Author: jerobear
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Emilie Kahn: Outro
Kahn used to play as Emilie And Ogden — Ogden being her harp; happily they’ve not split due to musical differences and Ogden features in opener Swimmer. The word for that song is dreamy, but by track two you’re hoping for less dreamy and thankfully she picks up the pace, and an acoustic guitar, for…
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William the Conqueror: Bleeding On The Soundtrack
William The Conqueror has stepped up a notch for this album, in the same sense that Rocky Balboa steps up from debt collection to world title contender; we exaggerate a little as the last album Proud Disturber of The Peace was pretty good but this is world class. We’ve been fans since we saw him…
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Classic Clarinet
This CD is part of a series of CDs aimed at people who want to know more about an instrument, either as players or listeners. For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often where to start. This new series offers an easy answer to that question, as well as an…
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Javier Girotto Trio: Tango Nuevo Revisited
First of all what this isn’t: it’s not the kind of tango that’s evocative of svelte couples dancing in sensual fashion across a dance floor to music suggestive of a dodgy nightclub in Buenos Aries. This is more dance music as an art form. It’s a remake of an album, Summit, by Argentinean bandoneonist…
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Trinity Laban Wind Orchestra: Sousa – Wind Band Music Vol 18
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932) was the American composer known as “The March King”; you all know some of his tunes, as he wrote The Stars and Stripes Forever, the national march of the USA, Semper Fidelis — official march of the United States Marine Corps — and of course The Liberty Bell, the official march…
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Tim Fredericks: Singer Songwriter
This album, which we guess is a labour of love (they’re giving it away) is from a band that if not local is at least regional: members are from Crewe, Macc, Stoke and Manchester. The tracks on this were recorded between 2015-19, so we guess when money was spare. The opener is a full band…
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John McLeod: Complete Solo Piano Music
John McLeod CBE (born 1934) is a contemporary Scottish composer, and his love of the piano began as a schoolboy growing up in Aberdeen. This new (ish, we’ve had it some time) recording of his works for solo piano was made at four concerts given in the Stoller Hall, Manchester, as part of the Chetham’s…
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The Limiñanas: I’ve Got Trouble In Mind Vol II, Rare Stuff 2015/2018
French band The Limiñanas seem to get better with each album, even though, as with this, it’s a re-issue of old singles that weren’t meant to be a collection in the first place. This latest outing is rooted in cool French sixties pop, with some Ennio Morricone thrown in for good measure, and some solid…
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Carson McHone: Carousel
Forget all those bands with a new slant on country: McHone is from Austin, Texas, and she’s playing country as it should be played. You get fiddle, steel guitar and lyrics about broken hearts (hers) and no-good men (also hers, sadly). With Maybe They’re Just Really Good Friends you get the picture from the title,…
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Calva Louise: Rhinoceros
Who remembers The Subways? They’re still going (playing with the legendary Die Toten Hosen in Germany this summer), but long ago disappeared into their fanbase. They were a fun rock pop band, most notable for having a couple who split romantically but carried on the band. After an initial bursting on the scene they settled…
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