Didn’t we
have a grand day out,
just you and I, hiding
in the shadow of the cinema glare,
a motion picture about nothing
at all and then a play,
after a hastily eaten meal,
that signified the roar
and enthusiastic, spontaneous applause
of the crowd
thankful that the rain
had spoiled a thousand bonfire nights.
Ian D. Hall 2017
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Even in the current political and social climate it is easy to fall in love with America; there is something beautiful, a passion that unifies in the most unexpected places and raises the ghosts of all that once passed. This passion does not require a flag to be raised, a declaration of faith with hand on heart as if stopping from beating to fast from the opinionated wealth and abundance that is there to trick the passer-by into thinking that all is rosy in the garden founded and fought over for centuries. It is though in the spirit of the person, the Belle of the West, that makes America such a proposition of glory.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The river plays such an important part in our lives that the only surprise is that perhaps we don’t venerate it in song even more than we do. No matter where you live, what county, what city or town, there is a river nearby that has had tales, songs and lyrical beauty bestowed upon it at some time or another. It doesn’t need to be the Thames, the musically enamoured Mersey, the mighty Clyde, the Tyne, the industrious Weir or the Tamar, what matters is that river plays such a role that the musician will find time to give it a moment of life, to capture it forever.
Isolation, it is a fear more acute than
a room full of spiders,
for they at least
might be behind glass, snarling
away, venom rising,
wanting to taste your flesh; but they do it
only because they are hungry, not evil,
you are prey, not ridicule, as the first bite
goes deep into your skin
and the feeling of paralysis
comes over you in waves,
at least you know it is not out of hate.
Ian D. Hall 2017
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A romance is something to be treasured, especially one that is hard fought for, arguably more so than the one that was easy, that fell into place and then as the saying goes, they lived happily ever after. It is better to hard won than to be won over with an empty promise, a meaningless gesture; it is the fight that shows others that it was all worth it in the end.
I have never been fitter,
well in sarcasm terms anyway,
all this running in circles,
jumping through hoops,
clearing every hurdle
and pushing
myself forward
in a time
when all people want
is to be famous.
I just want to be able to live,
happy in the darkness,
not surrounded by obstacles
or contemplating the quick sprint,
out of breathe, out of touch,
just content to do the marathon
in my own time,
one foot
after another and to the beat of my own
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The lady might sing the Blues, but in the heart of the cultured Parisian theatres, it is a joyful affair, the rumble of the traditional beauty that Paris affords, the simple pleasure of painting scenic memories by the Seine, the grace in which their society flourished and was seen as a beacon of hope in the artistic world encompassing the down but not beaten and the regal posturing of good taste.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
You probably don’t believe that the trance like can take hold in something as acute or passionate as Power Metal, that the rage of the Berserker can be found settling into the form of the beasts that roam the stage, adrenaline fuelled, the blood pumping faster as if struggling to contain the soul. You might not believe in the hypnotic but as Beast In Black unburdens itself like a hero beside the fire, the warmth making the stories flow as if champagne is poured from the stars, then the hypnotic and the trance is what you find yourself in, the cascade of the words of the Berserker’s tale becomes the reason you fall under its spell.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The sound of butterfly wings may always be shrouded in myth and legend, the floating beauty of once human souls in the times of ancients, is perhaps not as prevalent as once was, too many species driven to the point of extinction, so many souls lost; and yet there is still the thought that persists that they will carry your hopes, dreams and wishes to a place which may grant them.
If a single butterfly can convey just one craving, then surely A Million Butterflies can break down the barriers of all the yearnings you ever experience in a life time, that they whisper only to the gods all you love and hope for.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Lisa McGrillis, Richard Harrington, Adam Levy, Naomi Frederick, Steve Robertson, Tom Andrews, Louis Hilyer, David Prosho, Simon Hubbard, Michelle Bonnard, Jon Culshaw, Rachel Bavidge, Mandeep Dhillon, Grant Gillespie, Don Gallagher, Phil Corbitt, Christopher Brand, Geoffrey Breton, Katie West, Damien Matthews, Roger Barclay, Pip Chamberlin.
In the last few years the image of George Gently on television has been a reminder of less hectic times, still dogged by the sense of criminality that has weaved itself throughout society since records began, but one that was dealt with perhaps a more studious approach to policing and detective work, rather than relying on the science, the drip feed of automation against the human brain.