Baz Warne: No grass Grows On A Busy Street. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Few bands are afforded the kind of renaissance that The Stranglers underwent when guitarist Baz Warne had second thoughts after being asked to make his way down south from his native northeast and show exactly what he could do, what he could bring to the group that been on a downward trend in the previous few years.

The Haunted Man. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Rosie Baker, Paterson Joseph, Jeff Rawle, Tim Speyer, Dan Starkey, Matthew Steer, Tilly Vosburgh.

The final novella from one of Britain’s finest ever writers, Charles Dickens, is the subject of a twin release from Average Romp this festive eve, and alongside The Cricket On The Hearth, the adaption of The Haunted Man is one that has been lovingly restored to the consciousness of the public thanks to the writing of Eddie Robson and Jonathan Morris, and their Big Finish colleagues Lisa Bowerman and Howard Carter.

The Cricket On The Hearth. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Tony Marshall, Bronté Barbé, Graham Fellows, Geoff Leesley, Jason Forbes, Katie Moore.

The Cricket On The Hearth may not be considered by many in today’s world as being a tale of dramatic substance, especially when set alongside the more weightier themes discussed and revealed in Charles Dickens’ major works, but for one of the sheer all time greats of English literature, one of the few to have an entire genre named after him, the short novella perhaps rings more true of the human need for the unexplained to hold significance than that which came before in the 1843 story, A Christmas Carol.

Miss Emily: The Medicine. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

How do we know for certain what is The Medicine and what is the placebo, only by trial and error, by cause and control, and by taking notice of the effect the practise of listening to the mind and the soul has when taken with invited dose administered; this is the difference between that which makes you a truly better person rather than just being one who believes they are because they have been used as a sample.

The Scouse Christmas Carol. Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: John-Paul Birss, Helen Carter, Paul Duckworth, Lindzi Germain, Adam McCoy, Lydia Rosa Morales-Scully, Keddy Sutton, Jhanaica Van Mook, Lenny Wood.

Band: James Breckon, Greg Joy, Chris Nicholls, Mike Woodvine.

It’s Karma Its Cool: One Million Suburban Sunsets. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The suburbs, a place once where aspiration meant social prosperity, a status and condition of overcoming what was perhaps intended and which became the abiding sanctuary for the dreams to unfold, for the belief that we might witness the event of One Million Suburban Sunsets take hold and see the stars reflected in our eyes.

Lincoln’s own stars shine ever brightly, a pace where four sons outperform the heat from those million sunsets, and dazzle with life in a way that the evensong of the celestials cannot touch; for in human endeavour the heavens may rise, but creativity and imagination trumps all.

Only Murders In The Building: Series Five. Television Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Crieghton, Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Téa Leoni, Bobby Cannavale, Dianne Wiest, Renée Zellweger, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Jackie Hoffman, Beanie Feldstein, Keegan-Michael Key, Jermaine Fowler, Shea Buckner, Dame DiLiegro, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Cory Jeacoma, Evan Mulrooney, Vanessa Aspillaga, Dane DiLiegro, Russell G. Jones, Emory Cohen, Julian Cihi, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Nathan Lane, Jayne Houdyshell, Adriane Lenox, Tony Plana, Madison Wray, Jane Lynch, Richard Kind, Paul Rudd, David Patrick Kelly, Theo Stockman, Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, James Caverly, Tina Fey.

Lester Young: Lester Leaps In : Live At Birdland 1951-52. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It has always been as such that legends of yesteryear become myths in the end, or if the worst-case scenario be realised, they become phantoms, beings of skill and devotion who are forgotten by later generations, ignored as time’s sweeping hand saves but a few for permanent recognition.

The modern music fan may be consumed with striking their own clear path, lauding some, denigrating others, discounting the immensity of those that went before them, perhaps even declaring that noting that came before has any relevance to their life today; this is not only disingenuous, but also a dangerous belief to uphold.

Anthony Ruptak: Tourist. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We are, by and large, a species that documents everything, from the smallest detail to the earth-shattering reveals that have shaped and formed our perceptions of the world, a moment’s certification of recorded thought in print or online can reveal much about the fractured notion of society, the modern world we inhabit, often scarily not participating in, but simply existing within.

Kyle Carey: The Last Bough. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The sound of strings has its own mystic, it is almost universal, and yet played by a unique heart it can convey every emotion from melancholic to the reflection of joy when the crescendo is reached, as profound emptiness is replaced with the miracle of birth; it is as if those scientists with theories of the structure of our existence have the notion of concept completely nailed down, that string theory is in essence the very fabric of music.