Reviews

Weekly Reviews For June 5, 2005

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

Dave Dill - See You In The Sunshine

Dave Dill has finally done it- produced the album we all know this exceedingly talented singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is more than capable of. From the irresistibly infectious opening song ‘Starting from Zero’ through the extensive Paul McCartney influence of ‘Hope You Know’ to the seven minute tour de force ‘Dreams’ there are many pleasant surprises in store. ‘Light in the Canyon’ and ‘Train is Leaving’ for example with their unplugged Led Zep kind of feel are very mature compositions with perfect arrangements while ‘See You In The Sunshine’ is another catchy song that will linger long in the memory. The multi-tracked vocals of ‘You Know’ reminded me of the feel on Wings ‘Band on the Run’ album while the Beatles influence is once again obvious on the 6 minute closer ‘Further Up, Further In’. The astonishing thing is how fresh all the music feels, like rediscovering some long last classics from the heyday of popular music.
Don’t miss ‘See You in the Sunshine’- not just for the sake of nostalgia but as an opportunity to hear a solo artist playing some of the most wonderful music you’re likely to hear in 2005!

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)

Peter Lacey - Songs From A Loft


Peter Lacey’s music is characterised by thoughtful and subtle arrangements and a distinctive and almost angelic voice, the whole atmosphere created in tune with the natural and romantic side of life. He plays most of the instruments himself with John Williams adding flugelhorn and trumpet on the opener ‘Sandman’ and ‘The Outermost Inn’. The CD starts very reflectively and the first thing to really grab your ears is the infectious up tempo number ‘Sunrise’.

‘Curios’ is a lovely ode to time, very poetic containing some interesting metaphors like ‘a soulless King’ and ‘a heartless thief’ with Peter on guitar accompanied by Jon Fielder, ex Jade Warrior on keyboards. The ‘lighter than air’ instrumental cameo ‘The Outermost Inn’ is as enchanting as the bird in flight depicted on the cover. A wide array of instruments is used on the aptly named ‘Orient Tear’ as the album comes across as a series of ‘sketches’ pervaded by a magical, mystical quality.

Comparisons with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys are taken too far but on the intriguing ‘River Road’ the arrangements is every bit as meticulous as anything on ‘Pet Sounds’. There is a curiously poignant song about a certain Wally Thomas in 1944 with the chilling line ‘Over a tightrope above the fires of madness’ and there are lots of nice ‘finishing touches’ on the CD including a haunting string arrangement by Fielder on ‘The Old Hand’.

‘Songs From A Loft’ would be great music for listening to sitting by a blazing log fire on a cold winter’s night and like all Peter Lacey’s music comes highly recommended.

(Reviewed by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)

The White Stripes – Blue Orchid

I was never a fan of the White Stripes. Although I am very taken with Meg, having had the pleasure of seeing her close up! But musically, didn’t see what the fuss was. But then I’ve been listening to Son House for 25 years, so don’t need my blues refried.

However, I like this. “Back In Black” meets Camille-era Prince over the usual thundering backbeat. Nice. Flipside “Though I Hear You Calling I Will Not Answer” is another strange little number, half the Chipmunks, half primary school xylophone, but all coming together in Led Zep III style.

Good work, and if it gets one person to track down the 1930 recording of “John The Revelator” by Blind Willie Johnson, then a greater purpose has been realised.

Roy Harper – The Death Of God

It’s been too long since I was able to buy a new Roy Harper record. I mean I’m happy to buy reissues, compilations and assorted doodles, but there is nothing quite like a great Roy Harper song. And this is a beauty. As the man himself says;

“Tongue in cheek? But how can it be? Our famous leader took us into an illegal war and killed thousands of children. Was that cool? Or was it all just a myth? Can he now lie to you about the economy, schools, hospitals, human rights and everything else? Of course he can. He's done it all before. We've all been there before. Do we have any option? Well... no. Only to vote tactically. Five separate stories rolled into one. The emigrant, the soldier, the bomber, the leader, and "God!" Dark satire.. all of it.”

So, Roy gets ripped into Tony Blair fuelled by disgust, augmented by his usual acerbic voice and classic guitar work, with the help of a full band.. You get a short version and a long one, and unusually (for me), the long one is worth the extra minutes piled on. You get 16 minutes of music for your money as Roy sums up the feelings of millions in;

Do me a favour
Please don’t patronise
Your war was not fought for my mind
But just for your prize
Started when what was some truth
Got spun into lies

Now all we need is a new Roy album. Please!

Mission Giant – Brotherhood Of The Plug

Well this is a challenging one, and no mistake. Not one to whap on the boombox when you’re doing a spot of ironing, Mission Giant are determined to destroy your preconceptions of rock and roll with their post rock, art rock and custom-built tone generators.

However, it’s not all mad scientist and strange looking kettles, for they do have some roots in eighties synth pop, but it’s all thrown into the huge blender marked ‘improvisation’ to deliver up something that alternates between steamy and clinical.

From the trad rock of "Potential for Future Dynamics" to the Mogwai like sounds of "Fast Kids Sound Like Seagulls", it’s apparent that they have no interest in ordinary transitions. Elswehere they take on Eno and Kraftwerk with equal abandon, pausing only for the odd Gary Numan melody.

If you’re looking for a soundtrack to an odd fifties science fiction movie, then this could be the place to start.

Mohodisco – Kaloomith

Basically, a one man band, MohoDisco is the musical outpouring of Bruce White. Now, don’t be fooled by the name, for this is no handbags and white stilettos soundtrack, rather an adventurous and eclectic set of instrumentals, bound to appeal to the Ozric Tentaclers out there.

In case you were wondering MohoDisco is the abbreviated version of his original band name, Mohorific Discontinuity, a name guaranteed to have you reaching for the pain pills. The man himself takes on guitar, bass and synthesiser duties, roping in anyone who happens to wander by and look a bit muso like, so there are over a dozen contributers to this excellent set.

He ranges over a wide set of moods from the Ozrics to late 80s Genesis to jazz fusion to classic Hawkwind like spacerock without a blink of an eye, or a drop in quality. However, be warned, there also traces of System 7 lurking around, something which is fine by me, but has the traditionalists tearing out skin where their hair used to be. Although, if you wanted one track to listen to, it would be “Mystery Falls”, the undoubted highlight of an excellent release.