Graham Music Blog
Welcome to my new blog, where I look into the world of arts and entertainment
50 Years of Music Blog (Part 3)
50 Years of Music Blog (Part 3)
It was my older brother Ken who took me to my first gig, we were a large family and we use to share a room, so I would go through his record collection whilst he was out. He had been to number of gigs and before we went he suggested I keep a gig diary because he wished he had, as even then he couldn’t remember all the bands he had seen, especially the support acts. So I did this for about 9 years and still have it to this day, which is really helpful when writing this blog.
The first gig I went to was on 25th January 1975 with Hawkwind plus support from Swan Revival and Al Matthews at Bracknell Sports Centre, tickets cost £1.00 (yes a pound, I haven’t missed a zero). It still amazes me to this day, that my brother and his friends were happy for me to tag along. I was a geeky, skinny just turned 15 year old, where as my brother and his friends were the epitome of mid 1970’s cool, with their long hair, denim jackets and flared trousers, my Mum wanted to make sure I was smartly dressed with an ironed shirt, smart trousers and my Parker jacket which were all the rage at the time. I can only imagine I stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the Hippies.
Bracknell Sports Centre was THE local venue for touring bands with a capacity of several hundred and ironically only a mile or so from where I currently live 50 years later, although no longer putting on music events. Hawkwind were one of the most prolific live music bands in the 70’s performing at most festivals and venues. The album they were promoting at that time was Warrior On The Edge of Time which featured Lemmy and two songs that were to become synonymous with Motorhead, which is the song of the same name and Kings of Speed. My memory of the gig itself was the smell of Patchouli oil, hundreds of hippies, the light show by Liquid Len and the lensmen and I remember the cover of Warrior On The Edge of Time being projected on the big screen, and sax player Nik Turner walking past us as the band left the stage wearing a frog mask!
I still have the programme from that concert which includes a short story by author Michael Moorcock whose band The Deep Fix who were due to be the support band but were replaced by Swan Revival. I did an internet search but can’t find out anything by them, although my memory is that they were Glam Rock. The first act on was Al Matthews who recorded one album and is best known as an actor who played Gunnery sergeant Apone in the Alien films amongst others, sadly he passed away in 2018.
Although I didn’t get to see Michael Moorcock perform until a few years later I became a fan of his writing and have over 60 of his books. His most famous characters include the Science Fantasy novels featuring Elric of Melniboné and the Jerry Cornelius novels who was like a 60’s psychedelic James Bond if memory serves me right. He also wrote a trilogy of Fantasy novels where Hawkwind were the heroes fighting corporate businessmen who were known as the straights who fired music guns with songs by Elton John etc at the Hippies and Hawkwind fought back with band members performing live constantly whilst others flew around in their Silver Machines.
I did get to see Hawkwind a few times after that at the Fulcrum, Slough on 15th June 1977 with Motorhead (much more about them in a later blog) who were the support band, tickets were £2.00. The Hawklords at Uxbridge University on 24th November 1978 with Softies as support, tickets were £1.70. Then again as Hawkwind at the Top Rank, Reading on 27th October 1980 with Vardis as support, tickets were £2.75. At the Glastonbury Festival on 20th June 1981 where they headlined the Saturday night on the Pyramid Stage and the Hexagon Reading on 28th September with Ginger Baker on drums, which I always thought was a strange combination, Mama’s Boys were the support, tickets were £3.50
Over 50 years later and Hawkwind are still going strong with 38 albums released to date.
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50 Years of Music Blog (Part 2)
50 Years of Music Blog (Part 2)
Fifty years ago this year the last Windsor Free Festival took place at Windsor Great Park. This annual festival would run for 9 days and attracted thousands of music goers from all over the country much to the annoyance of some local residents and businesses with No Hippies signs on doors of many of the shops and pubs in the town. The Festival attracted a lot of interest in the local and national media, primarily as it took place in the Queen’s back garden, which included a piece on page three of The Sun newspaper with a picture of topless female festival goers and the headline Royal Sex Olympics, presumably as the real Olympics were taking place at the same time.
I was fourteen years old at the time and my parents said I was too young to go but as the Festival was so close to where we lived, I would open the bedroom windows and listen to the early hours of the morning. Bizarrely on a Sunday afternoon of the week of the Festival my parents put me, my two younger brothers and my sister in the back of the car and drove us the mile or so down the road. It was like going to a Safari Park, my Mum made a packed lunch and thermos flask of tea and we parked on the edge of the Great Park along with other local residents who had the same idea, so we could watch the Hippies in their natural environment from the safety of our car with the strict instructions not to unwind the windows and under no circumstances open the doors. As we looked out through the large windscreen the only thing missing was a David Attenborough wildlife commentary.
A few days later the media coverage escalated from page 3 of the National newspapers to the front page when hundreds of Police Officers raided the Festival in the early hours of the morning to physically remove them from the site. The aggressive nature of this approach prompted the Home Secretary at the time to ask for a National enquiry. This followed a sit in by hundreds of Festival goers by Queen Victories statue outside the main entrance of Windsor Castle.
Many years later when I was working at Windsor Arts Centre I was involved in a Community Play called Don’t Stop the Music which looked at the relationship between music and the town. Not only was the Free Festival stopped due to public pressure but also the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival which later went on to be Reading Festival, the second Ricky Tik Club which played host some of the biggest names of the 60’s including Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, The who and many more and The Old Trout that played host to Oasis, Blur, Faith No More and the Pixies and several other events.
January 1975 saw me go to my first live music event which I will talk about next time.
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50 Years of Music Blog (Part 1)
50 Years of Music Blog (Part 1)
This year marks the 50th year since the start of my passion for music as 1974 was when I brought my first album and single. Growing up as part of a large family in Windsor, there were nine of us and up until this point I was really a football fan like my Dad who took me to watch Chelsea play at home every other week as it was the closest First Division team (before the Premiership) to us, but the wonderful thing I remember was when Chelsea weren’t playing at home he would take me to random matches so I could see some of the great Legends. So we went to watch Southampton play Manchester United so I could see George Best, Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton and co, Watford versus Stoke to see 1966 World Cup Winner Gorden Banks and a friendly with Fulham who were playing Santos which featured Pele and most of the Brazilian 1970 World Cup Winning team.
As my older brothers and sisters started getting jobs of their own, getting into relationships and moving out, I ended up sharing a room with my older brother Ken and it was then that I started to explore his record collection, I also remember getting a small transistor Radio for Christmas and like many teenagers at that time, I use to listen to Radio Luxembourg and then latterly the John Peel show in bed until late at night when I was supposed to be asleep, which opened me up to whole world of music.
The first single I brought was ‘I Know It’s Only Rock & Roll’ by The Rolling Stones, although we did have some children’s novelty singles before then, my Dad listened to Military Band Music which really wasn’t my thing although in later years he became a big fan of Max Boyce but this was more for the comedy, my Mum was the musical one of my parents and she was a fan of Country singer Jim Reeves as well as Tom Jones and Al Jolson, who isn’t Politically Correct now but back then it was all part of the norm, with programmes like the Black & White Mistral Show being prime time Saturday night viewing, which never sat right with me even at that age.
The very first vinyl album I brought was ‘Diamond Dogs’ by David Bowie, I am not entirely sure what motivated me to buy it but I think it might be that brother had ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars’ (one of my all time favourite albums) and it had just been released. It occurred to me whilst writing this blog that back in the day before streaming sites if somebody else had an album we didn’t feel the need to get it ourselves, instead we would go around a friends house and listen to it and buy something different instead.
Growing up in such a large family with the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, can feel quite lonely and at times and I didn’t feel like I fitted in, what I felt when I listened to David Bowie was that there was someone out in the world who spoke to me then. I remember listening to ‘Kooks’ from ‘Hunky Dory’ and thinking these are my people.
As far as Bowie albums go ‘Diamond Dogs’ is largely ignored but I still love it to this day from the opening lines of ‘Future Legend’ I was hooked.
“And in the death
As the last few corpses lay rotting on the slimy thoroughfare
The shutters lifted in inches in Temperance Building
High on Poacher's Hill
And red, mutant eyes gaze down on Hunger City
No more big wheels
Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats
And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes
Coverting the highest of the sterile skyscrapers
Like packs of dogs assaulting the glass fronts of Love-Me Avenue
Ripping and rewrapping mink and shiny silver fox, now legwarmers
Family badge of sapphire and cracked emerald
Any day now
The Year of the Diamond Dogs
This ain't Rock'n'Roll
This is Genocide
The whole album conjured up a whole world in a way which only David Bowie could do accompanied by the gatefold sleeve image of Bowie being half man, half dog. The only hit to come from this album was ‘Rebel Rebel’ but there are so many good songs on it from the title track to ‘Sweet Thing’ with it’s pre Punk distorted guitar.
This opened the floodgates for my Bowie obsession at that time and I started collecting the back catalogue with ‘Aladdin Sane’ followed by ‘Hunky Dory’ which listening to it now I think is a masterpiece, ‘Man Who Sold the World’ and even the ‘World of David Bowie’ which I remember buying from Woolworths in Windsor for a pound, ‘Space Oddity’ was one of my brothers albums, so never I technically owed that, although I went out and brought ‘Ziggy Stardust’ as soon as he left home.
A year later (1975) David Bowie released the title track to his new album ‘Young Americans’ and I have to say the fifteen year old me hated it, for me it was too slick and polished with an American soul feel. I remember the first time I heard it my family were driving back from a weekend on the coast and it came on the radio and my Mum turned it up as she knew I liked Bowie and after I heard it I don’t think I said a word the whole journey back, so mixed were my emotions. Fifty years on I appreciate it a lot more along with a lot of his later albums and the genius of David Bowie is that he changed his identity more than any other artist in history and was so ahead of his time that it was too big a change for me at the time.
David Bowie is still one one of my all time heroes, I have joked with friends that after he passed away the World has never been the same and I know many people who feel the same.
January 1975 saw me go to my first live music event which I will talk about next time.
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Review – New Single ‘ Pebble Beach’ by Maud’s Dog
Maud’s Dog is a captivating acoustic songwriting duo featuring Mark Fisher and Jackie Pryce that weaves soulful melodies and heartfelt lyrics into a musical tapestry. Drawing inspiration from legendary artists like James Taylor and the ethereal Kate Bush, they infuse their compositions with a touch of jazz, a hint of blues, and the energy of rock.
Their debut single starts with gentle lapping of the sea with seagulls chirping in the background that leads into a gentle melodic guitar from mark before we are introduced into the rich soulful vocals of Jackie. Pebble Beach evokes a feeling of the loss of loved one and creates a feeling to melancholy that is comforted by the environment. Overall this is a great introduction to this duo and I look forward to future releases.
To listen go to :- https://songwhip.com/maudsdog/pebble-beach
Live review - Wilde Sundays 23rd May 2023
Wilde Sunday at South Hill Park 23/05/23
The best way to spend an afternoon doesn’t get much better than being at a Wilde Sunday. As always, we were treated to three great acts, skilfully put together by Graham Steel.
First on was duo STEM (STeve – guitar; EMma - vocals and guitar), playing a range of their own songs on topics such as sisterly love (Unsung Hero), and new single Concentrate. Emma’s beautiful voice delivered each song with crystal clear quality. STEM had also brought along their PR team in the form of Emma’s young daughter, who was ‘too cute to refuse’ when giving out business cards.
Next was local favourite Michael Tuffery, who’s low dulcet tones were perfect for his mix of laid-back folk tunes. A variety of covers, as well as self-penned in response to being ‘pipped at the post’ at his local folk club’s themed nights. One memorable moment was hearing him sing ‘It’s In Your Laugh’ written for his wife. Any longer, and there wouldn’t have been a dry eye in the room.
The closing act was Martin Wood with a blues and soft jazz set. Not one to be playing too many unhappy songs, Martin changed guitars to play us Van Morrison’s Moondance. Then it was a return to the blues and an impromptu performance of a song by Blind Willie Johnson on discovering a shared appreciation with an audience member. The set continued with songs from that ‘little known blues artist’ – himself! A genuine encore ensued, and that was a wrap for the afternoon.
Everyone was so chilled out by the end and made no moves to go home. I’d say that’s a sign of a successful afternoon of music, and at less than £10 what’s not to enjoy. See you next on June 18th, same time (2.00 – 4.00pm), same place (South Hill Park, Bracknell), different bands.
Review By Juliet Hurwitt
Album Review - The Lost Trades 'Petrichor '
The dictionary definition of Petrichor the title of the new album from The Lost Trades is “a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather” and for this Wiltshire based trio they have been basking in glowing praise since the release of their debut Award Winning album ‘The Bird, The Book & The Barrell’ which received rave reviews and spent 8 months in the Official UK Folk Albums Chart.and now finally the follow up album is due for release accompanied by a UK Tour.
Consisting of Tamsin Quin, Phil Cooper and Jamie R Hawkins all three were and still are established solo performers before they joined together as The Lost Trades and as good as their debut album is Petrichor feels like time has enabled them to develop their own sound even more, but still enabling their individual talents to shine through. With four of the twelve songs previously released as singles in the run up to the launch there was a fear that we may have heard the best songs already, but that is certainly not the case, make no mistake, this is a corker of an album.
The opening track Old Man of the Sea is an emotional and personal obituary written in memoriam for a late family member, reminiscent of Crosby, Stills Nash & Young and it does that wonderful thing where all voices are in unison and then one strips away to the emphasise a lyric that packs a punch which CSN&Y did so well. There is a wonderful video to accompany Keep My Feet Dry which tell’s the story of breaking away from personal relationships that don’t do you any good and standing your own ground and I love the guitar break in this song.
Atlas is the first track on the album that hasn’t been released as a single and therefore a good indication of how good this album truly is and it’s a great pop song which tells of taking the weight of the world on your shoulders, but strangely leaves the listener full of hope. Long Since Gone is a beautiful song in remembrance of those people dear to us who are no longer here, which is followed by Daffodils which tells of the importance of good friends in troubled times, which includes the line “ You are my Devil's Avocado” which is one of my favourite lyrics and the harmonies on this show the trio at their best.
Throughout Petrichor we are treated to three people who are at the top of their game vocally, musically (the musicianship throughout is excellent and comes across as effortless) and as songwriters who sound wonderful together but at the same time as individuals as is the case with Hornbeam, Fireflies and Best Step Forward. Little Black Bird is another great song with a fabulous bass line running throughout and more fabulous harmonies asking the question “do you remember what you dream” to the little bird.
The title track to the album ‘Petrichor’ wouldn’t go a miss being sung in any Folk Club or Folk Festival and is a song of hope in these strange times that we currently live in. This Dark Forest has an almost cinematic feel to it as it takes the listener on a journey and you feel all three of The Lost Trades are with you every step of the way. The final track on this fine album Valhalla is currently my favourite of all tracks on offer (but the more I listen to the album the more I feel this will change as they are all so very good), with just a slow evocative drum and acapella vocals this is a stirring song with a message to turn off the TV and put down your newspaper and to take in all that is around you in nature and I can’t help but feel this song performed live will become a firm favourite with audiences.
Petrichor is a fine album and like the meaning of the word it awakens the senses, the lyrics are thought provoking and you come away with a sense of hope, just how good this album is only time will tell but based on the number of times I have already had it on repeat it is likely to be in the running for album of the year.
To order the album :- https://shop.thelosttrades.com/album/petrichor
The Lost Trades UK Tour Dates :- http://thelosttrades.com/tour-dates/
Review – Jim Chorley – A Dawn Yet To Rise EP
Review – Jim Chorley – A Dawn Yet To Rise EP
The music of Jim Chorley fits into that great British Folk singer songwriter tradition of artists such as John Rebourne, Ralph McTell and Nick Drake but still manages to return his own distinctive style. This four track EP is a gentle collection of songs full of hope and a perfect listen as you unwind after a busy day with your drink of choice, beautifully produced and highly recommended.
A Dawn Yet To Rise EP is available now on Bandcamp :- https://jimchorley.bandcamp.com/album/a-dawn-yet-to-rise
Review - Paul Alexander Low – Sunshine after the Rain
Review - Paul Alexander Low – Sunshine after the Rain
Sunshine after the Rain is Paul Alexander Lowe's debut album. Paul has produced an album of original songs full of great melodies and stories with a rich, smooth vocal that draws you in and holds your attention. The album puts me in the mood for the open road, windows down and music turned up. A great debut, showcasing a new songwriting talent.
The album is available here :- https://paulalexanderlow.hearnow.com/sunshine-after-the-rain
Review by Tara & Jaen
Review - Ajay Srivastav -The New Album - Powerless
Review - Ajay Srivastav -Powerless
Powerless is the second album from Ajay Srivastav. An inspirational journey through the COVID 19 Pandemic, from fear, frustration and anger to faith, hope and peace. The first song “The Line” is a foot-tapping question. Challenging lyrics ask where you stand and what you believe? The title track “Powerless” kicks off with some truly emotive Indian Violin from Kartik Raghunathan. The lyrics are a motivational call-to-hope, with a rousing chorus. “ The Powerless one day will rise”. “Golden” is an uplifting, joyful, life-affirming trip, with a catchy Stealer's Wheel feel. “The Path” is a meditative song about coming home, with the inspired addition of a string quartet, who also stay for the thought-provoking “Count Your Blessings”, reminding us to live in the present and be thankful for all that we have. Powerless is a wonderful blend of Delta Blues, Indian Folk and Protest songs wrapped in the sublime sounds of Ajay's Dobro with the gorgeous undercurrent of Vinod's Tabla.
“A true Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove”
Reviewed by Jaen Amber & Tara Egan
Powerless by Ajay Srivastav is available from https://www.ajayhq.com/
Review – The Lost Trades - New Album - The Bird, The Book & The Barrel
Review – The Lost Trades ‘The Bird, The Book & The Barrel’
The Bird, The Book & The Barrel is the love child and debut album from the Lost Trades who are Lost Trades are Wiltshire based friends, Jamie (R Hawkins), with his dark, country edge, Phil (Cooper) with his urban folk wit and Tamsin (Quin) with her engaging warmth and whimsy. Individually accomplished musicians in their own right, this trio blends together to produce a melting pot of symmetry and true musical talent.
Opening with "One Voice", a song about the power and strength of unity and joined forces : it could be interpreted as a Lost Trades anthem."Road Of Solid Gold" is a positive song about being content with your own company. An extra layer of violin, provided by Peter Knight (Steeleye Span), brings a rich, wholesome, upbeat feel to the melody. Whilst "Hope Cove" evokes feelings of loss, sadness and faith, "Wait For My Boat" jumps in with a rousing, joyful, singalong chorus.
In all the album is full of evocative harmonies and thought-provoking lyrics, bound together in a wonderful traditional-meets-modern folk genre.
Reviewed by Jaen Amber and Tara Egan
The Bird, The Book & The Barrel by The Lost Trades is available from https://shop.thelosttrades.com/album/the-bird-the-book-the-barrel
Review - Steve Bonham and the Long Road - New Album 'American Wilderness Odyssey’
Review – Steve Bonham and the Long Road ‘American Wilderness Odyssey’
New Album Out Now
American Wilderness Odyssey is available from https://www.thelongroadband.net/awo.html
The American Wilderness Odyssey is an extraordinary project from Steve Bonham and the Long Road which features fifteen songs released over a fifteen month period through a series of EP’s culminating in the release of the album and a companion book. The songs from the project have all been written by Steve Bonham, Chris Lydon and Kev Moore, and Steve and Chris. Their starting point is not first the songs of others but the deep well of individual experience. They were inspired by the people, the landscape, the stories and the spirit of the Southern States of the USA. Steve trekked through the brooding old testament forests and mountains of Appalachia in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. He took road trips from Ashville to Nashville and New Orleans and then, trekking and driving, circumnavigated New Mexico. Kev set off in a classic old sedan to visit the hometowns and heroes of his youth spending six weeks on the road through Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.
The album opens with the ‘Ballad of Duane and Billy Marie’ a gentle song with intricate piano playing interweaved with guitar and harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills & Nash, like most of the songs on this album the inspiration for this comes from a chance encounter or observation by Steve Bonham which is then expanded into a story. The more up tempo ‘Wrapped Up in You’ has a great rhythm and slick guitar playing and a catchy chorus and was a hit on independent radio globally and number 1 on UK Country Radio. ‘American Wilderness’ is an eight minute song which tells the strange story of Paula Angel, said to be the first woman to be hung in New Mexico. ‘Do You’ is a beautiful gentle song described by the band as a 'secular prayer' wishing someone an authentic and spiritual life despite all the madness that precedes. ‘Midnight Radio’ is cracking little song where all the component parts of The Long Road come to together with great lyrics, a gentle keyboard backing and excellent percussion.
The final track of the album ‘Western Requim’ is a fantastic end to this epic project conjuring images of the wide expanse of the American landscape with it’s almost cinematic soundscape with Hammond organ, piano, guitar & percussion. In a time when how we listen to music is changing almost on a daily basis The Long Road have come up with a creative and inventive solution by incorporating an album, book and videos making it accessible to everyone, big congratulations to all involved.
Graham Steel
Review - Mandy Woods - New Album 'Cabin Fever'
Review – Mandy Woods ‘Cabin Fever’
New Album Released Monday 22nd February 2021.
Bandcamp - https://mandywoodsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/cabin-fever
Glastonbury based singer and songwriter Mandy Woods releases her new album, aptly titled ‘Cabin Fever’ later this month, featuring fifteen songs recorded during Lockdown. A seasoned writer and performer in both Europe and America, Mandy Woods has spent most of her adult life giving in to wanderlust and crafting songs wherever she has happened to find herself on her unconventional journey, many of them telling stories - about the ups and downs of relationships, about her own and other people's struggles and quests, and about the myriad other twists of fate that have inspired her imagination.
The title track Cabin Fever opens the album telling the story of being confined inside with a loved one which is appropriate for a Lockdown which is followed by the gentle My Second Hand Heart with beautiful harmonica backing. This whole album has an Americana/ Folk feel to it with well crafted songs, wonderful musicianship and easy to listen to stories and you have to wonder why Mandy Woods isn’t more well known on the acoustic music scene. The up tempo One Trick Pony definitely takes on more of a Country Music sound and could easily be heard in any Bar or Honky Tonk in Nashville and even has a Yee Haa at the end to prove my point.
There are so many good songs on this album with Cactus Rose, Butterfly, Awesome Woman and Full Moon Over Vegas being particular highlights all telling what sound like personal real life experiences. Although all the songs feature vocals and guitar from Mandy there is some backing with the occasional steel guitar and in All That is Left to Cherish beautiful violin accompaniment from Judith Hooper. Ain’t No G in Country is a great fun track with has more of a band feel than the other songs. The closing track Every Single Second is all about making the most of life whilst you can, which is a positive message as we all hopefully prepare to come out of Lockdown. This is a really enjoyable album that is perfect listening equally on a cold Winter’s night or on a Summer’s evening under the stars, highly recommended.
The album is available from Bandcamp 22nd February.
Graham Steel
Review - Hoopy Frood - New Album 'Affirmations'
Review - Hoopy Frood ‘Affirmations’
New Album Released Sunday 14th February 2021.
Bandcamp - https://hoopyfrood.bandcamp.com
At a time when how we listen to music seems to change on almost a weekly basis and the concept of LP’s and Singles (for all of us who remember them) seems obsolete ‘Affirmations’ by Berkshire based band Hoopy Frood comes as a breath of fresh air. This is without doubt an album in the finest and most glorious sense, clocking in at just over an hour this is not twelve songs packaged together in 3 -4-minute soundbites but a joyous celebration of music with each track running seamlessly into the other, what recording this way does is that it gives the music time to breath, the listener time to enjoy and the musicians involved time to express themselves fully. There are moments when it feels that the band are just jamming but you can also tell that a lot of thought has gone into this and the production and preplanning is superb.
Having established what Affirmations is, which is an Album, trying to describe what it sounds like is whole different kettle of fish, with deep dance grooves, African percussion, reggae rhythms, classic rock guitar solo’s exquisite soulful vocals, which put together makes it sound like it is incoherent and jumbled, it is not, as Hoopy Frood have their own distinct style which incorporates all these different sounds. From the opening track ‘Water’ which starts with an electronic soundscape overlaid with acoustic guitar fingerstyle and features a guitar solo reminiscent of Pink Floyd followed by the wonderful ‘Round Shaped Hole’, the chilled out ‘Atoms & Molecules’ the beautiful piano overlaid with Spanish guitar playing of ‘Harmonics’ the reggae groves and soul led vocals of Big Wide World and ‘Magic in Your Eyes’, listening to this album is like having a Festival in your Living Room. The album does slow down with ‘The Woods’ which sounds like it was recorded outside, and you can hear bird song and almost feel a gentle Summer breeze with it’s beautiful acoustic guitar accompanied by a cello, before picking up it’s pace with ‘Whispers’ and they all finally let rip with the album finale ‘Lets Help one Another’.
This is an excellent well produced album from musicians who clearly know what they are doing that has been ten years in waiting and a great antidote to this crazy mixed-up world with its uplifting music and positive lyrics if any ‘Affirmations’ were needed this is highly recommended.
You can pre order the album now from Bandcamp which is released on 14th February.
Review - Tony Cox - Live at GSMC Online Music Club
Review - Tony Cox
GSMC Online Music Club – Monday 1st February 2021
Tonight’s GSMC Online Music Club features guitarist Tony Cox who is a multiple award-winning singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist, is one of the most highly acclaimed musicians in South Africa today with a loyal fanbase throughout the country, Tony has recently moved to the UK.
Starting with a beautiful instrumental piece called ‘Floating’ which was written in a Church and has a deeply spiritual feel to it. ‘Winter Song’ was dedicated to Tony’s friend musician and composer, Malawian, Wambali Mkandawire who sadly passed away the day before this performance and you could feel the emotion in this piece with it’s exquisite African rhythms.
‘Salty Towers’ was written at a time when Tony was living in Scotland and was followed by the first songs of the evening ‘Invisible’ and ‘House of Parliament Blues’ which is about the political situation in South Africa. The title track of his forthcoming new album ‘The World Went Quiet’ and is based on the current Covid 19 pandemic. The evening finished with a great version of ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ by Henri Mancini.
This was a fabulous set from a world class musician and composer who introduces it each piece with interesting stories and has a great sense of humour who is now starting the next chapter of his extraordinary career here in the UK and we should be delighted to have him here.
You can find out more about Tony Cox by visiting his website
Review - Toxic Sofa - Live at GSMC Online Music Club
Review - Toxic Sofa
GSMC Online Music Club – Sunday 31st January 2021
Tonight’s GSMC Online Music Club features Toxic Sofa featuring Tim Bastock and Kim Halliday who were up to a year ago a Bracknell based duo who could be seen at Open Mic Nights across Berkshire on a regular basis and have now relocated to North Yorkshire.
After a few technical problems tonight’s performance with the help of green screen technology see’s them performing at the end of Saltburn Pier which is local to them dressed in overcoats and Tim is wearing the almost obligatory flat cap. Their set consists mainly of cover versions with Tim on guitar and both of them singing, starting with Blondies ‘Sunday Girl followed a really good version of the Procol Harum classic ‘Knights in White Satin’ with a recorder solo from Kim which really fits the song, followed by Fred Wedlock’s ‘The Oldest Swinger in Town’.
The green screen changes to a view from a Space Station looking down on the world for ‘Mad World’ THE Tears for Fears song before going into David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’. The green screen changes to the picturesque view from their studio for a lounge jazz version of ABC’s ‘Poison Arrow. The highlight for me is the one original number they did ‘Life on the Road’ which sums up what being in a band is like for so many people. All in all a good fun Sunday evening watching live music online.
You can find out more about Toxic Sofa by visiting their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1438335743136189
Review - Jim Chorley - EP Keepsakes Vol 1
Review - Jim Chorley
EP ‘Keepsakes Vol 1’
Jim Chorley is an Acoustic/Folk singer-songwriter from Southampton who tells magical story-songs that encompass a life well lived and a life well loved. His latest release ‘Keepsakes Vol 1’ is a compilation EP of his last four single’s.
The opening track ‘There's Nothing Like Your Love’ starts with gentle guitar intro and violin which continue throughout and with Jim’s distinctive vocal sound and great song structure this is a great opener. ‘The Blueberry Moon’ is a compelling poetic love song. ‘After the Rain’ is a livelier tempo song which features electric guitar. The final track ‘Newly New’ has more of a folk/ blues feel to it.
Overall this is a fine collection of songs and a great introduction to a singer and songwriter who seems to have been on the acoustic music scene but is new to be and definitely an artist to watch out for in the future.
You can find out more about Jim Chorley via his website
Review - Matt Hall - Live at GSMC Online Music Club
Review - Matt Hall
GSMC Online Music Club – Wednesday 27th January 2021
Tonight’s GSMC Online Music Club performance features singer and songwriter Matt Hall from Bracknell. Matt writes his own songs with deep meaningful lyrics and plays a mixture of originals and covers and was newly crowned GSMC Showcase Artist of the Year last week at the Awards Night.
Whenever a performer changes their guitar strings you know they are taking their performance seriously and in Matt’s case this was the first time in six year’s so you tell he meant business. Starting with a Starsailor song ‘Coming Down’ followed by covers of Newton Faulkner, Radiohead ‘Black Star’ and George Michael’s ‘Faith’ which closed the set but as good as the covers were it was Matt’s original songs that shone through which he seemed to perform with more passion and emotion.
‘Angel’ was a song about emotional heartbreak, ‘The Village Came Alive’ is a great lively song about his Grandmother and Matt declared ‘Same Old Lies’ as his best song because it was brutely honest, but for me it was the heartfelt ‘Why Did You Have To Go Away’ which was about his Grand Farther with it’s very moving lyrics.
Although performing solo on an acoustic guitar Matt’s style veers towards an Indie Rock sound and you can imagine he would sound even better with a band, although on his own he sounded great. Matt is a performer who is gradually finding his voice and I look forward to hearing more.
You can contact Matt Hall through his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013968431865
Review - Michael Tuffery - Live at GSMC Online Music Club
Review - Michael Tuffery
GSMC Online Music Club – Saturday 16th January 2021
Tonight’s GSMC Online Music Club performance features Michael Tuffery who is a singer and song writer who is well known on the local music scene in Berkshire performing solo, is a member of two Folk bands RyeWolf and WolfNote as well as featuring in a number of projects.
Dressed in a suit with a bow tie and a green screen backdrop of the Royal Albert Hall you can tell that Michael has put a lot of detail into this set which opens with the Christy Moore song ‘Continental Ceilidh’ and consists of mainly covers but not the sort of songs that you would normally hear such as Paul Carrick’s ‘Eyes of Blues’ , Dire Straits ‘ So Far Away’ and Glen Campbell’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ all of which suit Michael’s distinctive silky smooth vocals.
As good as these covers are it is Michael’s original songs that really stand out such as ‘Molly Again’ which was inspired by his time as an ambulance driver, ‘Closer to You’ was co-written by fellow folk musician Rik Knight. ‘It’s in Your Laugh’ is song dedicated to his wife who joined him for this alongside a video backdrop of roller coaster ride full of teddy bears, sometimes you can’t make these things up! My own personal favourite of his original songs is ‘Westward Winds’ with a great chorus and lyrics, many well known song writer would be proud to have written this.
The set finishes with Phil Collins ‘In the Air Tonight’ followed by an encore which consisted of ‘Cousin Jack’ by Show of Hands which he really makes his own. This was a great set by one of the most under rated performers around.
You can find out more about Michael Tuffery by visiting his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/miketufferymusic
Review - Jenny Colquitt - Live at GSMC Online Music Club
Review - Jenny Colquitt
GSMC Online Music Club – Monday 11th January 2021
Tonight’s GSMC Online Music Club performance featured Jenny Colquitt who is a singer songwriter from Widnes in the North West of the UK . Jenny has been streaming live shows several times a week throughout Lockdown, I was really looking forward to this performance and wasn’t let down as we were treated to a great performance.
Alternating between piano and guitar this hour and fifteen minute set consisted completely of original songs which is testament to Jenny’s talent. The first of the evening was ‘True to Me’ which was overlaid with some beautiful piano playing, which was followed by ‘Part of the Story’ and then ‘Tell Me Where the Light Is’, the first track from Jenny’s new EP ‘Dear Daughter’. Jenny has great charm and personality between songs and with a good number of people watching and commenting on the chat page, she makes time to answer all questions and acknowledge everyone as well as making new visitors welcome. ‘Captain Tom’ is the forthcoming Charity Single due for release in a few weeks about the Lockdown hero and Dirty Town was probably my favourite of the evening, written just a week ago, it is about fighting of the negative energy when you visit some places, although all her songs are great, with a Folk / Blues feel and the occasional touch of Country Music.
With a rich soulful voice, brilliant musicianship and outstanding songs this was a stunning set from a performer who is definitely going places and one to watch for the future.
You can find out more about Jenny Colquitt by visiting her website https://jennycolquittmusic.com