I really need to check this band Jaded Heart out with their AOR meets melodic metal, its actually quite hard to find info about them from main music sites.

Let me know if you want me to hook you up. Two good sites to check are their own (though it's a bloody MySpace effort!) jadedheart.de | Jaded Heart Official Website or the Heavy Harmonies site (good source for AOR, as I'm sure you already know)...

One step away from greatness
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Artiste: Work of Art
Nationality: Swedish
Album: In progress
Year: 2011
Label: Frontiers
Genre: AOR
Tracks:
The rain
Nature of the game
Once again
Never love again
Eye of the storm
Until you believe
The great fall
Call on me
Emelie
Fall down
Castaway
One step away
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Man, I thought Houston were good...!
Best track(s): Until you believe, Never love again, The rain, The great fall
Worst track(s): Castaway, One step away
Comments: Once again we return to the colder climes, and why not, as it seems that apart from being already the spiritual home of death and doom metal, Sweden is fast becoming a real mecca for AOR bands. We've already had the likes of Houston, Karmakanik, Jens Johansson and of course, one of the biggest AOR successes to come out of Scandinavia, Europe. Now add to that Work of Art, who have only had two albums to date but are already making waves in melodic rock and AOR circles with this, their second offering. Reading up on it, I've seen many comments on various websites complaining that it isn't a patch on their debut. If that's true, all I can say is that their first album must be a monster, because this is some of the finest AOR I've heard since, er, Houston's debut, reviewed last week.

However, whereas Houston's self-titled consciously tries to bring back the spirit and feel of the eighties, the heyday of hair metal and AOR --- and succeeds beyond anyone's dreams --- Work of Art appear happy to remain rooted in the present, seeing no need to recapture past glories, especially glories not theirs. That's no slight on Houston, because as I say, what they do they do phenomenally well. But this is a whole different kettle of fish. Everything is there that you would expect from a great AOR album: hooks by the fistful, big chunky keyboard solos, screaming guitars and pitch-perfect close vocal harmonies. The running order of the tracks could have been changed slightly, as my only real niggle --- and it's a small, petty one, but then, I'm a small, petty man --- is that twice, two tracks follow each other that have similar titles, as you'll see from the above tracklisting. Slight lack of imagination there, but it probably isn't down to the band. Still, it could perhaps give the impression they're not trying, or bothered.

Nothing could be further from the truth though. From opener The rain through tracks like Once again, Eye of the storm and The great fall, Work of Art come charging out of the traps, full pelt for the racetrack and they only slow down occasionally for the obligatory ballad --- and when they do by gum is it worth it! Until you believe would have Journey mad with jealousy, though it si a little surprising to find it's the only ballad. However, the energy and enthusiasm Work of Art show should not be confused with any suggestion that they're just running off riffs and solos and belting out songs about “tonight being the night” or “girl you look so fine”. No, these are carefully considered lyrics, as you'll hear if you invest in a listen to this.

The only bad points? Well, some of the lyrics are a little twee (“I'll wait by the end of the rainbow”? Come on guys, you can do better than that!) but then you often have to expect that with AOR, don't you? Also, the last two tracks are definitely the weakest on the album, and unfortunately don't close it as powerfully as it began, or as it should be finished.
Overall impression: Do I dare say it? Yeah, I do: a real work of art!
Intention: Hah! If their debut is better than this, (which I find a little hard to believe) I'm there! And I mean now!

I'd completely fogotten all about Heavy Harmonies! The site is simply frightning from the amount of bands that it has on there.....now a real geek would go through it band by band;)

Excellent review mi compadre! While I wouldn't necessarily say that Artwork (WoA's debut) is better than In Progress, its certainly excellent in its own right, particularly if you love Toto's sound circa 1988's The Seventh One. :hphones:

Agreed about 'Castaway' being the weakest track of the lot, though that isn't saying much: barring some of Strangeways' stuff and the output of The Panic Division over the last couple of years, I haven't heard an AOR record with as much catchy consistency as In Progress in...well, ever. Also, 'One Step Away' has a vaguely Westcoast feel that I like, so I wouldn't say its weak at all. :P

Keep up the great reviewage!

French symphonic prog metallers (symphonic frog?) do it again!
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Artiste: Adagio
Nationality: French
Album: Sanctus ignis
Year: 2001
Label: SPV
Genre: Symphonic/Progressive Metal
Tracks:
Second sight
The inner road
In nomine...
The stringless violin
Seven lands of sin
Order of Enlil
Sanctus ignis
Panem et circenses
Immigrant song
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: “Underworld”
Interesting factoid: Despite being a French band, Adagio have never had a singer born in France.
Initial impression: Ah yes, there's the band I fell in love with on “Underworld”!
Best track(s): In nomine..., The stringless violin, Seven lands of sin
Worst track(s): None
Comments: The first and really only time prior to this that I encountered French symphonic prog metal band Adagio was via their second album, the stupendous “Underworld”, but this was released before that, being in fact their first album, so I'm interested to see if it shows any signs of the greatness that was to come. It certainly starts off well, and even without keyboard supremo Kevin Codfert, about whom I was so effusive in my praise when I reviewed “Underworld” last year, and who only joined them after this album, the keys are still amazing. Not that surprising really, as they're handled by the rather famous Richard Andersson. Other than that it's mostly the same crew who would go on to record that opus, and this continues (or begins really, as I'm now going backwards in time, as it were) to show the dexterity and enthusiasm of this band, and how tight they are. Harpsichordal touches near the end of the opener show how different Adagio are to the glut of symphonic metal bands out there, how they stand out.

It is however the powerful, passionate vocals of David Readman that make the band; he truly has an amazing set of pipes. Unbelievable to think he would leave after “Underworld”, and be subsequently replaced by two separate singers on two albums, four years apart. There's a suitably French-sounding opening to In nomine..., incorporating Lacrimosa again, and more homage is paid to the shoulders of giants upon whom all musicians since have climbed with a Bach fugue introducing The stringless violin, a pretty intense and complicated piece, in which, as in all of Adagio's music I've heard to date, the part of founder and guitarist Stephan Forte cannot be overstated: the guy is a quiet genius.

This takes us to the longest track, eleven minutes of Seven lands of sin and like all truly great longer songs, it keeps the attention and never drags, so much so that you're quite surprised when you realise it's over already! Great vocal performance by Readman, but the song is mostly carried on the eerie keyboard work, often semi-classical, of Andersson, backed up by the biting guitar of Forte. Order of Enlil, then, is a very welcome instrumental, showcasing (as if they need to be) the various talents of the musicans on this album, though to be honest I'm a little confused at the inclusion of a cover of Zep's Immigrant song. Still, nice to see the guys paying their dues I guess.

I think it may not be an overstatement to say that Adagio's heyday revolved around these two albums. After “Underworld” I believe they got a little heavier and darker, although I have not yet listened to either of the two albums since, so I could be totally wrong; just going on what I've read in reviews and bios. This however, and the album that followed, should really be seen as essential listening for anyone who's into proper, thoughtful progressive metal.
Overall impression: As expected, I'm highly impressed.
Intention: At some point, I must listen to the other two albums, though I have a feeling they may be quite different.

Dry your tears
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Artiste: Lake of Tears
Nationality: Swedish
Album: Headstones
Year: 1995
Label: Black Mark
Genre: Doom/Gothic Metal
Tracks:
A foreign road
Raven land
Dreamdemons
Sweetwater
Life's but a dream
Headstones
Twilight
Burn fire burn
The path of the gods (Upon the highest mountain, part 2)
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: “Forever autumn”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: I don't feel a sense of doom...
Best track(s): Raven land, Headstones, The path of the gods (Upon the highest mountain, part 2)
Worst track(s): Nothing really. All very good.
Comments: Although my only experience of Lake of Tears is through their album “Forever autumn”, on which they take a more relaxed, almost acoustic approach to their music, this is from their earlier period, when they played mostly doom metal, so I'm expecting it to be a lot different. And it is, though I have to admit I expected it to be slower and, well, doomier. But the opening track is fairly uptempo; the vocals are a little harsh, but then you expect that with this sub-genre. Not a bad start though. You can hear touches of the direction they would later explore in songs like Raven land, with its semi-acoustic opening and violins or cellos at the end, and the title track, with its almost country feel, but elsewhere I'm (perhaps naively) surprised to find that the music is quite melodic and listenable, something I just somehow hadn't associated with doom metal, probably erroneously.

Great guitar work on the title track, almost Knopfleresque really, and there's a quite interesting little short instrumental in Life's but a dream: more ambient noises really, with a low synth backing, very progressive metal, and it's only really with Burn fire burn that LoT really kick out the stays and rock along as you might expect a metal band to do. The closer is an epic thirteen-minute track, lending more to the idea that they were moving even now in a more progressive direction. Whether The path of the gods (Upon the highest mountain, part 2) has any direct link to the song of the same name, Upon the highest mountain, which graces their debut, I don't know, but it opens with a really nice flutey sound on the keys and an acoustic guitar line against a spoken vocal, before breaking into a big, heavy, storming power cruncher, bringing the album to a powerful and dramatic end.

Despite my misgivings, I really liked this album and it hasn't discouraged me from checking out other releases from this band, who are fast becoming my introduction to the world of doom metal, a journey I had not really wanted to or looked forward to embarking upon, but which now looks like it may not be half as disappointing as I had originally imagined.
Overall impression: Damn fine album: really getting to like these guys!
Intention: Listen to more of their work.

Another German Power Metal band bites the dust before its time
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Artiste: Metalium
Nationality: German
Album: Incubus --- Chapter Seven
Year: 2008
Label: Massacre
Genre: Power Metal
Tracks:
Trust (intro)
Resurrection
Gates
Incubus
Take me higher
Never die
At Armageddon
Sanity
Meet your maker
Hellfire
Chronological position: Seventh album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good, strong melodic power metal with a clear sense of Bruce's boys in the music.
Best track(s): Incubus, Never die, Resurrection, Take me higher
Worst track(s): Nothing stands out as bad, or below par really.
Comments: A powerful opening to an album that takes its place among its six predecessors and indeed its one descendant, each of which are labelled as a chapter in the career of German power metal band Metalium, but each titled differently. Sadly now no more, Metalium released their last album in 2009 and decided to call it a day two years later. From what I hear here (hear hear!) it's something of a tragedy they did, but at least they left a decent legacy of recorded output behind them before they departed. This is not to suggest that they were any that much different from other German, or indeed, just power metal bands, but then, what band is? But if that's your bag then you will not be disappointed with at least this album, the only of theirs I've ever heard.

Vocalist Henning Basse does a very passable imitation of Bruce Dickinson, while guitarists Mathias Lange and Tolo Grimalt set about creating their own sound modelled on the twin Maiden guitar attack. Basse even does a version of the “air-raid siren” trick on Resurrection, then goes all Black Sabbath on the grindy and quite excellent title track, and as the album goes along it shows quite a bit of diversity --- within the subgenre Metalium operate in --- with tracks like Take me higher appealing to the more melody-conscious, while Never die is a full-on heads-down fretfest in which Grimalt and Lange ply their trade with consummate ease.

Basse again exercises his Dickinson-inspired scream on Meet your maker and the album actually closes on something of a cruncher in Hellfire. Good stuff.


Overall impression: A sad loss to the Power Metal fraternity. Rust in peace, Metalium! Semper something.
Intention: May backtrack and check out chapters 1-6. And then 8. Maybe.

The greatest female vocalist nobody knows delivers once again. Does anyone, apart from me, care? :(
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Artiste: Judie Tzuke
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Queen secret keeper
Year: 2001
Label: Big Moon
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
Don't look behind you
The one that got away
Do you
123
Drive
Indian giver
On days like these
All of me
One minute
Little diva
Breathless
Lion
Chronological position: Twelfth album
Familiarity: Everything! “Welcome to the cruise”, “Sportscar”, “I am the phoenix”, “Ritmo”, “Road noise”, “Turning stones”, “The cat is out”, “Wonderland”, “Left hand talking”, “Shoot the moon”, “Under the angels”
Interesting factoid: Judie's family is originally from Poland, where their name was indeed Tzuke but they changed it when they came to England, taking the name Myers. When she took up a career in music, Judie decided to switch her name back to the family one, and became Judie Tzuke. Hey, it attracts more attention than Judie Myers, don't you think?
Initial impression: Ah, there's my girl! Damn but I've missed ya!
Best track(s): Don't look behind you, 123, Drive, Indian giver, One minute, Lion
Worst track(s): I would say none, but let's be honest, I'm not crazy about Breathless: sounds way too much like Sade to me!
Comments: I've been a big fan of Judie Tzuke ever since I heard Stay with me till dawn on the radio, and went out to buy the album, not expecting a lot and, though I wasn't blown away by “Welcome to the cruise” (which is, in fact, her debut, released way back in 1979: how's that for a too-early peak in your career?) I liked it enough to invest in her other albums, each with its own flaws but truly endearing, and over the years I've seen her release good albums, the odd below-par and once or twice a really stunning one. I've seldom if ever been disappointed with her output though, and this, her twelfth (count 'em: twelve!) album and the third on her own Big Moon label, looks like being another winner.

In truth, it's been years since I listened to one of Judie's records, that being 1996's “Under the angels”, which was just prior to meeting and interviewing her at a small gig here in Dublin --- one of the highights of my sad little life! --- which you can read here Judie Tzuke: Angel over Dublin, if you're so inclined, but her later output hasn't exactly been conveyor-belt-productive, with only two albums released since that one. However, quantity does not equal quality, and if Judie prefers to take a few years between records to get it right, then I say more power to her. This begins with, interestingly, a laidback ballad, a bold move, but somehow it just seems right, and you instantly warm to the album as it goes along, so that by the time you realise this is pretty much going to be the tempo the album hits, you've already experienced the smooth dance/trip-hop of 123, the soft, easy, Sade-like soul of Drive and the frankly amazing Indian giver, and it really doesn't matter that much that this is not going to be an album that ever truly rocks out. If I had to compare it to anything, I would choose Chris Rea's “King of the beach”: it just has the same laidback, lazy, summer style and feeling I get from that album. This is, mostly, an album to kick back and relax to.

Ably supported as ever by Mike Paxman on guitar and husband Paul Muggleton on keys, Judie's voice is seldom if ever strained, but still has the power of many of her peers, and yet she is virtually unknown beyond that one hit single. Criminal. At some point I will address this in my journal, but for now I can only urge you to avail yourself of some of the amazing music Judie has put out over the last thirty-odd years and immerse yourself in her talent, and maybe like me you'll then begin to wonder why people say “Judie who?”
Overall impression: Why isn't this woman better known and appreciated than she is? God. Damn. It.
Intention: Hey, I'm a faithful fan, and will remain one forever.

End of the (Telegraph) Road
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Artiste: Dire Straits
Nationality: British (English)
Album: On every street
Year: 1991
Label: Vertigo
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
Calling Elvis
On every street
When it comes to you
Fade to black
The bug
You and your friend
Hevay fuel
Iron hand
Ticket to Heaven
My parties
Planet of New Orleans
How long
Chronological position: Sixth (and final) album
Familiarity: “Dire Straits”, “Communique”, “Making movies”, “Love over gold”, “Alchemy”, “Brothers in arms”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Starts well, encouraging but tinged with feelings of sadness.
Best track(s): Calling Elvis, Fade to black, You and your friend, Heavy fuel, Planet of New Orleans
Worst track(s): My panties --- sorry, parties! :)
Comments: Never reviewed an album before that was intended to be the swansong of a band, and in fairness, if any album should have fulfilled that role it was 1985's classic “Brothers in arms”, which brought Dire Straits back into the mainstream and afforded them their biggest success for years, while also re-establishing them as a serious rock band. This is in fact the only DS album I have never even heard once; in fact, for a long time I assumed BiA to be their last, or certainly most recent album, and when I saw this I thought it was yet another of those interminable greatest hits packages that tend to follow bands around like a bad smell.

Does it set the final seal on a career that spans thirteen years, but seems to have lasted a whole lot longer? One of the most famous, and often reviled, rock acts, you'd probably have to go far before you'd get someone who wouldn't know at least the name of one Dire Straits song if asked. Their fans don't stride proudly down the streets wearing t-shirts with their names on, but it seems everyone knows them, whether they love, hate or ignore them. The album starts off well, with a song that somehow puts me in mind of Nick Cave's work on “Murder ballads”, while the title track, much more sedate and bleak, has a lot of James Taylor in it, quite folky in a downbeat way, though it does pick up nicely towards the end.

There are of course some nice blues numbers, which adequately show off Mark Knopfler's deserved reputation as a guitarist, such as Fade to black and You and your friend, and they sit nicely alongside uptempo rockers like Heavy fuel and The bug. We kind of get Telegraph Road part II in Iron hand, and there's Hawaiian style melody in Ticket to Heaven, but generally I'm finding this a weak album. While not actually bad, I can't see it standing up beside such giants as “Brothers in arms” and “Love over gold”, and as an album to bow out on, I really think the guys could have pulled out the stops a lot more. The overall feeling I'm getting from this is a sense of weariness, of wanting it all to be over. That's not to say that there's not energy on the album --- there are some very rocky tracks --- but overall it feels really like a winding-down, a grateful release rather than a last triumphant punch of the air before one of the most polarising bands on the planet take their final bow: there will be no encores, and although that's sad, I feel in a way it's strangely appropriate. Perhaps things had run their course --- it's no secret Knopfler was champing at the bit to take off on his solo career --- but I just feel they have not put into their final album anything like the committment, passion and enthusiasm they did on previous. Sure, we all knew the party was over, but there was no reason we couldn't have had one last blowout, was there?

Ah well, time to grab my coat and step out blinking into the early morning sunlight in search of a taxi.
Overall impression: Quite bland; it has its moments but generally something of a letdown and really more a preview of Mark Knopfler's solo output than a decent ending to a decent band.
Intention: Nothing left I can do! I've now heard all their albums, though in honesty I'd have preferred to have stopped at “Brothers in arms”.

Riverside's mainman shows he can go it alone
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Artiste: Lunatic Soul
Nationality: Polish
Album: Lunatic Soul II
Year: 2010
Label: KScope
Genre: Progressive Rock
Tracks:
The in-between kingdom
Otherwhere
Suspended in whiteness
Asoulum
Limbo
Escape from Paradice
Transition
Gravestone hill
Wanderings
Chronological position: Er, second album
Familiarity: Just through what I've heard from Riverside
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Very progressive and ambient
Best track(s): Asoulum, Transition, Gravestone Hill, Wanderings
Worst track(s): None
Comments: This is one I've been waiting to review for some time now. Second solo album from Riverside's bassist and vocalist Mariusz Duda, “Lunatic Soul II” and its predecessor are supposed to be remarkable for the fact that although neither are acoustic albums, and feature keys, piano, drums etc, neither of them have any electric guitar. The first impression I get from the opener is of something starting slowly then building in intensity and passion with a very eastern tinge to the music, and the guitar, while acoustic, playing a large part in the music soundscape.

You can of course hear the obvious comparisons to Duda's work with his parent band, and Otherwhere, the first track to contain vocals, sounds quite Riverside while yet retaining its own sound, the sound of Lunatic Soul. The guitar really comes to the fore on this track, and the eastern influences are very apparent here. A lot of drama and tension in Asoulum, with touches of early Porcupine Tree, while both instrumental Limbo and its segue, Escape from Paradice, have a definite feel of Tom Waits, with the latter throwing in chants and rhythms more proper to an African tribal dance perhaps.

There's a big prog epic carried mostly on piano and synth, joined later by Duda's expressive and emotive voice in Transition, partly reminiscent of the solo work of Peter Gabriel, particularly his more introspective work on “So”. It's the longest track on the album by a long way, coming in at just over eleven minutes, and as you would expect, it goes through changes as it progresses, reminding me of Marillion circa “Marillion.com”, then Gravestone Hill shows how Duda can also pull everything right back to basics, with a tender little acoustic tale that evokes images of a simpler time, Duda's haunting vocal the last thing you hear as it fades out, and the album wraps up with Wanderings, a nice mid-paced little number with again elements of eighties Gabriel.
Overall impression: Certainly lives up to the hype, and proof that Duda has more strings to his bow than just membership in one of the biggest prog rock bands in Poland.
Intention: Listen to more, and perhaps get a little more into Riverside.

Illuminate your musical life with Josh
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Artiste: Josh Groban
Nationality: American
Album: Illuminations
Year: 2010
Label: Reprise
Genre: Easy Listening
Tracks:
The wandering kind (Prelude)
The bells of New York City
Galileo (Someone like you)
L'Orra dell'addio
Hidden away
Au jardin des san-pourquoi
Higher window
If I walk away
Love only knows
Voce existe em mim
War at home
London hymn
Straight to you
Chronological position: Fifth album
Familiarity: “Closer”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: An instrumental opening?
Best track(s):Galileo (Someone like you), War at home, Higher window
Worst track(s): None.
Comments: Josh Groban was the first artiste to show me that I could actually listen to and enjoy songs sung in other than my native language, and to demonstrate to me the value of listening to the song instead of trying to understand it. Even now, songs like Oceano and Per te from the “Closer” album I featured as one of the very first albums I reviewed in my main journal resonate in my head, even though I have no idea what the guy is singing about. I came to realise that it really didn't matter: the lyrics were not as important as the actual song itself.

Interestingly, the album opens on an instrumental, quite Divine Comedyesque with a celtic feel to it, then the first vocal track is in English, with a beautiful piano backing and some sensuous violins. This album in fact has less “foreign-language” material than “Closer”, only three tracks of the thirteen not being in English, perhaps a commercial decision given Josh's rising popularity? Galileo (Someone like you) sounds like it could have come from a Broadway show, while If I walk away builds from a fragile banjo (!) melody into a full, triumphant orchestral piece.

There's no doubting the power of Groban's voice, whether he's singing tender ballads in a language other than English, as in L'ora dell'addio, or punchier, more uptempo fare such as Voce existe em mim, or English songs like The bells of New York City or Love only knows, and I see echoes of the lovely Remember when it rained in the dramatic Higher window, but it's the bleak, lonely, stirring pathos of War at home that finally shows you how effective Josh's voice can be, as he laments the fallen in so many wars.

Throw in the beautiful, haunting London hymn and an unexpected cover of Nick Cave's Straight to you, on which he does a phenomenal job, and you have an album that surprises, delights and entertains, and once again manages, if only in a few places this time out, to transcend language in the expression of music and again brings home another triumph for this unassuming young man.

Overall impression: Almost sorry to hear less non-English songs this time, but an excellent and well-balanced album. Another winner.
Intention: Just continue listening to this guy's music, and never be ashamed of being a Josh Groban fan!

A pleasant enough voyage
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Artiste: Kathleen Edwards
Nationality: Canadian
Album: Voyageur
Year: 2012
Label: Zoe
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
Empty threat
Chameleon/comedian
A soft place to land
Change the sheets
House full of empty rooms
Mint
Sidecar
Pink champagne
Going to Hell
For the record
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: This album is co-produced by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, with whom Edwards is in a relationship at the moment.
Initial impression: Suzanne? Is that you??
Best track(s):Empty threat, A soft place to land, Pink champagne
Worst track(s): Not a one.
Comments: Hailed as the “Canadian Suzanne Vega”, you can see why as this album gets underway and you hear Kathleen Edwards' voice: it really does sound just like the New York singer/songwriter, so much so that hearing Edwards on the radio I do think I could easily mistake her for Vega. It's a boppy opening as Empty threat rocks along, and things slow down for Chameleon/comedian, with a large injection of folk and Vernon adding guitar, though Edwards herself plays the guitar (mostly acoustic) on just about every song, as well as adding organ and backing vocals to other tracks.

There's a lot of Bon Iver in A soft place to land, the first ballad, to which Vernon adds some effective and powerful backing vox, and he's also to be heard in House full of empty rooms, another tender ballad. But there are rockier songs too, like the organ-driven Mint and Change the sheets, however it's hard to shake the Suzanne Vega comparisons, especially during the gentle Pink champagne, with some nice pedal steel, and Vernon on piano (in a musical duet with Edwards), acoustic guitar and drums. I like how Going to Hell fools you into thinking it's an acoustic ballad, then quickly ramps up into a boppy uptempo rocker, with a pretty blistering guitar solo from Vernon, and the album ends on For the record, a slow, downbeat, almost doomy closer, with some emotive Fender Rhodes courtesy of Kathleen and backing vocals from Norah Jones.
Overall impression: Pretty damn good really.
Intention: Would not be averse to checking out some of her other work.

This is considered one of their best albums?
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Artiste: Diamond Head
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Canterbury
Year: 1983
Label: MCA
Genre: Heavy Metal/NWOBHM
Tracks:
Makin' music
Out of phase
The kingmaker
One more night
To the Devil his due
Knight of the Swords
Ishmael
I need your love
Canterbury
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: “Borrowed time”
Interesting factoid: The album was originally supposed to be called “Makin' music”, after the opening track, but then they changed it. No, I don't know why either.
Initial impression: Don't hear anything too wildly progressive here!
Best track(s): Kingmaker, One more night, To the Devil his due
Worst track(s): Out of phase
Comments: Ah yes, the Diamond Head album where they went all progressive and got up the noses of their fans, in the process quite possibly sowing the seeds for their eventual demise in terms of the fame they could have, and perhaps should have had. I've only heard the excellent “Borrowed time” up to now, and though once again my infamous brother had this album I never bothered to listen to it, so perhaps now is the time? It's a heavy enough opening, sort of puts me in mind of Def Leppard with a certain AOR tinge to the first track, also elements of Irish rockers Aslan in there.

To be honest, I hear nothing that terribly different or progressive until The kingmaker, where the guys go all Dio-era Rainbow with mbig mraching beat on a cruncher they manage to pull off quite well in my opinion, and One more night is a good straight-ahead rocker, more what you expect from Diamond Head. To the Devil his due sort of revisits the title track from “Borrowed time”, sounds like keyboards being used there although they're not credited on the album. The fantasy imagery continues in The Knight of the Swords, and Diamond Head are now fully immersed in their new progressive style, though to be honest I heard much of this happening on the previous album.

The album is pretty much the baby of guitarist Brian Tatler and vocalist Sean Harris, with the pair writing all the songs, the other two bandmembers having been fired by the label and replaced, but Harris and Tatler were pretty much always the heart of Diamond Head anyway, so I don't see any dip in quality; in fact, I barely realise that there's a new bass player and drummer. Sorry guys! To be honest, it started a little slowly and a little lacklustre, but as it's gone on this album has just got progressively (sorry!) better.

The title track is a great closer, starting out on an acoustic piano ballad melody, then kicking up into a fast, punchy rocker that hurtles along with a lot of energy. Okay, maybe it's not the sharp-edged metal DH fans were used to, but I still like this album, and don't see it departing too far from its predecessor. A very worthy effort, and not to my mind deserving of the lambasting it got from certain quarters.
Overall impression: Pretty much the last line above really...
Intention: I've more Diamond Head to listen to, at some point.

Oh now you're getting bolder and talking about Diamond Head, I can't believe you still haven't heard their debut album (as its not mentioned here:confused:) Its surely one of the greatest metal albums ever recorded and has guitar riffs capable of blasting the listener into ecstasy. Anyways, Borrowed Time is a good album IF you haven't heard the debut, but if you know the debut then it pales in comparison! A couple of the songs on Borrowed Time were re-recordings off the debut album anyway. As for Canterbury, I agree with a lot of your review and its can sound slow and lacklustre as well despite some good stuff on it. The band really shot themselves in the foot with the Canterbury album and that is largely down to their own lack of thought. Canterbury, was the type of album that a band puts out after it has established itself and then goes out and tries something different. Diamond Head took this approach, but as they weren't an established act, it spelt their early demise. The only reason anybody knows to Diamond Head, was largely down to the influences they had on Metallica and Megadeth etc.

Right, I'm just going to have to listen to that album, aren't I? ;) You've bigged it up so much, and I've liked what I've heard from Diamond Head so far anyway. Okay, it's moving up the list...

As for "Canterbury", I'd disagree that you wait till you're established before trying something like that. I think they were brave and quite forward-looking: while other metal bands were basically churning out the same old riffs and tunes, and mostly sounding a lot like each other, DH stepped into the unknown and tried to bridge the gap between metal and prog rock. After all, Rainbow had only the one album before they went all proggy with "Rising". Okay, Blackmore was already well known from Purple, so maybe bad example. But still...

I think people should have been more forgiving of DH, allowed them the opportunity to spread their wings, see what they could achieve. They could have been really big, like, bigger than the biggest thing you can think of! Sad really. Course, later Maiden moved in the same direction, but for a while there I would definitely have considered Diamond Head "the thinking metal fan's band"...

Not the sort of elegy I'd like to leave behind: a little "lost", perhaps?
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Artiste: Elegy
Nationality: Dutch
Album: Lost
Year: 1995
Label: TNT/Noise
Genre: Power Progressive Metal
Tracks:
Lost
Everything
Clean up your act
Always with you
Under God's naked eyes
1998 (The Prophecy)
Spirits
Crossed the line
Live it again
Spanish Inquisition
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Well, the first word that comes to mind is overblown...
Best track(s): Everything, Under God's naked eyes, 1998 (The Prophecy), Crossed the line
Worst track(s): Clean up your act, Live it again
Comments: I've taken a few tracks from Elegy over the past year or so, mostly in Random Track of the Day, but never sat down and listened to a full album. This is their third, and I must say from the off I don't like the opener and title track: way too much happening a la Dream Theater, with too much technical expertise seeming to be there on show just for the sake of it. Things get a little better with Everything, a hint of melodic AOR in there, but you know, it's all exciting and energetic and fun and all, but, well, it's just boring me.

Okay, well this might be better: nice power ballad with some expressive synth, great guitar solo, emotional vocals ... yeah, like this a lot. Chalk up Under God's naked eyes as my standout so far, no question. And the instrumental that follows is it a great piece of guitar work, though I suppress a guffaw at the idea of 1998 being a prophecy. Come on, it was written in 1995 after all. Runs nicely into Spirits, which is fine until vocalist Eduard Hovinga begins singing, as it sounds very muddy. There's some nice progressive metal going on in Crossed the line, with some pretty solid keyswork, bu then the last two tracks just totally let this, let's be honest, completely average album down.
Overall impression: Sort of meh. Okay in places, never particularly brilliant. Maybe I just caught a bad album?
Intention: I know Elegy can do better than this, so I'll probably check out another of theirs at some point. This however has made me less eager to do that any time soon.

The point I was making about Canterbury, was that the band hadn't made their breakthrough commercially and by doing an album like Canterbury it wasn't going to happen, especially when rivals such as Iron maiden and Def Leppard were putting out what metalheads wanted to hear. As you say, Rainbow are not a great comparison as Ritchie Blackmore had just set up Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple one of the biggest acts in the world at that time.

Diamond Head were special, they had fantastic riffs, an evil edge, an amazing grasp of melody and were able to incorporate proggy rock and AOR into their sound.

There is one album I've just reviewed number 09 in the 1970 year by Stray. I reckon you'd really like this album as it was a big influence on Diamond Head and pre-dates them by a decade.

One of my favourite Country artistes, Nanci rarely disappoints.
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Artiste: Nanci Griffith
Nationality: American
Album: The loving kind
Year: 2009
Label: Rounder
Genre: Country/Folk
Tracks:
The loving kind
Money changes everything
One of these days
Up against the rain
Cotton
Not innocent enough
Across America
Party girl
Sing
Things I don't need
Still life
Tequila after midnight
Pour me a drink
Chronological position: Nineteenth album
Familiarity: “Lone star state of mind”, “There's a light beyond these woods”, “Once in a very blue moon”, “The last of the true believers”, “Little love affairs”, “Storms”, “Blue roses from the moons”, “Flyer”, “Late night grande hotel”, “Other rooms, other voices”.
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: It's like meeting an old friend you haven't seen for years...
Best track(s): Not innocent enough, Across America, Sing, Cotton, Up against the rain, Still life
Worst track(s): Non sequitur
Comments: I've had a deep and abiding love and respect for the music of Nanci Griffith ever since I laughingly read the liner notes on her album “Lone star state of mind”, only to have my mind changed and my prejudices given a good kicking as I realised how great the album was. That began a sequence of buying all her albums --- not all of which were perfect, it has to be said: some of her earlier work is a little hard to get into --- and a new appreciation for country music. She's been recording for almost thirty-five years, and this album, her nineteenth, shows her with no intention of slowing down.

She's not known for overly political lyrics, but this album changes all that with songs about Obama (Across America), Bush (Still life), the death penalty (Not innocent enough), on which she duets with the great John Prine, and interracial love in the title track. She even throws in a reworking of One of these days, which breathes new, fresh life into a song that graced her 1980 album “The last of the true believers”. There are of course the ballads --- what Griffith album would be complete without them? --- and Up against the rain, a tribute to Townes Van Zandt, is the first of these, followed by the heartbreaking Cotton, almost a folk traditional swaying anthem with some lovely accordion and a fine little guitar section.

Her first album of original material since 2005, “The loving kind” does not disappoint on any level. Of course, Nanci being Nanci it doesn't exactly break any new ground, never straying too far from her signature sound, the themes and tunes that have made her a star in country music, but that's no bad thing. Nanci has of course spread her wings before, covering folk standards on two albums, torch songs on another, and an album of her own material with orchestral arrangement, released over a decade before Peter Gabriel had the idea. So she can't be accused of not trying new things, but here, apart from the more openly topical, darker and more politically-motivated lyrics, she sticks to what she's good at.

Y'know something? It's been far too long. I see Nanci has a new album due out this year. Mental note to self: mark that for pre-order.
Overall impression: Great to reconnect with one of the greatest, and most underappreciated songstresses of our time.
Intention: Must go back and listen to some of her older stuff; this has put me in the mood. Now where did I put that vinyl copy of “Once in a very blue moon”...?

Stunning debut from a band who surely have a big future
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Artiste: Ivyrise
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Ivyrise
Year: 2011
Label: Big Cartel
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
Hurts
Too much
Yes to running
Line up the stars
Looks like Heaven
You know me
El Paso
Run from you
Last words
With you till the end
Scars
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: One single
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good and rocky with some pop melodies and yeah, very memorable.
Best track(s): Hurts, You know me, El Paso, Last words
Worst track(s): Nary a one
Comments: Just heard a single from these guys and was so impressed I grabbed their debut, and to date only, album. It's a kind of mixture of pop and rock, sort of on the style of The Script, Coldplay, Deacon Blue, that kind of thing. The opener is very catchy, with a great sense of fun despite the title, and it more or less continues in that vein. Guitars figure a little too heavily for this to be rated as pop, but it's certainly very chartworthy music, and I would have thought that Ivyrise would have got a lot of airplay: as I'm only hearing about them now, a year later, and the Wiki page isn't even updated to include this album, I can't say if they were a big hit or not, but they should have been.

There's a really anthemic chorus to Yes to running, very infectious and with a great U2-style piano intro Line up the stars was the first single taken from the album. A little more restrained than some of the tracks on the album; I would have chosen the opener or Yes to running personally, but it's a good song nonetheless. There's even some semi-country flavour in You know me, which again I think would have made a great single, perhaps a successful one. Touch of the old Wet Wet Wet in it, the likes of “Angel eyes”, also some Nickelback.

What I like about this band, the initial impression (that has lasted) is that they're primarily a rock band, using some influences from already established bands but still injecting shots of pop, country, indie and creating a sound that while not unique is something that I think may become identified with them. Pretty much each song is catchy, well written and well played, and the performance in particular of main songwriter, vocalist and piano man Ben Falinski really drives this band, while the guitars of Dan Tanner are not to be sneezed at either.

You know, I could go on, but as the album runs I realise that there isn't one bad track on it, and every one could qualify as a standout, which makes picking favourite tracks from it something of a problem, but a problem I'm happy to have. These guys should be huge. A really good debut, and I can only see them going from strength to strength as time goes on.
Overall impression: A whole lot better than I was expecting. Really like this.
Intention: Keep an eye on these guys!

Who the hell is Hudson? This is pretty damn good!
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Artiste: Hudson
Nationality: American
Album: Crimson
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Folk
Tracks:
The belfry
Foreboding times
Meeting place
Secure the ropes
From afar
Five hundred strong
The falconer
Ones we've lost
Crimson fleet
The slaying of the king
Our children's future
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Apparently this, along with their debut, was written and recorded by Hudson in one week!
Initial impression: More electronic rock, maybe indie than what I'd call folk. But I like it.
Best track(s): The belfry, Secure the ropes, Five hundred strong, Ones we've lost, The slaying of the king
Worst track(s): None
Comments: When I recently reviewed the Eagles' “Desperado” a while back, I noted that it was, in my experience, the only country concept album I had ever come across. Of course I'm sure that's not true, but as I said at the time, country is not my genre of choice and I know only a little about it. Folk, similarly, is an area I seldom dabble in, so I couldn't tell you how many, if any, folk concept albums there are (though given that folk music is generally more based on storytelling and handing lore down through the generations through the medium of music, I'd say probably more than a few) but this is one.

I'm finding information on Hudson hard to come by. The only entry I can find on its apparent founder, John Boswell, mentions something about sampling voices from the likes of “Cosmos” and uploading them on YouTube, and something called the Symphony of Science? Seems this is a side project from that. It's something I haven't listened to, or been aware of though, so I can't comment on that. What I can tell you is that Hudson appear to be a folk group or project, based in Washington and helmed by the aforementioned Boswell, together with Will Crowley. Katherine, either his sister or wife as she shares the same surname, guests on some vocals. The album is, as I say, a concept, and the concept is that of a revolution led by a castaway against a tyrant ruler.

Indeed, it opens on the sound of crashing waves, which presumably introduces us to the castaway hero, with a nice acoustic guitar coming in as The belfry gets going, and if it's Boswell singing then he has a nice, indie-flavoured voice which is very easy to listen to. The music gets quite electronic, and I would even at this early stage place it more in the indie category than folk, but that's just me. The castaway would appear to have suffered amnesia, as he asks ”How did I get here/ Where was I before?” and things get more uptempo with the addition of some nice banjo for Foreboding times, with a big lazy slide guitar on Secure the ropes putting me in mind of Chris Isaak's big hit.

I have to give Hudson kudos, because this is the first concept album I've heard, or reviewed, where, without the liner notes to hand, I can easily follow the storyline. The vocals are sung clearly and distinctly, and with passion, and the lyrics carry you along the quest for freedom and liberation on which the castaway has embarked since arriving in this strange land. There's some nice electronic feedback used on the album too, with appropriate sound effects like wind, surf and thunder, and part of it is laidback folk and then another side is intense electric rock, which runs together really well, held in place by the often almost imperceptible gossamer threads of progressive rock.

Five hundred strong introduces both a hint of country and reggae into the mix, with what may be samples in the background (sounds like turntable scratching, though it may not be), and the overall effect is to give you the impression of Simon and Garfunkel on a tropical island, riding on horses with six-shooters by their side. Weird, but endearing. It's in this song that we first hear the dulcet vocal of Katherine Crowley, whose voice is very suited to country music: it has that twang you associate with Emmylou, Dolly et al. She stays behind the mike for The falconer, with some more nice slide, then Boswell takes over again for Ones we've lost, with some lovely piano, a true ballad.

The album wraps up with an almost metal puncher in The slaying of the king, showing the breath of styles and genres Hudson cross, and just to underline the point the closer is a Spanish/Mexican/Mariachi tune whose first half is instrumental, even though it only clocks in at just over two minutes in total. A celebratory ending, toasting the end of the king and the success of the revolution. And indeed, the success of this concept.
Overall impression: An overlooked little gem. Lots of different styles, from rock to folk and country to metal. Hmm. Must seek out their other album.
Intention: Like I said, I'll be interested to have a listen to the debut, “Eastward”. Which is also a concept album...

Grappling with what the hell this is!
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Artiste: North Atlantic Oscillation
Nationality: British (Scottish)
Album: Grappling hooks
Year: 2010
Label: KScope
Genre: Progressive/Electronica
Tracks:
Marrow
Hollywood has ended
Cell count
Some blue hive
Audioplastic
Ceiling poem
Alexanderplatz
77 hours
Star chamber
Drawing maps from memory
Ritual
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: A strange name to pick for a band, the North Atlantic Oscillation is in fact a feature of climate, reflecting fluctuations in atmospheric pressure.
Initial impression: Er, atmospheric and ambient...
Best track(s): Marrow, Cell count, Audioplastic, Ritual
Worst track(s): I couldn't honestly say any were bad. Weird, yes. Hard to get my head around, yes. But bad? No.
Comments: I have literally no idea what to expect from these guys. Some quarters describe them as progressive rock, others ambient, others electronica. So when the album starts up on the short almost instrumental Marrow I'm impressed/relieved (delete as appropriate), but suddenly heavy drums crash in and an indistinct vocal sings, sounding like it's being drowned out by the music. The track ends on some bare drumbeats and leads into a Porcupine Tree-like ballad with a much clearer vocal which puts me in mind of Waters and, due to the odd backing vocals, the Beach Boys. Some strange fiddling around on the synth, Eno-style, does little to clarify matters, and as the album goes on it becomes increasingly hard to pin down to any style or genre.

There are big, booming drumbeats, loops, samples, slick guitar solos, fiddly keyswork and a rather pleasing gentle vocal that grows on you after the first track has made, let's be honest, a bad impression, but you forget that as the voice of Sam Healey washes over you like a refreshing summer wave, and it's kind of Pink Floyd on steroids, if you can imagine such a thing. Steven Wilson would certainly be at home here. There's a lot of hard guitar in Audioplastic, while Alexanderplatz is driven my a mix of pianos, synth and crunchy drumbeats against a hollow-sounding, echoey vocal.

There are moments when NAO really rock out, as on 77 hours, with a really powerful, infectious ending, featuring what I can only describe as mad piano that comes across like Waits playing with Diablo String Orchestra, and the frankly pure insanity and expressionism of Star chamber, with some very simple but effective piano lines thrown in just to confuse you further. In fact, as the album goes on it gets heavier and more uptempo, until by the time you hit Drawing maps from memory it's hard to remember there were quieter songs at the beginning, and it's become something of a sonic assault, though still very melodic and enjoyable.

Then, as if to bring things full circle and back to earth a little, Ritual is led in by a gorgeously simple piano line joined by some exquisite keys that sound like xylophone or vibraphone, some haunting vocal interchange, almost chanting to a point, then they settle into a proper rhythm and some keening guitar joins the mix. Hard to believe they maintain this essentially simplistic melody throughout seven minutes, but with a sudden explosion of guitar to add colour and strength to the track it's the longest on the album, and certainly a standout for me. A tiny, forty-second bit of piano and synth to close and we're done. And I'm, well, impressed but a little confused as to what I've just listened to.
Overall impression: What ... the ... fudge ... was that?
Intention: Lie down in a dark room and think about this for a while.

A killer, right out of the gate
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Artiste: The Gate
Nationality: German
Album: Earth cathedral
Year: 2011
Label: Rock it up
Genre: Heavy Metal
Tracks:
Into the gate
Shout for metal
Face your fear (The money song)
Guy anvil
1000 miles away
Mountains
Hiding where the wolf lives
Into the pit
Deliver from sin
Earth cathedral
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Power, melody, bit of proggy keys: like it
Best track(s): Face your fear (The money song), Guy anvil, Mountains, Into the pit, Earth cathedral
Worst track(s): Nothing
Comments: I first featured a track from this on the second “Devil's Ballroom” some time ago, but have not really listened to the album all the way through. With all the black and death metal I've been getting hit with in “The Meat Grinder” (see my main journal) lately, it'll be nice to experience more of what I would term “proper” metal, which is not in any way to denigrate black or speed or thrash or any other sort of metal, just that this is the sort I prefer. There's a doomy, atmospheric, almost progressive instrumental to open the album, then it's heads down and no-holds-barred as we get into it, with churning, angry guitars and thundering drums, vocalist Guido Kramer giving me a scare for a second when I fear he's a proponent of “death vocals”, but it's just a bump and though his voice is raw and ragged and growly, you can clearly hear what he's singing, and I'd put him more in the style of Danny Joe Brown from Molly Hatchet really; a deep, bassy roar that is still completely intelligible.

The music rocks along nicely with a great sense of power but also of fun, again almost southern rock mixed with the best elements of metal, though when the second song is called Shout for metal I did cringe, expecting something of comic poseurism, but nothing could be further from the truth, and then Face your fear (The money song) throws a curveball by starting off like one of those “cowboy ballads” made popular by Poison and Bon Jovi, then kicking into a headbanger that rockets along like, er, a rocket, pounding you into submission with some real thrash influences yet retaining a real sense of melody. Not too sure what Guy anvil is about, but it has a lovely little laidback guitar section about halfway through, with things slowing down with a real grinder in 1000 miles away, where the guys obviously pay tribute to Metallica. And Sabbath.

This album seldom lets up, taking you on a rollercoaster ride and spitting you out at the end, exhausted but satisfied. Hiding where the wolf lives and Deliver from sin are both breakneck rockers, while the title track has a lot of progressive elements in it and wraps the album up nicely. Think we'll all be hearing a lot more from these guys in the future!
Overall impression: Fine album, fine debut. Great metal record.
Intention: Can't do much really as this is their debut, released last year, but I'll be looking out for their next album.

(Note: this video would not work for me in Firefox; could just be me, but if it fails for you too, try Internet Explorer. It seems to work with that.)

One of the few gaps in my Nick Cave collection. Remedying that ... now!
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Artiste: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nationality: Australian
Album: Your funeral ... my trial
Year: 1986
Label: Mute
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
Sad waters
The carny
Your funeral, my trial
Stranger than kindness
Jack's shadow
Hard on for love
She fell away
Long time man
Scum
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: “The good son”, “Henry's dream”, “The boatman's call”, “Murder ballads”, “No more shall we part”, “Abbatoir blues/The lyre of Orpheus”, “Let love in”, “Nocturama”.
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Very sparse, almost acoustic
Best track(s): Your funeral, my trial, Stranger than kindness, Jack's shadow
Worst track(s): Nothing really
Comments: As big a fan as I am of Cave, his earlier material is something of a grey area for me. I only listened to “Kicking against the pricks” briefly once (and that was an album of covers), and skimmed through “The firstborn is dead”, so I don't feel I've really given him a chance. I got into him from “The good son” onwards, and it's fair to say that by then his music had become a little more commercial and accessible than it would appear it started out, so I'm hopping in the time capsule back to 1986, to check this one out. There's certainly an air of depression and doom pervading it, probably due to his at the time deepening addiction to Sweet Lady H.

There's a bleak, sparse feel to the opener, with muddy vocals and a booming echoey drumbeat, while The carny owes a lot to the style of Tom Waits, the vocal more spoken than sung really, while the Hammond sets up a mad, often deliberately off-key carnival theme and the drums again pound out like the bells of doom. It really does sound like something evil is coming to get you! There are hints too of the somewhat mellower direction Cave would lumber in after “The good son” and “Henry's dream”, on albums like “The boatman's call” and “No more shall we part”, with tracks like the title and She fell away, but there's a definite feel of dark despair to Stranger than kindness, with its mad churning guitar sound. What I really find missing from this album though is the later sensual and often melancholy but powerful violin of Warren Ellis, who would not join them for another ten years, but who would become a mainstay of the band and a force for change in their sound.

Like what I've heard of Cave's early work, this album has a somewhat rough, raw, unfocussed feel to it, almost like he was drunk (or high) when recording it. It's still a good album, but you could see in later years how refined his sound got, how deeper his lyrics became, and how much more attention he paid to structure and form in a song. Here, though the songs are good, they seem a little like jams that maybe could have been re-recorded or edited. Almost a case of in-your-face-here-we-are-deal-with-it. Not that I have a problem with that, but the Nick Cave I got to know was a little more, ah, restrained. A little more mature?
Overall impression: Raw, powerful, dark, ever so slightly evil. I like it!
Intention: Well I'm a big Cave fan but I need to listen more to his earlier material.

Sadly-missed singer/songwriter gives us one more show
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Artiste: Dan Fogelberg
Nationality: American
Album: Love in time
Year: 2009
Label: Full Moon
Genre: Rock/Folk
Tracks:
Love in time
Soft voice
So many changes
Come to the harbour
A growing time
The colours of Eve
Diamonds to dust
The nature of the game
Sometimes a song
Days to come
Birds
Chronological position: Final (posthumous) album
Familiarity: Everything! I've been a Fogelberg fan since I heard “Longer” when I were a kid. “Phoenix”, “Home free”, “Exiles”, “Souvenirs”, “The innocent age”, “Windows and walls”, “Nether lands”, “High country snows”, “The wild places”, "Full circle", "Twin sons", "River of souls"...
Interesting factoid: This album is a posthumous release of new material from a sadly-departed and sorely missed music icon, at least for me.
Initial impression: Oh Jesus! It's like the guy's alive again! But he's not... :(
Best track(s): Soft voice, Come to the harbour, The colour of Eve, Nature of the game, Sometimes a song, Birds
Worst track(s): You're kidding, right?
Comments: Anyone who reads my main journal, or who knows me, knows of my reverence for the late Dan Fogelberg. I have all his albums, and his death in 2007 hit me hard: I had not even realised he was suffering from cancer, and his loss is a huge blow. This album was in fact compiled by his widow two years after his death, so rather than seem a cheap attempt to cash-in on his untimely death --- though there are probably not that many who would know or care anyway, sadly --- this becomes a celebration of the man and his music, and instead of being a collection of his best-known songs, these are all originals.

Dan plays all instruments on the previously-recorded but never released tracks, and although it's bittersweet to hear him sing, as it were, from beyond, it's comforting and a great pleasure to have, against all odds, new material from a man who has now been five years dead. The opener might surprise many non-fans, being rather uptempo and rocky, but Dan could rock out with the best of them when he was alive, a fact lost on many people, and the title track here is no exception, with some great guitar and piano. Like most of his songs, it looks forward and speaks of hope and redemption in the face of despair, all the more poignant due to the circumstances.

I've chose this for “Bitesize” review because it is in fact the only one of his records I have but have never listened to, and I expect nothing more than what I always got with a Dan Fogelberg album: wonderful ballads, uptempo rock songs, songs about people and places, stories set to music, music that comes direct from the writer's heart. And so it proves. There's a beautiful and expressive piano and keyboard section in Soft voice that just epitomises a man who was a wonderful singer as well as a multi-instrumentalist, and I hear echoes of his debut, “Home free” in this song, with a certain sense of country and folk influences, and a great little waltz ballad in Come to the harbour, with a slower version of the melody from Nexus off the “Innocent age” album. Admit it: you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, do you? :(

It's actually getting a little upsetting. Don't laugh. Just let me sit here and listen for a while...

One thing Dan excelled at of course was beautiful, heartfelt, touching ballads, and “The colours of Eve” is another, with beautiful piano and heartbreaking vocal, while “Diamonds to dust” is a big heavy country tapper, running on the back of a heavy organ and jangly guitar. But if you want expertise on the guitar, look no further than Nature of the game --- I think that could be one of those dobro things. Definitely sounds steel anyway. The longest track, it's virtually Delta blues. Take that, ye who say Dan was only good for ballads!

The song that started it all, written by Dan as a Valentine's Day present to his wife two years before his death is next, and Sometimes a song is especially bittersweet with its backstory, the simplest of lovesongs but one of the very last Dan would ever write. Stop! I'm tearing up again. Gonna have to bring this to a close now.

I'd urge you to check out Dan's music for yourself. You may know the classics --- Run for the roses, Longer, Leader of the band, Same old lang syne --- but there's so much more there to be discovered from one of the most underrated singer/songwriters of our age. Ah, you say you will check him out, but you know you won't. Well, your loss.
Overall impression: God damn it Dan, I miss you!
Intention: At some point I'm going to listen to everything of his, in chronological order, and he's definitely down for a special feature on “The Playlist of Life” soon. Real soon.

An Irish institution, and rightly so
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Artiste: Mary Black
Nationality: Irish
Album: By the time it gets dark
Year: 1987
Label: Dara
Genre: Folk/Trad
Tracks:
By the time it gets dark
Schooldays over
Once in a very blue moon
Farewell farewell
Sparks might fly
Katie
Leaving the land
There's a time
Jamie
Leaboys lassie
Trying to get the balance right
Chronological position: Fifth album
Familiarity: “No frontiers”
Interesting factoid: Mary was born into a musical family: everyone played in the band.
Initial impression: This woman has the voice of an angel.
Best track(s): By the time it gets dark, Once in a very blue moon, Katie, Leaving the land
Worst track(s): Sparks might fly
Comments: Mary Black is a celebrated and respected musician in Ireland, and throughout the folk and traditional scene, having started her career with The Black Family (her own family) at the age of eight, and with another sister of hers, Frances, having achieved a successful solo career in her own right. Mary has a lovely, gentle and warm voice, and certainly concentrates more on the softer side of the trad scene, this album consisting of songs written by some luminaries in the field --- Jimmy McCarthy, Declan Sinnot etc --- and some traditional arrangements of folk tunes dear to her heart. There's some lovely piano from Pat Crowley, whereas Schooldays over is a gentle duet with Sinnot on simple acoustic guitar and possibly mandolin.

She tackles a version of a song that appears on, and titles, a Nanci Griffith album next, and though Once in a very blue moon isn't Nanci's own composition, I always associate it with her, and it's nice to have that link. A gentle little ballad on guitar and accordion, it's somewhat typical of the tone of this album, which is mostly quite laidback and reflective. Sinnot's prowess on the guitar is always understated, but the album would lack much without his vital presence, and indeed he gets to shine the once on the album when he takes centre stage for the instrumental Jamie, his own composition.

Piano also forms the mainstay of many of the tracks, but it's Mary's powerful yet gentle and soulful voice that really makes the album, as she sings about people and situations that you somehow feel are drawn from personal experience. Even though she doesn't write any of the material, there's a lot of her heart and soul in there, and it's almost like a shared history. We've all been there, she reminds us. Of course the standout is her classic Katie, one of her best-known songs, a beautiful little wistful love song, with gorgeous interplay between piano and guitar and powerful backing vocals, a smooth little sax break just adding to the atmosphere of this lovely little song.

With a traditional standard and even a version of the late Andy Williams' Moon river throw in, this album really does highlight Mary at her best, though for me it doesn't edge out “No frontiers”. A great effort though, and well worth a listen.
Overall impression: It's gentle trad/folk that you can't take offence to, and can't help but like, perhaps be moved by on occasion.
Intention: May check out a few more of her albums.

The anthem goes on
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Artiste: The Gaslight Anthem
Nationality: American
Album: Handwritten
Year: 2012
Label: Mercury
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
”45”
Handwritten
Here comes my man
Mulholland Drive
Keepsake
Too much blood
Howl
Biloxi Parish
Desire
Mae
National anthem
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: “American slang”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good hard energetic and honest rock
Best track(s): Handwritten, Here comes my man, Keepsake, Desire
Worst track(s): None
Comments: So The Gaslight Anthem have finally hit the big time, eh? Ditching their much smaller independent label, SideOneDummy to go with giant Mercury, it seems the boys from Jersey have arrived. However, vocalist and guitarist Brian Fallon has said that this album would be more like “The '59 sound”, their album previous to “American slang”, and which I have not heard. I hope this is not a bad thing, as I really fell in love with their music through their 2010 effort, loved it. Not too much to worry about though as it starts with plenty of power and energy, and Fallon's never going to escape the comparisons with Springsteen, but then, who wouldn't want to be considered in the same breath as The Boss?

This album certainly builds on the success of “The '59 sound” and “American slang”, and these guys are just going from strength to strength. The title track is a big, rousing, rollicking rocker with that gravelly drawl carrying the vocal, while there's a lot of Tom Petty in Keepsake, where the tempo slows down for an anthemic blues rocker. Things stay slow then for Too much blood, on which Fallon really exercises his pipes and gets a lot of his anger out, while Alex Rosamilia rips off a fine solo. Finishes on a really nice acoustic piece they call National anthem. Really satisfying album.
Overall impression: More of the same, but when it's TGA, more of the same is good.
Intention: Keep listenin'!

Destination ... um, somewhere other than Paradise...
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Artiste: Desert Sin
Nationality: Austrian
Album: Destination Paradise
Year: 2012
Label: Pure Steel
Genre: Power metal
Tracks:
Awakening
Destination Paradise
Kill the king
Would you release me
Follow me
In silence
The seed of destruction
Creation
Hero
Circle of twilight
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Nice keys and guitar instrumental intro...
Best track(s): Awakening, Kill the king
Worst track(s): Uh, I sort of don't really care. The rest are okay but just that. Nothing stands out and after a while it all sort of blurs together.
Comments: Who are these guys? Dunno, just another metal album I picked up on my travels. This is their second album, and I must say it starts off nicely with a very Iron Maiden style instrumental then crashes into proper metal with the title track. Their vocalist, one Sando Holzer, certainly knows his craft, while the guitars are sharp and pure, the drums punching the melody along nicely. There are keyboards --- I know, cos I heard them on the intro --- but here at least they're pushed rather to the background, though I think I can hear them doing some choral stuff back there. Presumably Roman Fischer will get to strut his stuff soon enough.

Kill the king is as expected a big, heavy, rockin' thumper, rattling along with a lot of energy and power, substantially ramping up the tempo. Great guitar work, but I have yet to hear the keys making any appreciable impression on the sound. If a band uses a keyboard, piano or synth, well, y'know, I expect to hear it! Nothing terribly special about these lads so far, but we're only a few tracks in, so we'll see. There's a nice kind of “warriors together” vibe about Follow me, and they do a good Maiden on In silence, but I'm really not seeing anything that special about Desert Sin.

Have to say, I still haven't heard the keys make much of a contribution, though it's a moot point now, as I'm beginning to lose the will to live. Pretty standard, staid stuff with nothing new about it and no reason to make me look further into their music. In three words: destination bargain bin.
Overall impression: M is for Meh.
Intention: Stop here.

Stone me! (Sorry)
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Artiste: Joss Stone
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Mind, body & soul
Year: 2004
Label: Relentless
Genre:Soul
Tracks:
Right to be wrong
Jet lag
You had me
Spoiled
Don't cha wanna ride
Less is more
Security
Young at heart
Snakes and ladders
Understand
Don't know how
Torn and tattered
Killing time
Sleep like a child
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Sounds more like rock than soul to me! Yay!
Best track(s): Right to be wrong, Jet lag, Spoiled, Security, Sleep like a child
Worst track(s): Killing time, Understand
Comments: There was a time when I took “advantage” of some offer of Cds for a dollar, don't ask me where, but I got a whole fistful of them, and because they were so cheap I plumped for a few I would never normally have bought. Of course, they were cheap because a) they were ripoff pirate copies with grainy covers that looked like the ink had run (which it probably had, or more likely, they'd run out of ink and just gone with the picture they could get) and came in floppy plastic sleeves on CDR discs. Very classy. At any rate, for some reason I can't recall now --- maybe to make up some “buy ten get one free” offer or something --- I went for this one. I've never heard anything by her so I have no idea if I'll like this at all, but it's been gathering dust for years so maybe it's time to blow that dust off and see what's actually underneath the extremely cheap cover. Hell, it may not even play, in which case this review will never get done, but let's have a go anyway.

Well the opener is a nice surprise, sort of blues half-ballad with some gorgeous guitar, and certainly Stone's voice is strong and almost raw, kind of reminds me of a far more restrained and sane Janis Joplin mixed with perhaps elements of Tina Turner. I like Jet lag too, much more in the soul realm than the first track, then there's pure funk-out in You had me, a real “diva” song (Oh no she di'nt!), then slow blues in Spoiled. Kind of hard to pin this lady's style or genre down, and I imagine many rockers will be just as into her music as will those who follow the charts or even the soul aficionados. Something for everyone, really.

Yeah, I really like this. It has a real feeling of heart and reality about it, like it's not just music written to bust the charts open or get people dancing, and even better, Joss seems to write most of her own material, or co-write it with others. She even throws in a reggae effort in Less is more, and to its credit it doesn't repulse me: I usually hate reggae. Yeah, whatcha gonna do, huh? But this is good! There's even a shot of cool gospel in Security, though in fairness it does get a little tedious after that, closing well with Sleep like a child; pity it couldn't maintain the original interest all through, though.
Overall impression: A big surprise, something like opening a box of chocs and expecting them all to be the same filling but finding they're all different. And delicious.
Intention: Must listen to more of her stuff. Now.

Giving prog metal a bad name
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Artiste: Dali's Dilemma
Nationality: American
Album: Manifesto for futurism
Year: 1999
Label: Magna Carta
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
Within a stare
Miracles in yesteryear
Despite the waves
Whispers
Ashen days
Andromeda sunrise
This time around
Hills of memory
Can't you see
Living in fear
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Well, not so much interesting as sad: this was their only album and soon afterwards they split up.
Initial impression: Synthesiser opening?
Best track(s): Despite the waves, Whispers, Andromeda sunrise, Hills of memory
Worst track(s): Within a stare, Ashen days, Can't you see
Comments: Another album I've had on my disk for what seems, and may be, years; I think it's maybe about time I gave this one a listen. Opening on a synthesiser riff that would be more suited to Vangelis or Jean-Michel Jarre, it quickly breaks into a hard metal-influenced track as the opener gets going, and I'm put in mind of bands like Shadow Gallery and Threshold. There's barely a pause and we're into the second track, showcasing the vocalist, Matthew Bradley's strong range and power. Great guitar work too from Patrick Reyes, while his brother and co-founder Steve complements him perfectly on the bass.

To be honest though, it seems to be straying into Dream Theater “solo-because-you-can-not-because-the-song-needs-it” territory, with some fairly unnecessary exhibitionism, but at least these guys can play. Despite the waves has a heavy keyboard slant, almost a nod back to Genesis's Watcher of the skies right at the end, then everything slows down for a lovely short instrumental in Whispers, proving this band could take it easy when required , and it's a tribute to the keyboard and piano skills of Matt Guillory, which essentially drive this piece.

Mind you, Patrick Reyes gets to have his day in the sun too, with another short little instrumental, though more folky this time. Nice, but I preferred the other one. Standout so far is the quite commercial Hills of memory, with some lovely guitar and some very memorable hooks, almost acoustic at times. Kind of reminds me of Big Big Train in places. Generally though, I can see why these guys didn't last. They're good, but not really very good except in very sporadic bursts. And you need to be better than just good to survive in this business.
Overall impression: Not quite meh, but to be honest, not a million miles away...
Intention: Nothing I can do, as they're split up now. Doubt I would have gone further anyway.

"And I'd like to thank .. um ... um ...?"
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Artiste: Dreamfire
Nationality: Unknown
Album: Atlantean symphony
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Ambient, electronic
Tracks:
Across the ageless ocean
Approaching Atlantean monoliths
Embraced by the light of the final dawn
The opening of eternity
A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn
Into the temple of the elements
(Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity
Tears of the enlightened
Atlantean symphony (Act I) --- Of grandeur and fragility
Atlantean symphony (Act II) --- A timeless lamentation carried
Atlantean symphony (Act III) --- Through fire into legend
An epitaph engraved on water
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: An anonymous work, thirteen years in the making!
Initial impression: Nice soft ambient electronic synth music
Best track(s): It's hard, even ill-advised, to pick out one particular track, as this is basically a symphony that flows from one track into another, but pieces that have stood out to me on their own merits include A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn, (Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity, Atlantean symphony (Act I) --- Of grandeur and fragility
Worst track(s): More or less as above; same idea.
Comments: This is indeed an interesting concept. You'll notice the “region” field has been left blank on this review, with a big question mark where the flag would normally be to show the nationality of the performer; this is because I don't know where the artiste comes from, as he prefers to remain anonymous, operating only under the pseudonym Osiron, and using Dreamfire as his operating project name. But all the work here appears to be the work of one man, who has been playing guitar and keys for over two decades, and has obviously been heavily influenced by the works of people like Vangelis and John-Michel Jarre, Air and other electronic composers, as well as having a deep grounding in the works of the classical masters. His music is therefore most based on synthesiser work, with some rather lovely classical guitar here and there, as in Embraced by the light of the final dawn, and can be seen, indeed should be seen as one overarching piece of music, a symphony indeed.

Due to that slight constraint, the music does tend to sound generally similar, with certain themes branching off from the main melody, but the music always more or less returning to its core sound. You would have to think Dreamfire has also experienced the work of Austrian instrumentalist Gandalf, if only in the titles of some of the pieces, which sound like they belong more in the era of psychedelia. As for the music itself, it's immersive, stately and grand for the most part, utilising sound effects and tricks like the muted roar of thunder, trickling rain, rivers running and so on; all the sort of touches that help music sound more organic, more from and in tune with nature. The soft guitar in A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn (see what I mean about the titles?) is especially clever, counterpointed as it is by the mutter of distant thunder, a storm threatening on the edge of the quiet music. The church bells pealing as the piece comes to an end could perhaps be seen as rejoicing that the storm has passed.

Overall, it would appear (and again, information on this is notoriously hard to come by) that this album began life as two separate demos, all the way back in 1999, and has therefore been almost thirteen years in the fashioning. It certainly sounds like it's been worth the time taken. Interestingly, for an instrumental album, none of the twelve tracks here are overly long or stretched, the longest being just under six and a half minutes, some of them lasting barely two. There's some lovely use of the sound of dripping water in (Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity, where you really feel like you're walking through a pool, and some synthwork that's almost too uncomfortably close to JMJ's classic “Oxygene”, but apart from that this is clearly the artiste's own creation.

The high point comes in the three-part title piece, each part separately titled and called an “act”, the whole thing running for a total of almost fourteen minutes (but shown as three distinct and separate tracks, hence my contention that there is nothing longer than 6:30 on the album), and presaged by a simple little piano line against wind noises, which then runs directly into the first part, or act, Of grandeur and fragility, running on a thick, heavy synth melody and a nice low bass choral vocal, then a higher, almost angelic choral vocal backed by thunder takes act II, A timeless lamentation carried until we slip into the final act, Through fire into legend, with a heavier, deeper synth sound and indeed that longest track I spoke about earlier. There's a sudden change of tempo now, with almost a classic western style on strings and horns, but that quickly settles down and returns to the grand, stately synth with now booming thunder accompanying it to its conclusion, some understated choral vocals riding along the wave, and we end on a rather lovely soft little piano piece.

Definitely an album you need to sit down and listen to in its entireity; I don't think anyone could get the same experience from “Atlantean symphony” by listening to tracks off it out of sequence. Like any real symphony, the whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts.
Overall impression: Thirteen years well spent! Wish I knew who to thank for this though...
Intention: If I can get the demos I'd like to listen to them, otherwise I guess just wait for his next release, which is tentatively pencilled in for next year.

Inoffensive dreampop from the ex-Bangle
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Artiste: Susanna Hoffs
Nationality: American
Album: Someday
Year: 2012
Label: Baroque Folk
Genre: Pop
Tracks:
November sun
Always enough
Picture me
One day
Holding my breath
All I need
Raining
Regret
This is the place
True
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Just the Bangles' material really
Interesting factoid: Sort of copying Nanci Griffith on the cover of her album “Storms”...
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Initial impression: More pop than I expected from the ex-Bangle
Best track(s): One day, Picture me, Raining, Regret
Worst track(s): Ah, there's nothing you can't really like here.
Comments: Okay, so I wasn't exactly expecting a hard rock album, but this seems a little too poppy for the ex-leader of the Bangles. Since the breakup of the all-girl band who had brief success in the late eighties, Susanna Hoffs has not exactly had superstar status thrust upon her. Her first two solo albums failed to set the charts alight, so much so that it's now been over fifteen years since her second album hit the shelves. I didn't listen to either of the first two, but there's a certain sense of acoustic folk mixed with pop on what I hear here. At least it sounds real, and she does co-write every track, so she's not just a (very) pretty face.

Guitar on the album comes from her co-songwriter, Andrew Brassell, with producer supremo Mitchell Froom adding some keyboards. At its heart, this seems to be a fairly upbeat, happy, inoffensive album, but I doubt it will be third time lucky for Ms. Hoffs, as nothing leaps out at me as being anything other than nice but essentially throwaway. Her voice of course is distinctive, and there are nice touches like the brass in the Beatlesesque Picture me and the accordion sound on the rather heavy Raining. Not at all surprisingly there are no long songs on this album, everything hitting the two or three-minute mark, short snappy pop ditties that, nice as they mostly are, are fluff that dissipates once they fade away, and I can't really see myself humming any of these after the album is done, or indeed listening to the album again.

But that's not to say it's a bad record. We all need a bit of fluff, musically, now and then, and while few people are going to take this seriously, it's inoffensive, likeable dreampop that does actually make you feel good, and Susanna seems to be having a fine time, her infectious enthusiasm and perhaps naive don't-worry-be-happy attitude as catching as laughter once started. There are elements of the older Divine Comedy in some of the songs too, particularly the backing vocals on One day, which essentially serves as the title track. Nice ballads too, with Holding my breath, Raining and the closer, True.

I have a small issue with the fact that the entire album only clocks in at just over thirty minutes, but then, I guess it can't be accused of stretching out ideas or flogging horses that have passed on, so maybe that's just the right length. Still, paying full price for this I'd have questions. Not that I do, you understand. Pay full price that is. But if I did, I'd be annoyed. Well, I guess it makes reviewing it that much easier when it's so short.
Overall impression: A nice way to pass half an hour; makes you smile, and that can't be bad in this hard tough world.
Intention: May dip back into this from time to time, but I'm unlikely to rush out to buy her two previous albums, or be that excited when she releases her next, if she does.

Yawn! Another generic Power Metal album. Zzzzzzz
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Artiste: Freedom Call
Nationality: German
Album: Land of the crimson dawn
Year: 2012
Label: SPV
Genre: Power metal
Tracks:
Age of the phoenix
Rockstars
Crimson dawn
66 warriors
Back into the land of light
Sun in the dark
Here on video
Valley of kingdom
Killer gear
Rockin' radio
Terra liberty
Eternity
Space legends
Power and glory
Chronological position: Seventh album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Freedom Call are a sort of offshoot band from Gamma Ray
Initial impression: Manowar on speed?
Best track(s): 66 warriors, Back into the land of the light, Crimson dawn, Sun in the dark, Power and glory
Worst track(s): Rockstars
Comments: Power metal bands are always a little hard to work out for me. They all generally follow the same formula: eye-melting guitar shredding, thunderous, steamhammer drumming and strong vocals, often frenetic keyboard passages riding along the guitar riffs. Freedom Call, whose first album this is that I've heard (although it's their seventh overall) seem to fall into the general category above, though there's a lot of what I suppose you would term Viking Metal in there too. To be perfectly honest, it's often a little hard to take seriously: the stentorian, dramatic vocals, the “warriors together taking on the world” image, the constant bludgeoning from the twin guitars of Chris Bay and Lars Rettkowitz, the former of which is also the singer and plays the keys too.

There are a hundred bands like these, some better, some worse, and it's a problem I constantly face when trying to sort the wheat from the chaff in power metal: there's just so much of what I'd classify as chaff, like Desert Sin, whose debut we reviewed just a few posts back. The thing in power metal is that you really have to, as it were, shout to have your voice heard. In other words, you have to have something that no-one, or few, else have, and so often this is not the case. Power metal is, by its very nature, quite formulaic and generic. There's nothing wrong with songs like Here on video, the title track or indeed Rockstars --- though the last does make you cringe a little with its boastful claims, if it's meant to be taken seriously. But what else is there? What track can you point to and not say that in a playlist for example, that could be any power metal band?

There's no doubt that there's a great sense of fun about the band, and I'm sure they go down a storm onstage. Very accomplished musicianship and a good vocalist in Bay, and some nice moments of neo-classical piano on the title track, again courtesy of Herr Bay, who appears to be the heart of Freedom Call, having formed it with ex-Gamma Ray man Dan Zimmerman in 1998. I'd have to say this would be a perfect album to play during a session of Warhammer or World of Warcraft, or as the soundtrack to a movie about Romans or Spartans; it just has that marching-gloriously-into-battle feel about it. 66 warriors (why 66? Your guess is as good as mine, and mine ain't very good: if this was a British band I might venture a theory of the World Cup, but Germany lost that one...) alternates between hard metal cruncher and heads-down headbanger, while Back into the land of light has trumpeting keyboard fanfares more reminiscent of the likes of Asia. Actually, this is my favourite so far.

The vocal is closer to death growls for Killer gear, with a somewhat incongruously celtic reel or somesuch on the guitar, celtic theme too to the closer, Power and glory, while the lyric in Rockin' radio is a little cliched: ”We don't play rap and hip-hop/ We play rock and roll!” But generally it's enjoyable, if nothing terribly new or ground-breaking.
Overall impression: Pretty good fun, but not an essential album. Basically, power metal is as power metal does --- stop me if I'm getting too technical.
Intention: I wouldn't be averse to hearing more, but Freedom Call wouldn't be top of my list either.

Yes, but do humour and music go hand-in-hand? Read on...
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Artiste: Barenaked Ladies
Nationality: Canadian
Album: Stop us if you've heard this one before
Year: 2012
Label: Rhino
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
I don't get it anymore
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
Half a heart
Old apartment
Shake your rump
Same thing
One week
Teenage wasteland
Long while
Second best
I can, I will, I do
Adrift
Chronological position: Third compilation album, fourteenth overall
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated to BNL) began life as mostly a comedy act.
Initial impression: Nice laidback acoustic
Best track(s): Old apartment, Shake your rump, Teenage wasteland, One week, Adrift
Worst track(s): Nah, nothing: it's all good.
Comments: Perhaps I'm alone in this (probably) but I have never heard one single Barenaked Ladies song. Not one. And don't tell me about the theme to “The big bang theory”: I've never watched it. So although this is a compilation album, it's all new to me. As it goes, the vast majority of tracks on this album are previously unreleased, so really it's more a rarities than a compilation. Anyway. I guess the title makes a good joke, in that case, and the band are known for their quirky sense of humour.

Their humour certainly comes through in the lyrics too, like in the opener I don't get it anymore when the vocalist --- I can't say who, as every member of the band is credited with vocals, and none with lead --- says I met a girl I used to know/ I was lost/ She told me where to go”, and the general idea is of a more or less soft, laidback almost acoustic set, other than the second track Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! which is an uptempo and fun song. There's fun but of a bittersweet nature in Old apartment, then a rap reminscent of Run DMC in Shake your rump --- weird! Very tongue-in-cheek though.

Some great honky-tonk piano in Same thing, with a certain Eagles vibe, and an air of The Divine Comedy about Long while, but I must say, more to the point, BNL's clever humour is pretty damn infectious. The songs are good, but they're more funny than good, which is, paradoxically, a good thing.
It's hard to pick favourites, as the songs are all catchy, memorable and fun; there's nothing here I don't like.
Overall impression: Bloody good fun! Music's not bad either...
Intention: I'm impressed and need to look further into their music.

Over forty years in the biz, Focus have had the magic ingredient for a long time now
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Artiste: Focus
Nationality: Dutch
Album: Focus X
Year: 2012
Label: Eastworld Recordings
Genre: Progressive Rock
Tracks:
Father Bacchus
Focus 10
Victoria
Anok in kindergarten
All hens on deck
Le tango
Hoeratio
Talk of the clown
Message magic
X roads
Chronological position: Eleventh album
Familiarity: By reputation only
Interesting factoid: Although this is titled “Focus X”, and should therefore be their tenth album, it's actually their eleventh.
Initial impression: Back to the seventies!
Best track(s): Focus 10, Victoria, Le tango, Hoeratio, Message magic
Worst track(s): There are some I like less than others, but nothing I'd really categorise as bad.
Comments: Focus are one of those bands who just always seem to have been here. They were never formed; they just existed before even the Big Bang. They've always been around, and they always will be. Well, that's how it seems to me, and yet I have never heard a single track from these revered masters of the genre. In reality, Focus were formed in 1969 in Holland (or the Netherlands, if you prefer) and have had a total of ten albums since then, this being their eleventh. Why then is it called “Focus X”? I have no idea.

It would seem though that Focus are essentially firmly rooted in the seventies, with big instrumental passages, guitars drums and organ overlaid by flute, though unlike many prog rock bands of that, or even this, time, they don't seem to indulge (at least on this album) in epics, as most of the tracks are around the five or six minute mark, nothing over. The title track, which for some inexplicable reason they call Focus 10, exchanging the Roman numeral for a digital one, has some lovely laidback guitar and a taste of Steely Dan about it, very relaxed and effortless, solid organ riding behind the smooth guitar lines. So far though, other than one spoken line, more in the way of an introduction or announcement, this has all been instrumental.

There would seem to be a lot of jazz influences here (bad news for me!) but quite soft and flowing, rather than what I tend to see as meandering, often directionless playing --- I know, I know! Look, I just don't like jazz, okay? --- with mainman and founder Thijs van Leer the fulcrum of the band, playing Hammond, flute and keys, as well as doing the odd vocal. On guitar we have Menno Gootjes, replacing the irreplacable Jan Akkerman, but then he did leave in 1976, though he returned for the odd album. A rockier, but not that much more uptempo instrumental, pulling in influences from mid-eighties Genesis is Victoria, with some nice interplay between guitar and flute, then it's quite a shock to hear vocals come seemingly out of nowhere for All hens on deck, perhaps the heaviest track on the album so far, with spiralling guitar, driving organ and of course flute. The vocal is sparse, almost just mimicking the notes on the organ, but it's still interesting to hear some singing, if you can call it that. Pretty improvisational, I'd say.

Great bit of classical guitar on Le tango, with a certain eastern tinge to it, slowing everything right down and indeed introducing the first proper vocals from van Leer, and to be fair they've been worth waiting for, as he is one heck of a singer. The rhythm section keeps it tight and everything ticks along nicely, while Hoeratio has a lot of solo Tony Banks atmosphere in it, until van Leer comes in with almost spoken vocals in what I assume is his native language, adding a further layer of weird on the song, followed by breakout guitar by Gootjes, and Talk of the clown, with its bouncy flute lead and bassline, sounds like something they use as the soundtrack for one of those badly-animated kids' shows I used to watch when I was, well, a kid: the likes of “Mary, Mungo and Midge”, where the emphasis was more on colour, fun and being friends than technical ability in the field of art. It also comes across as something like an Irish jig; needless to point out, it's quite short. And weird. It's followed by Message magic, another short song, though in contrast this opens like a Nick Cave song and then goes into an almost AOR style slow guitar instrumental, with some nice piano. Parts of the melody also remind me of ABBA. Closer X roads then goes back to the jazz, pumping it all up with a fast piano, ticking bass and rolling drumbeat, kind of reminds me in places of the early work of Supertramp. Bit of Santana in there too, then just when you think it's another instrumental, Thijs van Leer comes in with a vocal to close the show. Nice.
Overall impression: Good musicianship, would liked to have heard more vocals, but overall not bad. Doubt I'll become a fan of Focus though... bit too jazzy for me overall.
Intention: I'm not that pushed but I might, maybe, try another album. Or I might not. Probably not.

Surprisingly flat offering from the first lady of Country
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Artiste: Nanci Griffith
Nationality: American
Album: Intersection
Year: 2012
Label: Hell No
Genre: Country/Folk
Tracks:
Bethlehem steel
Never going back
Intersection
Waiting on a dark eyed gal
Hell no (I'm not alright)
Stranded in the high ground
If I could only fly
Just another morning here
Bad seed
Davey's last picture
Come on up Mississippi
High on a mountain top
Chronological position: Twentieth album
Familiarity: see review of “The loving kind”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: A nice start, very gentle and reminscent of her older work.
Best track(s): Bethlehem steel, Come on up Mississippi
Worst track(s): High on a mountain top, Waiting on a dark eyed gal, If I could only fly, Bad seed (Note: this is the first time ever that I have had more than one “bad track” on a Nanci album, which just shows you how disappointed I am in this one).
Comments: I thought long and hard before putting this here, as I have recently reviewed Nanci's last album prior to this here also, and didn't want to minimise her by doing a shorter review again. She is one of my favourite artistes, after all, certainly among my favourite Country performers. But like School of Seven Bells' “Ghostory”, reviewed in my main journal, I prepared myself for this review by adding this album into a running playlist, but unlike SSB's album, almost everything I heard from this annoyed, depressed and underwhelmed me. I've never had to say that about a Nanci album before, but I'm pretty sure she struck out here, at least as far as I'm concerned. So I don't think this album merits a full review.

Interestingly enough, the opener, Bethlehem steel is one of the songs I haven't heard off it, and I quite like it: reminds me of some material from “Last of the true believers” and “Once in a very blue moon”, particularly Ghost in the music. Nice slow acoustic Americana. Next one up is not bad either, and Never going back is typical of her gentle, soft acoustic country soul, then the title track has some nice electric and slide guitar, a slow ballad with some very minimal percussion, but one thing I think that sets the album apart from her others, in a bad way, is the over-preponderance of covers. There are five in all, far more than any of her other albums have had.

And they're not great covers either. Waiting on a dark eyed gal is as dated as it sounds, sounds like an old Eagles song though not as good, and the closer, High on a mountaintop may have worked for Loretta Lynn, but it just annoys me, putting me in mind of the Waltons and, for some reason, the Muppets! It's a real down-home, hillbilly song which in some ways denigrates the whole idea behind country music as played by bumpkins and hill farmers on jugs and jews harps. Terrible, and an awful one to end with. But before that we have more terrible covers, like the insipid If I could only fly and Davey's last picture. Oh for the love of God! She even puts in a version of It's just another morning here, which appeared on her “Late night grande hotel” album more than ten years ago now. Why? It's a much weaker version than the original too.

She does however kick out the stays on Hell no (I'm not alright), giving vent to some of the fire and anger that characterised some of her earlier work, and the standout for me comes in the form of Come on up Mississippi, a slow, moody, downbeat song which I think is hers but may be a cover --- information on this album is hard to come by, even from her own website! For me, Nanci's songs usually revolved around the hard times in America --- songs of factories closing, industry disappearing, the rise of technology and historical episodes like the Dust Bowl --- as well as tender and often bitter love songs, then some that were just about having a good time. She always seemed to have a direct line into the American consciousness, rather like Springsteen, to appear as "one of the ordinary folk" and so her songs resonated that bit more with you. Here, I think that connection is lost. Although the opener sets a great tone, the rest of the album does not live up to its promise and quickly descends into something of a parody of a country album.

Hopefully this is not indicative of the direction she's going in, and we can expect much better from her in the future. I suppose after nineteen albums you can forgive her the one slip, but even at that, it's hard to take from someone I've regarded as such a talented artist, and have followed down the last thirty years.
Overall impression: Just got worse as it went on. Few bright spots, but not many. Big let-down.
Intention: One album doesn't ruin an artist for me, when I've enjoyed so much of her music. I will, however, be scrutinising her next release carefully.

Trying to punch somewhat above their weight
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Artiste: Wolfsbane
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Wolfsbane save the world
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Heavy metal
Tracks:
Blue sky
Teacher
Buy my pain
Starlight
Smoke and red light
Illusion of love
Live before I die
Who are you now?
Everybody's looking for something
Child of the sun
Did it for the money!
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: None
Interesting factoid: Singer Blaze Bayley is probably best known for his (some would say infamous) stint with Iron Maiden in the nineties
Initial impression: Good, honest, no-frills metal
Best track(s): Teacher, Illusion of love, Smoke and red light, Starlight, Child of the sun
Worst track(s): Who are you now?
Comments: I've a bit of a dilemma here. I hated Blaze Bayley for what I see as his almost destruction of Iron Maiden with the two albums "The X factor" and "Virtual XI", yet I love the title of this album. It's just so kitsch, and I have to give Wolfsbane a chance. As it turns out, it's not bad, considering their last outing together was 1994, shortly after which Bayley joined Maiden and his band split up, before reforming when he returned to the fold in 2010.

There are a lot of fun tracks, like Teacher, Everybody's looking for something and the closer Did it for the money! (which is certainly refreshingly honest, if a little tongue-in-cheek), with its semi-rap/Run DMC-style vibe, but is there enough serious fare in between to make this album worth listening to? I was never a fan of the vocal style of Blaze, and even here I think he sounds maybe a little forced, but as I say I'm biased. Everything kicks up about four gears for Buy my pain, almost thrash metal in parts (which I personally feel doesn't work) although there is a little bit of what I'm coming to see as Wolfsbane humour, when the lyric mentions crucify and Blaze imitates the centurion in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" as he quips "Crucifixion?"

In contrast, Starlight is a half-ballad, quite commercial and airwave-worthy, while Smoke and red light gets things rockin' again, one of the better tracks to be honest, with a great hook and catchy chorus. There's a lot of eighties Whitesnake in The illusion of love, with some great guitar work from Jase "The Ace" Edwards, and fine powerful percussion from the brilliantly-named Steve Danger. It even fires off into a sort of southern rock ending, with splashes of Queen multi-vocals. Cool.

Look, despite the (obviously humourous) title, Wolfsbane ain't about to save rock and roll, metal, or indeed the world with this album, but it's not half bad. I wouldn't be rushing out to buy it for Christmas, but it might be a pleasing little stocking filler. If nothing else, it does prove at last that there is life beyond Iron Maiden for Blaze Bayley.
Overall impression: Nothing much bad to say about this. Pretty entertaining, though I can think of a dozen other albums I'd listen to before I'd spin this again.
Intention: Meh. Nothing really.

Really needs the Alan Parsons Project to make him shine. Bit dull solo.
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Artiste: Colin Blunstone
Nationality: British (English)
Album: On the air tonight
Year: 2012
Label: Universal UK
Genre: Rock/AOR
Tracks:
Turn your heart around
The best is yet to come
Wild places
On the air tonight
Though you are far away
So much more
Dancing in the starlight
For you
Not our time
Over you
Chronological position: Tenth album
Familiarity: Only through his work with the Alan Parsons Project
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Nice opener but very reminiscent of APP
Best track(s): Turn your heart around, So much more, Though you are far away, For you, The best is yet to come
Worst track(s): Wild places, Over you, Dancing in the starlight
Comments:
No, not the Phil Collins song! Possibly an unfortunate choice of title for his tenth solo album, but there are in fact a few similarities between Colin Blunstone's music here and the ex-Genesis drummer. I admit I had hoped for more: the guy is sixty-seven though, so perhaps I should be a little more forgiving, and it's not a bad album, not at all. It just doesn't excite me the way I had thought it would. There's a lot of carryover in melody terms from his time with the Alan Parsons Project: it comes through right from the off, and in other tracks such as Wild places and the title track, with the former not only nodding to APP but also the Zombies, another of his previous bands, and indeed a flavour of Genesis from "Turn it on again", strangely, right as the song comes to an end, with it must be said some very heavy organ.

The album is a mixture of uptempo AOR-style soft rock and pop and heartfelt ballads, with The best is yet to come and Though you are far away, which is in fact a song which appeared on his debut solo album, all the way back in 1971. Absolutely beautiful piano on this, and it really showcases Blunstone's soft, passionate style of singing. It is however hard to separate the singer from the band, and as Blunstone is best known (after being the vocalist on "She's not there", the Zombies' huge hit from the sixties) for his work with the Alan Parsons Project, the fact that the opener has all the hallmarks and could be one of their songs is not heartening. But let me check: ah, it's one of his old songs from Keats. Okay then.

There's nothing wrong with the music; as I said, it's a good album, but I would have preferred to have seen Colin step a little away from the associations with the APP, who though they are one of my favourite bands have had a pretty major influence on his career, especially in the mainstream. I mean, ask anyone who's not a fan of his who he is, or where they remember him from, and you'll get one of two answers. Few are likely to remember --- or even know of --- his nine solo albums prior to this, and this was I feel his chance to break that conception of him, an endeavour in which I believe he fails here, if he even tried it. That said, there are some great songs, with apart from the ones mentioned above the Christoper Cross-like So much more and the soft, almost jazzy ballad For you singled out for praise. Not crazy about the salsa-like Dancing in the starlight though.

In the end, the more I listen to this album (third time now) the more I begin to appreciate it, but it's still a far cry from what I had expected. Perhaps my expectations were a little too high, or unrealistic.
Overall impression: Grew on me, but I wouldn't be in a huge hurry to check out his other releases
Intention: As above

Ahoy-hoy! Happy New Year everyone! After a short break over the Christmas period, we're back to bring you short(ish) daily(sort of) reviews of first-listen albums (for me). I'll try to keep this as updated as I can, but with now three journals to juggle, you'll forgive me if I neglect this one a little, though I hope not to. Ah, for more time...

Anyhoo, let's get on with our first "Bitesized" review of 2013...

It's this one.
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Can't be confined
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Artiste: Antimatter
Nationality: Unknown
Album: Lights out
Year: 2003
Label: Prophecy Worldwide
Genre: Ambient?
Tracks:
Lights out
Everything you know is wrong
The art of a soft landing
Expire
In stone
Reality clash
Dream
Terminal
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: "Planetary confinement"
Interesting factoid: This album was recorded in Dublin! Yay!
Initial impression: Similar to "Planetary confinement" but more electric than acoustic.
Best track(s): Lights out, Everything you know is wrong, The art of a soft landing, In stone, Dream, Terminal... pretty much everything really!
Worst track(s): Expire (only because it's unnecessarily long)
Comments: When I reviewed Antimatter's third album, "Planetary confinement", some time ago, I was not really expecting much, and was quite taken aback by the stark, raw beauty of the music I discovered on that album. I'm not sure whether that was an isolated record in their catalogue of, to date, five albums, or whether I can hope to hear more of the same on this one. The sound could be totally different, I don't know. But this time I'm going into this with my expectations somewhat higher; hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Well, it starts off with an air-raid siren, which is both disquieting and interesting. This runs into choral synth vocals and a melancholic downbeat piano, as the title track gets going. Vocals, as with the previous album(as in, previously reviewed, although in fact chronologically the next album to come) are taken by guest female singers, here we hear Hayley Windsor, whose soft yet yearning voice complements Mick Moss's perfectly, echoing slow drumbeats painting a backdrop of doom and despair with a certain fragile charm into another lonely piano melody that takes Everything you know is wrong aboard Mick Moss's mostly solo vocal, joined at times by Windsor again.

Definite sense of Pink Floyd circa "The Wall" in the guitar, some really spooky, out-of-this-world synth from the other half of Antimatter, Duncan Patterson, with Hayley's sultry vocals in their last performance carrying The art of a soft landing. Though this album is far less acoustic than "Planetary confinement", the basic themes and feel of it seem pretty similar, and I think perhaps I may enjoy the rest of Antimatter's albums. Some grinding hard guitar in this, though nothing I've heard from this band could be described as heavy or even rocky really; it's all quite ambient, if darkly so.

On track four, Expire, we get to hear the vocal of Michelle Richfield for the first time, and the tracks are getting longer now. Haunting bassline carries this track with some crying violin and simple percussion. This and the next track she'll sing herself without Moss, and the penultimate track, though he comes back in on the next one, In stone and Reality clash --- the former of which he sings solo --- with the closer being completely instrumental. It must be said that Expire, at eight minutes long, is completely stretched beyond breaking point: there's no reason it needs to be that long, especially as the last three minutes or so feature the same piano melody with Michelle repeating the one line over and over.

More Floydisms can be seen in In stone, with an echoing, repeated vocal that fades out, and some deep sonorous keyboard with a nice soft plucked guitar line, the latter probably more reminscent of later Floyd, around the time of "A momentary lapse of reason" and "The division bell". There's also a spoken vocal over this track, sounds like Stephen Hawking (another Floyd link?) and this is an example of a long track that doesn't sound dragged out: it's almost eight minutes too, but never lags or droops in any way, keeping the interest all the way through.

There's a real sense of grandeur and dark majesty about Reality clash with a lovely violin and piano outro, then Dream is probably the most uptempo and punchy of the tracks on the album, with the clear voice of Michelle Richfield back for her swan song. Great ominous, "Tubular-Bells"-like piano melody running through it with some dramatic synth; definite standout. Mind you, the instrumental closer, Terminal comes pretty damn close to beating it out!

Overall impression: From this album it would seem that at least two of Antimatter's catalogue are well within my ability to enjoy, and I'd be interested to hear how they changed for the next release, which is described as "heavier, with little trace of the ambient sound of early Antimatter". If that's true, then I'll be disappointed, but even so I'm intrigued to hear how their sound developed after Duncan Patterson left.
Intention: Definitely look more into this band. Must check out Patterson's new band, Ion, too...