Stephen Doster: A Passing Train – A Compilation. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *


As children we might have sat on a wall somewhere and waved to the train as it passed by at speed, if we were fortunate to be seen by a friendly driver, we could be rewarded with a recognition of our interest with the sound of a horn, a blast of a whistle, or even at one time the enveloping steam from its funnel, and it would be the highlight of our day, a simpler time, a more enjoyable way to see the world as we understand the metaphor of life as we see A Passing Train go by.


Stephen Doster: A Passing Train – A Compilation. Album Review. full post

(464 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Sandra Newman: Julia. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Julia, Sandra Newman, Paperback - Picture 1 of 1

It is impossible to add to a classic novel…that of course is a pretentious statement that screams there is no need for change, that the older the book, the more it is sacred and revered, and untouchable.

Books and lies are very much at the forefront of Sandra Newman’s colossal Julia, a work of fiction that lays bare the perspective of the female participant and object of affection and hate of Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984, Julia Worthing to the point where the original book is remembered for other reasons, that the boldness of Ms. Newman in her writing as she envelopes Julia into a tale matching Smith’s but taking it further, showing the complete descent of rule and the horrors committed in the role of Government when left to rot in the hands of mad people, liars, and psychopaths.

Sandra Newman: Julia. Book Review. full post

(430 words, 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Beans On Toast: Wild Goose Chasers. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Album artwork for Wild Goose Chasers by Beans On Toast

An album created with the intention of showcasing the voice and lyric with just one instrument aiding its delivery is a force to be reckoned with. Such is the confidence of the writer that the message will be acknowledged and understood without the listener being overladen with the sense of the sweeping through each instruments place as it attempts to magnify and highlight, to empathise the sound rather than the human expression of timbre control and unwavering faith.

Beans On Toast: Wild Goose Chasers. Album Review. full post

(382 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

David Nixon’s Navigation: Red Skies. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

May be an image of cloud and text

The sight of Red Skies as we look to the horizon inspires and can also leave us daunted by the spectacle of colour, we see patterns in the scene, we marvel at its intensity, we remember rhymes of childhood driven to think of the coming weather, and the phenomenon also stirs up feelings of another time, of distant thunders and noise that rained down destruction on the world in a time of despair and hate; it is to those images, of sublime beauty that inspires artist, to the knowledge that red skies can also be created by human ills, that we seek to explain with heartfelt peace in our soul.

David Nixon’s Navigation: Red Skies. Album Review. full post

(396 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Pigeoto. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The instrumental album is the release of the emotion without the explanation, it is akin to the work of the detective pondering over a mystery in which the clues are there but to no reason on why the perpetrator committed the crime, the how and the means are visible, but not the motive. It is up to the detective and the audience alike to fathom the enigmatic covert nature and understand the brilliance in which the instrument alone is the voice, the account, and the enlightenment on show.

Pigeoto. E.P. Review. full post

(356 words, 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

UFO: Obsession. 2024 Album Remaster Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

A critic will tell you the sky is green if it means you are talking about their observation and not that which they have poured over or having been forced to endure at the behest of the company they work for. There was always a saying at some of the more established magazine and periodicals of the time that x was doing well, it was time to give them a kicking; and perhaps that was the feeling on the initial release by UFO for their seventh album, as critics bemoaned and took a savage swipe at one of Metal and Rock’s great exponents of the art.

UFO: Obsession. 2024 Album Remaster Review. full post

(488 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Space: The Anthology… Album Box Set Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Unpacking a box set of works by an artist, a group, any type of performer is not only a pleasure of memory, it is the ability to witness history in action, like reliving every detail of your life that is connected, every belief that sparked into existence, grew with speculation and setback, and became a part of your conscious ethos, opening up an anthology of work is to feel the emotion of the age, the observation set down on form and pace, and know you have seen in effect the growth of the artist from flourish steps to complete measure of a human being.

Space: The Anthology… Album Box Set Review. full post

(396 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Nobody’s Wolf Child: Erbsa’s Songs Of The Sea. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We look to the stars to fuel our imagination, but it is the sea which holds the true mysteries of our soul intact. Humanity’ affinity with the sea has stretched back long before the ability to document recorded history gave us a sense of purpose and place in the universe.

It is the giver and taker of life, it is the cradle and the graveyard, the melody and the tale which has brought communities together, it is the damnation and the isolation which has caused us distress, the loss and the hope of all things; and in discovery of new lands thanks to the ability to navigate the oceans, we are offered the chance to learn, to witness new ways to utilise and understand how to be better.

Nobody’s Wolf Child: Erbsa’s Songs Of The Sea. E.P. Review. full post

(403 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Beastö Blancö: Kinetica. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

BEASTO BLANCO - KINETICA - Preorder - New Vinyl Record - N72z | eBay

To leave an impression on the minds of those aching for the new is to place caution to the wind and emphasise with honour the ability to charm and lure with equal fashion; to be technically proficient is all well and good, but if you don’t have charisma then all is lost in this modern world where presentation and ideas is nothing without a large and deafening personality.

Beastö Blancö: Kinetica. Album Review. full post

(377 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

The Twang: Jewellery Quarter 24k. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The image and sounds that exemplify the city of Birmingham are multiple and varied. The city of a thousand trades as the sign proudly once stated on the wall by the iconic Bull Ring, a place of memory from its homage to the fallen of the attacks by Nazi Germany in the Tree Of Life sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn and the effects of the modern landscape merging almost seamlessly with the old ideals and desires of those wishing to see the Midland’s centrepiece lauded worldwide.

The Twang: Jewellery Quarter 24k. Album Review. full post

(422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)