Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
You always hope to catch the effervescent in a performance, the sincerity of the lively and the dynamic in the same thread of the act, whilst understanding that it is the memory of a certain time, of nostalgia, making the hairs on the back of the neck stand firmly to attention and the whisper of the music fall in love once more.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Jimmy And The Revolvers, Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Such is the music provided in the last ten years by what was once Liverpool’s fledgling music community, it would be forgivable to admit that you might not have been able to see every band that has frequented the pubs, the back stages and for some the recognition afforded by the larger venues that the city has to offer. However, there will always be a part of Liverpool that will belong to Jimmy and the Revolvers, a voice that emulates that of one of Liverpool’s favourite sons, Gerry Marsden and a vibe that sits at the heart of modern transposed joy, and to witness it live, for a first time, for a hundredth time, or perhaps for a last time, is to understand what you loved about music in the first place.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Jake Abraham, Jamie Clarke, Guy Freeman, Stephen Fletcher, Lindzi Germain, Abigail Middleton, Mia Molloy, Michael Starke.
Band: Howard Gray, James Bretton, Mike Woodvine, Greg Joy.
Billy Riley is the hero you may not have heard of but because of his ingenuity, his fortitude and love of a fish and chip supper, there is forever a part of the South Pacific that is Scouse, where bananas are abundant, where a certain newspaper gets used for its rightful position as a cleansing aid, and where the descendants of the ship-wrecked, press-ganged mariner burst into song as a right; some enchanted evenings are always worth remembering, especially in Scouse Pacific.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It would have always been at the back of the mind of the Eagles fan, that if they didn’t see them perform in Liverpool on their 2014 tour, it was quite possible they might never see them again. After all the band had not called in to the city for quite some time before that, and with the passing of Glen Frey in 2016, that performance was to be likely the last time in which an audience would see them.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The sound is enigmatic, sincere, almost poetry within itself, add into the equation the lyrical robustness that flows elegantly as if navigating, taming a winter storm at sea, then it becomes clear why Mike Scott and The Waterboys continue to impress the audiences that eagerly await the announcement of a gig in their area, almost choir like in their appreciation, they sing to a glory that gathers rhythm and insightful prose together in a sweeping gesture that makes the heart beat faster and the mind moved in unison.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The question always hangs in the air on how Lydia understands, perhaps she is tune with the moment in which Dean Friedman plays to the receptive and knowing audiences in which ever city he finds himself performing, playing to crowds who do more than understand the appeal of geniality and genius in equal measure, they recognise and identify with the common touch held in the hands of the musician, and the soul of the poet.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac’s Emily Gervers at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. April 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Time has not yet been called on the story of Fleetwood Mac, there is always one more chapter being written, one more footnote being slotted in, one extra paragraph to be prepared, for a group that is rightly hailed as one of the all-time greats of Rock, they also know how to keep the fans guessing on what drama will come to light next; it is in that which keeps the whole performance as electrifying and as dynamic as watching a meteor shower blaze across the night sky.
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10
Legends only increase in value and heartfelt beauty with time, the song remains the same as the scene before the audience changes, youthful memory gives way to mature understanding, a sense of the distinguished statesman, the adored wisdom of a artist whose sensitivity has never been questioned, suddenly becomes in the eyes of the audience searching for that wonder, a monument made of human emotion and response to the loss of innocence we know for certain will never be found.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is a gracefulness to be thanked for, saluted even, when it comes to enjoying an evening in the presence of one of the finest songwriters of British Pop/Rock history; for when you are in the company of Graham Gouldman and 10cc you instinctively feel the elegance and accomplished hand of musical professionalism resound throughout the venue and reflect the light like diamonds of the faces of the sell-out crowds that give any evening its permanent vibe.
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * * *
Ian Cattell of Brit Floyd, M & S Arena, Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
The zeitgeist can often be over rated, its meaning shrouded in a warped sense of nostalgia as we attempt to put our fingers on a pulse that stopped beating when we were no longer paying attention. We search in vain, we grasp the remnants of what made us tick to the clock buzzing inside our minds and we see Time as a complete picture, and not the fragmented illusion that it is, one in which we attempt to place the jigsaw pieces back together, seeing an all-embracing, beautiful sunset, not realising that the picture on the front of the box is actually one that bears no resemblance to what we remember.