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/

Note to self...

You need to blog more you lazy git!

Matt Schofield @ The Robin

Support and other Ramblings.
Last year the discovery of the year for me were Schofields support act and local guys “The Grey Goose Blues Band”.  I was blown away with their modern twist on classic blues whilst retaining the truth and the depth of feeling contained within their own material.  TGBB were by far the best band on the night leaving the song “Sycamore Tree” embedded in my head for many months,  so this year the support band have a very high standard to reach..    
 
Well this would have been the case if there had been a support act.  Support advertised, but not in attendance, so all of us that turned up when the doors opened at 19:30 were left waiting an hour and half before we had any stage action. To get us through this support less period we had Geoff Achinson in abundance powering through the P.A , so it’s not all bad.  For those of you who have never heard of Geoff Achinson he’s an Australian blues/funk genius who manages to get fantastic sounds out of his old guitar without the need for effects pedals.. Just watching him bend and twist the guitar neck to get these amazing sounds is itself worth the ticket price.  Geoff’s   back at the Robin wed 12^th Oct.  Come on down and join the fun.. you won’t be disappointed..
http://www.geoffachison.com/

Matt Schofield
This is only Matts second visit to the Robin..  Last time the crowd was minimalistic, but it looks like the word is spreading and the crowd is pretty good for a midweek gig and all looking forward to hearing tracks from the impending CD due for official release next month.

Matt kicks off with “Don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t loving you” which is one of the tracks on the new CD and I have to confess the only one that I made a note of..  A brave move maybe, but it does set the scene for the night. Traditional and standard blues rhythms in-filled with some ass kicking riffs of pure brilliance.  

However, there are a few bum notes hidden in there too, but this is probably due to a quite nasty finger injury from the night before when he sliced his finger open on a downswing..  Matt took great delight explaining to tonight’s audience in graphic detail about how it happened, about his blood splattered guitar and how cool it must have looked.. But tonight he’s going to be a man about it and carry on as best he can.

At least half of tonight’s set comes from the impending CD and I have to admit that I’m not really inspired by what I’ve heard tonight, but this is often the case when hearing material for the first time.  For me the songs tend to be too long with little content.. guitar riffs when they happen are sublime, awe inspiring and captivating.. this is what he is good at and he’s a joy to watch during these moments, but for me they really didn’t happen anywhere near enough which tended to leave the songs feeling empty and flat.
I also got the feeling that not enough time was spent practicing the new material before going on the road.  There were far too many prolonged pauses with Matt often looking quite lost as he tries to remember the intro to the new material..  Hopefully he will get this in the bag before the end of the tour.

In my last Schofield review I commented that there was something missing that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.. I now know what it is.. When he plays the guitar, throws a riff out for the audience to ponder over or just loses himself in the moment, its full of feeling that just carries you along, whether you want to be carried or not.  However when he sings it’s not there..  no emotion at all.  It’s not that he has a bad voice it’s just that he doesn’t let himself go the same as he does with the guitar, which is a shame.

In conclusion:  I made the comment last time that I came away singing TGGBs “Sycamore Tree” ... Well I’m afraid nothing’s really changed other than this time I left with it playing on my phone. 
http://www.mattschofield.net/