John Jenkins: Bury Myself In The Sand. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We no longer think of the album before us as the finished article, that everything we hear was all that was recorded in the studio at the time the artist spent pouring blood and sweat in the name of releasing their soul; for there are always extras, cuts to the recording, extended takes which often give rise to questions from the listener, and then the tracks that could not be found a home at the time but which later are revealed in a golden hue, in celebration of the artist’s will.

John Jenkins: Bury Myself In The Sand. Single Review. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Blueblut: Lutebulb. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

We can wait all our lives for that one jazz album to match our own infectious energy, and when it finally arrives, we are either unprepared for the sheer scope of the imagination utilised, or we become struck by awe at the momentous audacity taken in producing the unsuspected brilliance.

There is no halfway measure when it comes to Jazz, and in a flash of cool and deliberately paced musicianship of the Viennese trio Blueblut, that experimental drive pounds at the heart and the mind as if being on a ride through a kaleidoscope of colours and sounds that leave the listener dizzy and panting, straining on a leash for more.

Blueblut: Lutebulb. Album Review. full post

(364 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Pete Morton: Fair Freedom. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

A Golden Thread once pulled would often suggest a loom industriously working to create perhaps the fabled fleece that Greek antiquity held in admiration and coveted appreciation.

It seems as though Pete Morton has been on his own journey, an expedition that has seen the superb lyric writer step back into the shadows and become of sorts an observer of humanity, and in the four years since A Golden Thread was released, there has been an explosion of human activity, of partial societal immobility and a tension that has not been felt bubbling under the skin for a couple of generations. Pete Morton has obviously watched it all unfold, and in his own indomitable style has returned from the shadows and turned on the light for the listener to witness the picture of Fair Freedom that we so deserve.

Pete Morton: Fair Freedom. Album Review. full post

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

Dan Patlansky: Movin’ On. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The urge to walk out, to move on, is arguably innate within us all. We cannot solve every problem with a solution that will keep all affected happy, we cannot inspire the masses with just a word of comfort, we will never find a way to truly compel them all to rebel with a stirring speech, and for those who are gifted to deliver such an emotional response, the urge to walk away must be overwhelming; fearing for the world and its wife as they find themselves Movin’ On.  

Dan Patlansky: Movin’ On. Album Review. full post

(422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Susan Santos: Sonora. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Driving through the desert has many rules, chiefly amongst them is making sure that the petrol never runs dry, that the music is always on, and that hitchhikers are never stopped for; and yet sometimes we will break those rules for the sheer thrill of adventure, for the appreciation of silence in a natural world, and for the company of stories that might come from that one soul to who the desert was more than a walk in the sun, it was torment of expression to which you find inspiration a willing benefactor.

Susan Santos: Sonora. Album Review. full post

(422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Michael Schenker: Is It Loud Enough – Michael Schenker:1980-1983. Box Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are few musicians to whom success is almost guaranteed no matter what group they inhabit, even fewer to whom arguably are the principal focus of what drives the sound across the entire spectrum of their spectrum, and it takes a special kind of genius to do so across three or even four bands.

Michael Schenker is that force of nature, through the Scorpions, U.F.O. and within the groups that bear his own impressive name, and one that is assured to be a tornado that tears through the possible objection and sweeps aside the build-up of negativity that comes from the haters and misanthropes in such a way that the devastation is gleefully enjoyed.

Michael Schenker: Is It Loud Enough – Michael Schenker:1980-1983. Box Set Review. full post

(381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Helen Maw: Growing Pains. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Those Growing Pains we suffer, the aches of maturity, the sentiments of personal grief and niggles, are for the most point angst turned inwards, it is our soul learning to deal with ageing and the world around us viewing our presence in a different way.

Helen Maw: Growing Pains. Album Review. full post

(391 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Canned Heat: Finyl Vinyl. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In the end is it all that we really ask for when we feel Time’s arrow hurtling towards us, just One Last Boogie, a swan song for those who spent their own time listening to us, a final dance to the cool wind and sound of the majestic parade revealed as our favourite tunes. We pack so much into life that it is perhaps no wonder when we think of the right time to leave the stage, we place greater emphasis on the title we wish to give our lasting bow to.

Canned Heat: Finyl Vinyl. Album Review. full post

(433 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Adrian Sutherland: Precious Diamonds. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Adrian Sutherland might not be a name you are familiar with, but it is one to now make acquaintance with, and to metaphorically look him in the eye and shake his hand warmly as he regales your soul with tales of song that encourage a way of looking at the world that has become almost alien to many us who live and devour the planet rather than being a part of it.

Adrian Sutherland: Precious Diamonds. Album Review. full post

(406 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Paula Rae Gibson and Matthew Bourne: Loving In Real Time. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We seek a connection, a touch from another human being, and sometimes that wish is granted with a favourable result, the sense of being safe, close, unafraid because the world is forgotten in a blink of tenderness; in the hands of caring, we hope we emerge intact as we find Loving In Real Time is the bond that heals all wounds.

Love though must also haunt.

Paula Rae Gibson and Matthew Bourne: Loving In Real Time. Album Review. full post

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