Category Archives: Music

Helen Maw: The Beacon. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We search for the light that will guide us, for the lamp that warns, and our eyes are irrevocably focused on the darkness for the beacon that offers us hope, the substantial fire in the distance that calls for aid, that signals the moment to return home and leave the broken soul that you carry with heavy heart behind.

In the modern world we are summoned to ride the distance by the incessant ping of the artificial, the buzz of electronic, and unlike the beacon that grows steadily, and which asks your mind to fully accept that which glows, the damnation of the synthetic growls like a cornered wolf, offering urgency instead of warmth and heart.

Helen Maw: The Beacon. Single Review. full post

(332 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

Ian Dury: Too Nutty To Be Naughty -The Studio Recordings 1977-2002. Box Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

In a fair and just world Ian Dury would have been more than just a working class hero, he would have risen above the status of informed commentator, he would have surely been an assured laureate, esteemed in high circles, venerated as one of Britain’s finest poets…but then he would have been pressured to conform, to be seen as a voice of those that bore no consequence to how they took delight on keeping the lower classes in order; he would have had to show a kind of normalcy that was less about vision but of compliance, and the master word builder of his generation would never have allowed that.

Ian Dury: Too Nutty To Be Naughty -The Studio Recordings 1977-2002. Box Set Review. full post

(516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here -50-. Box Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Of all the albums that Pink Floyd produced perhaps none come close to exploring melancholy, ghosts of the past and bitterness, despair and anger in equal measure than the 1975 release of Wish You Were Here.

Much has been written of the album’s mythos, the strangeness of seeing an old friend and leader of the Progressive Rock group standing in close proximity, staring meaningfully as the songs came to life, as they seemed to echo the disconnect that had been suffered with a sense of drama and distress; yet interestingly not with any kind of disruption to the machine, to the Pink Floyd story.

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here -50-. Box Set Review. full post

(347 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Ashley Reaks: At Night The World Belongs To Me. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We think we deserve to be in the light, to be the sunshine of everybody’s life, to be seen as so bright that in our company wearing shades becomes obligatory and without causing anything but smiles and hearing the hearty words of congratulations. That is the modern effect of belief, installed into us that we can be all things to all people and they will thank us for the barest effort we show.

Ashley Reaks: At Night The World Belongs To Me. Album Review. full post

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

Fine Young Cannibals: FYC40. Album Boxset Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The 80s was a time of obvious change, a period which the everyday that had been hanging in the air without recognition suddenly shifted, the momentum quickened, the hangovers of previous generation became polarised and the passion of anger was relit, reawakened from the early days of Punk and instead utilised with force and beauty a different kind of music scene, one that made pop be more than just bubblegum and teenage dreams, and actually not just make a point, but hammer it home with aggression and a vibe of consistency.

Fine Young Cannibals: FYC40. Album Boxset Review. full post

(607 words, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

Jan Akkerman: My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Class is permanent, as they rightly say, and technical mastery of an instrument lives long into legendary status, as Dutch supremo Jan Akkerman, the guitarist who successfully challenged the notion of dominance of British/American virtuosity that had had arisen, returns to the ears of the listener in a brand new live recording, My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow

Jan Akkerman: My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow. Album Review. full post

(403 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Robin Adams: The Beggar. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

We may beg for many a garnish in life, for the icing of the cake to be seen as smooth, flavourful, unveiling a rich texture that excites the palette, a revelation of taste, colour, and coherent disclosure; it is after all the final cherry that we expect to be pressed into place which will give us the reason to salivate and chomp at the bit of life.

Robin Adams: The Beggar. Album Review. full post

(389 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

The Harbinger: Gates Of Hell. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The Gates Of Hell are open and whilst all the devils and demons have been on Earth for some time, what is being evoked now is the sound of the cries of the human traitors allying themselves to causes that will surely bring destruction. Only the heralds of music for the masses, the portents of good fortune and live mentality can hold the un-songs at bay.

The Harbinger: Gates Of Hell. Album Review. full post

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

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer: Some Other Stories. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Exploration of ideas is what always pushes the artist into new, unfound realms of discovery, the beautiful struggle of chasing down a song, endlessly correcting a piece of poetry, or indeed sculpting marble into humanity, all lead to the next big idea, Some Other Stories in which to bring to life and see the cycle continue onwards.

Melanie Crew and Ross Palmer seamlessly almost waltz into view once more, and on the back of their impressive E.P. Away From The City, and their enormous debut album Quiet After Midnight, the pair offer a continual drive of folk inspired passion in the release of Some Other Stories.

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer: Some Other Stories. Album Review. full post

(348 words, 1 image, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Cheap Trick: All Washed Up. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The inference by many that rock has had its day, that the new generations coming through are no longer influenced by the thrilling demands of its riffs and lyrical bounty are to be frank, not only hogwash, but almost insulting to the genre. Classic Rock is by no means All Washed Up, indeed it has the continuing power to charm and inspire with weighted authority of rebellion that many others wish they could match.

Cheap Trick: All Washed Up. Album Review. full post

(384 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)