Reviews roundup – Alpha Tiger vs. Liz Mandeville vs. The Rolling Stones vs. Moraine vs. The Sarah Dunn Band

Reviews roundup – Alpha Tiger vs. Liz Mandeville vs. The Rolling Stones vs. Moraine vs. The Sarah Dunn Band

ALPHA TIGER
iDentity
Steamhammer / SPV

It’s time to get metal thrashing mad with Alpha Tiger on this, their third, annoyingly titled album.  And it’s really rather good.

The band say that they’re influenced by the likes of Queensryche, Fates Warning and Riot, but it seems a bit more old school to me than that.  But they’re not in thrall to their influences as they rampage through some excellent songs of their own, in the quest for their very own metal Avalon.

They’ve got the riffs. they’ve got the flashy solos and they’ve got a few songs that will stand them in good stead for years to come, with ‘Long Way Of Redemption’ and ‘We Won`t Take It Anymore’ the best of the bunch for me.  They’ve produced it themselves, and if I had one criticism, it would be that some careful editing might have good songs even better.

But their label obviously thinks highly of them, with this available as a Digipak CD, including DVD featuring recordings from Alpha Tiger’s performance at the Bang Your Head festival in June 2013, as a jewel case and as a double gatefold vinyl LP.

LIZ MANDEVILLE
Heart ‘O’ Chicago
Blue Kitty

Time for some blues now, and you’re always guaranteed quality when Liz Mandeville puts her name to something, and “Heart ‘O’ Chicago” is no exception.

Across the eleven tracks, she is in fine form, with a great band, replete with a horn section, as and when needed, and it’s a full, rich sound that provides the songs with a great framework to thrive.  The main guitarist is Minoru Maruyama, and he really does a bang up job on songs like ‘So Called Best Friend’ and ‘Party At The End of Time’.

The horns appear on most of the tracks, and they really do make for a righteous sound, with guests such as Eddie Shaw, Billy Branch and Charlie Love popping in hiher and thither. Best of all is probably the closing ‘Life Is Like A) Wave’, with has some fantastic harp from the splendidly name Dizzy Bolinski.  For sure, the ballads aren’t as good as the rockers, but it’s another great record from Ms Mandeville.

THE ROLLING STONES
LA Forum – Live In 1975
Eagle Rock

I reviewed the ‘Hampton Coliseum: Live in 1981′ DVD a wee while back, which was filmed on the “Tattoo You” tour. This one goes back in time to 1975 and sees Ronnie Wood in his early days with the band, after Mick Taylor had left.

And it’s not as good, as the band are a bit ropy, with them missing the mark quite a lot.  Most of that is down to Ronnie Wood who seems to be struggling to fit in, and so it’s really a concert for the die hard fans, rather than the more casual Stones follower.

Still, you’re getting 25 tracks for your money, with some of the songs like ‘All Down the Line’, ‘Star Star’ and ‘Rip This Joint’ absolute peaches.  You’ll probably want to fast forward the Keith Richards vocal, though.  This was filmed on the cusp of the band leaving their best years behind, but fans of the band will be delighted at the arrival of these archive performances.

MORAINE
Groundswell
Moonjune

Instrumental art rock / prog / fusion now, and it’s the third album from Moraine.

If you’re looking for a lazy shortcut, and who isn’t, then I’d say latter day King Crimson, but without being as awkward.  They’re all fantastic musicians, and unlike some art rockers, they do have a passing familiarity with melody.  Which is nice.

‘Spiritual Gatecrasher’ is a definite highlight as it throws a few world music influences into the mix, whereas as those looking for a more traditional jazz fusion way in, might want to try out ‘Fountain Of Euthanasia’, where the guitar and guest violin really work extremely well together.

A couple of the numbers could have done with some editing, but overall, this is a very welcome release.

THE SARAH DUNN BAND
You Or The Whiskey
Audacity

And finally, for today, some country music!  And as someone who hosts a country music radio show, I can tell you that this was very welcome round my way.

Mainly because it sounds like country music.  Not pop music.  Country music,  You can actually hear the fiddle and mandolin, rather than just reading about them on the sleeve inlay and wondering where they were buried.  Ms Dunn has a very listenable voice, and even if the best songs are all up front (‘Finished What You Started’ and ‘Backwoods Party’), there’s plenty of enjoyable listening.

There is a tongue in cheek element to some of the songs, and there is enough melody to get some crossover play, even if is most definitely a country album.  The production is excellent, and with a band who seen service with the likes of Vince Gill, Tim McGraw and Reba McIntire, the performance level is set high all the way through.

A solid debut, well worth a listen.