Don Henley, Cass County. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The vibrant rich tones associated with the heartbeat of the Eagles has missed being played out as a solo performance, whilst the exuberance of the band has been seen and heard in Joe Walsh’s stunning 2012 album Analogue Man. The more thoughtful repose, the more natural sounding and gentle like feel that comes with many of the Eagles classic ballads has been strangely and sadly quiet before the massive and exhilarating tour that brought the group back where they belong and, until now, hushed into the dark spaces of memory of the post Eagles shows.

Don Henley, Cass County. Album Review. full post

(519 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Henry V, Theatre Review. Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Alex Hassell, Oliver Ford Davies, Antony Byrne, Sean Chapman, Simon Thorp, Joshua Richards, Jennifer Kirby, Jane Lapotaire, Keith Osborn, Andrew Westfield, Daniel Abbott, Martin Bassindale, Nicholas Gerard-Martin, Robert Gilbert, Jim Hooper, Sam Marks, Dale Mathurin, Christopher Middleton, Evelyn Miller, Sarah Parks, Leigh Quinn, Obioma Ugoala, Simon Yadoo.

Following on from David Tennant’s portrayal of Richard II, and Jasper Britton’s turn as Bolingbroke, Henry IV, the R.S.C. concludes it’s King and Country series with the reign of Henry V, in the 600^th anniversary year of the battle of Agincourt, portrayed here by Alex Hassell, reprising the role following a successful run as Prince Hal in both parts of Henry IV.

Henry V, Theatre Review. Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon. full post

(495 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Under The Lake. Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Colin McFarlane, Sophie Stone, Zaqi Ismail, Morven Christie, Arsher Ali, Steven Robertson.

The lesson to be learned around the Doctor is to be careful what you wish for, to never search for that what you seek, for in asking for adventure rather than it sneaking up on you, by taking you by surprise, the very real possibility that Death may come haunting you is to be remembered and observed.

Doctor Who: Under The Lake. Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(557 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Evaluate And Process.

What do we gain by standing here

and discussing, evaluating, testing,

controlling

what a four year old can do in the classroom,

I would rather know they were happy and stress free until

they were eleven and not forced into the world

like automatons; their individuality and their creativity nurtured

and not stunted by the rigidity of a system

based on supposition and baseless presumption.

At four, I could read more than well enough

and I could make up my own mind

on which football team to support,

Evaluate And Process. full post

(322 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

The Martian, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kirsten Wigg, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, Chen Shu.

If you want epic adventure you really only have call upon Ridley Scott and he will deliver you a story of such rich ambition and heroism, such is the outer core of the autumn blockbuster The Martian.

The Martian, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(478 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: We Are The Daleks. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Nicholas Briggs, Kirsty Bestermamn, Angus Wright, Mary Conlon, Robbie Stevens, Ashley Zhangazha, Lizzie Roper, Dominic Thornburn.

Every human on Earth has the capacity to become something they detest, something that lingers in the dark realms and festers, seething with hatred, jealousy, rage and revulsion, a creature to whom the simple pleasures enjoyed by others become something of ridicule because they are not like us. This trait is something we overpower every day, something we must steer away from lest the terrifying notion of Fascism looks up and sees an opening in the crack and crawls like a demented pregnant Black Widow Spider, one filled with insanity and corrupted thought into the lives of everyone it touches. It is the Dalek that lingers in us all and appears without hesitation if pushed.

Doctor Who: We Are The Daleks. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

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

You Terrify Me.

You terrify me, seriously.

I see your name as it flashes past

on social media as you send me a message

and I do my very best to ignore it,

your passive aggressive demands

and the insistence on being right

with unsurpassed arrogance

makes me wonder if one day

you might just,

in a fit of misplaced superior rage,

find the gun to your liking

and take me out of the game,

I am

terrified of you.

Or is it that I’m afraid of your lack of humility,

You Terrify Me. full post

(194 words, estimated 47 secs reading time)

An Angel Fell To Earth.

The lack of oil on the wheels, the lack

of care taken in keeping the saddle polished

and cleaned, dust free, pollution cleansed at least,

not harbouring any germs in which to scurry

around and make the frame collapse

are nothing compared to the sorrow

I feel when I hear the words of the fallen,

Megaphone not needed and it wouldn’t

solve the sobbing down the phone,

“He’s only interested in me for the drugs I can supply.”

My own chariot is just as battered and bruised

An Angel Fell To Earth. full post

(192 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It seems hard to believe that Liverpool had never had the pleasure of hosting Joanne Shaw Taylor before, that in all the years the absolute blistering sound that comes from arguably the Queen of British Blues had never dominated the Liverpool skyline, had never been heard in a huddled teeming mass before and had only been cherished in various houses, in the front rooms and bedrooms of the enlightened and the reverential.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Federal Charm, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Federal Charm at The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. October 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

British Rock and Blues is in arguably the healthiest state that it has had the pleasure to be in for many years. The renaissance of the genres has perhaps come at the expense of the U.K.’s prime export of Heavy Metal and in many cases the once dominant pop scene and culture but for The Blues none of that matters; rude health it seems does come at a cost somewhere else upon the many lines.

Federal Charm, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(512 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)