Category: Rock n roll

  • Tom Petty: American Treasure + Fleetwood Mac: 50 Years + Aretha Franklin: The Queen Of Soul

    Tom Petty’s American Treasure has been compiled by his family and it’s a collection worth getting for the acoustic version of Won’t Back Down alone, recorded live. The box set features live and personal favourites so it’s not your standard attempt to cash in. While some mourned the death of David Bowie, the loss of…

  • The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band: Poor Until Payday

      The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band do one thing and do it well, playing their old-fashioned country blues at 250 gigs a year from bars to festivals. The Rev plays authentic guitars, too: a 1930 steel-bodied National, a 1934 wood-bodied National Trojan Resonator and a 1994 reproduction of a 1929 Gibson acoustic, while drummer…

  • Shred Kelly: Archipelago

    Shred Kelly should be bigger, if they could only get some more variety. They blend folk and rock — almost prog in places — that makes individual tracks interesting, but leaves the listener unsure as to what they’re about. The punning name doesn’t help; they’re not a joke band. The title track opens and promises…

  • Cilla with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

    We have to confess that we didn’t spot this was with the Royal Liverpool Phil — we slapped it on and played it a few times, but Black’s 60s hits sound a little cheesy (see below), so the new orchestral arrangements didn’t initially sound out of place. Black was a singer first and foremost, and…

  • Powersolo: Bo-Peep

    This is one of those odd albums that some people will love, most people will hate (“Has someone been stabbed in there?” a person passing the Review Corner asked as it played). Powersolo is Kim Jeppesen and the Press notes, which try and make him seem like an enigmatic man with no name, say the…

  • Disturbed: Evolution

    We assume the title is ironic — Disturbed is the least evolved creation that ever walked the earth (after Status Quo). Despite hitting a more mainstream audience with a cover of Sound Of Silence, they play the same formulaic rock with which they hit the big time. Bands like Linkin Park at least made an…

  • Henge: Attention Earth

    We lamented over people complaining about the lack of new music in the Sons Of Bill review but Henge is an even better example: they’ve invented, or lest re-invigorated, a whole genre of music. It’s music like you’ve never heard before but it’s also instantly likeable. The basic sound is space rock, though as it…

  • Handsome Jack: Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

    There’s a bad moon risin’ down the bayou with Handsome Jack, who resurrect 60/70s bluesy rock ‘n’ roll to perfection on this album. Opener Keep On kicks things off: swampy blues guitar, tight drums and a voice so marinated in smokes and whisky it makes peak Rod Stewart sound like Walking In The Air era…

  • Biffy Clyro: MTV Unplugged (Live At Roundhouse, London)

    Biffy Clyro live are known for playing massive, stadium-pleasing songs, with their shirts off. This new CD is part of the reborn series of Unplugged shows, and shows how strong some of their songs are without the volume. The CD opens with the crowd chanting “C’mon The Biff” so they’re guaranteed a warm reception and…

  • Flaming Lips: Greatest Hits Vol 1

    The Review Corner has seen The Flaming Lips live countless times, we’ve danced on stage with them (when they had Santas and Aliens) and when two Review Cornerers got married, a Lips’ song (Do You Realize?) was the first dance. Just to say: we’re biased. This will not be a critical review. The Flaming Lips…