Reviews

Weekly Reviews For September 10, 2006

Review Index

I am Managing Editor at Metal4Life

I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock

I am also featured reviewer at spacerock.co.uk

I was Editor & reviewer at MetalUK.

New Reviews

Kris Miller - Alive And Well

A dove is just a pigeon that got lucky. Vermin with wings. So it took a wee while to get past the cover and on into this set of modern worship songs.

There is something both scary and attractive about people who have an unquestioning faith, only you don't know whether the flame is going to burn you or not.

Kris Miller is obviously keen to share her love of her god, and her enthusiasm constantly shines through on this set of all original material.

Drue Nelson - Ambient Fixtures


Well the artist name suggested country music, the album title suggested new age flim flam. So, in the absence of any press bumph, I was not expecting a sophisticated set of melodic, contemporary adult rock.

Sometimes you just wonder why certain musicians don't get the breaks theyso richly deserve. Maybe there is something in that whole karma thing after all. Because, based on this,Drue Nelson should have swooped into the whole Nickelback / Bon Jovi market, scooped it up, and wandered off with a few platinum discs and a trophy wife.

Yes, a few of the songs aren't quite the finished article, but there are enough gems here to keep you happy with "No Excuse" top of the list. It's a crying shame that more folks haven't heard this. Don't make that mistake. Check out this vein of gold while it's still undiscovered.

Sam Brown - Ukelele and Voice : 5 Songs

Like others, Sam Brown remains a incredibly under rated singer, performer and writer. Yes, there was the brief hit single phase and, sadly, her current stint with Jols Holland, but she is a remarkable talent, and you should be ashamed for not buying her records.

Releases that are few and far between these days, so even a 5 track EP is a welcome sight. In fact, I share your shame as this actually sneaked out last year and I missed it. Curses!

As the title suggests, "Ukulele And Voice" is Sam Brown accompanied by a ukulele singing 5 wonderful songs, each one rich with imagery and emotion. "Kiss Of Love", co-written with Jools Holland did previously appeared on one of his albums as a duet with Nick Cave, but it too returns to its roots here.

It's an utter delight, with "Over The Moon" making best use of her wonderful voice, and is, naturally enough, my favourite. The one flaw is the brevity of the release, but that's what the repeat button is for. Go buy it immediately.

Chris Brown - Now That You're Fed

When I say that I hate people, the vehemence often takes people aback. Then they usually assume it's that 'weird sense fo humour' thing they've heard about but don't understand. Well, they're wrong. I genuinely hate people. And here's another example why.

Chris Brown (no relation to Sam) is an award winning independent film maker who has just released a debut album of inspirational power pop. Did you get that? I'll just put my award down, get an ex member of Jellyfish on board to produce, and knock out one of the best albums of the year. Bastard.

It's bad enough knowing that you're good for nothing without the multi talented Mr Bloody Bastard Brown nipping in to remind me of how inconsequential I am. Thanks, mate.

This record is so good, it hurts. "Ordinary Day" and "Things She Laughed About" are just two of the songs, so close to perfection, as to make me feel quite weepy. I have to go now.

Gene-Manuel - Sophisticated Kink

Well this is certainly different. Imagine of the Scissor Sisters recorded an album of Marilyn Manson songs and you might be close to the vibe of the groovy title track. Or possibly scarred for life. One or t'other. Then there are the songs where things get slowed right down and it borders on late period Depeche Mode.

But just when you think you're getting comfortable, Gene-Manuel and collaborator Michael Morgan throw you a torch song curveball like "8 (Different Ways)" and you have to throw your recently formed conceptions right out of the window.

Then you get hit by some scuzzed up indie-glam rock on "C'mon (Fully Loaded)" and you start to wonder how it can all be the work of one person. Finally, as if to confirm the madness of what had gone before, things end up with a squalling cover of the Kate Bush song "Under The Ivy".

It's a mad variety show of an album and to be commended for that. So, if you suffer from multiple personality disorders, and are tired from constantly changing reords, then this is for you.

ShyAnne - Radiant Redbird / Dear Old Guitar


Hmmm, here's a couple of CD singles from country singer ShyAnne. She's working in an old fashioned country idiom which will certainly appeal to those who bemoan the modernisation of country music which has seen it heading into classic rock territory.

"Radiant Redbird" is a pleasant mid-tempo number, replete with spiritual message and some fine fiddling. "Dear Old Guitar" slows things down as ShyAnne reflects on the one constant in her life. "...Redbird" is the better of the two with a sparkier band performance, and if you're inclined that way, should be your first port of call.

Lafayette Charles - The Merry-Go Round Of Life

Lafayette says 'the songs are about the things that we encounter in life, such as love, consequences for our actions and spiritual awakenings'. And he has chosen to do this through the medium of classic, seventies influenced soul. ANd with a fine set of songs to accompany an even finer voice, he does it in some style.

It's an easy listen without falling into easy listening, larely composed of slow groovers which seem to owe a lot to the world of Curtis Mayfield. Which can only be a good thing.

Some of the percussion could do with some work but when the songs are as good as "N Order" and "Calling Your Name" you can put it to one side.

Mitch Woods Big Easy Boogie

Boogie woogie pianist Mitch teams up with veterans of the New Orleans scene to revisit Fats Domino and Professor Longhair style syncopated piano with honking, parping and crying saxes provided by Herb Hardesty (still the sax player for Fats Domino) and the Blue Monday Horns The set is mostly Wood's originals with the title track and 'I Thought I Heard Satchmo Say' getting things off to a rip roaring start. The ballad 'Fallin' For You' is a composition that Fats himself would be proud of and basically it's quality all the way. It's a tribute to the regard in which Mitch Woods is held that his band includes Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Earl Palmer and a guest vocal appearance by Maria Muldaur. There is one cover song 'I'm Ready' actually a b-side for Fats Domino way back in 1959 but considered good enough to be included on the great man's greatest hits live package. Being a bit of a 'dabbler' in boogie-woogie music myself I particularly enjoyed Mitch's 'Crescent City Flyer'. If you like Keith Emerson's 'Honky Tonk Train Blues' you'll love this! 'Short, Sweet and Tender' may well remind you of Jerry Lee Lewis and occasionally on the DVD included with the CD Mitch's foot can be seen atop the keyboard!

The DVD depicts the making and realisation of the boogie equivalent of the Bueno Vista Social Club with the legendary producer and Fats Domino band trumpeter Dave Bartholomew persuaded to oversee proceedings. This is an intriguing insight into the planning and recording process and the trepidation Mitch felt in such illustrious company. Nevertheless he comes through it all as a star in his own right as you can gauge by the audience reaction to the concert also included on the DVD and filmed at the 2002 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 5.1 surround sound. There are also interviews with some of the main participants, an Earl Palmer biography and a Mitch Woods' discography so collectors and also those who are just into good boogie woogie and Fats Domino influenced music should track down a copy of 'Big Easy Boogie' without delay.

'Big Easy Boogie' is released on Club 88 Records with a proportion of the proceeds being donated to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Aid

Reviewed by Phil Jackson

Bob Brozman - Blues Reflex

'If a child doesn't favour his father there's a dead cat on the line'. This is the allegorical tale based on a sermon by Rev J M Gates in 1929 that Bob Brozman includes as introduction to a distinctive opening song that features an exotic array of instruments, Bob's beloved National Baritone Tricone guitar, a Hawaiian guitar, a cajon, duff bender (answers on a postcard, please!) and some Chinese temple blocks. Splendid arrangements of two traditional blues songs, 'Rattlesnake Blues' and 'One Steady Roll' follow with the latter having a 'flamenco' touch. It's also a good illustration of Bob's ingenuous use of his guitars or anything that comes to hand as percussion instruments. (On the 'Live in Germany' DVD he uses a box with a hole in it as a microphone as he leads the audience in some 'workshop' activities on 'Neuro Training Box').

You'd swear 'Death Come Creepin' is an old Delta blues classic but is in fact a Brozman original. There's an excellent instrumental before Bob uses his marvellous deep drawl on an interpretation of Charley Patton's 'Poor Me'. It's interesting that Brozman chooses to do a Patton song as the great Delta blues man was famed for his percussive guitar style with much use of string bending and slide. The highly personal nature of most of Patton's songs is well served by the choice of the self pitying 'Poor Me'. If you can track down a copy the original can be heard on a 24 track Yazoo CD 'Founder of the Delta Blues 1929-1934')

I was pleased to hear an arrangement of Nehemiah 'Skip' James' 'Cypress Grove Blues' that takes all the essential ingredients of the dark songs of the Mississippi legend and makes no attempt to replicate James' fluid guitar runs but rather stamps his own sound on the song. ('The complete 1931 Session' and the Vanguard recording 'Skip James Today!' are obvious reference points although the excellent Snapper 'Complete Blues' series of CDs entitled 'Cypress Grove Blues' might be easier to obtain).

There is a lot more to enjoy on this CD, the multi-tracked guitar fun of 'New Guinea Blues' that briefly suggests a Beach Boys/ Beatles pastiche!, the more reflective instrumental 'It's Mercy We Need', the short but invigorating 'Little Tough Guy Blues', the music that closes the DVD concert. One of my personal favourites is the funky 'Mean World Blues' maybe because it reminds me of Canned Heat. The music just keeps getting better and better with a sitar like effect on 'More Room at the Edge', achieved presumably by Hawaiian guitars, providing an authentically 'eastern', mystical kind of listening experience with the percussive effects adding greatly to the track. The pensive 'Workman's Song' is a nice way to end.

Brozman's versatility extends beyond the blues and there are by my calculation 11 songs on the DVD that are not on the album including the intriguingly entitled 'Debussy A La Reunion' and a version of Robert Johnson's 'Love in Vain'.. Allied to the chance of seeing how Bob gets such an amazing sound acoustically and his interesting observations on music, the 2 hour DVD recorded at the Underground in Cologne in December, 2005 is also a worthwhile investment. The DVD also includes some guitar lessons and interview.
'Blues Reflex' is an essential addition to any serious blues lover's collection and the 'Live in Germany' DVD is well worth checking out just for the sheer pleasure of seeing a witty and enthusiastic artist encompassing many musical grooves in a unique way within the context of the blues or to witness for yourself how Brozman achieves his remarkable sound with an aesthetically pleasing array of custom built guitars.

'Blues Reflex' and 'Live in Germany' come highly recommended.

reviewed by Phil Jackson