Record Reviews Blog

Album, EP and DVD reviews, with an emphasis on the UK progressive rock scene.

Uriah Heep – Into the Wild

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Tim Hall

Uriah Heep have never had the recognition they deserve in their home country. In continental Europe just about every metal band with a keyboard player seems to cite them as a major influence. But in Britain they’re a cult band, all-too-often thought of as 70s also-rans, best known for being one of the principal inspirations for “This is Spinal Tap”.

They have undergone something of a renaissance in recent years. After the constantly changing lineups of the 70s and 80s, leaving just guitarist Mick Box and bassist Trevor Bolder from their 70s glory days, they’ve enjoyed many years of stability, with vocalist Bernie Shaw and keyboard player Phil Lanzon members of the band for well over than half their four-decade career. Studio releases have been infrequent, but the sheer quality of albums like 1995′s “Sea of Light” and especially 2008′s excellent “Wake the Sleeper” showed a band who weren’t ready to turn into their own tribute band like so many of their contemporaries.

And now, forty-one years after their debut, they’ve gone and delivered one of the best albums of their career.

From the opener “Nail on the Head”, onwards this is a very much a hard rock album with a classic 70s vibe. It’s got the combination of searing guitar and Hammond organ that defines the quintessential Uriah Heep sound. But just as on “Wake the Sleeper”, ‘new’ drummer Russell Gilbrook has upped the energy level considerably, resulting in a very hard-rocking Heep indeed.

While there is a definite echo of “Lady in Black” in Trevor Bolder’s “Lost”, the nearest thing to a ballad on the album. there’s not much of their acoustic side on display, and very little trace of the Americanised AOR that characterised a lot of their 80s output. There is, however, noticeably more of Phil Lanzon’s keys used as a lead instrument. I don’t think I’ve heard this much Hammond organ on a Heep album since the days of Ken Hensley. The album closer, the epic “Kiss of Freedom” ends with a magnificent solo, each crescendo more extravagant than the last; nothing less than a “Comfortably Numb” of the Hammond B3.

Few bands can come up with an album this good in the fifth decade of their career, and even fewer come up with albums that rock this hard. But Uriah Heep are one of those bands.

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Chantel McGregor – Like No Other

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Tim Hall

I first saw the young blues guitarist Chantel McGregor at the Cambridge Rock Festival last summer, when she appeared low on the bill fronting a blues-rock power-trio, and simply blew everyone in the crowd away.

Her long-awaited debut album is not quite what I expected. While her talent as a virtuoso guitarist ought to be clear to anyone who’s seen her live, this album shows just as great a talent as a singer-songwriter. It’s hugely varied record; with nine original numbers and three covers, she doesn’t just do blues, but also does hard rock, delicate acoustic work, and some quite catchy pop-rock with choruses that get stuck in your head after a few listens.

The production is quite stripped down, giving her voice and guitar a lot of space. with subtle and sparing use of Hammond organ and cello to add additional instrumental colour. Some of her vocals remind me of Heather Findlay, with a similar natural warmth, beauty and earthiness. There’s certainly an Odin Dragonfly vibe with the acoustic numbers. The guitar playing, as expected, is fantastic too; enough spectacular pyrotechnics to satisfy any fan of great lead guitar, but like all truly great musicians, she also knows exactly when to rein it in and keep things simple.

Of the original numbers, the rocky “Free Falling” really deserves to be a hit single, and I love the angry “Caught Out”, a song for which I can definitely identify with the lyrics. The instrumental “Cat Song” is great fun too with slide guitar imitating the meowing of a cat. Another standout for me is “Screams Everlasting” which starts at as at atmospheric acoustic number and ends with a magnificent slow-burning electric solo. Two of the three covers are vehicles for extended guitar workouts, with the version of Robin Trower’s “Daydream” clocking in at not far short of fourteen minutes. But the third is a stunningly beautiful acoustic interpretation of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon”.

This is an album which ought to have something for everyone who appreciates great music played by a real musician. It’s about as far from Simon Cowell’s karaoke factory is it’s possible to get.

It’s available direct from Chantelmcgregor.com.

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Heather Findlay – The Phoenix Suite

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Tim Hall

Shortly after leaving Mostly Autumn a year ago to embark upon a solo career, Heather Findlay stated that her musical ideas were coming out in too many different directions for it all to sit comfortably together as a coherent album. So instead, she outlined plans to release a series of EPs, each with a very different feel, quite possibly featuring different backing musicians as well.

The Phoenix Suite, produced by former Mostly Autumn colleague Chris Johnson, it the first of these. It features Roger Waters’ guitarist Dave Kilminster, bassist Steve Vantsis and drummer Alex Cromarty as well as Chris himself on guitar. A blog from Heather stated it would be “Bohemian, vibey and rocky”. While there’s been quite a bit of discussion, occasionally quite heated, regarding Heather’s relationship with progressive rock, her songwriting for Mostly Autumn has always been the straightforward rock numbers and heartfelt ballads rather than the big symphonic epics.

The five songs that make up the suite are very varied indeed. The EP opens with the grunge-flavoured hard rocker “Red Dust, sounding absolutely nothing like anything she’s ever done before. Then the brooding title track follows rather more familiar territory, with more than an echo of “Unoriginal Sin” from “Glass Shadows”. “Cellophane”, on the other hand is a spiky pop-rock number. The EP closes with the slow-burning “Seven” and the almost but not quite epic “Mona Lisa”. Much of the EP displays the highly melodic songwriting style that ought to be recognisable to anyone familiar both with her own songs for Mostly Autumn and her work with Odin Dragonfly. The lyrics are intriguing, laden with metaphor, and significantly darker than before.

Sonically it’s very different from what many existing fans may have expected. There’s a sparse, dry sound and very stripped-down arrangements, and while there are other influences there’s a strong alternative rock feel. No keyboards; in a few places there are guitar effects where piano chords or synth fills might have been the more obvious choice. One disappointment for me is there’s very little of Dave Kilminster’s lead guitar to act as a foil for Heather’s vocals; there are a couple of brief indie-style bursts, but at no point does he really cut loose.

The closest comparison I can think of would be with singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore, and there are moments that remind me of quirky 90s rockers Ordinary Psycho, or Polish goth-rockers Closterkeller. There’s also a hint not only of Panic Room but also of Anne-Marie Helder’s EP “The Contact”. There are certainly one or two places where Heather’s vocals sound like a lot those of her former band-mate.

The arrangements come over as a deliberate intent of sounding distinctly different from her previous bands. On songs like “Red Dust” or “Cellophane” this approach works very well, but in other places it does feel as if the songs would have benefited from a little more instrumental depth, especially given the capabilities of musicians working on the project.

It’s certainly a brave move away from the sort of sound she’s traditionally been associated with. Time will tell whether or not Heather has succeeded with the difficult balancing act of broadening her appeal to mainstream audiences while keeping her existing fans on board. I can imagine a few dyed in the wool classic rock fans struggling to love this record, even while they respect her desire to do her own thing. On the other hand, she could well pick up new followers among alt-rock and indie fans who might never have been prepared to give her earlier work a listen.

But for me, no amount of misgivings about the production or arrangements can overshadow the quality of the actual songs. I’m very much looking forward to hearing the whole thing performed live when she plays festival dates with the full band in the summer. This is still a record that deserves to be appreciated for what it is rather than condemned for what it isn’t. And with Heather suggesting the next EP may be electronic and experimental, I think she’s going to be taking us on an interesting and challenging musical journey over the coming months.

The EP is now on general retail release, but it’s still also available direct from the artist here.

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Liam Davison – A Treasure of Well-Set Jewels

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Tim Hall

Liam Davison is best known as guitarist for Mostly Autumn. When he left the band at the end of 2006 he stated that he was to work on a solo album. In the end it would be three years after he rejoined the band before the album was to see the light of day.

Liam is something of an enigmatic figure on stage with Mostly Autumn. He prefers to shun the spotlight and lurk at the back of the stage; but his playing is not that of a typical rhythm guitarist, playing melodic fills and lead runs rather than merely strumming chords. His name has only appeared a couple of times in MA’s songwriting credits to date, both for folk-flavoured numbers. But he’s also been playing a live improvisation on tour with echoes of Robert Fripp. Which made it difficult to predict the direction his solo album might take.

The music varies from the indie-flavoured opening hard rocker “Ride the Seventh Wave”, the electronica loops on “Into the Setting Sun”, and the acoustic ballad “One in the Lifetime”. But throughout there’s a strong emphasis on atmospheric progressive rock with a very strong Pink Floyd flavour. Standouts for me are “Eternally Yours”, ending with that epic slide solo featured in the album’s promo video, and “Heading Home”, with it’s wonderful interplay between Liam’s soaring lead guitar, Iain Jennings’ swirling Hammond organ and Paul Teasdale’s propulsive bass riff. It’s a big, rich, cinematic sound, superbly engineered and mixed by John Spence.

Liam shares vocals with Heather Findlay and Anne-Marie Helder, and the three distinctively different voices complement each other well. While Liam sings much of the lead vocals, several songs are duets between Liam and either Anne-Marie or Heather with some great use of harmony. One exception is “Once in a Lifetime”, sung solely by Heather, who also contributed the lyrics. Heather and Anne-Marie give excellent performances, but neither of them steal the show, this is still very much Liam’s album, showcasing his songwriting, and above all his superb lead guitar. If you like it when the solos can last for two or three minutes, and are still good enough not to outstay their welcome, you will love this album.

While much has been made of Heather’s and Anne-Marie’s contributions, on an album like this the instrumental supporting cast are just as important. In particular, Liam’s Mostly Autumn colleague Iain Jennings excels himself on keys. It’s the sort of all-enveloping cinematic sound we heard on early Mostly Autumn albums, and as such provides the perfect instrumental foil for Liam’s own playing.

This is a superb album, and while it’s only February, it’s a potential candidate for album of the year. Like many independent releases, it’s got a general retail release in March, but is available online now

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Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Tim Hall

Italy’s Rhapsody of Fire (formerly called Rhapsody) were one of the first symphonic metal bands when they emerged in the late 1990s.. Their style of “epic fantasy metal” is part operatic metal, part Hollywood film score, with Dungeons and Dragons lyrics and song titles like “The Ancient Forest of Elves”. I’ve half-jokingly described them as musically making Queen sound like XTC, and lyrically making Dio sound like The Arctic Monkeys. U2 fans have even been known to run away screaming in terror. But at their best their music can be gloriously over the top, and hugely entertaining provided you aren’t allergic to a little bit of cheese.

Their latest album “The Frozen Tears of Angels” has been out a few months now. It’s got most the traditional Rhapsody elements, such as choirs and spoken word parts by Sir Christopher Lee among others. The lyrics are another fantasy saga, rather more David Eddings than Tolkien (Seriously, a villain called “Necron”?  Come on guys, surely you can do better than that?).

While by no means a bad album, doesn’t quite seem to have the same spark as previous offerings. Perhaps it’s down to the fact they’ve not used an orchestra this time, with the symphonic parts played on layered keyboards instead. Yes, there are still some great moments, like the monstrous opening track with pseudo-orchestration backing Christopher Lee’s ominous-sounding narration – about as epic as something less than three minutes long can possibly be. And we stll have some huge soaring Carl Orff-style choral moments.  But there are also times when they fall back to some very generic Euro power-metal, which I find far less interesting than their more cinematic moments.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that they aren’t really breaking any new ground with this release. They’re largely repeating what they’ve already done before, at a time when other bands in the symphonic metal scene are still moving the genre forward. A dozen years after their debut, the likes of Epica, Nightwish and especially Therion leave Rhapsody of Fire sounding a little dated by comparison.

If you’re a fan of the band, you’ve almost certainly got this album already by now.  But if you want an introduction to Rhapsody of Fire’s gloriously over the top music, you’re probably better off starting with one of their earlier albums such as “Symphony of Enchanted Lands” or “Triumph or Agony” rather than with this one.

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New Dance Orchestra – Electronica

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Tim Hall

The New Dance Orchestra is a project by Geoff Downes of Asia and Buggles fame, which for this album features Panic Room’s Anne-Marie Helder on lead vocals. It was an unexpected surprise when I heard about it online, and I ordered it unheard based solely on the reputations of the people involved.

Billed as “Dance-Pop”, to my ears it’s more pop than dance, made up of well-crafted songs rather than Ibiza-style club anthems, Musically, comparisons with The Buggles are I suppose inevitable, but I can also see slight elements of late-period ELO when a disco flavour crept into their sound. The overall feel is certainly very 1980s, down to some synth sounds that are either delightfully retro or cheesily dated depending on your point of view. The arrangements are entirely keys and programmed rhythms, but one or two of the actual songs wouldn’t sound out of place on an Asia, or for that matter, a Panic Room album. Certainly the choruses of songs like opener “Shine On”, “Dance To The Music Of Time” or the gorgeous closing ballad “Golden Days” get lodged in the brain as earworms after just a few listens.

With Geoff Downes credited with all the songwriting, Anne-Marie Helder’s only contribution is as lead singer, and she gives a stellar performance on vocals; demonstrating once again what a versatile singer she can be. It’s quite a way from my usual tastes in listening, and an album I probably wouldn’t have given any attention had it not been for the people involved. But it’s still an enjoyable listen nevertheless.

Like many non-major label releases, it’s available as a pre-order now directly from The New Dance Orchestra website, and will have an official retail release in the new year. It gives no information about international shipping, or even which country it’s shipped from; Paypal billed me in US Dollars but the album turned up within 48 hours posted from a UK address. Don’t know what will happen if you order from the US.

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Pure Reason Revolution – Hammer and Anvil

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Tim Hall

Pure Reason Revolution are not a band to stand still musically. Their 2006 debut album “The Dark Third” captivated progressive rock audiences with hypnotic soundscapes owing a lot to Pink Floyd. Then their second album, “Amor Vincit Omnia”, confounded that same audience with an utterly changed sound. Gone were the Floydian atmospherics, replaced by hard-edged gritty electronica, sounding a lot more like Depeche Mode than any 1970s progsters. Where would their third album take them? A blend of the two styles, or something else entirely?

Some Doctor Who noises herald the opening number “Fight Fire”, which pulls no punches whatsoever, sounding like The Prodigy at their most mental, all harsh, scraping electronic clanging with an utterly relentless pounding rhythm. But just when you expect the album to continue in that vein, it changes tack. Subsequent songs are far more melodic with the multi-layered harmonies from Jon Courtney and Chloe Alper still very much present. The instrumentation is still very strongly centered around dance and electronica, albeit with churning guitars along with the electronic rhythms. First track aside, it’s really a logical progression from their previous disk, more evolutionary than revolutionary this time around.

The best moment has to be the lengthy “Open Insurrection” towards the end of the album, a dark intense piece that puts which puts electronica, metal and prog into a blender to come up with something hugely epic. That and the closer “Armistice” with it’s harmonies and chiming guitars are the few places we hear any echoes of the dreamy sound of their debut. All of which goes to show Pure Reason Revolution are still a genuinly progressive band, always moving forward musically, and never content to retread their own past.

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Mostly Autumn – Go Well Diamond Heart

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Tim Hall

It’s always hard for any band to replace their lead singer of many years, especially when it’s someone as talented and much-loved as Heather Findlay, and frequently the new singer has an uphill struggle to win over diehard fans. Add to this the fact that the past two albums, while they certainly both had their moments, both met with a decidedly mixed reaction from many fans, and you can see why Go Well Diamond Heart, Mostly Autumn’s ninth studio album, is really a make or break album for the band.

Former backing singer Olivia Sparnenn has already made a strong impression on stage during the spring tour in her new role as lead singer, but the new studio album is the way the revamped lineup will ultimately be judged, especially by those who haven’t had the chance to see the new-look Mostly Autumn live.

So does the new album succeed? After a few listens, I think it does.

This album is definitely one of those classed as “a grower”. While a handful of tracks made a strong impression on the first play, much of the album didn’t really come to life until I’d listened to the whole thing half a dozen times. I’ve read a one or two forum posts from people who seem to have written it off as ‘not very good’ after one or two plays. They should stick with it; it will be worth it in the end.

While some of the songs are not quite as immediately melodic as previous releases, the melodies are still there, they’re just a bit more subtle. The production is a lot rawer; rather than the polished approach of earlier albums this one has a very “live” feel to it, especially Bryan Josh’s guitar sound. Quite a few songs begin on acoustic guitar, switching to distorted electric part-way through. One thing that’s very noticeable is the number of times Bryan really cuts loose on lead guitar. On the last album, “Glass Shadows” I felt his playing was a little bit too mannered and restrained, with relatively little lead guitar; this time around he plays a blistering solo on almost every song.

Fans of Breathing Space will of course be aware of Olivia Sparnenn’s talents as a singer. While her predecessor is inevitably going to be a really hard act to follow, Olivia acquits herself superbly. Her singing continues to develop; while she’s clearly not trying to sound like Heather (which would have been a mistake), she’s not singing in the quite same way she did with Breathing Space either. There are certainly moments where she uses her power and range to great effect, such as the closing section of “Deep in Borrowdale” where she demonstrates the voice that can allegedly shatter wineglasses.

And it’s also great to hear Iain Jennings back on keys. While it seems ages ago that he rejoined the band for the tour promoting “Glass Shadows” in 2008, this is actually the first Mostly Autumn studio album he’s played on since 2005′s “Storms Over Still Waters”. It’s also worth noting that while Gavin Griffiths has also toured with the band extensively in recent year, it’s the first time he’s played drums for them in the studio.

The first disk, which will be released as the retail edition in November starts extremely strongly with “For All We Shared”, with it’s lengthy celtic-style atmospheric introduction featuring Troy Donockley’s Uilleann pipes leading into Bryan’s acoustic opening verse before building into a superb mid-tempo rocker with Olivia singing lead. With it’s quintessential Mostly Autumn sound it wouldn’t have sounded that out of place on the album of that title. In contrast, “Violet Skies” (Now there’s a Mostly Autumn song title if ever there was one), also sung by Olivia and dedicated to Heather Findlay is a catchy four-minute pop song which would make a great single. “Deep in Borrowdale” and “Something Better” are both hard rockers; the latter musically excellent but somewhat spoiled by some truly awful lyrics.

The title track is quite harrowing if you know the back story. It’s dedicated to Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, a Mostly Autumn fan serving in Afghanistan, critically wounded by a landmine. The album closes with three songs co-written by Olivia Sparnenn, the last of which “And When The War Is Over” again featuring Troy’s pipes, and to my ears is has the same feel as some of Roger Waters’ solo material, musically if not lyrically.

The second disk, available only in the limited edition is more a diverse collection of songs, but these cannot be described as left-overs; the best songs are as good as anything on the first disk. High points are the atmospheric “Ice”, co-written by Iain Jennings, “Hats Off” dedicated to the late Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, and Olivia Sparnenn’s soaring “Forever Young”, very reminiscent of her work with Breathing Space.

I was a bit worried when I read the announcement that the special edition was to be a double album. I remember 2006′s “Heart Full of Sky” where the band had stretched themselves too thin trying to come up with two albums worth of material in a short space of time, resulting in an album that seemed rushed with too many songs that sounded half-finished. This time they’ve managed to avoid that; while there are one or two songs on the second disk that don’t quite work (at least for me), there is far more that one CD’s worth of great material here.

The 2-disk limited edition is available from Mostly Autumn records while remaining stocks last. The single-disk retail edition goes on sale in mid-November.

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Mostly Autumn – That Night in Leamington DVD

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Tim Hall

That Night In Leamington

At the beginning of the year Heather Findlay shocked the progressive rock world by announcing that she was leaving Mostly Autumn after more than a decade to embark on a solo career. The band announced that no way could she be allowed to leave without a proper goodbye.  So she would be making one last farewell appearance with the band, at The Assembly in Leamington Spa on Good Friday. Shortly afterwards came the announcement that the show would be recorded for a DVD release.

This is that DVD.

Beginning with the now familiar opener “Fading Colours”, the first disk shows a tight, professional performance, typical of their shows throughout last year captured on the two excellent “Live 2009″ CDs. But the second half of the show ratchets up the emotional intensity by several notches, and by the end it’s actually quite draining to watch. This is a band really putting their heart and soul into the music, and some of the band are close to tears by the end. As are many of the audience.

The setlist is pretty much the same as the band were playing towards the end of last year, a greatest hits set skewed slightly in favour of Heather’s songs; all-time favourites like “Shrinking Violet”, “Evergreen”, “Passengers” and “Carpe Diem” as well as recent songs like the powerful “Unoriginal Sin”. The DVD includes the entire two and a half hour show, completely unedited, with all the song introductions, and the emotional farewells at the end.

While the band’s performance is absolutely “as it happened”, they’ve clearly taken a great deal of care in the mixing, mastering and video editing, and that time and effort has paid off. Audio and video quality are both excellent; every instrument and voice of the eight-piece band can be heard clearly, including Anne-Marie Helder’s flute and Olivia Sparnenn’s backing vocals, and the camerawork is excellent given the limitations of the venue’s stage lighting. The video editing is absolutely superb, and really manages to capture what it’s like to be in the front row at a Mostly Autumn gig. Closeups of band members naturally favour Heather, and to a lesser extent Bryan Josh. Anne-Marie gets a fair bit of camera time during the flute solos, although you only get occasional glimpses of one or two of the band.

As someone who was there, this DVD not only succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of that emotional night, but shows what a class act Mostly Autumn can be on stage, and of course, shows what a great singer and charismatic frontwoman they had in Heather Findlay. I look forward to her solo career with great interest.

Just eight days later, Mostly Autumn took to the stage again in Gloucester, with former backing vocalist Olivia Sparnenn taking over as the band’s new lead singer. But that’s another story.

The DVD is available from Mostly Autumn Records.

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Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Tim Hall

Black Mountain - Wilderness HeartI bought this album of the strength of reviews likening Black Mountain to classic 70s bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. But sadly this one completely fails to live up to the hype.

Rather than take the essential essence of those great bands and update them for the 21st century, all it does is take a few superficial elements and waters them down with a large dollop of generic corporate “alternative” rock. You won’t find the vocal prowess of a Robert Plant or the late Ronnie Dio here, neither will you find guitar wizardry of a Page or a Blackmore. Indeed, a single half-arsed tuneless strum represents just about the only solo on the album.

The most exciting it gets is when it purloins the riff from Black Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe”, but even then it manages to lose the visceral fury of the original. The one saving grace amongst the dumbed-down Sabbath riffs and tuneless indie-rock is the acoustic ballad “Radiant Hearts” which the weak indie-style vocals can’t quite manage to ruin.

While I guess this album is OK for people who like this kind of thing, I find it sad that this sort of aural Polyfilla is being marketed to classic rock audiences at the expense of vastly better bands who are completely marginalised.

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