Reviews

Weekly Reviews For December 12, 2004

Review Index

I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer at MetalUK.

I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock

Recent reviews include
Rush - Chronicles (The Video Collection)
Deep Purple - The Early Years
Damageplan - New Found Power
Whitesnake - The Early Years

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

The Rocker
New releases from;
Superczar - Pop Art
Various - Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers
When's The Future - Then
And many more....

 

New Reviews

The Corrs - Long Night

Ach, there's no real excuses for liking this, but sometimes we all need to be wrapped up in something flimsy and without substance. There's a incredibly sad melody running through the song, with the always wonderful voice of Corr No 1, offset by the melodic violin playing of Corr No 2.

And if you get the enhanced video you have the added, venal, pleasure of 2 videos. Which reassures me that I haven't turned into a big girl yet.

Dione Taylor - Open Your Eyes

Dione is another wonderful vocalist raised in the world of gospel, having assumed the role of music director and organist at The Shiloh Assembly Church (Apostolic), by the age of ten!

By age twelve, she had begun vocal and piano lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada, but after attending the University of Regina, where she majored in Voice (Classical and Opera), decided to embark upon a career in jazz.

Dione was later selected to be one of six jazz musicians from around the world to participate in “Jazz and the New Generation,” a program sponsored by The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., led by jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor. After graduating with honours from Humber College in 2003, she began immediately working around Toronto with her quartet.

On this CD, Dione Taylor gives us her interpretations of songs from the great American songbook, and if you've suffered through the Rod Stewart trilogy, this will come as a blessed release. An outstanding singer singing wonderful songs, beautifully arranged, this is what you want from music of this ilk.

The highlight is most definitely ”I Fall In Love Too Easily”, a gem of a track, where everything falls into place, but there's not a weak moment to be found.

Inside Out - What Is This Thing?

However, if you want your classics turned inside out (aha!), then this is where you need to be. A trio led by drummer Barry Romberg, this takes the opposite course to Dione Taylor by taking some tried and tested material and twisting it into something oblique and avante garde.

There's always the danger with projects like this that the musicians fall into the trap og being clever for clevers sake, but Inside Out manage to avoid the trap with some deft arrangements.

There's plenty for the Miles Davis purists to get upset about with “Autumn Leaves,” “Solar,” and “All Blues,” getting a new treatment, but the strangest and most rewarding moment is saved for Cole Porter's “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, which gets unrecognisable, but always comes back around to the original magical melody.

End Of Everything - 24/09/2004 - The Cathouse, Glasgow

They are loud, in your face and don’t give a toss if you like them or not! EOE are very death metal, lots of heavy thrashy sounds reminiscent of Fear Factory and Killswitch Engage. Lead singer Sid has a very distinct growly voice. You can’t tell a word he’s singing about but it sounds great. A very fluid set, moving swiftly from one song to the next. All credit to Sid it was his 2nd gig with EOE and you wouldn’t have known unless told. So with their slamming guitars, big sounds and an all round powerful performance, they whipped the crowd into frenzy and went down a storm, Good on you lads.

Reviewd by Katey J

Heather Bambrick - It's About Time

Oh, my, this is good. A CD of pure joy from Canadian chanteuse Heather Bambrick, this is one of my favourite CDs this year. Some classic jazz moments, and some inspired rearrangements, culminating in a reinvention of Prince's "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?", which hits a moment of pure inspiration. The original material is no slouch either, and fits in neatly besides the standards.

A graduate of the University of Toronto Jazz Studies department, Heather has studied and performed with such Canadian Jazz talents as Phil Nimmons, Alex Dean, Mike Murley, and Carol Welsman. Heather has performed at such prominent Jazz Clubs as The Montreal Bistro, The Top o’ the Senator, and The Rex Hotel, and is now a mainstay of the local jazz scene.

They'd better enjoy her presence on the local scene while they can, because on the evidence of the talent displayed here, it's when, not if, she becomes an international name. Truly outstanding.

Layne - Demo

First off the first song should have been called we want to be Nirvana la la la la la la la! What a rip off !!! A bit like the name too, admire the late great Layne…………… Stanley do we boys??? There aren't so much elements of other bands within Layne's music; rather the whole EP consists of the instrumentals of most of the major early 90's grunge bands but with new lyrics. Unfortunately it's bland, dreary and lacking in charisma and imagination. You can just picture 3 spotty students practicing in a bedroom whilst wearing Nirvana hoodies and emulating their hero. That said there is some talent going on drum wise and the guitars aren't bad in places, but on the whole it's lacking something. Maybe their energies should go into working on something with a bit of personality and individuality, either that or go the whole hog and become a tribute band.

Reviewed by Katey J