Our Flag Means Death. Series Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi, Joel Fry, Samson Kayo, Matthew Maher, Nathan Foad, Samba Schutte, Con O’Neill, Vico Ortiz, Kristian Nairn, David Fane, Ewen Bremner, Nat Faxon, Madeleine Sami, Leslie Jones, Ruibo Qian, Anapela Polataivao, Michael Crane, Erroll Shand, Amanda Grace Leo, Rachel House, Minnie Driver, Mark Mitchinson, Bronson Pinchot.

History in the hands of the wilfully uneducated or the fool is in danger of being erased and found to be redacted as a matter of course; but in the hands of a genius who plays with the world through the medium of satire and graceful humour, it can lead the intended target to a place of discovery and the realm of unending treasure.

Our Flag Means Death. Series Two. Television Review. full post

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

Michael Kessler: Gravel Road. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Time, it’s sacred to us all, but some choose to abuse its trust and meaning by frittering away the seconds and minutes that add content to the day and make the hours meaningful. Time is not honour bound to push our voice, but instead will carry it if we are willing to walk the Gravel Road and count the stones that get into our boots, that tears at the soles of our worn-out socks, and which we are willing to abandon and tread in bare feet to achieve our goal…then Time will offer us the world.

Michael Kessler: Gravel Road. Album Review. full post

(428 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Eric Bibb: Live At The Scala Theatre. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

“Tomorrow, we aim for the Scala”, a cry to the theatrical and performance inclined that sets the senses alight in anticipation of a good time, of feeling the enormity of success as the lights on stage reveal living sentiment and a pulse of the heart that stands for all time.

Eric Bibb: Live At The Scala Theatre. Album Review. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The journey does not necessarily take you where you want to go, but where fate and dedication understand you were always going to be; whether in the straits of adoration and consuming hard work, or in the valley surrounded by the Hill Country Love that insists on holding you in its thrall…you are where you are meant to be and influencing all who want to be standing in the same spot.

Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love. Album Review. full post

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

Solitary Bee: Love Wakes Up. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When Love Wakes Up we must be sure to tend to it with careful hands and a just heart, for in life there is no greater crime, no larger scandal against the soul of another human being than turning our back on that in which we have awoken.

Solitary Bee: Love Wakes Up. Single Review. full post

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

Captain Of The Lost Waves: Success In Failure. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We are urged, almost dictated to in no small measure, to believe that success is the be all and end all, the point of human existence is to reach the top of the tree, look down with commitment and contentment and almost be smug in our satisfaction for winning in the game of life.

Captain Of The Lost Waves: Success In Failure. Single Review. full post

(310 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

Status Quo: The Early Years 1966-69. Box-Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

History could have been so different, the sound of the three bar blues delivered with a frantic pace and the opening slot of the televised spectacle of Live Aid would have been another band’s preserve; for in a world of what ifs and maybes the memory or discovery of what Status Quo are to many might well have been wiped clean and forgotten, the potential of the double denim rock and one of the most endearing and enduring bands lost to another plane of existence.

Status Quo: The Early Years 1966-69. Box-Set Review. full post

(473 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Miss Scarlet And The Duke. Series 4. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Kate Phillips, Stuart Martin, Evan McCabe, Cathy Belton, Simon Ludders, Felix Scott, Paul Bazely, Tim Chipping, Stephen Boxer, Tim Downie, Matija Zivkovic, Florence Roberts, Lu Corfield, Igor Borojevic, Al Weaver, Rachel Dale, Ognjen Nikola Radulovic, Curtis Kantsa, Oliver Chris, Katherine Manners, Jonathan Rhodes, Laura Marcus, Antonio Scarpa, Ivan Tomic, Paul Kennedy, Matthew Steer, Alexandra Hannant.

Miss Scarlet And The Duke. Series 4. Television Review. full post

(506 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Keith Thompson: Enigmatic Blues. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Like moths to the flame, we search for the enigmatic without concern to how we will react when we get to close to the fire within.

The compelling resurgence of Blues in the 21st Century is a gift for the music lover, as once again it offers the listener a remarkable insight into the human condition of melancholy with passion and honesty, and capture the enigmatic as it happens, as it plays wonderful havoc with our senses and our soul.

Keith Thompson: Enigmatic Blues. Album Review. full post

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

10cc: Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. Gig Review. (2024)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Ever the consummate professional, Graham Gouldman requires no introduction, the music he and the rest of 10cc created is understood from the first bar, and universally enjoyed; and once more the band of merry, and talented groove setters rolled into Liverpool as part of their Ultimate Ultimate Tour, and the result was one that was the sense of perfection, sweet, accomplished, complete and exact proof of the legendary status of the music, and of the longevity of spirit of those that created them.

10cc: Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. Gig Review. (2024) full post

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