Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The world is full of sound bites and opinions, and they are often delivered with the kind of sickly tone that borders on nauseating and covets the attention of condescending; it is almost as we have lost the crucial ability to not only think true, but to express it in a way that is unique, the often repeated mantras somehow finding a way to remain in the public vocabulary as if insisted upon by some second rate George Orwell.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
One of the heroes of the original Birmingham music scene, a man to whom was part of the classic line up of one of the Midland’s most progressive voices in the flowering 60s, has been strangely absent from the studio; admittedly Time as is always argued, plays a part in such things, but in honoured circumstances the audience is once more freely given access to one of The Moody Blues most inner thoughts, and it is with special delight that Love Conquers All marks the return of John Lodge to the forefront of the music fan’s mind.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A house divided does not stand, this lesson of history is one that rarely is learnt because we don’t understand the basic concept of the self, that the various vagrancies of the various personalities within us pull at our senses and demand not unity of spirit, but a kind of hysterical split, a fragmentation of the soul.
Self-reflection in society starts from the individual, and between mania and frenzy, and that of composed serene relief, of the enthusiasm of tranquil balance with humanity, and when we can see the rage and the fear, the chaos in ourselves we measure the equilibrium to The Divided States of Hysteria and hopefully find a truth that leads to a kind of enlightenment.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
In true fashion afforded those who find the resilience and the love to return to a former position of power, the reintroduction of Mike Portnoy to the realm of Dream Theater must feel like a dream come true, the only effects of Parasomnia in this case being one of united fulfilment, and sheer adoration as the music from one of the finest examples of Neo-Progressive Metal/Rock asserts its position and flexes a series of muscles designed to illuminate, reestablish order, and whilst Mike Mangini’s tenure in the drums overlapped with some intensely exciting albums, the sense of excitement in the returning Mike Portnoy is almost inflammable, combustible, fiercely and brilliantly overwhelming.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
One thing Andy Fairweather Low is not, is invisible, even if the man himself has declared it so with a hopeful tongue in cheek side glance at the audience, for sheer presence does not come from being at the front of the stage always in the limelight of the employer of the day, but what you have brought to music across the decades; and in that respect alone, the man who led Amen Corner to four successive top ten places in the U.K. charts with Bend Me, Shape Me, High In The Sky, the phenomenal (If Paradise) Is Half As Nice, and Hello Susie, is not invisible, but an illumination.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Arguably for the vast majority of music lovers, the drummer is an integral part of the sound captured in the studio or live on stage, and yet we have the vision of the one sat behind cymbals and skins as being this omnipotent being shrouded by the dry ice and only appearing like some figure out of the gloom as they are called upon to acknowledge the appreciation of the whole, and rarely for their individual skill and proficiency.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When you evoke the image of the universal you have to make sure you deliver the empathy and emotions of the eternal struggle of being human, tempered always with the belief that through your vision, the listener is given the chance to see Stardust glimmer against the darkness of space and life.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
With Love, an expression of truth that some may abuse, but for the majority doesn’t come easily, only to be used in moments when no other words suffice, that will capture the emotions and the sensations that true adoration dictates. It is a fondness framed at the end of a letter, a declaration of fealty, an allegiance to one’s country, with love comes hopeful respect; and it is too respect that Mitch Ryder unveils his latest album with a clear and untameable resolution, to admit that the result is a statement of intent for the listener, that in his words, it is “essential listening”.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
What was once close can, over time, become Closer; it is an elevation of the Muse that provides in which we can gain ground and see the details of our emotional heritage in a finer focus, a sharper existence without rumour and without static; and which adds a grandeur we take into the decade of our life which perhaps offers greater reflection, which dictates softly we must take advantage of the Muse’s affection.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
To appreciate the Muse, you must admit that you adore them, for whatever stirs the passion of your craft makes not only your soul unique, but your voice rage against the most powerful tornado of indifference that might come your way as others blow to knock you off your steam driven journey and exploration.
To live without a Muse, no matter the face the place upon the guardian angel’s torso, is surely an intolerable feeling, it offers only a bland expression, a weight of unimaginable tediousness that makes a world suffer and the artist weak, flat, and lacklustre in their offerings to the world.