The Union, The World Is Yours. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Three albums down the line and The Union have hit a stride that will be difficult, if not impossible slow or indeed stop. As in the early days of the 70s a band has been given the time to develop their music and come up with a recording that sits comfortably in amongst some of the greats of the genre. In The World is Yours, The Union, comprising of Thunder stalwarts Luke Morley and Chris Childs stand aside Peter Shoulder and Dave McCluskey as they breathe new life into the harder edged side of Blues/Rock that seems to have vacated over the last few years.

The Union, The World Is Yours. Album Review. full post

(427 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The Union, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Even if you knew the fact, to hear Pete Shoulder say with more than a hint of apology in his voice that it was The Union’s first foray into the Liverpool’s music conscious was still more than a little surprising. With two members of arguably one of the great British Rock bands of the last 30 years, the soul affirming and musically forceful Thunder, in The Union, it seems almost remiss that the o2 Academy or any of the other vibrant venues in the city have not had the honour of hosting this exciting group.

The Union, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

BlackWolf, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Very few groups with the musical background of BlackWolf get the type of reception that this quality band received at their support slot to The Union at the o2 Academy. Liverpool rarely does the harder, more extreme side to rock, it is an area that usually gets left down the other end of the M6 Motorway in Birmingham and Wolverhampton or jets past and finds itself up in Scotland. So when the members of BlackWolf came on stage, it was with a gladdened heart that the crowd, still suffering with the cold that the Spring day had bought to them, took as readily as they did to the five piece and their blistering, head banging set.

BlackWolf, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Crucified Twins, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There was an extra bonus for the fans that took a chance on turning up early for The Union’s debut gig in Liverpool on a very cold spring day and as bonus’ go they don’t come much better than The Wirral band The Crucified Twins.

The Crucified Twins, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

I, Davros. Audio Review. Big Finish Audio Drama.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Terry Molloy, Nicholas Briggs, Sean Connolly, Rita Davies, Richard Franklin, Richard Grieve, Scott Handcock, Lizzie Hopley, Rory Jennings, Carolyn Jones, Peter Sowerbutts, Jennifer Croxton, Gary Hopkins, Joseph Lidster, James Parsons, Gary Russell, John Stahl, Andrew Wisher, Lucy Beresford, David Bickerstaff, Sean Carlsen, Daniel Hogarth, Katarina Olsson, Lisa Bowerman, Peter Myles, Toby Robinson.

I, Davros. Audio Review. Big Finish Audio Drama. full post

(712 words, estimated 2:51 mins reading time)

Keith Elliot Greenberg, December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating * * * * *

There are various moments in time, especially in the fast hard news dominated world of the 20th and 21st Century, where a single event can affect millions of people around the globe like a stone being dropped into water. Whether large or small, the person knows exactly where they were at the moment they heard the news and it is a memory that stays with them forever. In the case of the assassination of one of Liverpool’s, if not the world’s favourite musical sons, the day John Winston Ono Lennon was shot outside his apartment building in New York City on December 8th 1980 was a ricochet bursting through time, an event so huge and life changing that history itself could be seen to change that day.

Keith Elliot Greenberg, December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died. Book Review. full post

(528 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Grethe Borsum.

In the week that The FACT Centre on Wood Street unveiled its latest exhibition, The Art of Pop video, I was able to meet up with Norwegian musician and photographer Grethe Borsum and spend time with her talking about her new musical venture and her inspired video for the song Apple Picking. The talented and charming woman from Baerum near Oslo came to Liverpool in 2003 and attended L.I.P.A and received a B.A. in Music and Performing Arts.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Grethe Borsum. full post

(1315 words, estimated 5:16 mins reading time)

Fraser Hines, Hines Sight. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For many years Frazer Hines was deeply involved with two major television programmes that grabbed the nation’s attention and made him one of the best known faces throughout the latter part of the 1960s and for a good couple of decades after that. The longevity of an actor within the consciousness of the television viewing habits of the audiences can be seen to rest on the programme they are in. In Fraser Hines’ case being cast as Jamie in Doctor Who under the guidance of Patrick Troughton’s time as the Doctor and then striking gold as the gentle farmer Joe Sugden in the Yorkshire Television soap opera Emmerdale Farm was perhaps the most incredible and fortuitous time for him. As the actor relates though in his autobiography/digital release, Hines Sight, there is so much more to him than wearing a kilt for three years and defeating the Daleks and the Cybermen or enjoying immense popularity as one of Yorkshire’s favourite sons.

Fraser Hines, Hines Sight. Book Review. full post

(593 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Roddy Woomble, Listen To Keep. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For his third foray into the world of solo albums, Roddy Woomble of Idlewild liberates and musically  distances himself from the band that many still suggest was one of the great Scottish acts of the last 20 years and delivers a genuinely astounding wonderful piece of work. Whilst Idlewild may not have released a new album for four years, Roddy has plugged away at creating a sound that whilst indicative of his time as the band’s frontman, doesn’t echo and repeat old glories. Listen To Keep goes that little bit further and plays like a dream.

Roddy Woomble, Listen To Keep. Album Review. full post

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

Kate Nash, Girl Talk. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It wasn’t that long ago that Kate Nash was thought of quirky, a new voice to enjoy whilst it possibly lasted and more than likely she would do well to get a couple of albums under her belt but gradually fade away. Something then happened to make that possibility a mere inconsequence, she became a female voice of a generation and for that music lovers should be grateful.

Kate Nash, Girl Talk. Album Review. full post

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