The bar,
always the bar
with a silent moment
straggling behind,
failing
to keep up
with the excited and bubble in nose conversation.
I always met the most
interesting,
beautiful
and charming people
nestled in the bar fly mode;
you chiefly amongst them
dear Carole Labrum…
I raise a glass and toast your honour,
to the only person that ever drove across
two states to hear me talk
and ignore
the silence
wheezing and puffing
exhausted in the background.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
What would you forfeit if it meant succeeding at something, to be seen as enthralling, the mysterious and the exceptional, it might be worth a lot of things but it is never worth your soul; if you don’t keep it real, then surely by the definition you have cheated yourself out of the very sacrifice, the point of the journey you have tried to attain and cherish.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Whilst some tales can be told without the aid of music, no music can be felt, expressed or admired without a tale being held within its heart, its core, it matters not a jot whether there are lyrics binding the music together or if indeed the work offered by the artist is an instrumental piece, a journey into the wordless activity, what matters that in the listener’s mind there is a narrative they can grasp hold of and not let go, that they can imagine flowing with gentleness, lapping at the banks deep inside the brain and then rushing to a dramatic but scintillating conclusion.
What was there before the strings,
the resonating beauty of a violin
caught in the midnight chime
of my ears and soul,
what was there before that…
What was there before the beat of a drum,
the sniff of palpitation of my heart
that rose and shivered
in time as the snare cut across Time,
what was there before that…
What was there before the electricity,
the hum and the feedback
that snarled and kissed
like an angel dressed in red, a riff blessed,
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The night is the harbour of the darkness, like the seismic shock before the Earthquake, the prospect of what is to come plays on the mind, it crawls down sleeping memories in which you hoped for better days and the darkness, the tangible, fearful resolution in the mind that all is lost, all is confused and alone is only the night playing tricks upon the brain. The darkness soon gives way to hope, to understanding that the music can play on, even if it is a different manner, in a way that is full of meaning and the resolution you once felt that abandonment was the only option, soon reveals that the Nuit Noire, the black night, is only a part of life.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The statement is always, if it feels good then it cannot be considered bad, there are many things in this Universe that contradict this point of view, the warmth of a summer’s day might be the precursor to the snow caps melting just little faster, having a lay in on a cold winter’s Sunday morning might lead to a life time of sloth, the benefits of eating a tomato everyday could descend into the realms of a lonely steak being ignored. However, listening to Gone Savage’s Resurrection can only surely lead to good things, there is no chance that it can lead to anything but an even greater appreciation of the Rock restoration.
Let the horns
blow gently in the background
as the instrumental choice
breaks their hearts, the soft
lament of winter’s approach
and spring’s forgotten haze
is only a melody of memory
played out down the years
with summer an extension
of the orchestra’s belief
and autumn the tumbling farewell;
let the horns blow gently
for you are a King
with compassion in your heart
as the instrumental break
shows only too well.
Dedicated to John Jenkins.
Ian D. Hall 2016
I expect nothing less
in a world where Donald Trump
can somehow become number 1,
than to see my festive only Toblerone
become a stranger to me,
the weird spacing now employed
now means I cannot look upon it
as if staring down the Valley of the Kings,
the heat haze and the curse,
an adventure in Christmas chocolate;
instead it is now the echo
of a drizzly Stockport day, menace
in the Lancashire mists and rain,
where is the adventure, the romance
of almost taking out the roof
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
This year will be remembered for many things, so many events that it might actually overshadow the surrounding years around it when people turn their mind to writing the annals of the century; so many distinctive voices lost, so many people who have given enormous pleasure and the arsenal of self respect to others taken from us, that it leaves a darkness, a gloomy shade of pale bitterness in the lives of those left behind.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The spectre of the fairy tale lives in all us, arguably we like nothing more than being thrilled by the chase of the wolf as its bristling hair is ruffled by the wind and the scent in its nostrils in enhanced by the perfume of Red Riding Hood and the opportunity to save the fable from those who only live to play games, those who seek solace in the pixel and the rising of the console.