Four on the Floor Volume 5.

Cats in Space – Kickstart the Sun – 9/10.

I can honestly say that this band is AWESOME, there i said it, stunning vocals exceptional song writing, playing that suits the songs and doesn’t disappear up its own arse in a sea of widdly widdly! I discovered the band with their Scarecrow album and members have changed slightly over the years, but the quality of the band simply grows and grows, the only downside to this brilliance is that the world has dumbed down to cookie monster vocals and de tuned riffs they simply don’t have an understanding of this level of excellence anymore, I know its not everybody’s cup of tea but godamn it’s so bloody good, but why only a nine, well a perfect score is reserved for perfect albums and although its really good its not quite perfect although it does try and try bloody hard! The only complaint I have is that its simply too many songs, and its not that the songs are poor but people’s attention spans kind of wanders, a lot of those classic albums are in the 35/40-minute mark. What songs would I pick I have no idea I have rocked this album everyday for the last 9 days and different days bring different moods, it’s a minor bitch, this deserves to be huge as do the band, long may they reign and yes, I can’t wait for the next one!

John Norum – Gone to Stay – 5/10.

I had seen a few reviews for this album and it got me thinking it could be good, and while there are a few good ideas I hate the vocals, I hate the David Bowie cover (I’m not a fan of Bowie to be honest I would have preferred the laughing gnome now that would have been good)I have most of his solo albums but in all honesty it simply didn’t float my boat I’m not going to witter on about it, if it was a school report it would say “could do better” lets see what he delivers next go back to what you were doing when you started playing classic bloody rock music!

Lonely Robot – A Model life – 8/10.

I enjoyed the first three albums that had a loose concept running through them, the forth one I though the quality dropped, maybe John Mitchell was simply spreading himself I little thin, I approached this one with a degree of trepidation, I needn’t have worried, the quality has returned and its not what most people would expect, I love it, its not rock, its not metal, its something just a little different, and its all the better for it, again it’s not instant, it takes a few plays but it bleeds into you, some nice atmospheric touch’s weird piano bits and simply sprinkled with magic.

Kings of Mercia - Kings of Mercia – 8/10.

This one came from leftfield simply because I thought Steve Overland was simply singing one song, but no he does the whole album, I liked it at first but thought, it should have been someone different as the main vocalist, but no the more I played it the more it made sense, and I enjoyed it more and more, with Jim Matheos as the main man backed by Joey Vera (Armoured Saint and Simon Phillips on drums (who has played with everybody, just do some research) it’s a good solid album that gets better with repeated plays, go on give it a go you might be surprised…..I was1

 

So a bloody surprise that its all new music, and I already have the next bloody blog prepped (WTF) so read play some of the music you never know you might just  like it, so until the next one stay safe stay alive and until then …..Toodles.

Step up to the Plate.

Well, that was like Mr Toads wild and wacky ride, I had to do a four on the floor blog, simply as I got a shit ton of flak from a few people, nobody important, however they did complain to the site and I got a sensitive warning posted to the blog, WTF why, I’m still awaiting a response, I’m not holding my breath but it just goes to show, if you complain enough, you can make a difference…………. NOT!

This is just a tad late as the last blog kept plugging away, I thought I would let it build away and make some hay while the sun was shining metaphorically, although the world was spinning, I seemed to be in a small rut and although I wasn’t down or even out, I was in a bit of a fug, things have been gathering a pace, I simply couldn’t get any traction, funny that!

Family matters are not the best(health wise) and no I am not going to go into it here, life is shit but I am there for the family, however because of what has been going on I decided to look at my own frailties, I decided I would get to grips with them and try my best to defeat them at least in one battle, I failed at the first hurdle I tried to make an appointment only to be told to do an E consult, when I tried to do that, well it appears not even diabetes is covered under the headings so yes I failed and failed big style, I rang the surgery to ask about it and the nice lady was as much use as an axe in the head!

I finally got my MRI for my head 11 months to the day after my accident/fall, and while I have one or two little niggles my head and jaw were/are the biggest issues, some days its all good in the hood and other days its shit, my appointment was for Sunday, as always, I got there in plenty of time, didn’t matter someone got pushed into the list so I was there for 40 minutes twiddling my thumbs before the lady came for me. Paperwork complete I was quite happy as I had done this before, this time was slightly different, the last time was for my knees, this time for my head, I was clamped into a frame and then pushed in backwards, damn I was in a real panic, I very nearly asked to be let out but I grew a set, and stayed the distance, all 17 minutes of it, my head was racing all the way through it, I hope there’s nothing seriously wrong as I really don’t want to do that again, I’m getting chills thinking about it now.

Since then, I have immersed myself in music and work, work has been kind of meh, but the music has been a blast, and no I won’t tell you what as some of it will be in the next four on the floor blog, a little hint one could be a south African rock band from 1979! Yeah, I like some weird shit. Today I have chores (which are complete) and then there will be more supporting of the people within range, I can be a good person from time to time (allegedly).

So what will the coming weeks be bringing more support of the family, more work and tons more music and hopefully some good vibes to go with that, as for the blog I have a couple starting to simmer away, but if the previous one is still getting hits I may end up with a bottleneck of ideas, so I think it will be a kind of watch this space for a while, but as I have already said it’s all good in the hood, thank you to all the nice people who got in touch even the one or two who in a nice way told me off about interacting, I hear you all message received and you must have confused me with someone who gives a shit I will continue to post what I want even if it can be drivel/waffle at times I am if nothing but consistent!

And that’s another one done, stay safe, stay alive and watch the skies for incoming there will be another one along soon (honest) I simply haven’t decided which of the tree I am contemplating will come first, watch this space is all I can confirm, so until the next time thank you and from me its………..Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Volume 4.

Jack Green – Humanesque – 8/10

This was a strange one, my brother arrived home with it from our local record emporium (remember those days), I had never heard of him, although upon the dawn of the internet I looked him up, it turns out he played for T-Rex and then the Pretty Things, allegedly he was a member of Rainbow for all of 3 weeks before Roger Glover decided that he wanted to join the band, but not before Mr B played a tasteful solo on I call, no answer, is it the best track on the album, no but it is the best solo, as for the rest of the album I loved it, like a British Rick Springfield meets Elvis Costello a similar touch, it was one of the albums I lost when I was burgled in 1983, although I had it on tape so I could play it on my Walkman as I travelled around the UK watching bands, I still love the album all these years later I received a digital copy yesterday and so far have played it 7 times, yes I like it.

Deep Purple – Turning to Crime – 1/10.

I love this band in most incarnations, although since Mr B left the quality control has been dodgy to say the least, this is horrible, I don’t mind cover albums but this should have been locked up and the key thrown away, I look forward to an album with Simon McBride as I think he is better fit to the band than Steve Morse, a super guitarist ( and all round nice guy) but I never felt the connection, this is my personal opinion if you like it, good luck to you, I heard it when it was released and hated it from the second I played it, I have given myself some distance but it hasn’t improved any, I still hate it, and I think I would rather gnaw my foot off then have to endure it again. 49.45 minutes of my life I will never get back and to think Bob Ezrin produced it, maybe he needs to go back on the drugs, utter shite!

Man Raze – PunkFunkRootRock -7/10.

When this was released back in 2011 I loved it , it disappeared under the onslaught of new music, but every now and then it would surface, A member of Def Leppard/Girl, a member of Girl and a Sex Pistol what could go wrong, not a lot really, it hasn’t lost its charm, it also comes across as something more than a vanity project, it has had money spent on it, and its charm shines through on the songs with a bit of energy when its required, I do admit I prefer this to Def Leppard its more up my street, give it a chance you will love it! I saw them support Alice Cooper on my birthday for this album and I thought it went well, well until I thought I was going to get stabbed for shouting for Hollywood Tease, but that’s another story

The Cult – Under the Midnight Sun – 3/10.

I thought I should do at least one new release and to be honest I struggled, I never got them, I thought they were a tribute band, and always thought Astbury was a dick, but I have matured and thought I would give them another chance, I had seen a few interviews with the band saying it was a seminal release, and…..well I still don’t get it, they leave me cold, they can all play and sing, they can write songs but damn it, it leaves me colder than a corpse that has been in a morgue for a week,  don’t worry I don’t care for led Zeppelin for exactly the same reasons, if you like it good luck to you and all that sails with you, and it is still better than the afore mentioned Deep Purple (well more like a Gillan) album that’s already been reviewed earlier.

White Feather.

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Among the Living.

 

So, this one has gone off in a different direction, not in a bad way I don’t think, but not where it was intended, everything had been going in the right direction, some bumps in the road (some big ones but we are staying positive) I was trying my best not to spiral away, I tried but it didn’t work, thankfully I wasn’t depressed, I just a bit angry, I am not going to bore you with the details as its work related, I am still amazed that clots do indeed rise to the top, they may be educated but they are ignorant and as thick as pig shit!

I got over that blip, but it destroyed the serene mood that I had been aiming at, I don’t do angry these days, well not as much as I used to, Thankfully I try and remain zen like, that maybe because I’m getting old and decrepitate, I’m not sure, I’m more like a slow diesel engine as opposed to a rocket powered super jet, just as well as angry doesn’t get you very far I have discovered!

I had been having a discussion with someone from work about how some people can be  antisocial, not generally me, well I was meaning me, but I don’t think that they caught my drift, I don’t think that I am very social at times, I can wear a happy face but in reality, I am just a tad antisocial, I don’t make new friends easily, I can be user friendly, but not friendly, I’m sure that you understand what I mean.

Do I have friends well yes I do, but my really old friends, people I knew when I was a teenager (yes that old) I love bumping into them for that couple of minutes, but they moved on, that’s their choice not a complaint, I have been back in my hometown for nearly twenty years and only one has ever come a calling (and he is my oldest friend) admittedly he came calling because he was after something (and I was grateful that he came)  but it kind of underlined that they let me hang round with them because they could, now it’s a friendly hello but everybody has moved on they all look incredibly happy, me I just look sour faced all the time. Before you all shout at me for it being a two way street, I get that but I did do a lot of the facilitating travelling big distances to little avail, it is what it is do I miss them well yes of course I do, but the world keeps turning.

My friends from Durham (read The Dawn Patrol) it turns out that there is only 2 left, 12 of the group have died in the last two years a couple with covid and some with major ailments, my wife has tons of friends or at least people to talk to, all I have now is the south shields massive, unfortunately Co-vid has put paid to our trips down the hill to visit, I miss those weekends, however one of the bumps in the road (a rather major one) has basically curtailed even the smallest of road trips, I do miss the Tee Hee Club, I am confident that we will rise again like a phoenix, or rather a drunken mob at some point!

 

Warning! Here comes the morbid bit, I have decided that when I die, the wife can do what ever she wants with me, the cheapest way is simply to be cremated (the Co Op is the cheapest about a grand for the function of burning my ass, I don’t want a funeral with three people in attendance, they don’t miss me when I’m a live I don’t want them turning into hypocrites, wailing and gnashing of teeth saying I was a good egg, obviously I wasn’t otherwise you would have kept in touch, but I digress, she can donate me to medical science I don’t care I will be dead do with me as you see fit!

The reason for this blog well  I have had a number of new readers, who try to interact with me, and I simply won’t, read the early blogs and understand why I am just a little distant, I have no intention of going back to the Myspace days, was the readership bigger, hell yeah it was almost twenty times the readership that I have now, this is quite tidal with good times and slow times, I’m happy with it, I get to vent my spleen, and you lot seem to enjoy it, and although I do read the interactions, I tend not to reply directly, yes I know if I did my historical ones the readership might grow, but to be honest some of the memories although great at the time, would be very painful to dredge to the surface, but some of you new people are quite happy to get a mention in print, the questions that asked are being saved for a new “Now Hear This” blog that is about the only way I directly interact, so watch this space you never know a query from yourself might just get picked, yes the are some old hands that I will interact with (Broadsword calling Danny Boy, Sabine, Nils and a couple of others) but trust me I am not doing this to make friends, I am simply trying to get to the finish line in one piece!

So, that’s it, another one gone faster than the speed of light, I am a lot happier doing spur of the moment blogs than trying to write war and peace epics, that doesn’t mean that you won’t get one at some point, I have a couple of memories that I think have the potential to be good historical but not musical, I’m not sure if I am brave enough to venture that far back in the mists of time, so keep spreading the disease, yes the name game is in play, click like, share or whatever you do as the numbers are…..consistent, so until the next time, take care and stay alive, until the next time………….Toodles!

Four on the Floor – Volume 3.

Gasoline – Gasoline – 9/10

This album is a blast and I promise you I won’t waste time as I wax lyrical, its everything that you need in an album its fun with a capital F! I will admit to knowing 50% of the band although it’s been I while since I have enjoyed their company although (part of) their alter ego band (The mighty Bessie and the Zinc Buckets played my hometown whilst me and the wife were away on a short holiday, it’s a conspiracy I tell you) the band is ¾  French but that is not apparent, it rolls with a good old fashioned swagger, I won’t bore you with all of the tracks, but I will say that if Love train was released and got some airplay on Radio 2 I reckon it has “HIT” written all over it, I can just see the video now, at least we won’t have Kev in a wedding dress! the album was my go to album for about a fortnight going back to and from work its just the right timeframe, the playing is tasteful and not too flashy the playing supports the material, I really can’t wait for another album this is sooooooooooo good!

 

Journey – Freedom – 5/10.

I do Like this band, I like 90% of all of their recorded material and the various line ups, but this just left me feeling Meh! I had about 6 attempts at getting into it, and I struggled, its well-played, well written but ultimately it simply feels bland, I couldn’t get motivated about it, there’s 15 tracks maybe that’s the problem, just pick your 10 best and put that out, some tracks seem to last forever, the biggest hits they have released got in got out and did the job, these kind of don’t, it feels like a totally joyless exercise, the complete opposite to the Gasoline album, they should have called the album Serious instead of Freedom as there is a complete lack of FUN in this slab of (alleged) rock. No doubt at some point I will attempt to play it again and you never know it may blow my mind (I have my doubts) but if I listen to it again anytime soon, I may just blow my mind out using both barrels of a bloody shotgun, file it under Meh!

 

Ted Nugent – Detroit Muscle – 2/10.

An artist I truly loved right up until about 2010 when his weird political rants seemed to take over, the last decent effort from Uncle Ted was Craveman 2002 you had to go all the back to 1980 to Scream Dream for the last totally consistent record, after that he has chased every fashion going, with piss poor line ups and poorly conceived albums, the last 10 or so years its like he has lost his mind and then its like his mouth is in overdrive spewing buckets of bile, I don’t care if he hunts, owns guns drives cars fast, he has turned into a dick and the music has as well, gone are the days of the whiplash bash, he should retire and just play with his toys, he no longer tours stadiums it looks like small clubs, there’s a reason for that it’s your mouth, playing the same riffs over and over again, can he play hell yeah, can he sing, not really bring, back Derek St Holmes (oh I’m sorry you don’t like having to pay him)  I hope he doesn’t release any more sub standard albums like this, he has killed his own reputation.

 

UFO – Obsession – 9/10.

After the last two out pouring's of drivel, I felt the need to go back to the 70’s for some feel good vibes, I can remember quite vividly the day that my brother bought this album as if it was yesterday and I can remember listening with my jaw hanging  loose, I liked the previous albums but this one simply blew me away, it had the songs, the production, the band were firing on all six cylinders, ask a fan to name their fave studio album and I bet they would just about all say this album, there is nothing wrong with this album, so why the 9 scoring, well simply its no Rainbow Rising which to me is the greatest rock album ever recorded, this is a pretty close second in my eyes, go on play this and just feel the soaring feelings of joy that you get whilst listening to this, I think why I struggle with most modern albums is they try and fill it up with 70 + minutes when in reality we would be happy with a cracking album that clocks in at 30 odd minutes of class, UFO went on a decline after this all be it a slow decline, have they made good albums since this, yes they have but this is the pinnacle, oh those glory days!

 

I have listened to tons of great music since the last musical excursion, I thought I had to be honest, I don’t intend to simply put on good reviews, I will put up how I feel after I have played them, Gasoline is the album of the month for me, buy it, from streaming services or try and get a physical copy, I’m hoping to get to see them live at some point because I reckon there will be more mayhem than at a Buckets gig, oh the sheer wonder of a live gig! These have done good numbers I don’t expect them to do the same numbers as the proper blog, but I like how its going, onwards, watch the skies for more incoming and until the next time………………Toodles

 

By the way these are my opinions you don’t have to agree with me, it’s how I feel on the day 6 months from now I might love and album I hated and vice versa its only a bit of fun so suck it up buttercup!

Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip.

No, I haven’t lost my mind, the name game is in play it’s what I am listening to at the moment so google it if you have to cheat.

Life as always bimbles on and I seem to bimble along with it, good news or bad news I seem to shrug my shoulders and simply keep trying to move forward. The Four on the floor blogs seem to have found a niche and they are trickling with good days and bad days sometimes nobody reads them then other days you get 13 hits in 22 minutes, I have no idea why, that is why I am simply bimbling along, I am preparing the next four on the floor but its not set in stone just yet, as I am indeed playing a lot of music.

So, what have we been doing of late, well we had a brief jaunt off to the north of the country, yes we crossed the border and headed to bonny Scotland , the weather was unseasonly warm, we hired a small cottage between haddington and Dunbar and kicked back just a little, a slow drive up the military road to avoid the traffic on the direct route we took the old military road the only thing that spoilt that journey was the possibility of a traffic cam flash as we overtook a slow electric car (the driver must have been about 90 and could have hardly see over the stirring wheel) we wait with baited breath to see if a notice arrives in the post.

We kicked back the first night and did what we like to do most, which is very little if we can, I read a biography on Cozy Powell (meh) and the wife played with her switch. The next morning I was up with the larks (no surprise there then) the wife was up quite early for her I didn’t have to poke her with a stick, cunning plans were afoot, typically we didn’t follow them, we headed off down narrow country lanes and found a Deer farm, then managed to get into Dunbar (where I had my first ever holiday at the tender age of 5) and we dawdled went to the harbour and looked out to sea, shame really as it has a fantastic beach but the tide was in, we dawdled along the opposite side of the street and the wife spotted a record shop (heaven) we had a good sort through and I was a good boy I only bought 4, it definitely lifted my spirits we called into a garden centre for a spot of lunch and had a fab meal, we could have split either meal between us and still have been stuffed, cracking meal and it kind of stopped us in our tracks, we wandered a bit further afield but the grub had really stifled us, so we headed back to base for another quiet night, I know we are getting old, the next day the same process, except this time I had a slight lie in, please note a lie in for me is anything past 5.30 in the morning, this was 6.10 I was happy, a late breakfast for us, and then time to head out again this time to Haddington were walked around the village a little but headed to our fave “Bistro” the waterside the clock struck 12 and we walked through the door for lunch, the food as per was out of this world a starter a full Sunday lunch and a pudding we waddled out of the place across the bridge and collapsed into the first available seat.

We did venture further afield, which was good when you consider what we had eaten, but we did eventually throw our hands in defeat and head back to base, another glorious day and after we had settled, we decided to start the job of packing up, a little less to do in the following morning, I finished the biography (a 5 out of ten for me) then off to bed and to sleep. We were up about the same time I let the wife snooze a little longer as I finished the packing, we had a light breakfast and then set off, we headed back via the motorway and the traffic was crap we finally got home and decided we need to do that some more, I just have to find a bank to rob, as it was bloody expensive, and all the banks in Gimpsville have just about closed. I had had a couple of great ideas for a blog but had to neglected to bring the infamous black book so they were lost to the ether, you think I would learn, I seem to have gotten out of the habit of being a blogger (something I must rectify) as I lie awake at night trying to remember the structure of the snowflake of an idea, I rarely do, so its back to carrying a little black book, don’t say that you haven’t been warned!

Then back to work I miss the old place of work simply because I could play bus seat bingo just about every single journey, my current place of work, I’m not the first on the bus anymore, but sometimes I do manage it and boy does it piss people off, it’s the simple things in life! One thing that doesn’t change is the pain my knees on the walk to my bus connection and because of the weight of my bag that I carry my hips have decided to join in, its not good, it lets me know that I am a mere mortal, I really am too old for all of this shit! To make matters I fell onto my knees at work from a height onto a stone staircase, thankfully nobody saw but the rest of this week was crippling with little chance of recovery.

The trip to Scotland by now seemed like a lifetime away, there was some sad news as a lovely person from work passed suddenly, there was a chill and subdued vibe for the rest of the week, I hobbled to the finish line on Friday, but the wife insisted that we needed supplies so I was dragged around but we didn’t stay long when I’m in pain I always have a cunning plan, we went to the nearest shop scooted around and then headed home. I continued with the iPhone treachery by adding new “old” albums but I am being careful as I don’t want to break the first new phone, I have had in 4 years, there’s time enough for that. Last night I was checking on the blog as I tend to do, since I started blogging on here 11 years ago I have had nearly close to 85000 hits, that does thaw the frozen brick in my chest.

Going forward there are some rocks in the road and I need to be able to support the wife as she supports a member of her family, there will be some dark times ahead, but I will be there to help here every step of that journey. The Hurricane is still with us and is great for about 98.5% of the time, we are trying to help him, we are trying to make sure that life can be a little easier for him bless him he’s 11 and all I want to do is help him steer his ship, he has been good company, although I swear he is trying to kill himself on that bloody scooter, its only a matter of time before we have a broken bone, he has the safety gear we just need to make sure he wears it.

The new cooker has an issue that has had two visits to fix and we have been warned that it could happen again, I thought that the wife might strangle the engineer, thankfully she didn’t, he was simply trying to give some good advice,  as I gather my thoughts whilst taking notes for this blog I’m looking around the office and because it’s a Friday its like the Marie celeste (look it up  if you don’t get the reference) and no matter what happens life goes on, another week crawls to an end, no matter whether its been a good week or a bad week.

My addiction to the internet appears to be broken, once and for all I seem to only go on twice a week to check any email, and to post a blog if I need to,  I can hear the wife shouting at me to come back and join the real world, I will finish up the longest blog this year,  I will head off to interact with real live people, you never know I might get to like it, as I said earlier Four on the floor is next after this and some damn good music is going to get reviewed, lets just see what tomorrow brings!

And so as this blog draws to a close remember to spread the disease, click like share whatever lets see if we can do another 85000 hits and for it not to take another 11 years, onwards take care and stay alive, until the next time…………. Toodles!                                AND YES, THE NAME GAME IS IN PLAY!