Playing tricks on me.

So, the weekend looms into view, the wife and me have a day to ourselves, the rest of the weekend I would be home alone, for two of the days as the wife has to work, I wanted to have a good time with only approximately 34 arguments……ok I was exaggerating 33!

Work was a grind, but by Friday the office was like the Marie Celeste, only us die hard’s (stupid people) at the helm. thankfully the chariot arrived and I ran away, only to discover 5 miles up the road that I had left my keys at work (D’oh) I didn’t intend to go back for them, I rang and got them put in a safe location, too late the jinx had started!

My knee had been giving me grief on and off all week , just niggling, nothing serious, I was talking (for once) to the wife and as I turned to reply and my knee went “POP” oh dear, not good, thankfully I have a brace for such occasions, I was soon trussed up like a Christmas turkey in sweet bliss, and I sat brooding for the remainder  of the evening, well I say that, but I had treated us to a Chinese meal and spent the rest of the evening comatose and drooling until I was pointed up the wooden hill!

Saturday came with high expectations, the wife had a chore to do and I didn’t want to stand in a ladies clothes shop (go figure) and I wanted some bacon, well I was off work, so I had time to do a proper breakfast instead of just gobbling toast, well I got the bacon and waited, then waited some more, and then you guessed it waited just a little longer, decided to take the bacon home as I wasn’t that far, went home, came back and then waited just a little longer, then we hit a couple of shops, picked up my prescription, it was at this point I then tried to have a little laugh with the wife, “HUGE FAIL” then we were at our respective corners for the rest of the morning, thankfully no gum shields were deployed.

I treat the miserable……I mean the wife to lunch at our local Spoons, it was an ok meal, and at least we were being civil again (only just) I was again trussed up, again the knee was not being co operative in any way, the wife went and dealt with the Kraken and returned we were back on a neutral standing. I was sent off for a soak and then got told off for being lying in the tub (WTF you told me……. ah let’s not go there) I was in pain at this point I wasn’t looking forward to the gig we were attending, I was but I knew I was going to suffer.

Thankfully we were soon in the car, unfortunately behind every funeral procession going, a 20-minute trip took nearly 45 minutes! we weren’t happy, we then had to circle the city centre for a parking spot, I wasn’t amused, but thankfully on the third circuit we got were we intended originally to park, we couldn’t at the first time of passing because of a police van arresting a drunk, oh how he laughed! A slow hobble to the venue, the wife did a trick with a water bottle (I won’t go into details it’s a family blog) and the then walk of shame to the box office to collect our passes, SMOR as always was a star and we were soon listening to the bands, I won’t go into too much detail as I intend to write a review (for WWBH – Tribal on Facebook as though you needed to be told) lets just say we had a great time with lovely people, the wife got her obligatory yearly Steve Overland picture, I had a brief conversation musically with him and he has more cunning plans on the go then me, and that’s some!

A quicker drive home with a quick cup of tea, with some chocolate and I was de trussed and soon off to the land of nod, I awoke this morning, made us both a lovely bacon sandwich sorry there’s none left! I did my few chores and then set about writing this blog (with a bag of tangy wine gums, I know I’m such a bad boy) and after this I have to write a review of the gig, oh what a busy day I have planned, my knee is trussed up again so my little walk I was planning is out of the question, after that I might just listen to some more music, hells bells I have more reviews to organise, at least I am happy (well sort of, just a little less grumpy) so enjoy your time off, I know I’m going to try, until the next time…….Toodles!

Jump In The Fire.

Damn that got complicated quick………. damn quick!

So, I did a few reviews and decided to do a music page, I’m glad I didn’t do a group, how times have moved on, Farcebook is all about connecting people, it’s not all about the big buck but it’s about connecting people……not, it’s all about getting you to spend your money, I did a local history page (cos that’s how I roll) when I first came on the social media scene, its membership soon  had four figures and then they changed policies wiped the group and I had to repost everything that got wiped, the membership never recovered, newer and better groups came along, I didn’t mind, I did it as a lark, it’s still going strong with around 500 members, hardly anything gets posted but hey ho as I keep telling people its my page, if you don’t like it jog on, I always was touchy feely.

Boy has things changed, they want to know the far end of a fart etc etc….. if I had known it was going to be this complicated well, I wouldn’t have bothered, however I have started now so  lets persevere, the one thing I didn’t want to be affected was this blog and that’s exactly what has been happening, so much music not enough time, I don’t want to review something with just one listen, I like to try and soak an album in even if I don’t like it, I want to wallow in its grooves, however that then creates friction, it would appear I have a family and I have to interact with them from time to time, I also have to go to work for something called money, allegedly I need this to  pay my bills, who knew, I certainly didn’t see that coming!

I have still been scribbling away (still old school) but nothing other than a few sentences that have hit a groove, must try harder is the order of  the day, I’m sure that I can do that, cunning plans are abound for the weekend, thankfully a live gig (Thank you SMOR) and a long weekend before a week from hell I suppose I will take it the chin for once and crack on,  I’m not going to mention work as its getting a tad twisted maybe a blog for another day, and before anybody asks yes I am nearly done with “The Whalers Dues” I really do hope its been worth the wait, I still need to cut some of the flab from it, literally let’s see what the weekend holds.

Health wise it is still crap, but hey ho I really do need to work harder on this as I am sick of being yuk on a daily basis, one or two people have intimated that I’m not really trying (probably trying to get a response) please believe me when I say I have never tried anything harder in all of my born days, this is not going to beat me, well it will in the end, however not without a massive kick from me!

So that’s the tale of woe for this time, hopefully the flood gates will open up and my writing will take it on to the next level, so keep spreading the disease for this blog and the music page on Farcebook, WWBH – Tribal have a look there might be something that you might like eventually, I do wish to say thank you to all the kind people who have said nice  things already, its early days yet, let’s see how it goes, until then Toodles!

Jizzy Pearl - All You Need Is Soul.

Jizzy Pearl – All You Need Is Soul. 6/10.

The album kicks in with the Love/Hate stylings of “You’re Going To Miss Me When I’m Gone” it stomps into the room like the big boy that it is, the vocals explode like a hand grenade, this is what Mr Pearl does best, a nice kind of power punk with great backing vocals, one down and then onto the its mate “Coming Home To The Bone” a similar vein type of rocker, it soon becomes apparent this is an album of formula, some better that others, some worse!

“High For An Eye” simply can’t shake off the AC DC overtones its not a bad track just something niggles in the back of my mind, this is kind of familiar, Thankfully the title track of the album offers up some redemption, a great track that proves Mr Pearl does have the chops to carry off a great album, however its short lived as we return to yet another mid-tempo rock song with “House of Sin” again it’s a nice track but its not great, the biggest fault for this album is the pacing of the album, you  have a smattering of good tracks spread between acoustic cuts and mid-tempo fillers!

“Mortified” sticks to the formula, its solid but is missing the pixie dust of magic, “Frustrated” is next and I bet he is, another mid-tempo plod along, these may work better live, but here its well-played but lacking some oomph! Thankfully another good track turns up just as interest was wandering, “When The Devil Comes” is a nice slow blues number and is full of swagger and muscle, we could do with some more of this as it seems to suit the band, back to the short stomp of “You Don’t Know” placed somewhere else on the album it might have had a chance to breath here it struggles to follow the last track, now we head to the obligatory ballad its like the 1980’s hasn’t happened yet, its not a bad song but could have fitted onto any early Poison or Bon Jovi album, “It Doesn’t Matter” does exactly what it says on the tin, and I do like it, I can see the dry ice and the lighters in the stadiums right now, then back to the formula another mid-tempo song and then the last song proper “Mr Jimmy” is great just the right amount of bile, a few more like this and the album would have scored much higher.

The bonus track is an acoustic version of “You Don’t Know” and this works better, maybe Mr Pearl should have chose the one he liked best and stuck by his convictions. This is not a bad album, its well-played, I enjoyed it and then the lack of variety made me lose interest, Jizzy I always thought would be the perfect replacement for Nazareth he always reminded me of a more musical Dan McCafferty, he always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, some of the album just doesn’t seem to get into gear, some of it rocks in a great massive way and the rest of it is……Bluuuuuuur!

What does stick out the most is a great lyric in “Mr Jimmy” the only good musicians are dead! Would I play the album again? Damn right I would, but it would be depending on my mood, there’s a few tracks that if I don’t fancy, I would flick past, this could have been so much better, hopefully next time.

Missing Persons.

Its been a poor end to the week, it always is when you wake up and somebody you know has passed, Mr S wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, the first words he ever spoke to me was to say fuck off, he then apologised as he thought I was some other ugly c***, I only ever had two deep meaningful conversations in all the time I knew him, both times about John Cooper Clark, yes the name game is in play and yes its………..ah you get the drift, I know Mr S will be missed by a cast of thousands, he was well loved and respected, and he knew how to throw a great party although his upstairs back door nearly killed just as many on that new year’s eve!

As always though the world will keep spinning, we ourselves need to move on, just remember to share the love with the people you love, make sure that people know and understand the depth of that love that you have, it really does make a difference!

The youngest daughter has returned for such a short visit but its been great to be in her company, lovely to do some cooking with her, hopefully she won’t take as long as too return, we do love her ……honest! as it has been a testing time in our household, our fridge freezer is grinding away like a Napalm Death album I can’t wait for the man too come and fix it on Thursday, please don’t be late I’m not sure how much more I can take.

Work has been a tad naughty as I found out on Thursday that I have an exam next Thursday so you can guess what I have been doing this week end, nothing like a secret being kept, ho hum it should be fun, as there’s at least ten of us doing the same revision this week end, that’s part of the reason for the blog being as brief as it is, I had intended (after much encouragement from some of you) to open a music Facebook page , that is still the plan, however my head may be a shed and full of useless crap  I do need to revise for the exam……………………..allegedly! Magnus hasn’t said whether he would like more reviews but I think I need some practice just in case he wants some, I wasn’t a boy scout, but I do like to be prepared!

I need to look after the Mrs as she is feeling run down (don’t worry I don’t drive) and we are on holiday in just over a fortnight so I need her to be rested, we aren’t going anywhere, however one of us always seems to be poorly on our holidays, something I am quite keen to avoid, this time around, mind you if we are well, I know that the Kraken will just kick off, that’s the way our life seems to go!

The blog has done quite well slogging away in the background, not massive numbers but there’s a group of people reading some of the older ones, that’s nice to see, soon  I will take over the world……..erm maybe not, however I do intend to spend my time equally between the blog and the music page, although the music page will take a lot longer to raise its profile, I said I needed a hobby, so tell the ones you love  that you love them and tell them that they matter, until after my exam, watch the skies for incoming , until then Toodles!

Little Caesar – Eight.

Little Caesar – Eight.      8.5/10

I have been a fan of Ron Young (lead singer of the band) since their debut came out, hell I even followed him all the way to Manic Eden (and he was the best thing in that band) then the world turned and music generally of this kind was sent off into the back rooms and bars of America, I was over the moon when I got this album to review, I had every appendage crossed I didn’t get a car crash of an album.

I needn’t have worried, it has everything that I like in an album, good songs with a great old-fashioned vibe, now that’s not to say that the album is perfect, its not, and that simply adds to its charm. The great thing about this album is that it is old fashioned, the band concentrate on the songs, not all flash and shred, not that anything wrong with those things, its simply not needed all the time, and its not needed at all on this album!

It all kicks in with “21 Again”, which is what most people wish that they could be, it also has a killer chorus, then straight into “Mama Tried” a freight train of a song maybe not as lyrically happy as it should be, but still a great song, Then we head to “Vegas” and the first track that doesn’t gel straight away, its good but its what makes the score on the album start to falter when you compare it to the rest of the album its simply OK, the rest of the album has big muscles this simply needs to go the gym, the rolling stones vibe style of “Crushed Velvet” continues down a similar path simply not my cup of tea, it’s OK simply not great.

Thankfully the album kicks back in with “Good Times” a muscular ball of fun which rocks along quite nicely, then we take a trip to ballad town with a song that just sips Jack and Coke all the way there, “Time enough for that” is a great song and a welcome pit stop and change of direction it also stops the album being one dimensional, Ron’s vocals are so sweet on this, good honest music with just a subtle hint of understated Hammond organ in there.

“Straight Shooter” could have come off any of the early Aerosmith albums, it has that attitude and vibe. This then rolls into “Another fine mess” which again reminds of me of classic Skynyrd, laid back with a nice touch of sass. “Morning” shows a softer (not in a bad way) side of the band with Ron’s voice suiting the styling, this shows a band that’s happy with flexing their musical muscles.

The album then ends with “That’s Alright”, back into old school Aerosmith but with some clever kind of Jellyfish style backing vocals, it shouldn’t work, but hell yeah it does, the copy of the album I have has two “Bonus” tracks and hell they should have been on here all along “Mixed Signs” and “Slow Ride” (no not the Foghat song) should have been well up the track listing, not bonus material at all but bonafide album tracks!

I know the album has been out a while but I only got it a fortnight ago and I’m so pleased to hear an album of this class, just because something is slightly old school doesn’t mean it should be dismissed out of hand it’s a great album and deserves a much wider audience than I bet it gets!

Sunny Disposition.

A return to blog writing and not reviewing music (which is harder than it looks) a week is a long time in my mind and the happy go lucky person who blogged last week is also a distant memory, I’m not unhappy, just sitting in the dark in the back of the house seems to have suited my mood today.

The sun is back, and although I am a fan of blue skies I’m not a huge fan of the brightness or the heat, me awkward? go figure, I’m not crawling back into my shell, I am quite happy (ish) well mmmm maybe I am, who knows who cares!

The last two blogs have been reviews and although they haven’t generated massive numbers they have done well and the response from you lot has been good, much better than anticipated, but no I am not being paranoid about the redneck infestation, I’m simply doing as I’m told for once. The response from Magnus the gentleman that I have done the reviews for has been good, although he has told me off twice for breaking the 600-word limit (604 & 611 respectively) I am struggling with the third one as it’s a third strike and I’m out kind of deal, just a lot more polishing, but I have to deliver by Thursday so, I have to be a good boy, for those of you who are interested it’s Little Caesar – Eight, watch this space.

So, I have a day to myself and the intention is to do lots of little chores and not fall out with the wife anymore this weekend, one blow out is quite enough, even though she is at work at the moment, there is still a huge scope of opportunity for us to have a massive fall out, the rest of the week is earlies, which will have me dead on my feet by Friday with a quick return late shift stuck in the middle just to screw with my internal clock!

My health is still crap, and to be honest it’s the one thing that is doing my napper in, I am doing all the good things that I have been tasked with doing, it’s a boring lifestyle and I still feel like hammered shit most of the time, I still have a pile of beer (and limes) in the fridge however I don’t have the inclination to get stuck into it, WTF! The blogs I have been writing and working and polishing are going into my “maybe later” vault as they all have taken a turn to the black side, not in a bad way just there’s a thread that seems to be running through them all and its one thread I would like to cut, the only one that could raise its head is “The whalers dues” I’m still liking this one, but I need to get rid of the black and inject some humour!

So a busy week ahead writing wise and hopefully some good stuff to post, I am trying to steer clear of negativity as much as I can, I think I have surprised some people with the reviews I think peeps thought that the Rainbow one would get ten out of ten as well, I did like it, however I didn’t love it, here’s hoping I get to keep within the 600 word limit and Magnus sends me some more, so if you are so inclined go enjoy the sun, good company and if you can get it good food, play nice and watch the skies, until the next time……………..Toodles!

Rainbow - Memories in Rock.

Rainbow – Memories in Rock II. 7/10.

This was always going to be a difficult album to review, a childhood hero taking a backwards step, back to a time when he was the king of the world, this wasn’t going to be that journey.

No Judy Garland but the familiar strains of Over the Rainbow get the ball rolling and straight into Spotlight Kid, this sets the tone for the remaining 23 tracks (yes I got the Japanese version) the tone feels decidedly light weight, there’s no aggression, there’s no frenetic pace there’s’ no gasping for breath, this is not 1978, then the singles start, I’m sorry I don’t want to listen to the jukebox hits, I want to hear the real mastery, the gut wrenching riffs and the single high speed notes, it’s well played but it’s not what I expect or what I crave.

The main thing for me is the set list, a very similar set list to the previous tour, there are far too many Deep Purple tracks, yes, he plays them better than his old band, but there is something missing, instead of Mistreated, why couldn’t we have Love’s No Friend? Why Child in Time, I have loved just about everything I have heard with Deep Purple and Rainbow, but over the years, I hear the same tracks over and over, to be honest I feel slightly let down this time around. If you are going to do Deep Purple do a couple of medley’s not full tracks. Or is it simply easier to stick to what comes easy, the hits are not what everybody wants!

The band perform well, not great just well, it just doesn’t have the magic touch of previous line ups, maybe if they did a longer tour it would feel more like a band, I could imagine after 30 odd dates Ronnie Romero being locked in as tight as a nut, they never seem to hit the right groove, I don’t mean to sound hyper-critical, but I have followed this Guitar God since I was 7, I remember the gigs I have seen, or the bootlegs I have heard, You Tube has taken the shine off the apple, I have watched every gig since the band has reformed  and I mean every gig, Mr B seems to be having fun and at his age that’s all that matters, yes I did get the Japanese copy (old habits die hard) there are some additional tracks, Land of Hope and Glory and a new version of I Surrender, they sound like demo’s they make it seem as though, lets see what we have and stick them on, I would have preferred full blown proper recordings of them, the new song Waiting For a Sign saves the day, the potential is there, but its almost like he doesn’t want to like it too much just in case once he lets rip, that there is no way of putting the madness back in the bottle!

Why No Arial, Black Masquerade, Eyes of the World, Gates of Babylon and oh why no Jealous Lover? the band has so much potential but seems that they are happy to sit at the back and simply walk along a similar path, when they should be strutting and preening like the days of Yore. I have enjoyed this, I know you may not think it, I wanted to love it, I don’t, but I do like it, that’s not the same! but if I’m being honest I would like Mr B to go back to making the music he loves, I wait with baited breath for the next Blackmore’s Night Album!