Category Archives: Album reviews

Metal: album review – Motörhead ‘Bad Magic’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , ,

Bad Magic, Motörhead’s 22nd studio album in the band’s 40th year, opens in classic Motörhead fashion with Victory Or Die. All the essential ingredients are there: the fast and furious rumbling bass, the hoary, growled vocals, the blinding guitar solo, coupled with a memorable rock ‘n’ roll tune and some world-weary seen it all, done it all rock ‘n’ roll lyrics. It’s a strong opener. For sure, Lemmy’s voice might sound a bit more aged than previously. But given his well-publicised health problems in recent years it’s something of a miracle that this album sounds as good as it does. Many of the songs wouldn’t sound at all out of place on some of the albums from late 70s/early 80s “heyday” period. Thunder & Lightning and Electricity are both stand-out tracks for me in that vein, as well as the aforementioned Victory Or Die.

It’s not all completely predicatable, though. Two tracks depart significantly from the tried and tested Motorhead formula. Firstly, we have Till The End, a slow number that has Lemmy spelling out his life philosophy with some suitably heavy but melodic backing. And we also have a cover of the Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil. “Motörhead sing the Stones” could have sounded a bit gimmicky but, surprisingly, it comes off. A wall of thunderous drum sound provides an atmospheric backdrop for Lemmy to let rip on the old Jagger/Richard classic.

Did I need another studio album by Motörhead? If truth be told this is the first new studio album of theirs I’ve bought in years. But admiration for how long they’ve kept going twinned with a realisation that this is a band almost certainly in the final stages of its long career drove me to buy it. I’ve not been disappointed.

Released: August 2015

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Previous review: Motörhead at Hyde Park 

Metal: album review – Saxon ‘Battering Ram’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Whatever the genre of music and however talented the musicians, without strong tunes and hummable melodies no band is going to make much of an impact on me. And that goes as much for my heavy metal as anything else. It’s one of the reasons that attracted me to Saxon in the first place, thirty-odd years ago.

And while there’s not necessarily the next Wheels of Steel or 747 (Strangers in the Night) on this album, there are certainly some strong and memorable songs here. Title track Battering Ram is a classic slice of Saxon and a strong opener.. Biff Byford’s voice is as powerful as ever and the album rocks hard as you would expect. But there is light and shade here, too. Proggy, choral backing vocals on tracks like Queen of Hearts add texture and atmosphere to the hard, driving guitar riffs.

Kingdon of the Cross, Byford’s poignant reflection on the slaughter of the First World War is another stand-out track on the album. “Comrades of their different coats, Came to fight and die, From all sides they stood and fought, And fell beneath the sky”. Apart from the choruses this track is delivered entirely in spoken word. That may sound strange for a Saxon track, but it works. In fact, Byford has such a wonderfully characterful speaking voice you could almost imagine him doing the voiceover for a BBC4 documentary.

Any some-time fan of Saxon who feared this is a band who had lost their way years ago should get this album and have those fears immediately dispelled. And don’t just take my word for it. “This is cool. What’s this music?” asked a friend’s 15 year old daughter when her and her mum popped round just as I was playing the album for the first time. Biff would be pleased, I’m sure.

Released: October 2015

http://www.saxon747.com/

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Rock: album review – Gaz Coombes ‘Matador’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , ,

Released in January 2015 I’ve come late to this but I’ve been following Gaz Coombes’ career pretty much since Supergrass burst on the Britpop scene with Alright in the mid 90s. Matador is Coombes’ third album outside Supergrass. The first, a covers album with Danny Goffey, released just before Supergrass called it a day, had the sound and feel of Supergrass in all but name. His next (and first solo album) Here Comes The Bombs, was a starker and more experimental affair, with Krautrock electronica influences clearly present. Matador continues in that vein to some degree but has a more mainstream feel to it. More accessible certainly but altogether a stronger album with stronger tunes.

It’s mature, quality songwriting. It is unmistakably Gaz Coombes, though, and listerners will recognise many of Coombes’ classic trademarks: reflective, sensitively delivered Bolanesque vocals leading up to frenzied, more manic delivery on the hook lines. Opening track Buffalo is a case in point and wouldn’t sound unfamiliar to anyone acquainted with some of the later era, more reflective Supergrass material. Detroit is another beatiful track in the same vein. The Girl Who Fell To earth with some gentle acoustic guitar, lush instrumentation and lovely vocals is another track I instantly warmed to.

This album is proof that the post-Supegrass Gaz Coombes is making a valid contribution to the UK music scene and it’s little wonder it’s been nominated for this year’s Mercury prize. Will I play Matador as much as play I Should Co-Co, In It For The Money or Life On Other Planets? Probably not. Will I play it lots? Absolutely.

Released: January 2015

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Welcome to Darren’s music blog

Album reviews, Folk music, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music

Live reviews, album reviews and more. From classic rock to contemporary folk.

Welcome to my music blog. I have fairly varied tastes in music: folk, rock, glam, heavy metal and more. My first ever gig was the Donington Monsters of Rock festival (Slade, Whitesnake, AC/DC…) back in 1981, aged 15. Live music has been an important part of my life ever since but, finding I have more free evenings than I used to, one of the things I was determined to do was see more live bands.  I am using this blog to post my reviews of many of the gigs I’ve been to, as well as occasional album reviews. Feedback is welcome so do please feel free to leave any comments.

For those bemused by the eclectic nature of the artists covered here, let me try and explain. Since being a teenager I have always enjoyed discovering and exploring different genres, but when I did chance upon a new discovery I was always adding to what I liked already rather than discarding anything. As a teenager, I started off getting intorock/metal around in the early 80s (Status Quo, AC/DC, Rainbow) but, prompted by the revival of Slade’s fortunes in 80/81, I  was soon also exploring 70s glam rock bands (Slade, Sweet, T-Rex). The pop-rock of the previous decade sounded so much more exciting than that of the 80s, which I had little interest in. Delving back into the 70s prompted me to start exploring the 60s, too, (The Stones, The Small Faces and notably The Byrds). As well as my love of glam rock and heavy metal, I acquired a love of the folk-rock sounds of The Byrds. But having, bit by bit,  bought up the entire back catalogue of The Byrds, I decided that if I enjoyed American folk-rock so much it might be time to start exploring British folk-rock, too (Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span). And through enjoying those bands so much it actually led to me to begin an appreciation of more traditional folk, too. Which pretty much explains my journey of musical discovery over the years and the eclectic range of reviews you will find on this blog.

Scroll down the home page to see all the gigs and albums I’ve reviewed. If you just want to see the rock stuff click here and if you just want to see the folk stuff click here.

Given my passion for live music I am also passionate about protecting our live music venues. More info here.

Feel free to quote from, link to or re-blog any of the reviews on this site. Thanks for visiting.

Darren

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