Reviews roundup – Focus vs. The Micronite Filters vs. Paul Lamb vs. No Sinner vs. From Hell

Reviews roundup – Focus vs. The Micronite Filters vs. Paul Lamb vs. No Sinner vs. From Hell

FOCUS
Golden Oldies
In And Out Of Focus

Ah, Focus!  Probably my favourite prog band when I were a lad.  “Hamburger Concerto” still gets wheeled out of the vinyl cupboard for a regular airing, along with a Greek best of, the name of which escapes me.

Keyboard player / yodellist Thijs Van Leer re-formed Focus with himself and his stepson Bobby Jacobs on bass, back in 2002, and with a revolving lineup he’s been touring and recording under the Focus name ever since. As has explains, “Producing ‘Golden Oldies’ is tricky. Both the die hard Fans and the 2014 Focus-members were having doubts about this enterprise, because we didn’t know if the recent recordings would match the original material, notwithstanding the fact that we had so much fun in doing the session, quick, romantic, virtuoso, full of funny moments & profoundness; But… the final mix turns out to be fantastic and we all are proud to release this album at our earliest convenience!! Halleluya!!!”

Nowadays, they do have original member Pierre van der Linden back on drums, so that’s 50% of the classic lineup in place.  How you view this will largely depend on how you view the absence of Jan Akkerman on guitar.  His sound was a big part of the Focus success, but this sees Menno Gootjes on guitar (who was part of a nineties failed Focus), and he does a fair job of recreating the sound.

I’m guessing that this is an attempt to grab some royalties, as original Focus material isn’t exactly commonplace, and a casual listen reveals the music to be as fabulous as ever.  Although, I enjoyed ‘Aya-Yuppie-Hippie-Yee’ more than any any other tune, precisely because “Focus 9 / New Skin” from 2006 isn’t a regular.  The same applies to ‘Brother’ from “Focus con Proby”, their, ahem, interesting 1978 link up with P J Proby.  Well, it was the seventies, man.  I’ve deliberately avoided playing my original albums while this has been on repeat play, so I can just sit back and enjoy it.  Prog fans who don’t have a Focus CD in their collection should enjoy this, but as you can get the “Hocus Pocus” best of, for around the same money, they should probably go for that.

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THE MICRONITE FILTERS
Chasing Ghosts
Get Bent Records

All the way from the frozen Canadian colonies, the Micronite Filters are bringing their brand of blues rock to the world.  And it’s all rather good.

Certainly, those of you who adore the North Mississippi Allstars and despise the Black Keys will find a lot to enjoy here. In finest coals to Newcastle tradition, Les Micronite Filtre (as we are obliged by law to call them at least once), headed off to the woods, near Oxford, Mississippi to get their groove on with producer Jimbo Mathus (The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Buddy Guy).

And they’ve all done good, as they rattle through some gritty blues rockers like ‘The Ballad of the Banker’s Son’, ‘Walking Dead Man’ and ‘The Ballad of the Exile and the Canary’.  If you enjoy your blues on the modern side, and with a bit of rough housin’, then this is one for you.

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PAUL LAMB
Take It From The Top
E&E

And on the subject of gritty blues rockers, here’s Paul Lamb, hot on the heels of his “Ready, Fire, Aim” with a sort of best of type thing, which pulls together tracks from his first four releases.  He says it’s made up of songs that got radio plays and those most requested live, so I suppose it makes some kind of sense.

To be fair, his sound across all his albums is pretty uniform, and if biker blues rock is your thing, and you’ve missed out on his previous releases, then this is not only a good place to start, but possibly the only one you’ll need.  Granted, his love it or hate it vocals will only appeal to some, but he knows a good guitar riff when he sees one, and isn’t afraid to use it.

The songs that work best are the faster ones and / or the ones that feature vocal lines from drummer Layla Hall, which help make things melodic enough for repeated listens.  Sometimes he veers into proto-metal, as on ‘Dead In El Passo’ but when he straddles the fence properly, as on ‘I Ain’t Giving You Up’, then it’s a real treat.

The song may remain the same, but if it’s hardcore rockin’ blues you’re looking for, then you’re very much in the right place.

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NO SINNER
Love Is A Madness
Provogue

I suppose it makes sense for the label to pick the poppiest song from the No Sinner album as a single, but seeing as how it’s their spit and fire that makes them stand out from the crowd, this isn’t really a crowd pleaser.

It’s a mid tempo jogger, more soulful than the blues rock that stirred the loins when their debutish album and the preceding EP came out.  Even vocalist Colleen Rennison sounds restrained, but if it gets their name on Radio 2, then I suppose it’s a job well done.

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FROM HELL
Ascent From Hell
Scourge

METAL!!!! Up your ass!!!!  Ah, yes, and even better, it’s a full blown concept album.  Be still my aching heart.  Because metal super duper group From Hell are here to rip your spleen out.

Anyway, ahem,koff.  “A corpse wakes up in Hell and finds out he cannot rest and must return to the land of the living to find his soul that still lives on inside the body of a priest and drag it back to Hell. When the moon turns red, you must walk with The Walking Dead.”

Did I mention METAL!!!!

It’s the brainchild / love seed of George Anderson, who screams and sings like a man possessed, as he should be.  And to bring the music to life, he’s wheeled in Paul Bostaph (Slayer) on drums, Steve Smyth (Nevermore) on guitar and Damien Sisson (Death Angel) on bass, and they do a bang up job as Mr Anderson embarks on his desire to put together a King Diamond like concept piece.

Now, it’s nowhere near as radio rental as classic King Diamond, but it is a cracking piece of metal mayhem, with thrash and prog metal meeting in the middle, and kicking off big time.  And how can you go wrong with an album that features a song called ‘Nun With A Gun’?  I mean, come on….

A couple of the nine minute tunes outstay their welcome, but when the mix is right, it’s an absolute metal beast.

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