Ian Arkley’s second solo album two is compellingly converse. Frequently touching on fiercely hunting, it equally remains subtle throughout. two picks up where one left of with bells on thanks to the addition of a dulcimer, lyre and pitched down acoustic guitar for bass. Mastering and layout are by Michael Shaffer of label Opa Loka Records, on which two is released; beyond that, Ian is responsible for all aspects including photographs and artwork. Continue reading
Music
Down and out to sea
Rich Brown wanted to draw a line under what was intended as a lockdown project, and having had enquiries about them, decided a CD—his first physical release—would do exactly that.
Revisiting old songs with a tweak here and there, plus adding three completely new, Down and out to sea contains ten tracks, all of which were recorded, mixed and mastered in Rich’s own home studio; a place that started as a duvet fort and has become something producing sound that one would be hard pressed to realise hadn’t been recorded in a real studio with all the engineering and mastering that goes with it.
Three Covers One Band
Clue One. The three bands covered: The Paragons/The Nerves/Randy and the Rainbows.
Clue Two. My experiences of seeing them live: in 1982, when I was still at school, my mum—who I get my thing for music from—got us tickets to see this band, only for them to spilt up on the tour before playing the gig. They were my top band at the time; I was totally gutted.
In 1991, I was going to spend a weekend at the Hells Angels’ Kent Custom Bike Show. It turned out that on the same Saturday night, the lead singer of the band was appearing as a solo artist at Wembley, London, on a bill that included the likes of INXS, Jesus Jones and the Hothouse Flowers. Continue reading
SÖNUS: Usurper of the Universe
Whirring into life like a comet lowrider being fired up, Usurper of the Universe is an ever expanding cloud of trippy space dust gritty with derision. Who, or perhaps what, is SÖNUS is a question the answer to can change with every listen; the six track album as much space rock opera—a beer and bong infused version of Queen’s Flash Gordon score with SÖNUS playing both band and Ming—as a frustration-driven social commentary not only on the world we currently live in but always have.
Welcome to the Carnival known as DUIR!
A substantial aspect of DROME is the matter of time, so appropriate then that its first listen transports me back to the mid seventies and a trip up North to see relatives which included a visit to the fabled Yorkshire Dales.
Nothing of the actual visit remains in memory beyond it being uneventful. It’s all the things said about the place by family members beforehand that spring to mind. The potential for heavy mists to suddenly descend and leave anyone there disorientated on the vast expanse of open land hard enough to navigate at the best of times.
Continue readingRich Brown: the new shining light of Folk?
Rich Brown’s EPs Pandemo and The Misinformation Age get their first listens with my customary no attention paid to any of the review package notes.
Brown genres as Folk, something that as a rule is only enjoyed by me when live in a pub and drunk enough to think I know the lyrics.
Continue readingIt’s not a style I know much about and what I’m hearing puts me in mind of a low-key Greenday or a smooth Pogues.
Meeting Edgar Broughton
The following is an account of true events: the names of those involved have been changed (including the dog’s).
My introduction to the Great Edgar Broughton started in a pub said to have once been frequented by highwayman Dick Turpin.
Aged fourteen, me and a couple of mates found we could get served in the Schooner, located—though no longer there—where Streatham High Road meets Hermitage Lane.
Bumble Bee: the Sting in the Tale of LaVern Baker!
Artist: LaVern Baker
A.K.A.:
- Delores Williams
- Little Miss Sharecropper
- Bea Baker
From: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Song: ‘Bumble Bee’
Recorded: 1960
Walking with Jimmy McCracklin
Artist: Jimmy McCracklin
From: a point of contention; either Elaine, Arkansas or St. Louis, Missouri.
Song: ‘The Walk’
Recorded: 1957
Tornado!
The Jiants
Members:
- Jerry Hedges (guitar)
- Andy “Russell” Anderson (vocals)
- Bill Lee Balsbaugh (piano)
- Ron Wolfe (drums)
- Ray Umbarger (bass; not shown in the picture of four)
From: Marion, Indiana, U.S.A.
Song: ‘Tornado’
Released: 1959
N. P. Ryan 