Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The ties that bind the cities of Liverpool and Birmingham might not be at first sight as important as those perhaps that see the two Liver Birds almost swoon at the thought of sharing heritage with The Empire State Building, Central Park and the French mistress that greets the entire world upon its arrival, but the ties are there, musically they can be seen as being nearly inseparable.
It is that pioneering spirit, that going against the grain of London instability, that brings Liverpool and Birmingham close and nestled within a certain heartbeat, after all one of the greats to come out of the Midlands, the ever impressive Jeff Lynne, was described on radio by Paul McCartney as being the son of a Beatle.
It is no wonder then that Birmingham’s music artists have combined forces with Rock legend Trevor Burton to produce a piece of lyrical and musical art that salutes the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles album Rubber Soul. It is a piece of art that gets deep underneath the listener’s appreciation of The Beatles and the rightful place in the top 100 albums of all-time.
To cover such an album, to give it that magical Midland’s twist, is perhaps enough to anger The Beatles’ purists but as the album progresses the thought that music is always a living, breathing entity comes back sharply into focus and Rubber Soul Rebound is a great example of that fact.
Whilst some names from Birmingham’s underground, now sadly departed into the realms of River Rae mist, would have made excellent contributions to the album, such as The Shore and their very obvious love of the Merseyside band, the musicians that are featured, the very fabulous ensemble of creative talent that strides across the land between Handsworth and Acocks Green and Perry Barry and King’s Heath, all offer something very special to the recording and in many cases propose a new way of thinking about each song that made Rubber Soul such a delight in the first place.
With contributions by David Garside and the very beautiful Michelle, Tim Walkerdine’s take on Norwegian Wood, a very stunning rendition of Nowhere Man by VIX and her MsChiefs and Eleanor Dattani’s arrangement of Wait, the homage, the joy of celebration is one that is fitting and utterly compelling to hear.
The ties that bind The Beatles, Liverpool and their fan base in the once mighty powerhouse of engineering are never to be severed, Rubber Soul Rebound only confirms that and it is a confirmation driven with honour.
Rubber Soul Rebound can be ordered from https://kingsheathwalkoffame.bandcamp.com/releases.
Ian D. Hall