Reviews

Weekly Reviews For August 29, 2005

Review Index

I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer at MetalUK.

I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock

You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk

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Steve Howe - Spectrum

Maybe it's true that you can't teach an old prog new tricks, but if you'd asked me to predict what a new Steve Howe instrumental album would sound like, then I would have staked every single one of my seven new pennies on it sounding like this.

Assisted by Tony Levin on bass, Dylan Howe (his son) on drums, Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick)
and Virgil Howe (Steve's other son) on keyboards, this is like Yes minus the vocals, with a tinge of Latin rhythms and Eastern textures. Yes fans should head straight for 'Highly Strung' if they don't want to leave their comfort zone, but check out 'Band Of Light' if you want to dip your toes into the Santana influences.

Of course, it's all done very well, and it's always a delight to hear the bass work of Tony Levin, but don't come looking for his dub experimentation. Which is fair enough, and makes a pleasant change from the musicians who seem determined to alienate the people who have made them very wealthy by chucking out any old tosh in between band albums.

Another bonus is the sheer melodicism that flows through all the pieces, no widdly widdly or mad fusion attacks for our Steve. This is an excellent successor to 'Elements', and if you delighted at the understated mastery displayed there, then you'll love this

Bill Fay - Bill Fay / Time Of The Last Persecution


“You thought you were a lightbulb, you've never know your age, or the number of the page.”

A magazine that should have known better claimed this was the “missing link between Nick Drake, Ray Davies and Bob Dylan”. In turn, overrated, underrated and simply dreadful. So, perhaps they're not far off the mark. Because the first self-titled album is as awful a piece of sixties twaddle that only bad drugs or mental illness can excuse.

I know it was “always better in my day”, but surely no amount of medication can excuse the fey, ill-focussed sixth form poetry (see opening line for an example), masquerading as music. The single 'Screams In The Ears”, here as a bonus track is worth a listen, but that's it.

Quasi-legendary guitarist Ray Russell stepped up from guitarist to co-producer for album number 2, 'Time Of The Last Persuasion', brought his mates along to play, and managed to make a remarkable turnaround. Of course, Bill Fay had also grown a beard, and it is scientific fact that men with beards are more creative than those without.

It's still no second coming, but the music compensates for the poor lyrics, and the arrangements are top class. There are similarities to some of the work that Traffic produced first time around, the awful orchestral muzak that despoiled the first album have gone, and you wouldn't believe it's the same performer.

These were the days when songs lasted 3 minutes, so everything is taut and concise, with some beautiful, delicate guitar work from Ray Russell. Check out 'Tell It Like It Is' for some astounding acoustic guitar. Don't even think about buying the 1st album, but start queuing at your local record emporium for the 2nd immediately.

Cadillac - Locomotive

Grease monkey scuzz rocking guitar blasting supernova blast beat speed riff poppingly brilliant.

That's all you need to know about this hyperactive blast of rock and roll. Straight out of the Blue Cheer book of big riffs and low slung guitars, this is one of the singles of the year so far. Rarely does a piece of music make me long for my years of drug and alcohol abuse, but this had me craving Polish vodka and speed, eyeing my biker jacket longingly, and wishing I was 19 again.

T'other track 'The Saint' can't live up to the glory of the A-side, but rocks merrily in sub Kyuss mode, assisted by the production wiles of Black Crowes guitarist, Rich Robinson. Not what you expect from the church burning land of black metal, but these Norwegian rockers hit just as hard, and without the corpse paint!

Marble Sheep - The Gate of a Heavenly Body

I greatly enjoyed 'For Demolition of a Spiritual Framework' already reviewed in Zeitgeist. Their latest album is more of the same- very heavy, probably even more of a 'wall of sound' than the previous one, with indecipherable lyrics thoughtfully reproduced on the cover. Much of the music is like a mixture of Hawkwind and Motorhead but 'Children of the Dawn' actually sounds like a long lost Who/ Stones outtake- nice work! A peak of intensity is reached on 'Who Should Be Trusted?' where a keyboard choral effect lifts the track. 'A Yard with Rough Rocks' is a welcome acoustic/ hand drum moment with a strange Richie Havens like quality. It isn't long before the mayhem resumes although 'A Rose, A Pigeon and Seven' is, as the title perhaps suggests, rather experimental and the closer 'The Interval of Recollections and Memory' (How these titles trip off the tongue!) is almost anthemic.

Check out these Japanese spaced out rockers immediately! (Beautifully packaged again by the way!)

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)

Neon - Sign of the Time

This is the second Neon CD to be released on Stone Premonitions, the first featuring a session for the John Peel Show as well as the band's two vinyl singles.

The music is punk rock but punk rock with some added ingredients. Phil Sutcliffe of Sounds magazine put it this way after witnessing a live gig in 1978: ''Neon have discovered how to play quite elaborately interwoven melodies and rhythmic patterns' and 'are a glimpse over the horizon for the New Wave'. In fact it turns out that band members were listening to bands like XTC, Gong, Steve Hillage, Nektar, Camel, The Stranglers, Bill Bruford, Kraan and Neu at the time!

Guitarist/ vocalist Tim Jones grunts and growls his way through 15 songs recorded live at various places in the UK between 1977 and 1978 beginning with the fractured, schizophrenic and totally captivating 'I'm A Gent'. The red hot intensity becomes positively scary on 'Piranha', staccato guitar and vocal depicting perfectly the deadliest of creatures in human form. The band cry is 'Wuh Wuh!' and this is followed rapidly by the hormonal 'All I Want's Your Body, Yeah!' which, surprisingly features some playing that sounded to my old ears like 'out there' prog rockers High Tide in full flow. 5 minutes of the driving rocker 'Batman' allow the band to branch out a bit but generally things are short and snappy. 'Nuclear Sun' gives a glimpse of the political and environmental concerns that were to dominate Tim's later music with Census of Hallucinations. There are many high points on this collection but to me the defining moment is the funky 'Life's A D-D-Downer' (Sounds like a classic period piece caught in aspic) which, it turns out, was actually recorded on a Revox reel to reel in drummer Paddi's bedroom! (Bass player Mark Dunn goes to town on this one by the way). Tim is joined by a second guitarist Martin Holder on four songs and that helps to fill out the sound (although Tim manages some pretty stunning licks on his own!) To top things off there is a bonus track- a ska version of a famous summer holiday song! Enjoy!

(Available from The Rocker)

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)

Arms of Kismet - Eponymous / Cutting Room Rug

For the second time today I must apologise to Tim and Terri at Stone Premonitions for mislaying the first CD they sent me. Luckily, the second CD 'Cutting Room Rug' proved to be so excellent that I just had to have another listen to the first. 'Wry and intelligent songs about life, religion and the pursuit of happiness' wrote a reviewer named Norman. Now I don't normally quote other reviewers but in this case I think that statement just about sums 'Eponymous' up. 'Beautiful Career' is a wonderfully acerbic dig at the (music) industry. 'Alive and Awake' could be on the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers while 'Cuckold of Titan' and 'Are You My God?' just ooze songwriting class. It's no surprise these two songs have been used on film soundtracks.
'Cutting Room Rug' is, if anything, even better. 'Postmodern pop for the stout of heart' goes the press release and to my ears this CD is more eclectic than the first. 'Listen to Me' begins and ends the record and one wonders why we're not hearing this song everyday on the radio. What follows ('Outbound Train') is more rockabilly in style and a song that George Harrison and the Travelling Wilburys would have been proud of (as is 'Clarendon'.) 'Clover' starts off as a blues with a name check of 'Rosedale'- I think you get the picture. The folk ballad 'Life Imitates' is a Petty like folk ballad. The clever word play continues on 'Graces' with its ominous 'house' feel
As it says on the press release Arms of Kismet blends disparate genres like 'roots' music, 80s rock and hip-hop (only a little bit of the latter) in offbeat and revelatory ways. Any band that can rhyme 'so' with 'torso' is OK with me!

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)