The Battle Of The Garden Path.

You stare at my garden and state the sodding obvious that it is full of weeds

Uncontrolled, uninhabited plants that clamber through and undermine the foundation.

I tried cutting them back for you but I instead threw more enthusiastic seeds

In amongst the cobwebs that covers damaged stone and masonry complication.

These webs are personal; they cover the cracks in the paving stone path that leads

From my door to yours, and whilst you keep your side so

Faultless and dazzling, trimmed, ordered and full of flowering beads,

The Battle Of The Garden Path. full post

(184 words, estimated 44 secs reading time)

The Alarm, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There are homecomings for local heroes and then there are homecomings in which the performers on stage know that even they are from another town, another country, another place that they are so well thought of, so in tune with the indigenous psyche  that they are welcome back time and time again. Such is that honour bestowed upon Mike Peters and The Alarm that to see the elder generation of fans who took the band to their hearts over 30 years ago, bouncing and enjoying the gig with a generation of fans young enough to be forgiven for following so called fashion rather decent quality is heart-warming and astounding.

The Alarm, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(475 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

The Axis of Perdition, Urfe. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Back in 2009, The Axis of Perdition, arguably one of the very few Black Metal acts to call the North East of England their home created what is still an astounding piece of work that has the ability to scare, deter and sound absolutely great all at the same time.

Urfe tells the tale of a man who journeys through a city that has become desolate and dangerous.  The rank stench of a humanity that become distorted and dank purveys throughout the album and its imagery that actor Leslie Simpson describes in a glorious like monologue is more akin to the final fall of man, something black metal excels in, and the desperation and bleak atmospheric and pungent despair.

The Axis of Perdition, Urfe. Album Review. full post

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

Onward Chariots, This is My Confession. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The sound of classic harmonies are filtered alongside moments of great bass guitar, the incredible pockets of a violin, mandolin, oboe, trumpet and clarinet playing and above all the music experience of witnessing an unexpectedly formidable and enjoyable play in little known venue in a part of town that you wouldn’t normally go to. This is the world of the great New York band Onward Chariots and their stunning debut album This is My Confession.

Onward Chariots, This is My Confession. Album Review. full post

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

Toto, The Seventh One. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

The late 70s and early 80s saw American music defy the punk explosion that had become so entrenched in British pop culture and forge ahead with the style that encompassed A.O.R. There were a great number of bands that the American public could latch onto in either camp but the conservative America could be seen as winning through and amongst their musical heroes were bands like Toto.

Toto, The Seventh One. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(599 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Pink Floyd, Dark Side Of The Moon. 40th Anniversary Retrospective.

There has been so much written about Dark Side of the Moon that to even attempt to add more could be seen as either reckless folly, a journey of writing insanity or a grandiose piece of that is seen as just adding to the cannon and millions of words that have surrounded Pink Floyd’s much admired 1973 album.

Pink Floyd, Dark Side Of The Moon. 40th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(1343 words, estimated 5:22 mins reading time)

Giant Drag, Waking Up Is Hard To Do. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In a rare bout of musical honesty Annie Hardy of L.A. rock outfit Giant Drag has put herself through a seven year hell in making what has become a really decent and heart felt album full of pathos, catchy tunes but with an element that many would shy away from, namely the look hard look at what she has gone through in her life, especially the last few years which has seen prescription drug addiction and others around her having mental health issues and the final over riding result is the excellent album Waking Up Is Hard To Do.

Giant Drag, Waking Up Is Hard To Do. Album Review. full post

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

Andy Wright And Marillion. 9:30 To Filmore – Photographic Memories (USA & Canada 2012.) Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

When it comes to capturing the essence of a band, the off guard moments when they are relaxing and allowed that precious few moments when they can naturally be themselves without the flash of thousand cameras going off in their direction, picking up every detail of a gig or concert there are surprisingly few real life moments of enjoyment that get past the magazine editors doors. Unless it is of a drunken night or of a clandestine meeting, no one really gets it apart from the fans themselves.

Andy Wright And Marillion. 9:30 To Filmore – Photographic Memories (USA & Canada 2012.) Book Review. full post

(761 words, estimated 3:03 mins reading time)

Black Mirror, The Waldo Moment. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Daniel Rigby, Chloe Pirrie, Jason Flemyng, Christina Chong, Pip Torrens, David Ajala, Amber Anderson, Kenneth Collard, Ed Gaughan, Tobias Menzies, Abigail Thaw.

Be careful what you wish for, it’s been an underlying theme for Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series. Whether it has been Hayley Atwell desiring to have one last moment with her husband who has been killed or the nightmarish and positively dystopian longing of perpetual retribution and televised public backlash for a heinous crime, the future has been a possibility; and decidedly and chillingly achievable.

Black Mirror, The Waldo Moment. Television Review. full post

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

Dancing On The Edge, Episode Five. Television Review. B.B.C. 2.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Janet Montgomery, Angel Coulby, Jacqueline Bisset, Joanna Vanderham, Anthony Head, Jenna-Louise Coleman, John Goodman, Mel Smith, Allan Corduner, Mike Brett, Oroh Angiama, Jane Asher, Jamie Crew, Trevor Edwards, Austin Hardiman, Tom Hughes, Cosimo Keita, Neville Malcolm, Wunmi Mosaku, Jay Phelps, Caroline Quentin, Miles Richardson, Chris Storr, Steve Williamson.

With Louis Lester on the run and the options and choices he has being reduced by the minute, it seems that the conviction of murder that has been placed around his head is nearly as in place as the noose or the great jazz notes that he and the band have produced for this scintillating and keenly written Stephen Polokoff drama.

Dancing On The Edge, Episode Five. Television Review. B.B.C. 2. full post

(516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)