The Fox And The Bear

As you watch the news night after night,

the small tremble of fear they put in the voice of the ageing reporter

as they present their slant on the events,

that make us read their sister papers in grim earnest over

a badly presented cup of coffee, foaming

at the mouth as the headline is designed to irk, cajole

and inwardly terrify…

 

That the news, the encompassing truth, run by the moral guardians

who defend their freedom of speech

but who will gladly come knocking

with their size nine hob nail boots,

The Fox And The Bear full post

(360 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Laurence Jones, Christina Skjolberg And Albert Castiglia, Blues Caravan 2014. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For the romantic at heart, a caravan can conjure up images of life on the road, the sun forever on some distant horizon and the sound of a well played instrument soothing the soul as a camp fire roasts a meal and children play with content. For Ruf Records that romance is heightened by having celebrated 10 years as a producer of excellent material and what better way than to enhance its prestigious output than combining three of its major stars together under the Blues Caravan 2014 title.

Laurence Jones, Christina Skjolberg And Albert Castiglia, Blues Caravan 2014. Album Review. full post

(372 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Sunday Postscript, An Interview With Elinor Randle.

Elinor Randle jogs down London Road with the effortless nature that makes you wonder if she wasn’t so immersed and integral to Liverpool theatre, would she have been one of Britain’s great Olympic hopes in a long distance stamina event. That energy, the raw endurance has certainly seen her through show after show and with Tmesis Theatre, those shows just get more and more endearing and offer something scintillatingly unique to the Liverpool culture scene.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Sunday Postscript, An Interview With Elinor Randle. full post

(1677 words, estimated 6:42 mins reading time)

Rusty Jacks, Holler ‘N’ Howl. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The mighty rivers of the world are the life blood of humanity, without trade and transport far in land, the sound of a thousand voices carrying distinctive tunes and songs filled with endless possibilities would be lost to us. The Mersey brings the sound of Liverpool to the rest of the world just as it bought the music from America that started a long tradition of inspiration the other way. The same could be said of the Mississippi, the long straddling, winding river that took Huckleberry Finn on his adventures; you would be forgiven though if the sound of the deep-south suddenly had an Irish inflection as Rusty Jacks releases their new album Holler ‘N’ Howl.

Rusty Jacks, Holler ‘N’ Howl. Album Review. full post

(375 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Live And Original Artists At The Norton Arms. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Going down the local was always an occasion. In the late 1960s, Football World Cup winners Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst were seen with their wives advertising the virtues of the local pub. In amongst the celluloid joviality and perhaps forced banter, there was a strong point to be made. The pub was the centre of the community and everything that was to happen, was to take place there. Of course the world has moved on, from having a meal rather than just a packet of salted peanuts, to family friendly options and even the cleaner atmosphere now associated with the smoking ban, the pub has had to change to survive.

Live And Original Artists At The Norton Arms. Album Review. full post

(510 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

A Willow’s Skirts.

The British oak may fill my head with images of sturdy reliability,

the sheer strength of will and powerful  robustness

to ever bow to the pressure of a thousand muscular gales

or the clambering and kicking of a million children’s feet

as they laugh and swing off branches replete with green lush leaves;

is one that I try to emulate in my soul,

but I know I am more like my innocent favourite

that of the sprawling, myopic, maudlin, mysterious and disapproving

Willow tree.

 

I fell for the drooping wonder

A Willow’s Skirts. full post

(358 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Eliana Cargnelutti, Sadie Johnson. Heather Crosse, Girls With Guitars. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

 

The general public in Britain might not be aware of their names now but there should be no doubting that by the end of the year the three women who make the album Girls With Guitars sound so rock and roll, so upbeat Blues, that you’d expect a complaint to be lodged somewhere in Tennessee about unlawful unions, the marriage and the meeting of minds with none of the sometimes maddening sadness that goes hand in hand with such clashes.

Eliana Cargnelutti, Sadie Johnson. Heather Crosse, Girls With Guitars. Album Review. full post

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

The Language Of Love

 

I find myself dreaming about you every night.

The cruelty of finding you as I sit in fat, tattered Middle age

Rather than in the prime of vigour and resplendent in sight

Only makes me want to be in your harbour and landing stage.

 

In my youth I fantasised about others, but only one turned

My head as much as you, for that was built upon bright lights

And wild excess that all crackled through the night as passion burned

But inevitably we parted, not staying together, try as we might.

The Language Of Love full post

(163 words, estimated 39 secs reading time)

The Musketeers, An Ordinary Man. Series Two, Episode Two, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Luke Pasqualino, Ryan Gage, Alexandra Dowling, Marc Warren, Hugo Speer, Maimie McCoy, Tamla Kari, Christopher Fulford, Micah Balfour, Stuart Bowman, Robin Browne, Will Keen, Brian McCardie, Mark Penfold, Brian Pettifer, Charlotte Reid, Oliver Rix, Chris Ryman, Charlotte Salt, Anton Saunders, Antonia Thomas.

The Musketeers, An Ordinary Man. Series Two, Episode Two, Television Review. full post

(561 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

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

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, MacKenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Annette Crosbie, Joanna Riding, Frances de la Tour, Richard Glover, Simon Russell Beale.

 

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

(657 words, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)