Converge, You Fail Me. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Sometimes a re-imagining, a do over or a complete overall on the original is a piece of art too far; it achieves very little in terms of appreciation and it only adds the cynic the thought, that even with the best intentions on behalf of the artist, that it is only being done for commercial gain. Of course in a world where many artists are controlled by the whims of the Editor or the Producer, the chance to take the original apart and offer the artist’s view from the centre of the tornado is all too compelling but still that thought remains, it festers and grows teeth and in the end the sound continues the same.

Converge, You Fail Me. Album Review. full post

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

Harley Quinn: A Call To Arms. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Helping others for profit, offering to protect and save the ordinary citizen from the exploitation and damage caused by others for recompense and the odd bit of spare change, it used to be said such actions could only ever take place in America. Now, they are creeping in to all corners of society as once more we seem to embrace the greed and desire to have recognition for what we have in the bank account rather than we contribute to the world.

Harley Quinn: A Call To Arms. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

The Snail Upon My Bathroom Window.

The snail upon my bathroom window,

I have no idea how you got there,

for did you fall from grace

or seagull’s beak, for surely

you never struggled, slimed your way

up the wall, fashioned by intrigue,

plotted and manoeuvred past your ability

to reach such dizzy heights;

you surely must have had help

to see beyond your narrow scope.

 

I understand if a seagull

or some other winged bird

spat you out because you tasted

off colour, blue, too raw, undercooked

The Snail Upon My Bathroom Window. full post

(275 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

The Christians, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is a night out, the all guns blazing, bring the house down and sweat pouring off the worthy and the thrilled and then there is the night out where the gig becomes almost regal, hosted by the statesman like quality of the front man whose very smile leads you down a path of hope and faith.

Both nights are always well attended but there is something about the latter that really brings home to the attendee the power of music, its ability to make you cry true tears of regret, make your heart bleed and yet grow wings to soar above the petty and the ignorant at the same time. It is a virtue that Liverpool’s The Christians have in abundance.

The Christians, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool. full post

(525 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Shamona, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Music is infectious, it sits laying in wait to pounce, biding its time for the perfect moment in which to strike out, to nip at the heart strings and the conscious of all; if the bite is true, if it is considered and well aimed then it leads the willing quarry down a path of putting music above all else and letting the soft notes, the booming structures of cascading cool and harmony and megaliths of wattage and output reach out in search of the next generation.

Shamona, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool. full post

(460 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

The Hardest Job In England…

Prime Ministers come and go,

just as England football managers

arrive and depart,

in failure,

in ignominy,

own goals, let down badly

by the team or driven man

with the lust for power

and glory.

The conveyor belt, unceasingly

brings along the next unsuitable candidate,

the fresh hope, wit and the beaming smile;

things will change,

I am sure,

under them.

 

The roar of the Wembley crowd,

replaced by time and poor results

for the hatred bestowed

upon black door number ten,

The Hardest Job In England… full post

(161 words, estimated 39 secs reading time)

Laurence Jones, Take Me High. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The jewel in the young crown, the precious stone in the armoury of Blues and the natural complement to the likes of Joanne Shaw Taylor and Joe Bonamassa, Laurence Jones offers a freedom of mouth watering ability, one that survives in the ether of the mind well after the death of the day and the dawn of a new beginning. It is to the man and his guitar, the hospitality of Blues groove that the listener finds them themselves applauding the musicians for giving them a mature sense of Take Me High.

Laurence Jones, Take Me High. Album Review. full post

(471 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Rude Audio, The Rudest. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

The Rudest are not always those who make their voices heard without shame, who find the world a place in which they speak their mind; it is usually those who hold their thoughts in contempt and who find ways to whisper down people’s ears, drowning them in bile and dishonour. The rudest are to be avoided like the plague and those who find courage to talk even with the odd flutter of disparaging words at their disposal but in a calm and measured way are perhaps best served to suggest that Rude Audio are well worth investing time in.

Rude Audio, The Rudest. E.P. Review. full post

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

Stephen King, End Of Watch. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Kermit Hodges is in pain, emotionally, physically and spiritually, he is running out of time to really get to the bottom of his most dangerous investigation, what really went on in the mind of Brady Hartsfield when he became a mad and psychotic killer hell bent on destruction. It is a case that has had Stephen King fans perhaps slightly bemused by the turn round in genre direction in the last couple of years but one that culminates in a novel that could stem out of the writer’s classic period, one that delves into the heart of the confines of the mind and how such things as telekinesis and mental projection can just as horrifying, just as filled with nightmares as the appearance of werewolves, psychotic clowns and vampires.

Stephen King, End Of Watch. Book Review. full post

(492 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

The Lie Of Question Time.

The air of

smugness,

or was it desperation

that hung on her lips

when she

plucked

the illusion, the lie

from the clouds whistling Dixie

above her head,

when she told the audience

there had been riots in Liverpool

in the last week

only served notice

that some people in all their fantasy

worlds should never be allowed

on or in close proximity to

television.

 

Ian D. Hall 2016

 

Permanent link to this post (73 words, estimated 18 secs reading time)