What song are you listening to right now? (Page 381 of 392)

Cinelli brothers - No Country For Bluesmen (2022)

Been around for 6 months now, but just got a copy the other night at the band's Darlington gig. Bit of a strange one this, it's not actually a Cinelli Brothers album, even though they co-wrote it, play on it, produced it and arranged it. It is a series of 13 collaborations with UK Blues artists, ranging from Dana Gillespie to Ian Siegal, and as the guests are diverse, so is the range of styles, from Jump Blues to Delta and even a little gospel for good measure. It's almost a trip up and down the Mississippi and Blues history.

So in a sense, there's something for everyone, whatever your taste. The best 2 tracks for me are Make You Mine, with Connor Selby and Leave It All Behind with the Zac Schultze Group 9a band I recommend watching out for in 2023).

Make You Mine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2uBWKw2oqg
Leave It All behind - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdaPUxGprhc

Rebecca Downes - The Space Between Us  (2022)

First off, let’s start with what’s wrong with the album: well not so much “wrong” as missing. At first glance, the uninitiated are going to pick this up in mistake for a Barclay James Harvest album. (Nothing wrong with that, some of us are partial to a drop of BJH on occasion.)

Let me tell you here and now, this certainly isn’t a collection of mid-tempo-ed pastoral musings, far from it. By comparison, this album will launch your speakers into orbit and melt your amplifier, not to mention the mess it’ll make of any motherboard not of CIA specification if downloading is your medium of choice.

Oh yes, we start off sweetly enough with some old school Blues, Becc's Blues putting on the Bessie Smith here. And then, just as you feel it safe to raise a glass, BANG!! We launch into the aptly titled Hold On. After 2 years of pacing the carpets and clawing the walls, Rebeca and partner-in-crime Steve have reached boiling point with pent-up angst. And that’s just the starters.

It takes a certain amount of moxy to take on past Gods such as Free, but buried in the album is a superb re-working of their A Little Bit of Love; cleverly arranged so as not to directly copy the original, nor does it deviate too far either; the result, a perfect anthem for these trying times. A further stand-out is the Gospel epic Not On My Knees which has Rebecca pushing her vocal strengths and boundaries as never before. Don’t though think that this is all Rebecca’s album in terms of performance, Steve Birkett gives a shine-out performance on the live session cut Rattle My Cage. Title track, Space Between Us is surely the strongest contender for radio play, but that’s not to belittle it, as usual, each track comes with its own message or story, they just need to be listened to.

The rest of the album is just as strong, and the production values from Stave Birkett & Steve Birkett Jr really shine. Head Over Heart and Four-Leaf Clover are more familiar, warm Blues fare, but, these guys aren’t afraid to mix it a bit, and so come the track Terrorise, treading more “Indie” ground; a track that’ll be a rare treat live.

So, studio album #5? Well, there’s been a few face changes down the line, but there’s been a remarkable consistency of quality, and that continues with Neil Ablard behind the drums, Nigel Darvill (is there a famous relative here?) on keys and Vince Yarrington on bass. And there’s no change in the working partnership of Downes & Brikett; think Goffin & King: Ashford & Simpson; Jagger & Richards; Benny & Bjorn: there’s a bit of each in the mix.

Going back to the start, this definitely, despite the butterfly, isn’t a Barclay James Harvest album then: don’t think “Lepidoptera”, think more “Leopard-optera”.

Little Bit Of Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bji_vb0riRo
Hold On (Live) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERG7G-rKAlw

Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony - the entire CD - all the time.

This is my first LP download and holy smokes, I can't stop listening to it! There is not one song on this release that I skip over. NOT ONE! Love it even more that Tyler Bryant produced it for his wife and sister-in-law. What fun!

And speaking of Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, I finished up seeing them for the year last weekend in Chicago (5th show since July). Seeing them as much as I can while they're regaining steam playing small clubs and festivals after being derailed by covid. I can't get enough of these guys. Every show is full of serious jams, high energy, tons of fun, and the guys themselves are so good to their fans. They always make time to chat before and after shows. Their latest release Shake the Roots is definitely that - a little bit of different genres and they make it all work... and ROCK! When I'm not listening to Larkin Poe, I'm listing to TBSD (actually, they share a playlist! )

UFO - The Complete Studio Recordings 1974-1986.

So, past couple of weeks I've been hitting the nostalgia trail, dipping in and out of this 10-album boxset of one of my all-time favourite bands UFO.

So we start at what was actually the band's 3rd studio album, Phenomenon, the first to feature ex-Scorpions wunderkind Michael Schenker. This album, produced by Leo Lyons beefed up UFO's sound and spawned the anthemic Doctor Doctor and Schenker's set piece Rock Bottom. (Interesting side note, on tour Paul Chapman was drafted in on 2nd guitar for a spell, before he formed Lone Star; more on him to follow). In pretty close order, the albums Force It and No Heavy Petting.  Force It was very much to the same recipe as its predecessor and contained Shoot Shoot and Let It Roll, however, there are no such stand-out really on No Heavy Petting though it was UFO's first album with a 5th member (Danny Payrennel on keys).

However, this must have been a springboard as the album that followed is the stuff of legend, Lights Out. This propelled UFO into the big leagues, especially with the following live album Strangers In The Night (NOT in this set). The follow up, Obsession wasn't quite as successful, but a strong album, nonetheless.

Thing began to crumble from here on in, the relationship with Schenker became more fractious until he left for a solo career and Paul "Tonka" Chapman was re-hired for the No Place To Run album.  Maybe not as strong as Light's Out, but for me as good as Obsession, though the guitar sound naturally, is very different. "Tonka" really found his feet with the following album though, The Wild, The Willing & The Innocent, still remains one of my al time favourites. During this time, keyboard/2nd guitar Paul Raymond had gone off to join Schenker's outfit and was replaced by ex-Wild Horses Neil Carter. From here on in, quality dropped, Mechanix had its moments, on a par I'd say with Force It. By the time Making Contact came along, co-founder Pete Way had now jumped ship, originally to join forces with now ex-Motorhead Eddie Clark. Though Way was replaced with former Talas bassist Billy Sheehan for the album, the spark was weak.

Soon after, the band broke up, but in late 1984, Mogg assembled a new UFO line-up, featuring Paul Gray on bass again, ex-Diamond Head drummer Robbie France (replaced in 1985 by former Magnum drummer Jim Simpson), and Atomik Tommy M (Tommy McClendon), a former roadie who also wrote lyrics for Loudness, on guitar, with Paul Raymond rejoining shortly afterward, and released Misdemeanor which frankly was a dog's breakfast. After that, for the next few years, there seemed to be a revolving door of band members until Mogg & Way reunited in the 1990s, but that's out the scope of this set.

Each of the disc has been remastered, around 2007, and comes with extra live tracks of the subsequent tours. Misdemeanor is fully loads with American remixes of key tracks which I'm sorry to report, doesn't help its case.

In all, a good set to have as it seemed to take ages to get these classic albums on CD in the 1st place.

The Black Crowes - 1972 (2022)

A "hot tip" from brother Curby, and a great earful of smokin' retro rock'n'blues from The Black Crowes who, sound like they were having a complete blast revisiting their roots. From The Rolling Stones and T.Rex through Rod Stewert, Little Feat, David Bowie to The Temptations.

Rocks Off certainly out-Stones the Stones, and each of the (too few) tracks is well done, though, and I admit, I was never a great fan in the day, The Slider is a bit of a square peg.

Rocks Off - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ7ZP8HQL54
Papa Was A Rolling Stone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwOYwWPyrxk

Anyone like the Aussie band Karnivool?
Take a listen to their album, Sound Awake.
There’s a track called, New Day …is a favourite….check them out.

Richard Hawley - Live At The Halifax Piece Hall (2022)

Oh No! Not another Live album from Richard Hawley! Ha! Like that's a bad thing!?! Recorded in September 2021, this is Richard, with his full band celebrating the end of lockdown etc, and augmented with a string-section which takes a mix of songs, from the most recent studio album, Further, and trawls back through his solo career and adds another dimension to the soundscape, especially the older, slower numbers harking back to Coles Corner [and beyond].

Some tracks have a sort of 1950s/60s sound, but with more contemporary lyrics, while others like Standing At The Sky's Edge and Down In The Woods shake the room.

Another of those nights you wish you were there, the playing was great, the banter was cool; one of the best, but underappreciated English singer/songwriters out there.

Is There A Pill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKQTNP1bSFM
Tonight The Street Are Ours - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oIHJp0ietY
Heart of Oak - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MmKsJ581cg

Newton Faulkner - Hand Built By Robots (2007)

Could not resist this in town today; tail end of the sales, and here's a brand new copy, still shrink-wrapped for £3. Always had an ear for Newton's particular "busking" style of singer/songwriter material, and this, his debut is pretty hard to beat.

Dream Catch Me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-Why8N2I0
Teardrop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU8sd8uNBxY
Gone In The Morning - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF9ESdfwV5o