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Weekly Reviews For February 26, 2006

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The Cutters - Jesus

Blimey! That rocked my world for three minutes. Which is a very, very good thing.

‘If you were Jesus, would you come back here?’ is the question. And as someone who was there in the beginning I would say not. But, thanks for asking. It's certainly a cracking, stomping old fashioned rock track with the stamp of Who like greatness all over it.

T'other tracks aren't even close with "One Look Back" being a mid nineties post Britpop plodder, although "Star" does try and raise the game again, although it does have the smell of Gallagher about it. However, most of pass our mundane lives without even a hint of greatness about us, so The Cutters have done better than we can ever dream about.

Buzz Carlton - Blame It On The Blues


Well it is kind of the blues in an Asleep At The Wheel kind of way, with more than a touch of Western swing about it, especially the lead track on this EP, "That's A Lot". That particular song is the real gem here, and well worth repeated plays.

The title track, "Blame It On The Blues", is a fairly standard blues ballad, but good enough, before we're hit with "Freedom Of Speech". Clyde Gordon Carlton Jr. (as he's known at home) wrote this in the wake of 9/11, and as with most tracks of its ilk, it makes no sense. Apparently, in the land of the free, they should all be locked up in the slammer. Which is surely the opposite of free? Largely spoken word over a truly excellent psychedelic blues riff, it had me reaching for track one sharpish.

Pioneers - Out of Here

Well, it's not a good start, in my book, if Starsailor take a shine to you, and take you out on tour. Especially, when they do it more than once. But seeing as how their label helped out Stephen Fretwell in his early days, I took the chance of them lacking cloth ears and popped this into the ceedee player.

And yes, they're doing the big, anthemic power ballad thing, like so (so) many others, but this lot are actually good at it! I'd be giving a big shout out to the singer, who has a raw edge to this voice that lifts the song from the potential mire inhabited by Athlete, and also the lead guitarist, who does a fine line in spiralling lead lines, but the press release, band website and label website don't seem to bother with fripperies like naming the band.

Which could mean it's a pseudonym for some godawful band like Embrace, and I'm making a fool of myself by liking it, but my credibility went out the window on the glorious day that "Cherry Pie" by Warrant was released and, frankly, I've been better off without it.

Yes, things get a bit samey over the six tracks on this mini album / maxi single thing, and over a full album, they'd need to stir it up a bit, but when you have as good a song as "All I Ever Wanted" to play with, who cares. Just make sure to bring a large supply of lighters to their next gig.

Joe Bourne and the Gary Moran Trio - Remembering Mr. Cole


Well there's no faffing about here - as you will have surmised from the title, this is a tribute to Nat 'King' Cole from Joe Bourne and the Gary Moran Trio. Taking on 16 tunes associated with Nat 'King' Col using the same instrumentation as the original 'King' Cole trio.

Now that may seem like a safe bet, but it's actually a hige risk. After all, get it wrong and you're going to be on the receiving end of some serious stick. But Joe Bourne has taken to his task admirably, digging some lesser known material from the vaults to sit alongside the classics, and with the sympathetic arrangements and backing to go with his rich voice, come up trumps.

He's also went for a lot of up tempo material which casual listeners may not be aware of, with a lot of the pop hits of the day having been from Cole the balladeer. Granted, there's nothing new or original here - it is an out and out tribute - but who cares when the music is classic and the performances match. There are even a couple of songs here which were new to me, with "The Best Man" being a particular treat.

Various Artists - Brazilia

A 26 track, 2CD compilation of Brazilian beats may sound like a bit much, but it's quite irresistible on a cold winters night. Part of a series of compilations put out by APace Music, this is by far the best of the bunch.

It's an excellent set which is constantly entertaining and a delight to listen to. There are some by rote tracks here, but the vast majority more than pass muster with my particular favourite being "Latin Dancer" [Deep Mix] by LaMalange.

Elsewhere, you'll find gems from Thievery Corporation featuring Patrick De Santos with "Sol Tapado", "Come Away With Me" by Ezekius and "Fatback" by Brazilfunk drop dead fabulous.

So, batten down the hatches, ignore the weather and have your own fiesta in the comfort of your own home.

Suzanne Samford — Lonely Charade

After listening to this highly enjoyable, yet madly schizophrenic I wasn;t surprised to read that Suzanne has opened for Tori Amos in her time. For this is an album that jumps from rap metal to Corrs type ballads to grunge influenced indie rock, without a care for the falsely imposed genre restrictions so beloved of the music business.

A classically trained vocalist, Suzanne has taken to the rock medium lke a duck to water with an eclectic, yet always enjoyable set of songs. Her voice is always a pleasure to listen to, and even though the eclecticism can take you by surprise, there's always a hook lurking ther to keep you listening.

Some of the songs are commercial enough to cut it on radio and when she hits the mark as she does on "You Feel Nothing" and "Easier To Run Away" amongst others, there's no reason to believe she couldn't have a long and interesting career ahead of her.