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Alex Harvey passed away in 1982 yet his unorthodox music and showmanship continues to live and breathe in the deep catalog of material that remains behind. Recorded one month prior to his death ?The Soldier On The Wall? represents the final piece of the puzzle that completes the jigsaw of the jester of rock.
To be frank with you my most memorable memory of Alex Harvey was the obvious one and that being his appearance on England?s ?Top Of The Pops?. It was 1975 and I was barely a teen and remembered this odd front man along with the white painted face of Zal Cleminson on bass covering the Tom Jones? hit ?Delilah?. It appeared that after 20 hard working years in the business Alex had finally hit the mark as courtesy of his group the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
The success of ?Delilah? coincided with the Glam Rock era, which was what I was expecting when I proceed to further explore the music of Harvey and his gang. Of course, that was my mistake as the last thing you want to do is attempt to pigeonhole this wandering musical gypsy who refused to stick to one genre. This was both the success and failure of Alex Harvey. The success in that he was eclectic and reputable, and the failure that the mainstream audience such as myself did not have the patience for him.
So the SAHB?s proceeded to follow up their hit with several critically acclaimed albums. None better captured their stage persona than the ?Live? album also featuring many of their overlooked songs until the arrival of ?Delilah?. Unfortunately, at the time I rejected the offering and proceeded onto the darlings of the era Slade and T.Rex. Now later in life I am able to appreciate artistic expression and wanderings and here I am presented with the audacious task of reviewing his epitaph. Needless to say his meandering musical explorations continued to the final concluding moment of this outrageous Scottish singer Alex Harvey.
While the album opens with the era influenced ?Mitzi? with its heavy driven keyboards, it does not take long for Harvey to shift gears. ?Mitzi? is followed up with the reggae tinged ?Billy Bolero? accompanied with some fine Caribbean influenced keyboard work but this only the beginning of the curve balls.
Just when you think its safe to return to normalcy, Harvey does the complete opposite and makes matters even more radical with his maddening polka band driven composition ?Snowshoes Thompson?. Matters are still left interesting with the military driven drums on ?Roman Wall Blues? which includes an Egyptian influenced chorus chant. Surprisingly, the production here is very full and embodied. Though it presents a more direct approach from Harvey the song is no less inspiring.
Meanwhile, the breather comes courtesy of Harvey?s piano heavy ballad ?The Poet And I?. A terrific sing a long chorus along with some bagpipes are added to the mix making this song a great addition to share at your local pub house. With Harvey?s ranting and comical additions as the song fades, it is a terrific reminder of his unusual vocal delivery.
Harvey continues on a genre bender with the blues influenced ?Flowers Mr. Florist? that includes a 50?s doo-wop feel to it. Adjoin the straight ahead rock and rollers ?Nervous? and ?Carry The Water?, the album continues to express the legacy of an artist that utterly refuses to rank himself in one genre and simply wishes to express himself which ever way he pleases.
There are detailed liner notes that explain the exhaustive dedication and research on bringing this labor of love to its completion. It does not hurt to have the participation of Dave Ian Hill who was involved not only in the engineering and mastering of this project but also the very successful Lindisfarne ?Buried Treasures? series. Despite the lack of master tapes available, the production is crisp and by no means comes even close to a dodgy demo status. Truthfully, the music has more than stood the test of time that one has to wonder why this was not re-released a long time ago.
For all Alex Harvey fans this is an utter must for the collection. For those not so familiar with the man such as myself, this is compelling evidence to revisit the artist that on many occasions was misunderstood. This Scottish lad with all attitude and charisma marched to the beat of his own drum soldiering on in this fickle music business. He certainly left more than a mark on the musical landscape and this is his wonderful setting sun on his own empire. |
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Andrew Hoover is a new acquaintance to me, but I am sure happy that he came my way. "Chances, Stances & Romances" is a little gem of an album.
Music wise we are talking about acoustic based funky pop. The music is very catchy and has a nice summer vibe to it. The slap-guitar sound that is used on most of the tracks just adds to the summer feeling. On top of everything we have the vocal contribution from Andrew himself which is stunning. He handles wide ranges vocally, and he has a mean falsetto. Andrew´s voice fits perfectly to this kind of music. The music itself can be compared to John Mayer, Marc Broussard and Rob Thomas´ most playful moments. Oh yeah, Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson will of course have to mentioned here.
The album has a nice playful tone to it, you can almost imagine how much fun they had while recording this album. My favorite song on the album is the fourth track, "Roses and Joy" which is an acoustic song with Andrew really showing off his amazing falsetto voice. Other strong cuts are "Soul Sucker", "Secrets" and "Love Goes on Forever".
The overall quality of the album is pretty impressive. Do not let it pass you by if you have the chance to listen. A few spins on the stereo and it will feel like it is still summer, wherever you are. If you like funky pop with great vocals, this is the album for you!
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| I found Ari Hest last year at Aware Store.com and bought myself his live album "Come Home, and have been stucked to the guy since then. Here is his new long awaited studioalbum and this is sure a great album for all you lovers of beautiful acoustic edged Midwest pop/rock. The album is produced by David Rolfe (Burlap To Cashmere, Rufus Wainwright and more) and he has done a great job and kept a close nerve through the production and songs. It all opens up with the great "They?re On To Me?, and continues with ?Fascinate You? with a clever melody. Song number three is the beautiful and soft ?Strangers Again? with an atmosphere quite close to a Lanois production, a brilliant tune and fourth out is also softer even if the title is ?Monster?... And in that way it continues. For fans who adore Neal Casal, Del Amitri, John Mayer and the softer side of Pete Droge will have another great guy in this 23-year-old guy. He plays in the same division, and he sure got some good damn star quality. And then I haven?t mentioned ?Hold On? ? which probably is the best tune on the album. Get your copy at www.awarestore.com |
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I came across this man and his music when I found his last album "Come Home" at
Awarestore last year. It was a self financed album but you heard his huge talent a long way. Over the past half decade, Aris been building his fan-base through a savvy combination of old-school essentials: hook-filled, classically structured pop-rock songs, charismatic presence, natural talent, musical chops and determination, and a blue-collar work ethic that has kept him touring the country constantly for the past three years. On his major label debut you have a few tracks from this album, but much more produced and I can make it clear from the start... THIS CD IS A MUST. At least if you like me love acoustic well produced modernsinger songwriters. Ari Hest plays in the highest league of artists.
Phew... The opener "Theyre On To Me" is a marvellous opener and sets the status and tone of the album. And that is followed but the same sort of self-confidence on
the whole album from a man that got a voice from heaven. Buy this album
right away folks if you love this new scene with modern troubadours. I guarantee
you will love this album as much as I do. Listen to fifth out "Holding On"... If
it doesnt grab you - youre probably deaf. Almost 4.5 in the grading. |
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We have to wait until March next year for the follow to the very nice ?Someone To Tell? from Ari Hest. I?m a bit surprised that the major debut didn?t do better since I think he?s one of the best performers/songwriter out there in this genre.
A little taste for what is to come is featured in this package called ?The green Room Session?, recorded in the living room of his Brooklyn apartment.
Two of the 5 songs will be on the 2007 album, and those are damn good folks but I can tell you, the two openings tracks ?Upstairs? and ?Them? are at least as good and must haves in any Ari Hest collection.
What strikes me is that the sound is so good here. Recorded in an apartment makes at least me thinking of a cheap demo sound. But that isn?t the case here. The sound is sure stripped down with just a few instruments, but it?s so well-produced by Ari that you will forget about it in a second or two. Worth mentioning is that he?s covering Fleetwood Mac?s ?Little Lies? in a slow and moody version. Great cover!
So if you?re fan of this guy like me, this is a very safe buy that won?t disappoint anyone. Good songs performed in an excellent way, can we ask for more? |
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| I remember the first I heard Ari Hest and his debutalbum “Story After Story” back in 2003. I was completely stunned of his voice and the songs. And when he after that got signed to a major label (Sony) and released the “Someone To Tell” – album which is a fan-freekin’-tastic album he got into the hall of fame voices at “The Winberg Heart”. Now he is backwith “The Break-In” and what can you say more than – hallelujah… This man sits on a golden voice and his songwriting is solid as a rock. And the dry, clean production signed by Mitchell Froom doesn’t have much more to wish for either. So there is nothing else to do than to deliver four bright shining stars once again to the man with the golden voice. Just listen to “Leaving Her Alone” and you’ll understand why. This album doesn´t have the same himalaya-top as the classic "Theyre On To Me" - tune from the "Someone to tell"-album but on the other hand it is 10 great songs and NOT one single boring second. Who can deliver that? Not many in this genre... |
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An here I was thinking that the title "album of the year 2011" was dedicated to Ryan Adam's "Ashes & Fire". Then a friend told me I should check Ben Howard out. And since then I have not been able to stop playing this album.
There is not a single bad track, not a single bad note on here. From the first track "Old Pine" with its gorgeous intro to the ending "Promise" we are treated to one of the best albums I have ever heard in this genre. Yes, it is THAT good.
Howard handles up-tempo, mid-tempo and slow songs equally good. His voice captures the listener and fits perfectly with the music.
It is actually difficult to pinpoint any particular higlights on "Every Kingdom", there are just so many. "Old Pine" is great, "Everything" is beautiful, "Only Love" is fantastic. I could go on for quite a while with this one. But all i really should be saying is: GET THIS ALBUM! Also, make sure to get the Deluxe Edition where you get a bouns CD as well as a DVD with some cool videos.
To sum it up: Album of the year 2011! |
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| The voice of Vandenberg, Bert Heerink returns to the melodic rock scene with his new solo album "Better yet". It´s good to hear that Heerink´s voice is still in fine shape and it truly suits this kind of AOR-ish pop/rock really good. Now don´t expect anything like Vandenberg´s guitar oriented hard rock back in the 80´s, the songs on "Better yet" are 80´s influenced but they lean more towards the British AOR scene. This album has a few highlights like "Panic attack", "Can´t make me" and "Significance" but the rocker "All fired up" is quite average I´m afraid. Tracks like "Falling down" and "April" are solid AOR, another good song with a cool groove is "Restless heart" that bring thoughts to soundtrack albums of the 80´s. If you want to hear more of Heerink´s voice, check out the track "Shame on you" on the 2nd Voices of Rock album "High and mighty". |
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| Second out from this soulfilled girl. First album was a nice journey in a soft midwest tradition - and the new one continues in the same league. To explain the style a bit then...hmmmm....Imagine Joan osbourne with a touch of Matraca Berg, Allanah Myles and a touch of teh Morrisette school and were quite ahead of the girl. This album is better than the debut. More solid and better songs like second out "Delicious Surprise" which have a killer refrain and the LOVELY pianobased "L.A Song". Nah -I dont have to go on writing more about this album do I ? Surf away and take alisten to it - Im sure youre gonna like it a lot. |
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| On her third album in six years singer and pianoplayer Beth Hart proofs once again what a good artist she is. "Leave The Light On" is filled with edgy mainstream rock with a bittersweet edge. One example of that is "Bottje Of Jesus" written by Glen Burtnick. But there are also a softer side of Beth that I also enjoy a lot. The titletrack is one example of that and ?World Without You? another. Two great powerballads. This is a safe buy if you like classic heartlandrock with a twist. |
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| Bonnie Hayes is a new discovery for me. Thank?s to our reader Peter for the recommendation. This is solid singer songwriter pop rock with a very nice edge. It?s somewhere between Melissa Etheridge mixed with Shawn Colvin and Tori Amos. All spiced with a "Tom Petty vibe". Well add some Susanna Hoffs spices and we?re quite ahead of what she?s doing. Nothing complicated. Just straight ahead simple well produced melodic singer songwriter rock. Second out ?I Can?t Stop? is a damn good tune and so is ?Stealing Roses? with a cool verse and a refrain quite close to Sheryl Crow. Good stuff for sure. You can listen and purchase a copy at CDBABY.COM |
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| Now were freekin talkin!!! Great solid midwestern singer songwriter rock right up the alley. Bruce is nothing less than a hero in this tradition of dirtdigging rock. Lovers of Neal Casal, Wilco, Petty and hell know what else must buy this CD at once. One of the best CDs in the midwest school of 1999 is a fact and just listen to a tune like "I wanted To" and "Wash It All Away" and get stunned. Great CD! |
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The sophomore release of modern worship artist Charlie Hall is better than his debutalbum ?On the road to beautiful?. This new album is well produced by David Hodges (Evanescence). The music moves somewhere between bands like David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and Delirious?, but also worshippers like Matt Redman and Tim Hughes come to mind. So modern worship with strong vocals, guitars and catchy melodies.
Opener ?Micah 6:8? begins in a strong fashion with acoustic and electric guitars and with a very memorable chorus.
?Marvelous light? follows in the same vein. ?All my love? is a strong pianobased ballad that is followed by the haunting rocker ?Song of the redeemed? one of the best songs. ?Your glory endures forever? is a beautiful, melodic ballad. Another highlight is ?All we need? an excellent rocksong with a huge chorus.
Without getting further into detail I can tell you that the rest of the cd continues at the same good level. Charlie Hall is an artist to check out! |
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With “The bright sadness” Charlie Hall presents us his fourth studioalbum. After the good album “Flying into daybreak”( see the review index) I was looking forward to listen to this new one. The question is, will “The bright sadness” fill my expectations. The answer is: Yes!
Most of the time working in the shadows of labelmates Chris Tomlin and David Crowder Band, Charlie Hall might, and sure deserves, to get into the spotlights with this effort.
The album is co-produced by Kendall Combes and David Hodges and is filled with excellent pop/rocksongs.
Sometimes fragile and small, and at other moment fervently rockin’, but all songs are melodic.
My faves are “Thrill”, “New year”, “The second alive”, the beautiful “Hookers and robbers”, “You are God” and the awesome closer “Mystery”. This last one is pianobased ballad that starts small and builds up to a mighty chorus. What a great way to end this fine album.
Recommendable! |
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Charlie Hall is back with his fifth album “The Rising”. Charlie Hall is one of the better acts in the Christian worship scene. His Music is and has been not only for the Christian market though, but is also very accessible for the secular market. This has much to do with the quality of the Music and songwriting. At one time introspective and the next moment fervently rockin’. From the songs you can hear that these guys have been playing with each other for many years now.
The theme of “The Rising” is our movement toward God and God’s movement toward us. Charlie has been through a difficult time in his marriage but they embraced God and that only made their marriage stronger. The songs are about living with a living God who wants to be involved in our everyday lifes.
The conclusion is that it is a consistant and solid album from a solid band and an album that won’t disappoint. |
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Did you know that?
After meeting Joey Ramone, Bruce Springsteen wrote the hit “Hungry Heart” for the Ramones but, at his manager´s advice, kept it for himself.
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latest reviews
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