Joe Bonamassa, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

If there is royalty around that is still to be admired in the 21st Century then surely it is those who take a genre of music and revive it to the point where it actually becomes a living breathing entity again. The Blues, arguably considered by many of a certain age and below had had its day, it was just quietly wheezing under its own lethargic weight, under its once bloated self importance and slowly dying of excess; the dreaded and fatal disease to which all must it seems eventually succumb to.

Joe Bonamassa, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London. full post

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

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

On the grounds in which the stage stood inside the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, not far from the ruler of the high seas and one of the nation’s much loved ships, The Cutty Sark, now spends her well earned retirement in perpetual adoration, once roamed and played the childhood Queen Elizabeth, arguably the finest monarch the nation has ever had on the throne of England, came the sound of the reign of the new sovereign as she played her guitar in such a way that across the Thames, in the deep vaults of The Tower of London, they were looking up the line of succession into which Midland’s born Joanne Shaw Taylor was now and undisputedly the Queen of British Blues.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London. full post

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

Joshua Burnell, Into The Green. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It comes out of the blue, the element of exquisite surprise that hits on the type of scale when Jethro Tull brought out Songs From The Wood, when Genesis launched Selling England By The Pound onto an unsuspecting world or when the great 70s Progressive Rock explosion looked to any number of bands willing to explore the English, British Pastoral tradition. The fusion of Folk with the tantalising expression of Rock thrown in so heavily that it was as beautiful to listen to as a dawn chorus after the worst storm and being thankful to see the sun rise in the East.

Joshua Burnell, Into The Green. Album Review. full post

(417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

For The Girl, Where Did Time Go. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

Time is an illusion, one created by humanity to feel as though they can have one over on the deity of their choice or at least to keep the Cosmos on a leash.

Time well spent can be interesting, infallible, the perfect moment between each heartbeat as it counts down to the frustratingly inevitable. Time is everything and to waste a minute is almost to decry Humanity’s greatest contribution the silence in the Universe, or perversely it is to shackle the bitterest of enemies to each other and as if Humanity must face the choice between imprisonment and freedom then surely it must be asked Where Did Time Go?

For The Girl, Where Did Time Go. Single Review. full post

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

In Her Room With Pink Floyd, Alone.

Her room, no stranger

to having the feeling

of outcast painted shadows

tip toe gently past thoughts

of music gods and erotic held

dreams of ghouls and demons,

is suddenly lifted by the sadness

that has crept over the room

as she sits silently on the end

of the half made double bed

and whispers good night to no one

as she listens to Pink Floyd

for the first time

and cries with wonder at

the message given to her.

 

Ian D. Hall 2016

In Her Room With Pink Floyd, Alone. full post

(87 words, estimated 21 secs reading time)

Glossom, Verbatim. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In adversity, even if it is unintentional and comes out of the blue like a rhino wandering down the town’s high street and not caring less who sees him, comes the greatest of challenges; you can either surrender to the moment and see the dream fade, or you can roll with it, you can reinvent yourself and become hopefully an even sturdier body, a greater image than you may have thought possible.

Glossom, Verbatim. E.P. Review. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Scatter Factory. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is in the delicate nature of the well-performed instrumental that a musician’s worth can be valued. With no lyrics to hide behind, to glean out as the mask of enlightened poetry dishes out verb and sonnet, the musician takes it upon themselves to offer nothing but raw and natural influence over the listener. For by doing so, by offering what some might think of the basics of building block musical material, they instead open the senses of the listener to add their own story into the backdrop of notes and playful, perhaps pied piper led memories.

Scatter Factory. Album Review. full post

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

I Am An Odd Sock.

I am an odd sock

with a partner in the wash, clean

and crisp when tumbled,

whilst I remain

unseen, possibly discarded

at the bottom of the laundry basket,

never quite being the one

to feel the detergent wash through

every fibre and rub shoulders

with the gods of tie-dye illusion.

 

I am an odd sock,

and where my partner smells so sweet

in the drawers I just remain dirty, tossed

hopefully into the bin

but always gathering dust

behind the fridge where I fall,

I Am An Odd Sock. full post

(171 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)

Allan MacDonald And Neil Johnstone, The Bruce 700. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Nationalism can be seen as an inherent evil, however pride in the culture that the country of your birth has supplied to the world, the history of certain events that have defined the way people look at you, all those can be a force for good and there is nothing quite as stirring to any age old forgotten gene as music.

Allan MacDonald And Neil Johnstone, The Bruce 700. Album Review. full post

(401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Various Artists, Cosmic Machine, The Sequel. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

All is smoke and mirrors, all is illuminated by the brightest and most tangible of lights and yet in the darkness of ignorance, such moments of interesting and collective endeavour may be missed; the Cosmos after all can only produce so many light shows before the people get bored and seek solace in looking inward. The Cosmic Machine is such that the greater the magnitude of the shock in the sky, the less it seems to get noticed for the opportunity it may bring down here on Earth.

Various Artists, Cosmic Machine, The Sequel. Album Review. full post

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