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Latest Album Reviews
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Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: CARDINAL BLACK – Sub 89, Reading, 15 November 2024
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Gig review: SUZI QUATRO – London Palladium, 13 November 2024
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Gig review: HRH XVII, Great Yarmouth, 7-9 November 2024
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Gig review: WHEN RIVERS MEET, CHANTEL MCGREGOR, XANDER AND THE PEACE PIRATES – Dingwalls, London, 7 November 2024
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Gig review: DEEP PURPLE – 02 Arena, London, 6 November 2024
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Gig review: ELLES BAILEY- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 2 November 2024
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Featured Album Reviews
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Album review: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell – Volume 2
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Album review: DAN REED NETWORK – Fight Another Day
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Album review: CHRIS BRAIDE – Fifty Dollar Planets And Twenty Cent Stars
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Album review: THE NEW BLACK – A Monster’s Life
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Album review: BLACKWATER CONSPIRACY – Shootin’ The Breeze
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Album review: 38 SPECIAL – Special Forces and Wild Eyed Southern Boys (Remasters)
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Tag Archives: Ron Mael
Film review: SPARKS: Annette / Cannes Festival Opening – The Vox, Montignac-Lascaux, SW France 6 July 2021
It’s early evening in heart of Montignac-Lascaux, a small sleepy South West French town. And I’ve just discovered that the once thriving (pre-covid) art house cinema – which used to double as an outdoor gig – is showing a world … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FILM REVIEWS
Tagged Adam Driver, Annette, film, Leos Carax, Marion Cotillard, Montignac-Lascaux, Nick Cave, opera, operetta, rock, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Simon Helberg, soundtrack, SPARKS, Spike Lee, The Vox, vocals
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Album review: SPARKS – A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
BMG [Release date digital 15.05.20; physical 03.07.20] There are not many artists that have been going for over fifty years and still regularly tour and release good new music, and Sparks are one of those few. Their last album, 2017’s … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, BMG, pop, quirky pop, review, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, snyth pop, SPARKS
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Album review: SPARKS – Past Tense: The Best Of Sparks
BMG [Release date 08.11.19] For many people of a certain age Sparks are famed for the high vocals and scary looking bloke on the keyboards, yet there is so much more to their music aside from the big hits ‘This … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, best of, classic rock, dance, Franz Ferdinand, pop, quirky, review, rock, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, SPARKS, synth pop
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Album review: SPARKS – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
BMG [Release date 01.11.19] ‘Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins’ originally came out in 1994 and came after a six year gap by Sparks since 1988’s ‘Interior Design’ album. The band were said to be on hiatus, something Ron Mael takes … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, Christo Haydon, dance, Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, pop, quirky, review, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, SPARKS, synth pop, Techno
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Album review: SPARKS – Hippopotamus
BMG [Release date 08.09.17] ‘Hippopotamus’ is a triumph of pop’s true potential over the usual clichéd familiar fare. It’s a cross genre album bursting with creativity, humour and stylistic diversity. The lyrical word plays, eclectic themes and nuanced melodies are … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, The Best of 2017
Tagged album, art rock, chamber pop, disco, glam, Hippopotamus, lounge, New Wave, pop, pop art, Rebecca Sjöwall, review, rock, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, SPARKS, spoken word
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Gig review: SPARKS – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 28 September 2017
Sparks breezed into an extra second night at a packed London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire to deliver a thematically driven show – right down to the band’s sailor tops – to promote the new ‘Hippopotamus’ chart album. The Mael brothers have … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, The Best of 2017
Tagged art rock, disco, Frank Zappa, gig, Hippopotamus, lounge, Mr. Goodnite, review, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, SPARKS
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Gig review: SPARKS Album Launch Party – ICA, The Mall London, 7 Sept 2017
In many respects the ICA provides the perfect backdrop for the album launch party of ‘Hippopotamus’, Sparks’ 23rd album. The LA based brothers Ron and Russell Mael have long reached beyond the simple rock and roll format to realize their … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Album Launch, Bob Harris, electro, funk, Hippopotamus, ICA, Joseph Wallace, Matt Everritt, Muff Winwood, opera, review, rock, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, SPARKS, spoken word, Tony Visconti
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Gig review: SPARKS – Union Chapel, London, 2 December 2013
“When the whole world is running headlong towards the precipice, one who walks in the opposite direction is looked on as being crazy.” T.S. Elliot could have been talking about Sparks. Their restless stop-start career has occasionally brushed the mainstream … Continue reading
Album review: SPARKS – New Music For Amnesiacs – The Essential Collection
Lil Beethoven Records (2CD) This two CD, 40 song best of is a condensed version of the recent box set, which features 83 songs. Sparks may be masters of pop yet they have had an influence in the rock world … Continue reading