Reviews

WEEKLY REVIEWS FOR JUNE 27th 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

Marble Sheep - For Demolition Of A Spiritual Framework

What a title- what an album! Heavy it is but never crude with lots of memorable melodic lines like the wondrous guitar sequence at the end of the powerhouse 12 minute track ‘The Drop’ and also the sequence following the tardy vocal on the even longer ‘Rain’. The chorus of ‘Legend of the Perfect Island’ will stick in your head and you’ll never forget ‘Fla Fla Heaven’, a classic of heavy punk rock, music to dance to even!

The rhythm section on ‘The Drop’ is nothing short of phenomenal and a red hot energy level is kept up throughout the album. The ambient, experimental closer ‘Just Going Around In Circles’ is almost a relief given the coruscating intensity of what precedes it.. The space rock/ Kraut rock approach gives no clue as to Marble Sheep’s nationality- Japanese! Great music wonderfully packaged- what more could you ask for?

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)

Woolly Wolstenholme's Maestoso - One Drop In A Dry World

Barclay James Harvest always managed to operate under my radar. I was vaguely aware of their big in Germany status around about “Eyes of the Universe” and “Concert for the People”, but their long and varied career passed me buy.

This is my way of saying that I’m coming to this album by the BJH keyboard player and vocalist with a set of fresh ears. Maestoso was also the name of his 1980 solo album and, of course, is a musical term meaning ‘in a majestic and stately manner. Used chiefly as a direction.’ As a name for his solo project it is extremely apposite.

For those of a proggish inclination, Woolly Wolstenholme was / is a Mellotron player, so you will find plenty to like if that is your particular cup of jasmine tea. However, away from that, there is plenty of merit here.

I’m no expert but others tell me that this is his first full studio recording in about twenty years, which means he’s had plenty of time to accumulate some exceptional material. There is an air of melancholy hanging over the whole affair which draws you in and compels you to listen.

It’s a CD chock full of highlights including “Blood and Bones”, probably the best song on the album with delicate acoustic intro, some powerful bass playing and some incredibly dark keyboard sounds, it would be worth the price of admission alone. “It's You” is a more straightforward classic rock track and “Souk” is an Eastern influenced epic, a bit Peter
Gabriel in construction. After the interval (yes, there is one), the best song is “One Drop in a Dry World”, although it is a bit close to the bone for me.

Thoroughly recommended, and a bit of an eye opener.

Colorstore - Heavy Sleeps

Colorstore started life as a side project for The Sweet Bleeders’ Mark Erickson and Robin Vining, which probaly means something in Arizona, but as a novice, I'm coming to this untainted by their previous emissions. And it's a good one, a 5 track EP, dripping with psychedelic nuances. Vining and Erickson adopt the 'show off' model by playing everything on the EP, which takes in cello, upright bass, piano, guitar, synths, theremin and anything else that could be cranked up very slowly.

There's a late 60s / early 70s dreamy vibe about the music here, epsecially highlight "Strange Summer", which is a gem of a song. "Shelter And The Ice Age" is another highlight, more upbeat, but without losing focus. Akin to that post 1967, but before the bad drugs kicked in period, when people weren't afraid to try and say something (or nothing) of importance. Of course, in this digital age, the production is a lot clearer than on my crackly vinyl of yore.

Highly enjoyable and very listenable, this is well worth taking a peek into.

Frank Gingeleit - Selections

This is my first encounter with Frank, although he has four albums out. This is a compilation of tunes from his first three albums - "Nightmares & Escapades", "Megapolis" and "Toy Island". Frank is aiming this at directors of independent film, theater, dance or exhibiton projects, with a view to widening his audience. WIth three tracks from each of the three albums mentioned, it certainly does it job.

He certainly has an interesting variance in his work, although it is primarily based in the classic German electronic composition field, first popularised by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Frank is adept at experimenting within the genre, which allows for some very interesting sounds and ideas.

The particular joy of this music is the almost subliminal waves that permeate through the tracks, keeping your subconscious in place, while your conscious mind plays with the sounds it's experiencing. The best track here is probably "Adjust Your Clock", which is packed with vitality. "Bad State Of Mind" runs it a close second and would be the easiest to place within a futuristic soundtrack. "Toy Island Part Two" is an interesting take on almost Jah Wobble dub sounds. The best title award goes to "Witchcraft Lessons At A Dwarves School", which is almost pure spacerock, with an evil sounding bass part.

As an introduction to his work, this is absolutely superb.

Ness - Up Late With People

This one took me by surprise. As I always spin a disc without reading anything about the band, I was expecting some lo-fi whiny mince (I got that by looking at the cover, fact fans), but what I received was some alien combination of classic seventies soft rock coupled with a healthy dose of progressive experimentation.

On the one hand, you get a dose of Electric Light Orchestra melody in "Cosmoa", then the next you're hitting the cosmic heights of the title track, "Up Late WIth People". Odd, but very compelling. And now that I've actually read something about the band, it transpires that band nomenclature winner, Rick Ness has toured and recordedg with the Webb Brothers. Makes more sense now.

As someone who holds the flame for classic soft rock high in hand, it was delight that I swayed to the harmonies, hewn from a Badfinger template, then reeled from the psych of "Imaginary Life," probably the album highlight. Although the 'Hold Yourself High' of album opener, Where The People Kick It" runs it a close second, something you can experience through the power of video, as the CD comes replete with same, where the band come off as the bastard children of Cheap Trick. Totally unexpected, and all the more delightful for it.

Arms Of Kismet - Eponymous

Well, that was a relief. From the name of the band and from track 1 being entitled "Karma Never Forgets", I was smelling hippy, and my pistols were in my pocket, I was Virginia bound. Thankfully, despite some gentle, introspective, spiritual lyrics, it's far removed from tye dye hell.

Instead, it's a thoughtful set of power pop tunes, reminiscent of my beloved Cracker, a uniquely American mix of pop, soft rock and Americana. And utterly delightful.

Primarily, Arms Of Kismet is written and produced by former Wampeter (me neither) Mark Doyon, there is a dream like quality to a lot of the music here, that is instantly compelling. No mean feat when we've got more music coming from all directions than we've ever had before.

Vocally, there are hints of Tom Petty, but without an overpowering nasal quality, and despite the retro feel to a lot of the songs, there is a cutting edge feel to the production that shows it's as much about looking forward, as looking back. There are some sublime melodies and memorable choruses, and you'll be hard pushed to find a more soulful end to an album this year than "Sepia Eyes".