Revenge of the Razor

Tired of the time it takes to shave with a cheap razor, Neil asked his wife Louise, for a state of the art, 5-bladed samurai sword razor for his birthday.
It had pride of place in the bathroom and all who saw it, marvelled at the technical wizardry on show.
He made a huge mistake. He didn't dispense with the cheap and nasty tempered two -blade razor.
It had feelings and seeing Neil's hand blunder into his basket, his home, he turned 180  degrees and sliced deeply across the exposed fleshy pad of the thumb leaving a gaping flap that covered the sink in a river of blood.
Neil, still suffering from a bout of flu, despite a brave vaccination, wanted to shout "medic!", But the only sounds that came out were "Aaaargh, Aaaargh!" whilst  hanging precariously onto the sink.
Louise, his long suffering wife, wondered what nonsense her husband was up to now! Still suffering from a prolapsed disc, she hauled herself inch by inch up the tortuous winding staircase to reach the bathroom of horror, only to slip in the carnage of blood and water, whilst casually remarking water was for burns , not cuts!
Nine rolls of loo paper later, the flow was staunched. His hand looked like a boxing glove and for added security, it was sealed in a plastic bag as the duvet had just been changed earlier in the day and red would spoil the colour scheme.
As the spasms of pain subsided, Paracetamol put in another appearance to bring the temperature under control.
Dressing changes were prepared for emergency use and both the patient and doctor drifted off into fitful sleeps.

Nick Waterhouse - Nick Waterhouse

Nick Waterhouse

Nick Waterhouse

Innovative Leisure

Los Angeles-based Nick Waterhouse is my kind of artist.  He worked in record stores (remember where you could lose almost half a day?), built up his own collection of 45’s, met Ray Charles and Nat King Cole and then nonchalantly started making rhythm and Blues with a preference for recording in analogue.

Nick Waterhouse is his fourth album and whilst it’s easy to call it retro or throwback it is something much better. Each track has the power and the possibility of a hit single with catchy guitar, piano, horns, saxophone solos, staccato girl-group harmonies and his own Van Morrison-influenced delivery.

There’s no blood in his veins just rhythm.  “I’ve been strolling on the Strasse, strolling on the boulevard” he growls on Black Glass and I can’t help swaying like Ray Charles as I’m driving.  The music is crystal-clear as if the band is right in front of you.  You don’t just hear the walking bass on Which Was Writ, you feel it.  It’s impossible to keep still to this album until Nick’s voice softens and slows for the emotional depth of the ballad Thought and Act.

The instrumental El Viv is as catchy as Tequila (the Champs) - with an extra shot, before Wherever She Goes with its girl harmonies, completes an enjoyable recording offering plenty of variation on the rhythm and unpredictability in the vocal.

NE

Phantom Voices - Peace by Peace

Phantom Voices

Peace by Peace

Wyre Records

Imagine a time of days gone by when news, song, novelty and stores were eagerly awaited by an expectant audience.  Phantom Voices are the modern day spiritual equivalent of the minstrel and Peace by Peace contains some of the best stories you’ll ever hear.

Many may delight in the mirth of the first of only two traditional numbers on the album.  Lovely Joan triumphs over the “fine young man” offering his golden ring in exchange for his wicked way.  She accepts his ring and he makes his way to the hay but side-steps him like rugby legend Jason Robinson in his heyday, leaps onto his horse and thwarts the try. The electric guitar solo by Daz Rice contrasts with the folk feel of the track and instantly distinguishes the band for their self-belief.

The title track is reminiscent of Prefab Sprout or Deacon Blue, especially in the harmonies and is about vocalist Mike Rolland’s discovery of a British map of Northern France in the closing days of WW1 and who may have held it in their hands.  He sings “But time and time again they killed us, and we killed them, so whoever said war was something anyone could win “ which restates the hollowness of war.

The Red Falcon encapsulates the essence of Phantom Voices.  It blends the darkness of the lyrics with rays of light through the music and vocals.  Acoustic guitar and fiddle set the scene for this four-verse, four perspectives of the mid-December 1959 loss of the Fleetwood Trawler with all its 19 crew, on its return from Icelandic fishing grounds.  Joanna Byrne as The Wife in the second verse makes the listener feel the agony of the waiting, worried families.  The joint male/female vocals in the last verse at the inquest segue wistfully into bars of Silent Night.  It is possibly the best song I’ve ever heard and a lasting tribute to the lost.

Old Ned is about being the hangman of Lancaster who although convicted to hang for horse theft continued in the role of hangman instead for his sins. The Thomas Salto tells of a reluctant Russian gymnast who suffers paralysis whilst undertaking a dangerous manoeuvre during the floor exercise.

Three lead vocalists, an adventurous rhythm section, acoustic guitar and violin potency, and contemporary songs of real substance make Peace by Peace an essential listening experience.

NE

Queen - Every album, every song (On Track)

Queen  Every Album, every Song (On Track)

Andrew Wild

I haven’t seen the film Bohemian Rhapsody yet despite several recommendations, yet when this slim 140-page volume dropped through my letterbox I beamed.  Sheer Heart Attack is one of my favourite albums and I bought the single Crazy Little thing Called Love but only Andrew Wild could explain to me why.  He calls it “a retro boogie rockabilly juggernaut" and this precision made the reading of this book as joyful a surprise as seeing a kaleidoscope for the first time.

With a critical eye, an abundance of facts (who knew there was a stylophone on Seven Seas of Rhye?) and opinions, he explains Queen’s appeal and simultaneously develops each character of the band through their songs, attributed quotations, and access to the original 24-track master tapes.  There isn’t any place to hide for the author – every generation knows their music and Andrew Wild revels in this type of challenge as he’s also written about Pink Floyd and The Beatles in the same series.

The early years show that Queen were professional in their attitude right from the start spending day and nights on their harmonies. Their first album  was a “Beautifully cut jewel…ready to go” - Electra boss Jac Holzman 1973. Even so, Brian May was self-critical the band  “sometimes fell into the trap of over-arrangement”.  The opinions of the author and comparisons to other bands are mind-expanding and make the book not just for Queen fans but for all music fans.

Wild describes the sound of Queen on Queen II coalesces into three styles, rocker, the ballad, and the anthem.  His detailed analysis of the album track by track has made me put this album onto my wish list.  I hadn’t linked A Night at the Opera and A Day At The Races ( which Wild argues are very similar in content) with the Marx Brothers films of the same name either.

The author also substantiates the similarity of All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople) and In The Lap of The Gods by explaining that Queen actually toured with Mott the Hoople.  He also compares Another One Bites The Dust  with Good Times by Chic especially in the driving bass line.  He suggests that Queen weren’t always as original as their singles suggest but doesn’t denigrate the artist but leaves it up to the reader if they agree.  Queen may have taken inspiration from Led Zeppelin , Rolling Stones ,Deep Purple ,Black Sabbath, Abba, Rush, Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry but they could hardly be successful in their own right if they were mere plagiarists of all these acts.  It also discounts the music-hall style of a number of songs like Bring Back Leroy Brown, Lazing on A Sunday Afternoon and Seaside Rendezvous. which allowed Freddie Mercury to fully express his charisma in performance.

The book is respectful of the artist and praises them for their intelligent lyrics, harmonies, shifting dynamics, multiple guitar work and recording techniques.  I would have preferred the album artwork alongside the commentary rather than the centre pages to break the book into more digestible pieces but no doubt in common with many factual books, this allows the publication costs to be kept down.

One Glorious Day - Live Aid (13 July,1985) in four pages refreshes the reader why Queen were so revered (they always delivered), why they gained a new set of fans and propels the reader through the second half of the book.

Wild reveals the diagnosis of Mercury with AIDS in April 1987.  His account of the work Queen put in on the tracks that would make up their final three albums before Freddie passed away, gives the reader a fresh appreciation of their music and the personalities of this national treasure.

NE

The Jackets - Queen of the Pill

The Jackets

Queen of the Pill

Voodoo Rhythm Records

Swiss garage punk trio, The Jackets, express themselves with a hypnotic energy and charisma for their second release for Voodoo Rhythm, due out in June 2019. Drawing their inspiration from New Wave, their raw 3-minute songs pack a punch of vitality sadly missing for far too long in popular music.

The album opens with a blistering quartet of tracks that includes Dreamer, the single which was released in mid April.  It has the drive of punk and an air of psychedelia.  They have a confident stage presence especially in the vocals of Jackie Brutsche and have caught the attention of Alice Cooper on his USA radio show "because they just go out there and rock".  Unusually for the genre, it's not nihilistic nonsense but rather an honest creativity with retro experimentation.

The Jackets give rock a good name again.  The music and songs combine as spectacularly as the best of British or American New Wave bands.  Even the slower numbers Steam Queen and Floating Alice display a determination to be different.  Queen of the Pill is a rejuvenating tonic and should be their breakthrough album.

Hearty thanks to Shattered Platter for sharing the music.

NE

Soen - Lykaia Revisited

Soen      

Lykaia Revisited

Silver Lining Music

Music press can get right up my nose.  Instead of celebrating another great Swedish rock band who have already acknowledged their influences and whose drummer once played for another band, they jump upon one journalist’s comment of “sounding like..” and write only paragraphs to back that up.  It’s the same lazy claptrap that the motoring press said of my car’s ability to undertake motorway travel which has now gone beyond 135,000 miles.

Soen create memorable atmosphere and play a heavy progressive rock/metal.  They offer intricate music with a welcome return to rock with a more commercial appeal in the clean,  melancholic vocals from Joel Ekelöf,  yet balanced perfectly with their own metal riffs that to my ears don't sound like anyone else.

Each track displays catchy song craft, passages that ebb and flow with subtlety from thundering walls of sound to ringing guitars.  Short memorable riffs augment the quality lead guitar work.

You will gather that Lykaia Revisited is a re-mastered version of Lykaia which came out in 2017.  The sound is marginally better and there’s 2/3 extra live tracks depending upon your preference for digital or CD. It’s a shame this re-mastered version didn’t come with a separate full live album leaving the original intact, even if the final price reflected this.  Be assured, both albums are worth your plastic folding stuff,  but the original version finishes perfectly with the eight-minute God’s Acre that fades out to cap the original release.  Drummer Martin Lopez says however, that all the band felt that Lykaia could greatly benefit from being re-mastered whilst also sealing  the Lykaia era perfectly.

Concentrate on the fine music and not the comparisons made by others of this band.   May I thank reviews editor - Lee Vickers, for his personal copy of the 2017 version for comparison and for the opportunity to review and enjoy this updated version of perfection.

NE

Korpiklaani - Kulkija

Korpiklaani

Kulkija

Nuclear Blast

Neito (Maiden) , the first track from Korpiklaani's tenth studio album is a compelling trailer to a thriller.  Guitar, drums, and atmosphere, demonstrate a determination that they want to be known for more than folk or speed metal drinking songs and the snarled vocals are unambiguous.

Korpikuusen kyynel also has a ferocity but as in each of the fourteen tracks there is also a subtlety and depth whether provided by the accordion, fiddle, or the singing of Jonne Järvelä. He even uses a softer vocal on Aallon alla (Under the Wave) but against an even harder rock palate.  Harmaja is a slow restrained ballad with almost spoken word and tells of a bird that can't fly south due to a broken wing which yearns to return to its homeland.

Kotikonnut (Homestead) is an anthemic track with the accordion of Sami Perttula taking the role of lead guitar.  Kallon malja (Chalice of the Skull) is a ten minute magnus opus that will appeal to prog fans by featuring changes in pace from slow accordion to bass driven rock, to demonic fiddle.  Sillanrakentaja (Bridge Builder) begins with a memorable riff to rival Smoke on The Water, sounds like Maiden or Saxon, cheekily gets their own children to sound better than those in Another Brick in the Wall, and yet still possesses its own aura.

Kuin korpi nukkuva (Like a Sleeping Forest) begins with plucked fiddle, accordion and then morphs into a rocker before seamlessly becoming a tango at the outro.  Seven minute Tuttu on tie (The Road is Familiar) wraps up to show that Korpiklaani have cleverly added the theatre of nostalgia, lament and emotion to their blend of folklore in a beguiling rock release.

NE                               

                                    

Lucas & King

Lucas & King

Lucas & King

LK

This eponymous debut from the UK's South Coast duo of Bo Lucas and Hayleigh King could have been a hit in any decade since the fifties.  Influenced by the melodies of the past, they are talented Americana co-writers and confident performers who have played Cambridge and Glastonbury, picked up Fender's Undiscovered Artist of 2018 award and have supported Ray Davies on tour.

Assimilating the genre-spanning appeal of Lana Del Rey with the heart of Richard Hawley, they fashion fresh music that will gather new converts through their flair and originality.

They combine timeless pop with an unfashionable country reverb . The close chemistry allows each other the space to explore their own music (Bo on acoustic and vocals, Hayleigh on her Stratocaster) and results in a warm and irresistible debut which will make their dreams of success an outright certainty.

NE

The Frank Burkitt Band - Raconteur

The Frank Burkitt Band

Raconteur

Frank Burkitt Music

Versatility in music style and instrumentation is the distinguishing feature of The Frank Burkitt Band who are based in New Zealand.  I was awestruck by the command of blues, jazz, Americana, folk and swing they serve up on their third album Raconteur.  I’ve not heard such effective variety on one album since Elton’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. 

Frank Burkitt, vocalist and guitarist, also writes as well as Bernie Taupin.  On bluesy opener Work So Hard with banjo and Hammond setting the scene, he drops the grenade “If you’re happy with a little, you don’t need to work so hard”.  The jazz-suffused Simple with double bass and cello is about the difficulties of living with an opposite and features the vocals of partner Kara Filbey who also plays the flute on several songs.

Title track Raconteur reveals slow Rhodes piano, acoustic guitar and trumpet while Frank sings as confidently as James Taylor or Glen Campbell, “You always held the room, in the palm of your hand.”

Paint the Town is just as much fun as Paolo Nuttini’s Pencil Full of Lead and if given the same airplay as the current infuriating Baby Shark, it would smack it right out of the water! (I’ve never taken to novelty, sorry).

The song Albert Woodfox tells the true story of 43 years of solitary confinement for murder despite no physical evidence and a discredited witness testimony.  Mourning cello and flute accompany Frank’s tenor voice - “Who did you talk to 23 hours of 24, you staring at a closed door.”

The Gypsy Barber features Django Reinhardt-style guitar and clarinet with its clever lyrics set to swing – “He’s been known to cure disease and broker peace in The Middle East. The Gypsy Barber every week tries harder to make a living going from town to town.”

Folk-fringed Walkin’ Right could have been penned by fellow Scot, Bert Jansch and the a cappella of My Heart Waits completes this album of breadth, depth and talent.  Put me down for their next, please!

NE

Andy Susemihl - Elevation

Andy Susemihl

Elevation

SM Noise records

German born guitarist Andy Susemihl cut his teeth with German band Accept and

U.D.O. and success led to the supporting of Guns N' Roses on their Appetite for

Destruction tour. Unsurprisingly he knows how to get the best out of his guitars and

now prefers the freedom to play axeman, bluesman or entertainer, on his own terms.

What surprises the listener on fifth album Elevation however, is the top quality vocals

where every word can be heard.

The album has the vibe of LA. It's classic album-orientated, radio-friendly rock with a melodic vocal. The crisp audio quality is reminiscent of the tunes Paul Gambaccini

played during his eleven year tenure of presenting The Billboard US Top 30 Singles

Chart Show on a Saturday afternoon. He needs remembering for being the BBC's

wheat amongst the chaff of broadcasters.

Elevation takes me back in time to a break from an English Literature essay and

reaching for the badminton racquet (Air guitar was for beginners!), I'd bend the

strings like a pro to Van Halen, Foreigner, Aerosmith,Toto, Journey and Steely Dan.

Susemihl has extracted this DNA of mainstream American rock to write and produce a satisfying upbeat long player which ends delightfully with his own version of Personal Jesus.

NE