What does it sound like?:

This is a review which will probably have my good friends Chiz and Lodey snorting with derision. This is a rerelease of a collection of performances from Eric Clapton’s Crossroads concerts which raise millions for drug recovery treatments. A mate of mine went and said it was fantastic, the good vibes tangible in the air. But here’s the thing – it was released in 2016 and this just marks its release on vinyl. Pah.

But…but….I hadn’t heard the previous release, and I have to say there are some sterling performances here – pretty much anyone who is anyone in there blues/rock/country world makes an appearance, sometimes with their own band or sometimes in combinations of other players. So you get great performances from Jeff Beck (with the fabulous Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, doing that solo on “Cause we’ve ended as lovers”, Tal fans), ZZ Top in great form on “Jesus left Chicago” stretching out and enjoying the moment like a proper band who can actually play live. “Tulsa Time” is a joy – Clapton, Vince Gill and Albert Lee chicken’ picking’ away with Sheryl Crowe on lead vocals. The same lineup play a tip » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Those of you who have the official release of the “Band of Gypsies” album will know what this sounds like as it is a complete set of the four shows from which that album was compiled. To explain, Hendrix played two shows on 31/12/69 and two more on 01/01/70 (confusingly both nights went past midnight so you hear various dates but essentially the concerts were on those two nights and ran past midnight). Opinions vary on the change of musicians from the Experience lineup – my view is Billy Cox is a much better bass player than Noel Redding and it shows, and while no one could match Mitch Mitchell for his free, open jazzy style, Buddy Miles is more of a solid groove player which personally I like more. These days I prefer a drummer who doesn’t clatter about all the time, so this rhythm section works for me. I don’t mind Buddy Miles’s vocals either – another bone of contention for some – his soully phrasing contrasting well with Jimi’s stoned drawl.

The playing of course is outstanding – funky, loose, creative, with Jimi in full flow, one minute up there with » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Full disclosure first. Shifting Buffalo, ITRW, is my friend Ben, so don’t expect an 1979 NME style hatchet job here. But…but…come back! This is really good so I’m sharing it here.

The origin of this album was an intensive songwriting day when SB single handedly wrote, recorded and mixed 10 songs in a day using the “A Shropshire Lad” poems as lyrics. This is a brushed up and slightly more polished version of that manic effort but still has a charming bedroom studio vibe.

The instrumentation is remarkably full band sounding given its origins, with a pallet of drum machines, guitars, synths, other keys and vocals. The general feel is a interesting hybrid of late 70s synth pop experimentation (woozy synths, drum machines, and doomy vocals) with perhaps proggy guitar overtones, though “The loveliest of trees” with its bucolic lyrics and acoustic guitars could easily be a Caravan outtake. Some tracks are more conventional rock workouts, “Wake” being a particular highlight. A.E. Housman could have been famous in the 70s.

Overall it’s a fun set rich in texture and variety and for an asking price of, oooh, nothing, it’s well worth checking out.

» Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

An oddity, this. It’s a nice little box containing two CDs of the 2009 Yes concerts in Lyon, coupled with four “new” studio tracks. This is the line up with Rick’s son Oliver Wakeman on keys and Benoit David covering for Jon Anderson plus Howe/Squire/White.

The live stuff first. The setlist is a full career review so you get “Yours is no disgrace” as well as “Owner of a lonely heart”. The band play at the level you’d expect, Oliver W is a top notch keyboard player and sounds spookily like his old man especially on piano. Steve Howe is particularly on fire, his signature guitar parts all present and correct and as ever a total virtuoso on electric and acoustic both (“Corkscrew” from his “Turbulence” solo album is a highlight for me). Annoyingly the mix leaves Chris Squire somewhat buried which is a shame as I always thought he was Yes’s secret weapon, his high neck metallic clanking driving the sound a decade before Hooky thought it was a good idea to appropriate. This sort of line up refresh stands and falls on the vocals, and it must be said Benoit David delivers » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

This is a live album from Steve Hackett’s gigs last year touring Genesis songs with a band, orchestra and choir. I went to one of the London shows and lost all the hearing in my right ear a day later which I don’t blame Steve for but the pass pedals generated frequencies which made your entire skeleton rattle so it may have been a contributing factor. Seriously though, it’s pretty epic sounding. A big band playing big prog numbers with a full orchestra and choir is not really going to sound small, lets face it.

The album opens with “Dancing on a volcano” from “Trick of the tail” with Steve’s signature guitar loud and proud centre stage. He was always an interesting player, focussing on melody and texture and various other guitar tricks to add variety (he was a very early adopter of the now ubiquitous tapping you hear all over metal albums). For the Genesis songs the band sensibly replicate the Genesis parts wherever they are key to the arrangement and the orchestra adds heft and drama aplenty. For Steve’s own material they stretch out more and extend the studio versions making full » Continue Reading.