William Shatner, Ponder The Mystery. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are always new worlds to explore, even those you have been briefly to before can still hold a world of wonder within its dark caverns and forbidding forests. For William Shatner, the man who first took Star Trek fans on an adventure that shows no signs of running out of steam, the music quest has been taken before but not perhaps to the best of receptions. Times have changed, William Shatner has grown older and wiser and his life has taken many different turns since those heady days of the 1960s at the head of the Enterprise. This certainly feels like the best time to Ponder The Mystery.

William Shatner, Ponder The Mystery. Album Review. full post

(488 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Poirot, The Big Four. Television Review. I.T.V.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Sarah Parish, Pauline Moran, Philip Jackson, Patricia Hodge, Steven Pacey, David Yelland, Tom Brooke, Nicholas Day, James Carroll Jordan, Simon Lowe, Lou Broadbent, Peter Symonds, Barbara Kirby, Nicholas Burns, Alex Palmer, Teresa Banham, Jack Farthing.

It really will be a shame for lovers of Poirot when this particular series comes to an end. The only way that they will get their fix will be to watch all the episodes on back to back repeat. Not such a hard problem to get round it seems but there will certainly be no new episodes recorded starring the irreplaceable David Suchet as the consummate Belgian.

Poirot, The Big Four. Television Review. I.T.V. full post

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

Ed Poole, Winters. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are some E.P.s and albums released that are designed to make you sit and listen to them, it is their function and reason to be. Whether it is your favourite band’s new commercial offering or an album that you have been compelled to purchase via the thousand commercials that have bombarded the television and radio, they have been almost solely created to make that awful thing called a buzz. In Ed Poole’s case his E.P. hasn’t been designed to make you listen but it something of a pleasure to find yourself doing knowing that the sweet sound he creates is genuine and honest.

Ed Poole, Winters. E.P. Review. full post

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

Mark Thomas, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Not even a fire alarm going off with the manner of absurd authority can challenge the influence that Mark Thomas has on his fans and followers, for a brief time the Bandstand in Williamson Square became his stage as he gave an impromptu talk on some of the laws areas would pass up and down the country if the people truly had their own manifesto. In other hands the slight turn of events could have been a painful but Mark Thomas is nothing but a man with a plan, a man who doesn’t let convention get in the way of a great radical thought and in his own way he turned a moment of audience despair into perhaps a brilliant act of dissent.

Mark Thomas, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(464 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

A Lifetime At Lords.

I dreamed of playing on an English lawn.

The gentle ripple of applause as I waved acknowledgment

To all quarters for my prowess at staying out in the middle

As I knocked off the 100 runs

Before Tea

In front of a passionate Lords crowd.

Botham was my hero, joined at the hip

With Gooch when he scored 333

Until he flicked

The ball away in act of what seemed tiredness.

Botham was my hero, cricketing god

Joined by Atherton, Willis, Lamb, DeFretias, Hussain, Stewart, Tufnell, Cork

A Lifetime At Lords. full post

(589 words, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

Jago & Litefoot: Swan Song. Series Three, Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Ration 9/10

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Conrad Asquith, Lisa Bowerman, Abigail Hollick, Hywel Morgan, Andrew Westfield, Philip Bretherton.

The power of a performance, the emotional resonance that bleeds across the stage from the actor to the audience and out in the open world as word of mouth and newspaper columns declare the genius of the words spoken, not only get stuck in the minds of those that see it, they also bleed through the walls of the theatre as if being used as a storage device; feeding and growing until it can take no more. Such is the theory that a building can hold the echoes of the past; it is the premise that sees Jago and Litefoot’s latest adventure in series three take on the voices and images of a story that could be their Swan Song.

Jago & Litefoot: Swan Song. Series Three, Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

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

Rev Ferriday & The Longdogs, Nine Beats. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

With the long winter nights approaching quicker than Mo Farrah taking on a 1500 metre race just for the sheer enjoyment of it, the time spent warding off the British cold and thoughts of dark dreary nights are always in the thoughts of those who want good music to take them away from the impending and incessant wind and rain. In Rev Ferriday &The Longdogs’s latest release Nine Beats, there is another reason to sit in front of the fire, take in some exquisite and thumping music and revel in the thoughts that the clocks will soon go forward again.

Rev Ferriday & The Longdogs, Nine Beats. Album Review. full post

(335 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

Philomena, Film Review. FACT Cinema, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Mare Winningham, Michelle Fairley, Neve Gachev, Charlie Murphy, Simone Lahbib, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Charles Edwards. Xavier Atkins, Wunmi Mosaku, Alan Davis.

True stories that are given celluloid treatment usually veer into the realms of films that gloss over certain aspects of life just in case it upsets someone of a particular calling, not so in the case of Philomena. This is a film that doesn’t shy away from the monstrous way in which some girls were treated in Ireland when they became pregnant.

Philomena, Film Review. FACT Cinema, Liverpool. full post

(567 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

Statik, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Michael Lattin-Rawstrone, Rebecca Rogers, Simone Lewis.

It is sometimes overlooked that people under the age of 16 have opinions, their beliefs and thoughts are quite often more insightful that those in their 40’s, what they lack is just someone to listen carefully, the result, if heeded, could be surprising.

Action Transport Theatre revel in this approach and in Statik, the theatre group’s premise holds fast and makes the most of their interaction and questioning of the younger section of society on certain aspects of life. It is an approach that brings fascinating results and for that alone Action Transport Theatre should be applauded.

Statik, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(340 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Citadel, St Helens.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When Midge Ure steps on stage, all eyes are naturally always on him. There is the noticeable and understandable plethora of pictures taken by the long term fan wanting to keep their collections up to date of the man that has thrilled them for over 30 years and then the odd shy newcomer taking a picture and hoping that nobody minds. Then it all stops, the camera’s seem to be put away and nobody dares put off the man who makes a Saturday night out, a real treat. What is left is a man who bought songs such as Vienna, If I Was and Dancing With Tears In My Eyes and the guitar, no more no less and the result is tremendous.

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Citadel, St Helens. full post

(403 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)