Mike Zito & The Wheel. Gone To Texas. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The concept of confessional poetry isn’t a new one, especially in The United States where it flourished under auspicious talent, weighty hearts and minds that saw the acknowledgment of their craft being greeted as an affirmation of genuine skill and endeavour. As Mike Zito readily admits; his new album with The Wheel, the brutally honest and gorgeous Gone To Texas, is an album in which he pays homage to the Lone Star State, the state that he says saved his life. It might not be in the same vein as poetic luminaries such as Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath or Allen Ginsberg but the sentiment is there, this is a musician shaking his soul loose and willingly, ungrudgingly revealing all.

Mike Zito & The Wheel. Gone To Texas. Album Review. full post

(365 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Grease, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Stage Experiance, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Callum Cavanagh, Bridie Flanagan, Michael Twigg, Grace Galloway, Katie Furlong, Hannah Pitt, Kay Nicholson, Peter Meall, Jonathan Marsh, Annie Howarth, Tom Nolan, Eleanor Cooke, Daniel Greenwood, Sarah Dickson.

When the Liverpool Empire Theatre puts on a show that gives the young blossoming talent of Liverpool and its surrounding areas, it really does put on a show. A kaleidoscope of colour catching the very best that was on stage, whether through dancing, singing or acting in this year’s production, the timeless classic Grease. Every single young actor gave their absolute best and gave the audience who turned out in their droves to catch the performance, a taste of what is to come and to reflect that the future of theatre in the city will be in very good hands for a long time to come.

Grease, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Stage Experiance, Liverpool. full post

(551 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Samantha Fish, Black Wind Howlin’. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If you want revolution, if the idea of the start of an uprising in the hearts of a specific music genre is something that takes your fancy then Samantha Fish’s latest offering to the mass public is sure to be more wrecking than a person with a 1000 pound metal ball on the end of a crane in a scrap yard could ever hope to achieve. Black Wind Howlin’ cuts through the storms, slices past the obstacles placed in its way and heads over the Atlantic in a flurry of musical fury and the result is utter brilliance.

Samantha Fish, Black Wind Howlin’. Album Review. full post

(421 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Cyril Neville, Magic Honey. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If music be the food of love, then let Cyril Neville forever play on. Cyril Neville is a music legend, a man who makes music sound as deliciously entertaining as it should be heard and whose latest album, Magic Honey, has all the ingredients of a mix of songs that have been well prepared and seasoned to enjoy in only way that the man can.

Cyril Neville, Magic Honey. Album Review. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Michael Monroe, Horns And Halos. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Recording an album is only really as hard or as difficult as the artist wants it to be. There is of course the pain of opening the soul up so far that it allows others who have no connection to the musician, in the act of revealing one’s life, no matter how sincere the writing or score is, what is demanding and tiring. It can also be a blessing, a cathartic episode in which the musician just shows to the awaiting audience that what they know is at the end of the day, not all they know. Some will struggle to keep the fine line of privacy and public awareness separate, others embrace it. Michael Monroe, the man who certainly made Hanoi Rocks is one such individual who opens his heart and his latest album, Horns and Halos, is an absolute belter.

Michael Monroe, Horns And Halos. Album Review. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

The Bad Shepherds, Mud, Blood And Beer. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are cover versions and then there are real humdingers, songs that have been given such a new lease of life that they buzz with a new purpose that thrills the musical soul. Many musicians and boy bands can recreate the sound of a much loved anthem, the pop classic, the standard bearer of a generation who knew the song inside out and adored it but somehow it gets rehashed by the latest so called boy band and the song somehow loses its power. Then there are The Bad Shepherds and the incredible folk twist they bring to music which illuminates that power and gives it a new meaning.

The Bad Shepherds, Mud, Blood And Beer. Album Review. full post

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

The White Queen, Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, James Frain, Aneurin Barnard, Faye Marsey, Amanda Hale, Janet McTeer, Rupert Graves, Caroline Goodall, David Oakes, Eleanor Tomlinson, Juliet Aubrey, Sonny Ashbourne, Pixie Davies, Veerle Baetens, Joey Batey, Michael Marcus, Tom McKay, Francis Tomelty, Michael Maloney, Ben Lamb, Shaun Dooley,  Hugh Mitchell, Robert Pugh, Arthur Darvill.

As television blockbuster’s go, The White Queen has followed on the satisfying trend set by The Tudors to bring sections of history back to life and into the public consciousness.

The White Queen, Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

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

Lovelace, Film Review. FACT Cinema, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Wes Bentley, Eric Roberts, Chris Noth, Bobby Cannavale, Debi Mazer, Cory Hardrict, Chloe Sevigny.

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

(543 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Kick Ass 2, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Clark Duke, Olga Kurkulina, Lindy Booth, John Leguizamo, Iain Glen, Morris Chestnut, Garrett M. Brown, Claudia Lee, Augustus Prew, Donald Faison, Danial Kaluuya, Tom Wu, Andy Nyman, Steven Mackintosh, Monica Dolan, Benedict Wong.

Sequels are almost inevitable, especially when the first film outing was seen as something new and exciting to grab the attention of those pleasantly surprised by what they see on the big screen. Sometimes though it may be better to leave the story where it ended, with the credits rolling and the audience giving plaudits. The news that Star Wars is to have yet another follow-on and with no conclusion in sight is one such film franchise, the other unfortunately is perhaps Kick-Ass 2.

Kick Ass 2, Film Review. full post

(544 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

Caves, One. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If you can listen to the Caves’ new E.P., One, and not feel the pulse, the sensation of something that grips the attention and the raw emotion that is stamped throughout the three tracks, then there is no hope for you. The pothole that you poked your head over and scanned the musical horizon briefly may just be too comfortable for you too ever leave.

Caves, One. E.P. Review. full post

(327 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)