DECEMBER 2007 CD REVIEWS

DOM SMITH REVIEWS THE OUTPUT FROM BBC3’S MUSICAL CRUCIBLE ‘SINGING WITH THE ENEMY’....

Singing With The Enemy is an inventive and entertaining take on the melding of two completely opposite musical genre’s. It’s like MTV’s mash-up but with real hard working British bands and artists. Each of these entity’s have worked hard every day to carve a reputation for themselves in their chosen style. Suddenly they are plunged in at the deepest end and challenged again to re-invent themselves. Here, girl groups are forced to work with death-metal behemoths. The greatest idea for a music program in recent times is upon us. What will this mean for the future of these brave acts as they stuggle to record together in just one week and share a roof at the same time! When all the smoke is cleared, what will the response be and will Producer Tommy D’s career remain intact? As the artists themselves perform a live gig together at the end of it all?

Code 5 & K-tron AND The Exploding Triangles
A twisted blend of electro sleaze and intelligent rhythm and blues, repetitive chorus and a dark undertone make this surprisingly attractive. The first minutes would not be out of place on a top ten record and this is because they are clearly dominated by the talented and Westlife baiting boy band Code 5. As the melody continues it leads into something far more menacing as female fronted K-Tron provide disturbing backing vocals and soaring guitars.
Don Diva & Apollo Strings
Rap blended with classical has worked before, but this is entirely different. The Strings provide a prolific build up throughout will Don Diva’s fast paced lyrical style running like the wind over the top. A dramatic pause is added mid way through, probably so the Divas can take a darn breath, then it alls starts again. The strings give the song a heart wrenching quality and heighten the understanding of the personal story of conveyed by the hip-hop trio who seemingly release their collective soul through this song. “Free My Soul” brings a whole new meaning to the adage: “Get the violins out.” One more pause, and then “the Don” take complete control breaking out in true cockney hip-hop. Vitriolic and proud they through lines so easily while Apollo Strings provide a background that would have taken any run of the mill act months to achieve, let alone a week.
Fallen Angelz & Amputated
Pop meets death metal, now this is great fun! Angelic female vocals lead into brutal heavy guitars, and a barrage of drums. Growling and heavy vocals ala’ Dimmu Borgir take over until the Atomic Kitten style words of the Fallen Angelz kick in for good measure on this terribly entertaining song. For this, The Angelz bring in pretty choruses and sex appeal while Amputated just bring noise. The styles do clash, but in a testament to the musicianship of both acts (and the production skills of Tommy D) they make it work. Though unfortunately, it’s not going to be a hit for either of them… unfortunately.
Lyrically Scar’d & The Dirty Cakes
This driving tune is a crazy mix of Lethal Bizzle style rap quality and a keyboard driven aural assault in the vain of heavier Radiohead or Muse work. It’s a weird and wonderful cabaret of sound with effective breaks and a real sense of style. Though it’s not particularly commercial it works very well and tells the tale of two minds coming together to create and intelligent and infectious tune. If there was ever a point to this show, this kind of work is it.
Lethal Fixx & Severed Heaven
An all around heavy effort, this concoction sounds a little bit like if Thin Lizzy were to go really, really metal for the day. This is where the melding of styles has been most successful at least in terms of cohesion and overall similarity between the two styles. The 80’s power riffs and Lethal Fixx’s glam punk elements work like a charm alongside the sheer metallic fury of female 5-some Severed Heaven, who provide furious blood curdling vocals. Basically what is left is the foundation for a blinding rock tune that could be a major hit. I see sell out co-headline tours in the future for these two acts. A “metalheads” paradise indeed.
Paparazzi Whore & Dweeb
The sheer punk aesthetic of Hull’s PW should smack the teeth through the face of the Jazz-funk fusion that is Coventry’s God loving Dweeb? No No, in-fact both bands embrace each others sound and create a scintillating hybrid of musical wonder sperm. A cracking industrialised opening sets off proceedings with a bang, when the beats are unleashed the bodies will move. Dweeb, provide a thundering rock chorus and Paparazzi keep things going with their trademark punk artillery throughout this massive tune. At the very least to put pictures to this sound think: Abba on speed and tons of booze! Interested? You should be!

THE SHINKICKERS : LIVE

If you are into Rory Gallagher, then you will understand why this album is important to me. The great man sadly passed away 12 years ago, but good music transcends time, I’m stunned and delighted by the amount of young Rory fans who say hello through myspace - long may this continue. I had seen Rory many times in the 70’s/80’s and to me, The Shinkickers take me back to when I was there, for that I will be eternally grateful.
Gerry Quigley as a guitarist must be a rock/blues god in Australia. If not, may I suggest a national debate to put this right. I’ve not seen them live (only video), but he even looks like Rory. And his playing, wow. What a talent. However it would be wrong to single out just Gerry as The Shinkickers is a combination of some of the most talented musicians I have had the pleasure to listen to. Paul Daly sings from his soul (check out the lyrics for DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, when he sings the line “you turn my darkness into light”, or BURY ME DEEP, “I can’t swim so don’t let go” and tell me he doesn’t mean what he is saying. Awesome. The harp is Rory for me, but maybe it’s now Rory AND Paul. You can’t sound like that by imitating, it’s got to come from somewhere deep inside. There’s eight great tracks but I’ll mention just one for the time being, which is Last Night (It’s about 18 minutes long, starts with what I thought were whale noises and then takes me back to 1972, Newcastle City Hall, the first time I had seen Mr Gallagher live and also the first time a harmonica had been introduced to me as a cool instrument - you judge for yourself and make up your own mind. I can only give you honest feedback from where I see it, but give yourself a treat and listen to this track when you buy the album). Great mix of talent, heart, soul and superb music. rob scott

Grammatics : Shadow Committee single

Grammatics sound like they really know what they’re doing. The members of the York originated Leeds based angular rock group each make brilliant use of their constituent parts, all the more interesting thanks to one of those parts being a cello. “Shadow Committee” starts off all razor sharp, off kilter riffery and big chorus mixed with a twisted melody before disappearing off into a blissed out wistful coda of equally tuneful passion. It twins musical experimentation with gutsy performance in a way which sounds completely natural. “Broken Wing” is more straight forward, a mournful lament but one that’s still been put through the Grammatics Device to give it a spiky and creepy feel. Their ability to sound on the edge of control without ever losing it reminds me of the way the Mars Volta guide you through a scary landscape, but one which you are ultimately the richer for traversing. Superb. ? martin cordiner

Naked Lunch : Military of the Heart single

Formed in 1991 and with a career that has included nights in jail and burned down studios (unconnected incidents, I should add), Naked Lunch have been through it, but deserve to still be around. “Military of the Heart” begins with what sounds like a Mothercare item called My First Accordion before bursting out into a shiny hand holding anthem of love and happiness. It feels like it would be at home with the Flaming Lips, such is its playful sincerity. “On Our Last Day” lets us into the secret that Naked Lunch began as a band determined to play with all things electro, with a moody spacey atmosphere being aimed at and (while not breaking any boundaries) essentially achieving it. “Stay” tries to combine the two moods and is yearning but slightly messy. If they build on the well produced sweetness of this A side, Naked Lunch could be justifiably diverting. martin cordiner

The Hot Puppies : King of England

The band’s name and this single’s grainy cover shot – of scrapping housewives – screams grimy punk, but ‘King of England’ is actually a top slice of sophisticated indie, with funk-tinged, powerful bass and luminous keyboards topped off with Becki Newman’s excellent voice. Best of all though, it takes an unambiguous swipe at Tony Blair – “I’m the King of England, so bring me the head of the man who took my people to war,” Newman quavers like she means it. B-side “Power to Spare,” recorded for BBC Wales, lyrically sounds like a sequel to the lead track but is less impressive mainly due to the splashy production. ‘King of England’ is a definite recommendation for their forthcoming ‘Blue Hands’ album. tim procter

Bruce Springsteen : Magic (Sony)

I feel sad writing this. The man they call “The Boss”, once capable of some of the most intense, thrilling and dramatic music of the last 50 years, now seems incapable of recovering the glories of his own past.  Don’t believe the hype : Mojo, perhaps concerned that they might offend their readers, or advertisers, gave this album 5 stars.  The truth is a little different. Opening track “Radio Nowhere” has a cracking riff but as a song it goes... erm...nowhere. “Livin In The Future” and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” recall Bruce’s glory days but none of the songs here show the shine of gems like “Thunder Road”, “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” or twenty other songs which Bruce produced in the first 14 years of his career. Instead we get songs that are dull and leaden, lacking real dynamic and spark. How the mighty fall. Springsteen has got older and the fire that drove him in the 70s and 80s appears to have vanished. Still, let’s not forget a back catalogue  (1973 - 1987) that ranks among the best. Ignore “Magic” and get a copy of “Greetings From Asbury Park” or “The River” instead.  Lest we forget. miles salter

Pantheon : Dead Or Alive

York’s metal audiences may be small (see R.L. Wade’s editorial last issue), but band-wise, there’s an embarassment of riches, and the top flight of RSJ, Glamour Of The Kill and Beyond All Reason might be about to be joined by Pantheon. OK, they make some of the classic errors young thrash acts make – songs over-stuffed with ideas, occasionally naïve lyrics, singer sounding a bit too clean sometimes, but there’s so much going on here that it’s bound to gel the more they play. Take the track ‘Dead or Alive’ – there’s Killswitch Engage-type brutality, duelling melodic guitars, a spooky Egyptian-sounding passage, slow grinding heaviness, more galloping riffage, all played as tight as an overwound watch. The other standout is ‘Arena of Invasion’ which, as well as being a raging slab of tech-thrash, lyrically blasts the invasion of Iraq. Metal is all too often content to blather on about deceipt and liars and corruption without getting past the generic conspiracy stage, so a blast of angry politicisation is most welcome. This is a really promising start from a young band whose attitude is spot-on (their bio also shows a healthy respect for other bands and fans and the act of making music in general) – metallic developments are awaited with interest… tim procter

Van Morrison : Still On Top - The Greatest Hits  (Exile/Polydor)

Poor old Van Morrison. Worth millions and still unable to smile. Here rock’s grumpiest bugger returns to mine his amazing back catalogue. You can just picture the scene at the record company board room : “Which of our back catalogues is a good little earner ? Oh yeah. Van Morrison. Let’s do a compilation. Just in time for Christmas. Oooh - I can hear the cash tills ringing now...” This is the third such release of 2007 - yes, that’s right - we have already had 2 Van Morrison “best of” releases this year. This one, though, is unusually wide ranging in its scope : a whopping 51 tracks taken from the early ‘60s until more recent times. Here is proof that Van Morrison is one of the most brilliantly gifted artists in popular music. We get Van’s many flavours here : party music (‘Jackie Wilson Said’, ‘Bright Side Of The Road’), romantic gems (‘Moondance’), blues hero (‘Gloria) and the frequent spiritual reflections (‘Into The Mystic’ and ‘Hymns To The Silence’). This 3-CD set is fantastic, and as a survey of Morrison’s amazing talent as a vocalist and songwriter, is pretty much unbeatable. It might be the third such release this year, but as a survey of Van the Man’s amazing career, it is wonderfully comprehensive. miles salter