Reviews

Weekly Reviews For March 27, 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

Daniel Barnes - Culmination

With a classical composer for a father, an author and scriptwriter for a mother and singer songwriter brother, it was probably inevitable that Daniel would end up a musician and was playing professionally at 16, studying with Claude Ranger, Jim Blackely and Marvin "Smitty" Smith amongst others.

This appropriately titled album is the culmination of years spent as a sideman working with a host of artists, live and in the studio for over ten years, in rock, jazz and world music, including a stint touring with Ethiopian singing stars Aster Aweke and Mahmoud Ahmed.

This CD is a fine, fine blast of contemporary jazz from the Canadian composer, drummer and bandleader. It’s also nice to note that this is primarily original material with a couple of standards in there for good measure.

Ably assisted by some exceptional musicians this CD covers a wide range of influences from soul to samba, but remains firmly rooted in jazz. There’s also plenty of room in the material for the soloists to breathe.

Daniel Barnes falls firmly into the ‘show off’ camp of musicians as he plays drums, percussion and sings his way through this excellent set. There’s bits of bop, some bossa nova and a cohesive ensemble approach which pays serious dividends. The originals are uniformly excellent with “Dark Inside” a moody highlight, although the rearrangement of “Alfie’s Theme” by Sonny Rollins (herein titled “Alfies’s Dub”) is the album highlight.

Soulscript – Bleeding On Paper

I love it when an album comes along from someone you’ve never heard of that touches you in the places you really want to be touched in. “Bleeding On Paper” is one of those rare albums that went straight into the replay pile, just over my right shoulder.

Basically, it’s that rootsy rock’n’roll hybrid that began with The Band, that Americans keep on renaming and returning to. Country rock, americana, no depression, call it what you will, it’s great songs, performed with passion, that leaves you begging for more.

Chris Williams is the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and keyboard player, Eric Whittenburg is the multi-instrumentalist who plays bass, drums, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, melodica and percussion , while Tommy Bowden plays rhythm guitar, and provides harmony vocals as well as recording, mixing and producing the excellent sounding album.

There’s nothing fancy going on here, just honest music, rich and redolent in its tone and execution. It’s a little bit rock, a little bit roll, a little bit folk and a little bit country, always melodic and always entrancing. If you have a hankering for ‘real’ music, then this is something you need to have.

The Unbelievers - Standing Naked in Disgrace

It’s interesting how good things can come in the most unprepossessing packages. A typed tracklisting and a hand burned CDR with no information would go straight in the bin at any major record label or glossy magazine reviews editors desk. But here at Zeitgeist, everything is played (at least 3 times), and that is how gems like this end up being lauded by our good selves.

The debut album from The Unbelievers, they are apparently influenced by everyone from Pink Floyd to Bob Dylan via the Dave Matthews band, although it is the latter that forms their musical template. Some would have you believing they are allied to Keane, Embrace, Coldplay and their devil spawn ilk. Do not be fooled. The Unbelievers have talent in abundance, and the musical chops to come very close to pulling off their ambitions.

Now, I’m not saying that in a bad way. There are few enough artists out there willing to reach for the stars, in a time where Emkeanplay rule over a dull and uninteresting world. So, frankly, it doesn’t matter if “Almost Lovers” fails in an attempt to be a Peter Hammill ballad. At least they tried and came up with one of the best piano driven laments I’ve heard in years.

The Unbelievers wanted to prove that a motivated band with limited resources didn't have to believe in the music industry to create a fantastic album. And to a large degree they have succeeded with a set of emotive songs all about love, loss and redemption.

Seltrab Nohj & The Evildoers – Number Of The Beast

Hurrah! Bartles is back! As the more astute of you will have noticed Seltrab Nohj is a rather obvious pseudonym as Bartles gets to grips with the new global terrorism. And you know he has the finger on the diseased world pulse straight from the off as his warped Captain Beefheart blues gets to grips with “My Wife Is A Towel Head”.

This time he also dips into world music, desecrating a whole new field in “The Temple Of Lhasa Apso”, before returning to his blues roots in “Jesus Of Las Vegas”. Although my particular favourite this time around is “Let’s Dress Up Like Artists” where he rips a new hole in my particular bete noire. Pretentious arty farty types getting abused being one of my favourite spectator sports. I don’t participate much these days, as it stopped being a challenge quite some time ago.

There is an unfortunate animal rights theme running through some of the material. Frankly, if you haven’t evolved enough to get the hell out of the way when a hunter comes trampling through the woods, then you deserve to get shot and worn. Although I do have a soft spot for “Dave The Bear”.

Regardless, Bartles is a hidden treasure who, in a righteous world would be slavering all over you.

Oh, and citizens of Nunda beware. Bartles has moved into your midst. I can only assume the wise burghers of Livonia Center got themselves up an ass whupping party and drove him out.

Bartles is now at POB 21, Nunda, NY 14517, USA

Portobella – Viva La Difference!

Foolishly thinking I was buying a promo CD for the faded grandeur of Portobello, my beloved seaside resort just outside Edinburgh, I was somewhat taken aback by a loud, dancey musical number fronted by a rather attractive young lady wearing some decidedly delicious and dangerous boots and a Berlin hairdo.!

To be honest I thought we’d killed all this nonsense off with Republica back in the day, but apparently not. Fortunately, there is the marvellous Playgroup vocal mix, which goes all Goldfrapp on us, which is always a good thing. However, I must decline the singers pleas to go back to new romance. I was there, milady, and it was absolute tosh. Luciana Caporasa does a good enough job on vocals, but I doubt there are enough gay shoppers to push this into the charts.

But if you like the idea of Transvision Vamp meets dance floor meets seventies glam rock, you’ll probably love this.