Category Archives: Music

Bronski Beat: The Age Of Consent. 40th Anniversary Re-release Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There are moments in pop history which might be celebrated by what could be called the minority at the time, and to which the rest of the world could be argued as just pausing long enough to feel the emotions overwhelming the soul; they might not understand why, but if they live to see a significant anniversary come round then they will undoubtedly see the sense of seismic change that they have lived through, the definite alteration of the future that has happened in their life time in which others can be free to be themselves and love who they love.

Julia Fordham: Earth Mate. Album Review.

Album artwork for Earth Mate by Julia Fordham

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The relationship we have with ourselves is as important as those we have with other people, the environment we create has to cater to the soul we nurture as well as making sure it is as habitable, comforting, and welcoming as possible…we can be anybody’s friend in such circumstance, but we must also be our own companion during testing times, willing to listen to the concerns in our mind that manifest in the darkness; but above all in our concerns for the future generations to be a friend of our planet, an Earth Mate if you will.

Hugh Cornwell: All The Fun Of The Fair. Album Review.

All The Fun of The Fair by Hugh Cornwell

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If we were fortunate enough as children to feel the excitement of the energy that seeks out the growing thrill as the crowds mass beneath the dazzling, shining lights, as the smell of frying onions, various meats fill the nostrils, and the screams of delight as various rides entice and lure with the acknowledgement of a friendly voice asking for their palm to be greased with coins in exchange for a five minute adventure, you can be sure that what you are remembering is the fond memory of everything associated with All The Fun Of The Fair.

Holly Channell: Not Just A Standard. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Inspiration dictates that we must take what we have learned, and with humility, go all out to either add to the image gifted us, or in some way increase its values to the point where it becomes something extraordinary, to be Not Just A Standard that should be seen inhabiting the average, the middle of anything.

Stick In The Wheel: A Thousand Pokes. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When we sing in the voices of the downtrodden, when we admit to ourselves that the songs we sing are not from an exalted high praising the so-called great and good, but ones that sit in the realm of the beggar’s folk dance, the vagabond and the hobo’s Mosh, and the parody of the discotheque frequented by the cash strapped and harbingers of the bouncing cheque, then we show the world just how to give A Thousand Pokes to the classless upper classes and the wannabe nouveau riche who see the world as a plaything without understanding the most basic of rules.

Thorpe & Morrison: Grass & Granite. Album Review.

Image preview

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Birmingham’s music scene has always been a vibrant beast, whether it was in the glorious heyday of bands such as The Moody Blues, Wizzard, E.L.O. through the 80s and 90s, and beyond revival which saw diversity lead through application and desire from bands such as Dexys Midnight Runners, Napalm Death, The Twang, and Ocean Colour Scene, prove with absolute conviction that there has always been a magnetic sense of groove and wit, coupled with wonderfully adhered to belief in light-hearted cynicism that has been the bedrock of expression in the former heartlands of the home of British Industry’s revolution.

ENMY. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

When the rock community in Europe think of the sound that typifies the genre in America, it could be argued that the city of Cincinnati does not feature highly on the list of places that would necessarily make the listener think of being a natural home to the expression of the soul and the beat.

Fleetwood Mac: Mirage Tour ’82. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

With no new music forthcoming from the legendary Fleetwood Mac, added with the fallout involving Lindsey Buckingham and the rest of the band, and the sadness that envelopes the fan as they remember the seismic talent lost in the form of Christine McVie’s passing, the only way possible to keep the interest of the public is in innovative releases, of plunging into the live recordings during their long and illustrious career; and as the sound of the expansive release of the Mirage Tour ’82 fills the air, so the machine, the love continues onwards.

Jon Boden And The Remnant Kings: Parlour Ballads. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Homes now are built with function and a mind to cramming as many people into a small space as possible. There is no room for gathering, the soiree, or occasion where an extended family or a large group of friends can seize the opportunity and pour themselves into position around a musical instrument and be entertained by the touch of music skilfully, or even just an amateur hour performed by the congregation themselves, is for the most part lost to another time, to another moment where Parlour Ballads were the rage and the indication of a good time guaranteed.

Curtis Eller’s American Circus: Another Nice Mess. Album Review.

image.png

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We all arguably had that one parent who would describe the tangled clutter in our bedrooms as either disgusting untidiness or as Another Nice Mess, one that can be quickly dealt with, cleaned and categorised with an air of breeziness in their voice; as if a serene sense of cool had been injected into them from a source unknown.