Ripper Street, The Good Of This City. Episode Four, Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Mathew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, Emma Rigby, Jonathon Hobbs, Paul McGann, Anton Lesser, MyAnna Burling, Charlene McKenna, David Wilmot, Amanda Hale.

The fourth episode of the gripping Ripper Street, the evocative The Good of This City, had more than a nod to the Timberlake Wertenbaker play Our Country’s Good. Whereas though no one was being transported halfway around the world to a penal colony that would be the death of most of those that originally were sent there, there was still the utter displeasure in seeing the locals of Whitechapel being compulsory evicted from their homes in the name of progress.

Ripper Street, The Good Of This City. Episode Four, Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

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

For Me It’s A Middle-Aged Death…(In Homage To Roger McGough)

For me it’s a middle-aged death

Not become a bore, sore

At my own time and choosing death

At my books and music, gathering weird looks

At the end of the chapter, death

 

When I get into my mid-sixties

And before the winter of life starts

Keep me from vengeful doctors

Plotting to keep me alive and expecting thanks

In way of tax

For the their benefit

 

Save me from the worry of children

Leaving children leaving children

At my ever frail thoughts

For Me It’s A Middle-Aged Death…(In Homage To Roger McGough) full post

(191 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

Maschemon, Various Propositions. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It seems that not only is Mashemon’s live sound something superb to behold but they can also carry that same sense of illicit strength into the studio also. Their latest E.P. Various Propositions has all the hallmarks of something that should be shouted from the top of the Liver Building with passion.

Maschemon, Various Propositions. E.P. Review. full post

(330 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Sunday Postscript, An Interview With Big Wow!

One of the huge delights of the Liverpool theatre calendar is the appearance of the Big Wow team at the Unity Theatre. Their physical comedy performances delight and astound audiences no matter what show they have put on and are firm favourites in Liverpool.

Big Wow consist of three incredible talents that are made up of performers Tim Lynskey and Matt Rutter and the writer Robert Farquhar. Sitting in the Unity theatre before one of their shows and talking to a team that not only thrill audiences but can make them question the world through the use of physical comedy is slightly nerve racking and completely inspiring.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Sunday Postscript, An Interview With Big Wow! full post

(1728 words, estimated 6:55 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Mark Smith.

In 1993, theatre-maker Mark Smith came to Liverpool to study Drama at John Moores University. A native of the Bedfordshire town of Luton; notably famous for its hats, Eric Morecambe’s football team Luton Town, of which Mark fondly talks about his trip to Wembley as a ball boy when they won the League Cup in the 1988 and two of the members of Jethro Tull, it seems that Mark was destined to stand out from the crowd.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Mark Smith. full post

(2225 words, estimated 8:54 mins reading time)

Mashemon, Gig Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Liverpool isn’t really known for its heavier rock or metal, neither do audiences get the chance to have any type of dalliance with any type of home-grown Progressive Rock, saving the delights for evenings with the likes of Genesis legend Steve Hackett or Jethro Tull to fill the void. Allowing the odd crumb to fall from the top table takes time and even when it can only be heard in snatches in a band it is well worth the wait.

Mashemon, Gig Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Nighthowl. Gig Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Lantern Theatre may be more used to having cutting edge and intense drama within its walls on Blundell Street but in the time that it has been open it has had its share of some exceedingly good music as well.

The winter weather may have bit hard around the country but somehow in Liverpool that never really deters people from supporting the arts, in no matter what form, in the city. The wind may have been positively Baltic as it raced up the Mersey but the music provided by Night Howl soon took any cold off the bones of those attending the first music night of 2013 in the Lantern.

Nighthowl. Gig Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(363 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Megadeth, So Far, So Good, So What!. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

Megadeth’s third album So Far, So Good, So What! carried on the fine work made by Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson on Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? Megadeth in the space of two consecutive albums became one of the quintessential American Heavy Metal bands, of which the core group of Mustaine and Ellefson certainly rivalled the Metallica foursome of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and the much missed Cliff Burton and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello and Joey Belladonna as leaders of a brand new pack and iconic American Heavy Metal.

Megadeth, So Far, So Good, So What!. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(1140 words, estimated 4:34 mins reading time)

AC/DC, Blow Up Your Video. 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

Any serious rock fan has to only mention AC/DC’s name in any conversation to get sage old head nodding in approval and younger fans salivating as they prepare to hear more tales of one of the hardest rock acts to grace the genre in 40 years. From their 1975 debut High Voltage (Australia, 1976 elsewhere) through to the superb Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, the career defining Back In Black and finally the 1988 Blow Up Your Video, fans knew what to expect and they devoured each album in their droves.

AC/DC, Blow Up Your Video. 25th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(688 words, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

Paul Raymond Project, Terms & Conditions Apply. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Terms & Conditions Apply may sound as foreboding as it is ominous but in the hands of cult hard rock band U.F.O.’s songwriter and rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond it is a statement of musical intent that shows just how influential and talented this talismanic Hertfordshire man is.

Paul Raymond may be better known for his work U.F.O. and the Michael Schenker Group but Terms & Conditions Apply by the Paul Raymond Project is an album of quality and distinction with some incredible small surprises mixed into the venture. Always endeavouring to make sure that the sound he creates is uppermost in the thoughts of the multitude who have listened to his work, whether in the early days with Savoy Brown or in his beloved U.F.O. band.

Paul Raymond Project, Terms & Conditions Apply. Album Review. full post

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