Reviews roundup -John Wetton vs. D2UR vs. Polly O’Keary
JOHN WETTON
Akustika / Akustika II
Primary Purpose
A doubler here from the late King Crimson, Asia, Uriah Heep, You Name Them musician.
The first one has been out before. “Akustika” originally appeared about 20 years back and does exactly what it says on the tin as he revisits his back catalogue in acoustic style with tunes from his days in Asia, UK, King Crimson and more. So that’s the likes of ‘The Smile Has Left Your Eye’s’, ‘Only Time Will Tell’, ‘Heat of The Moment’ and ‘Book of Saturday’. It showcases what a strong, melodic voice he had and is well worth a revisit.
“Akustika II – Return To Amerika” is a previously unreleased show from 2005. It’s not as good as the first one as his voice sounds a wee bit tired but anyone who can knock out songs they originally performed on of the pedigree of ‘Sole Survivor’, ‘Rendezvous 6:02’ and ‘Starless’ is well worth a listen. Apparently this was scheduled before he died and is the latest offering on his won Primary Purpose label. Prog fans will enjoy hearing the bare bones of the songs and those who thought they didn’t like prog will be surprised at the quality of the songwriting.
D2UR
Tic Toc
independent
I first bumped into Canadian outfit D2UR last year when their rather enjoyable “Rev U Up” release came out.
That was their debut and saw them heading off into a world of eighties melodic hard rock. Last time round they had bassist Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve (Streetheart, Tom Cochrane, Loverboy) giving them their eighties cred. This time they’ve brought in Brent Fitz ( Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Union) to thump some tubs. And it’s another enjoyable release from Mike and Diane Isbister.
It’s very much in the mould of the debut and anyone who yearns for the days of uncomplicated rawk performed well will have no trouble warming to songs like ‘Run Devil Run’, ‘Losing Control’ and ‘Piece Of You’. Diane Isbister is in fine voice, the guitars rock hard and a good time is had by all.
POLLY O’KEARY and the Rhythm Method
Black Crow Callin’
independent
It’s been a while since I heard from Ms O’Keary. That would have been back in 2014 when “Compass” came out.
Her mix of old school soul and blues was an enjoyable listen and you could tell that she had a lot of miles under her belt as she brought life experience to her songs.
Well she’s back for more, along with a core trio of David Miller on guitar and vocals and Tommy Cook on drums and vocals while she takes care of bass and vocals. On a couple of tunes a horn section kicks in and they’re actually two of the best numbers on offer – ‘Plan B’ and ‘Yours To Lose’. Elsewhere there are songs packed full of meaning with ‘Reconciled’ bringing me to tears. But then I’ve turned into a big jessie since Mrs H passed so no surprises there. However, it’s the emotion that’s packed in to the song that does it. Some Hammond organ helps that songs along as it does on ‘Red Light’.
She gets her vintage soul on with ‘A Man Who Can Stand’ and it all makes for another excellent release from Polly O’Keary.
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St Columba’s Hospice Tribute Fund for Linda Hamilton
http://linda.hamilton.muchloved.com/
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The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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