrooms of this fine musical city, if they are blinded by the injustice of the world and fear their voice is not being heard; then they need look no further than the inspiration of a band who knows all there is to know about the fine tradition of Liverpool and Merseyside protest music, The Trestles.