Clares CD shoot..

Had a fantastic day with Clare today on the CD shoot located at superb derilict mansion in Great Tew Oxfordshire.

Time to take a quick breath..

Seem to be running around like an idiot at the moment looking for a decent location for Clares cover shoot in a couple of weeks time and has only just dawned on me just how big britain really is.  Time to stick a pin in the map and hope for the best lol

Even better news is that the review copies of CDs from Eric Sardinas and Karl Deneta have landed and both sounding pretty good..  Also had Buddy Whittingtons cd land too, but the less said about that the better..

busy busy busy...

Dust and Bones..

I'm not a lover of telephone conversations, but a great chat bouncing a few ideas around with Clare for the cover / inlay of her new CD "Dust & Bones".. Hopefully get the location pictures in the bag over the next couple of weeks.

http://www.clarefree.co.uk/

Virgil & The Accelerators – The Radium (release date sept 2011)

Previously posted @ http://www.midlandsrocks.co.uk/

It is not often that I get all emotional about a CD,  but ‘The Radium’ which is the first real offering from VATA ticks all of my box’s and more.

We open up with the haunting guitar lead of ‘Working Man’ which is a hard driving blues masterpiece that sets out their stall out nicely for what is to follow. 

With sublime guitar riffs and perfect fretmanship mastery provided in abundance by Virgil.  Gabe supporting and moving things along perfectly on the skins, quite often throwing in runs that many metal drummers would envy,  all tied together by Jack with his driving bass beats.   VATA really have come along in leaps and bounds over the last year and this CD is proof positive of that fact.

 It’s obvious to see that artists such as SRV and Philip Sayce are main influences in Virgils life as they come shinning through at every opportunity. Tracks such as; ‘Low Down and Dirty’ and ‘Silver Giver’ (more about later) have a good mix of Sayce and SRV feel about them, however this is not intentional, it is just a fact that they are such a massive influence on his playing that it would be extremely  hard for it not to show through in some small way. Virgil has subconsciously taken the best that his icons have to offer and added his own special touch and the final result is good.

On this CD everyone will love, not like, but love one particular song, if not more, depending on your blues style preference.  Mine is without question the last track of the CD ‘Silver Giver’.  It is a guitar solo of monolithic proportions that just doesn’t let up.  Virgils control of the fret board and understanding of what makes an awesome track is clearly demonstrated here.  This is quite possibly one of the best tracks that I have ever heard and a pure unadulterated joy to witness live.   What we have here is a true masterpiece!    

However,  if I were to be over critical of the CD I’d say that lyrically it can be a little naive in places, but that’s probable down to the fact that these lads are still quite young.  I’m sure this is going to improve as they gain real life experience which will inevitably provide them with a bigger pool to draw from. 

 In conclusion it is not a perfect CD, but it is very damn close.  I for one cannot remember any band producing and releasing such a polished CD as their first offering.  It really is going to be hard to follow this one up, but knowing Virgil & the team they will give it a damn good go.

9/10

http://www.virgilandtheaccelerators.com/

White Wizzard – Flying Tygers review.

Previously posted @ www.midlandsrocks.co.uk
I guess that now is the right time to come clean and admit that although I’ve dipped the proverbial toe into White Wizzard water many times, I’ve never actually been able to sit down and listen to a complete WW CD in one sitting.  For some reason that escapes me they’ve always managed to lose me along the way and I end up wondering off somewhere.  So for me this is completely new territory because for once I have to sit and listen, no matter what.

After quitting WW back in April 2010 Wyatt "Screamin' Demon" Anderson is back fronting again for this CD, but sadly Wyatt has again departed with the impressive Michael Gremio returning to cover vocals on the impending tour.

First track “Fight to the death” achieves what all first tracks should do. It clearly sets the pace and feel of the whole album perfectly with big vocals and massive guitar going straight for the jugular.  It demands that you sit up pay attention and I was more than willing to go along with its demands. 

On the vocal front it is easy to understand how Wyatt earned the ‘screamin demon’ monika and he is on top form hitting notes that I couldn’t hit prior to manhood.  With big vocals and notes that go on forever Wyatt manages to encapsulate the old NWOBM genre but the with added modern day metal punch, which is what gives their credibility.  And then there are those vocal harmonies, which something that tend not to be mentioned when talking metal, but they’re are so reminiscent of ‘Tygers of Pan Tang’ when they were at their best, so they deserve a mention.

 Guitar wise Jon Leon does a fantastic job capturing the feel of 80’s metal.  With riffs flying at you left, right and center it would be very easy to over power the piece, which he doesn’t do.  It is also a very fine line with this genre of music between classic rock guitar and cheese and I’m pleased to report that Jon has it down to perfection and it just makes the hairs on the back of you neck stand to attention.  

On the CD there is some extremely good classic metal; Blood Pyramids, War of the Worlds, and ‘Starmans Son’ to name but a few.  However standing way above the rest for me is ‘Starchild’.  If you were to take everything that was good about NYONM and that genre and mixed it with; ‘Rainbow’, ‘UFO’ and sprinkled with a little early Irons then this is what you’d end up with.  As far as I am concerned this is a true classic power ballad rock anthem, simply superb.

I really didn’t think I’d be able to sit through nearly an hour of White Wizzard, but I’m surprised at just how easy this was.  In my opinion ‘Flying Tygers’ is their best CD offering to date.  I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to anyone with the love of old metal.

Horns Raised.

http://www.myspace.com/whitewizzard

Lerry Miller - previously published @ www.midlandsrocks.co.uk

One of my favourite albums of recent years has been Larry Millers 2007 “Outlaw Blues” which even after 4 years still gets a massive amount of airplay here at Stanley Towers, so I was really looking forward to finally getting to see him live.  However, as I found out the hard way there really is nothing that can prepare you for the onslaught of guitarial magic that descends when Miller enters the ring, no matter how many times you play “OB” or any of his other material.

Watching Miller play is simply mesmerizing and listening to him play is a joy to behold.  I don’t think I’ve ever been captivated by one single person for so long..  After 90mins It’s easy to understand why music moguls compare him to guitar legends such as “Rory Gallagher” and “SRV”.  His mastery of the fret board is second to none.  Far too many of today’s guitarists tend to camp on one part of the neck, but Miller is up and down the neck like a man possessed and those riffs just stream out.   Simply glorious! 

There are also those who compare Miller to Hendrix, but personally I think that’s a little unfair.  From my point of view ‘and in some quarters I could get stoned for saying this’ Larry Miller is much more of a complete package than Hendrix ever was or could have ever been, but that’s just my view.

But, not only is he a fantastic guitarist, but he’s also a great showman and gets the crowd involved every chance he gets with plenty of banter about the Black Country and anything else that crops up.  At some points it almost feels like the crowd is in control of the set list..  He just throws a batch of songs out to the crowd and then supposedly plays the one that produced the best response..  I say “supposedly” because no matter what song he mentioned the crowd always produced the save fever pitch response.. but it made the crowd feel good.

Whilst primarily out promoting his latest CD “Unfinished Business” he never lets this get in the way of previous material and gives a good balance of old and new.   And talking of new.. Tonight was the first time I’ve heard any material from “Unfinished Business” and half-way through the night I did something quite unusual and alien to me.. I put my hand in my pocket and paid the merch stand a visit..  I didn’t even try to blag a freebee!   After listening to the CD a couple of times I think its fair to say that this is IMO the best CD to date and Well worth the expense..

On the whole a it’s been a great night.. its not often that an artist manages to exceed my expectations by so much.  If you get chance to catch him live then do it..  If not, just buy the CD..

http://www.larrymiller.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157627038929482/show/