Tag Archives: songwriter

Album review: ALBERT HAMMOND – In Symphony

ALBERT HAMMOND – In Symphony

BMG Rights Management [Release date 16.06.17] Albert Hammond’s ‘In Symphony’ is an impressive reminder of the durability of orchestral pop. It’s a glance back to the late 60′s, when seamlessly orchestrated melodic pop was given precedence by the likes of … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gig review: ALBERT HAMMOND Album Launch Party – Regent Street Cinema, London, 29 March 2017

ALBERT HAMMOND Album Launch Party – Regent Street Cinema, London, 29 March 2017

The swish surrounding for the official launch of Albert Hammond (OBE)’s new ‘In Symphony’ orchestral album is everything you might expect for a singer songwriter who has enjoyed 30 chart-topping hits in various pop, r&b, country, adult contemporary and Latin … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: MALCOLM HOLCOMBE – Pretty Little Troubles

MALCOLM HOLCOMBE - Pretty Little Troubles

Gypsy Eyes Music [Release date 26.05.17] As a co-reviewer pointed out to me, I have previously reviewed an album by ‘old soul and modern day southern blues poet’ Malcolm Holcombe back in 2011 (To Drink To The Rain). But, falling … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick plays: HARROW FAIR, OH SUSANNA

HARROW FAIR - Call To Arms

HARROW FAIR Call To Arms Roraing Girl Records [Release date 19.05.17] Deploying that now familiar White Stripes, unaccompanied two piece modus operandi, Canadian duo Miranda Mulholland and Andrew Penner let loose a kick drum fuelled debut laced with rootsy guitar … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: AIMEE MANN – Mental Illness

AIMEE MANN - Mental Illness

SuperEgo/Membran [Release date 31.03.17] Not exactly an uplifting title for an album?  But then Aimee Mann’s never exactly been what you might call a happy singer, or a “heaven is a place on earth” composer.  No, Aimee was born looking … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, The Best of 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: KESTON COBBLERS CLUB – Almost Home

[Release date 31.03.17] An intriguing band name, as the band are named after a penniless cobbler who by playing the violin in the local tavern got everybody dancing, thereby wearing out the soles of his customers who of course needed their shoes cobbled by him. … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: TIM GRIMM AND THE FAMILY BAND – A Stranger In This Time

TIM GRIMM AND THE FAMILY BAND - A Stranger In This Time

Cavalier Recordings [Release date 03.03.17] As the billing suggests, multi-talented folk/country singer/songwriter and actor (the TV series Reasonable Doubts, and films including Clear And Present Danger with Harrison Ford) Tim Grimm’s latest release is something of a family affair ‘supported … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick plays: MADISON VIOLET, STEVE RAVENSFIELD, BLACK ANGELS

MADISON VIOLET The Knight Sessions

MADISON VIOLET The Knight Sessions (Big Lake Music) With their last album Year Of The Horse (2014), Madison Violet (two piece Canadian female harmony duo Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac) shifted from their country/ folk roots to a bolder, dare … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: DREW HOLCOMB AND THE NEIGHBORS – Souvenir

DREW HOLCOMB AND THE NEIGHBORS - Souvenir

Magnolia Music [Release date 21.04.17] With a Masters degree dissertation on ‘Springsteen and American Redemptive Imagination’, and tour support slots for the likes of The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams and Los Lobo it’s not hard to guess what to expect … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: EZIO – Daylight Moon

EZIO - Daylight Moon

Jazzhaus [Release date 18.11.16] From Cambridge, with eight studio albums, and four live albums to their name since 1990, Ezio have built up something of a cult following over their 26 year career (both in the UK and Europe), without … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

News: ELEANOR McEVOY – UK tour (May 2017)

Eleanor McEvoy - Alexanders, Chester, 12 March 2015

Ireland’s internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy continues her ‘Naked… Live’ tour with the announcement of a fourteen-date tour across England and Wales throughout May 2017. Best known for her songs ‘Sophie’ and the Irish standard ‘Only A Woman’s Heart’, which … Continue reading

Posted in Gigs and Tour News, NEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: LISBEE STAINTON – Then Up

LISBEE STAINTON - Then Up

Marionet Music [Release date 21.04.17] Lisbee Stainton returns with her first new album in three years. Like previous albums she utilises skilled musicians she has worked with either in Seth Lakeman’s band – guitarist Jack Rutter and percussionist Cormac Byrne – or long … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

News: LISBEE STAINTON to release first album in three years ahead of a UK tour

Highly acclaimed singer-songwriter Lisbee Stainton will release her fifth studio album ‘Then Up’ on 21st April 2017 on Marionet Music, ahead of a nine-date headline UK tour throughout May. The release of ‘Then Up’ will be preceded by the release … Continue reading

Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick plays: MIKE GROGAN, PELE, THE MOST UGLY CHILD

MIKE GROGAN Too Many Ghosts

MIKE GROGAN Too Many Ghosts Poacher Records [Release date 10.02.17] Having paid his dues in the punk explosion of the 70′s, and a six piece Springsteen-esque band in the 80′s, South of England based multi-instrumentalist Mike Grogan has settled into … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays, Reissues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO – Burn Something Beautiful

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO - Burn Something Beautiful

Fantasy/Concord Music Group [Release date 20.01.17] Despite this being Alejandro Escovedo’s twelfth studio album I had not heard of him before, something I am glad has been rectified as this a wonderful album and has me wanting to explore his back … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: BRIGITTE DEMEYER & WILL KIMBROUGH – Mockingbird Soul

BRIGITTE DEMEYER & WILL KIMBOROUGH - Mockingbird Soul

BDM Music [Release date 17.02.17] Brigitte DeMeyer’s last ‘less is more’ Americana release – Savannah Road (2014) – an album that transported you deep into the southern heartlands to a balmy ramshackle porch, a rocking chair and the sound of … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: SIMON KIRKE – All Because Of You

SIMON KIRKE - All Because Of You

David Randall chatted to Simon Kirke in October 2016 for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.  The hour special features Bad Company, Free, and other related tracks. BMG [Release date 10.02.17] It may come as a surprise that the hard-hitting Free/Bad … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

DVD review: JOAN ARMATRADING – Me Myself I – World Tour Concert

429 Records [Release date 11.11.16] Hardly the most ‘original’ of titles for Joan Armatrading’s globetrotting swansong, but befitting as, believe it or not, her ‘farewell’ tour which lasted almost two years, and saw her play 235 dates across four different … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gig review: DAN REED – Lymm Golf Club, Cheshire, 3 December 2016

DAN REED - Lymm Golf Club, Cheshire, 3 December 2016

What started out as a belated 40th birthday treat has become a bit of an obsession for Steve Perrone.  For the past five years he’s put on a variety of gigs with Dan Reed, and in various shapes and forms, … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: WINTER MOUNTAIN – I Swear I Flew

WINTER MOUNTAIN - I Swear I Flew

Astral Fox Records [Release date 18.11.16] The sophomore album by Cornish singer songwriter Joe Francis, who otherwise goes by the name of Winter Mountain (formerly a duo with Donegal’s Marty Smyth), is a mishmash of influences. Featuring contributions from Seth … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL ARMSTRONG – s/t

Michael Armstrong

Harbour Light Music After a quick search on the website I realised I had reviewed a single by Michael Armstrong, ‘Radio Days’, which makes this debut album. This self-titled album has been available since last year via Amazon and the … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: THIRSTY – Albatross

THIRSTY - Albatross

Thirsty Music [Release date 07.11.16] A fine extension to 2015’s self-titled debut album, ‘Albatross’ finds Thirsty exactly as we left them. With 11 tracks coming in at bang on 33 minutes, the band are sticking to their formula of great … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quick plays: ASTRALION, GEORGIA RUTH

ASTRALION Outlaw Cliches ahoy! Rampant guitar solos – check; choral backing vocals – check; keyboards set to thrash mode – check. If you like Stratovarious and HammerFall you may like this, but they really need to get a few musical … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: SIMON TOWNSHEND – Reissues

Simon Townshend - reissues

Stir Records [Release date 07.10.16] As The Who move inexorably towards their final hoorah, Pete Townshend’s brother Simon – a mere nipper at the age of 55, and a part of the touring band for the past 20 years – … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Album review: IAN HUNTER AND THE RANT BAND – Fingers Crossed

IAN HUNTER AND THE RANT BAND - Fingers Crossed

[Release Date 16.09.16] The loss of so many of rock’s greats in 2016 reminds us that we should cherish those still left from the golden generation, particularly those who still have something to say. Ian Hunter falls into this category, … Continue reading

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment