Reviews roundup – Alan Simon vs. Andrea Marr vs. Mary Gauthier vs. Ursus X vs. Cassels
ALAN SIMON
Excalibur IV: The Dark Age of the Dragon
Babaika
I still find it hard to believe that my first encounter with the world of Alan Simon was on his recent best of collection. After all, he’s been at this for decades.
As the name suggests this is the fourth installment of his Excalibur prog odyssey and it’s absolutely outstanding. It’s the kind of thing you need to buy on CD as the artwork and lyrics complement the music well. Chuck in oodles of classic seventies styled prog, a concept and an array of progtastic guest appearances and this is essential listening for fans of the genre. Those guests include the likes of Michael Sadler (Saga), John Helliwell (Supertramp), Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Moya Brennan (Clannad), Bernie Shaw (Uriah Heep) and Sonja Kristina (Curved Air) amongst many others but they’re there to enhance what is a splendid suite of music, serving it, rather than the other way around.
With an existing trilogy and two live albums out there already, this project seems to have come as a bit of a surprise to the composer but we should be grateful for its appearance. His prog has a Celtic refrain to it, no surprise considering the material, but it’s an absolute master class in the art of conceptual songwriting. Fantastic.
ANDREA MARR
Natural
Only Blues Music
Do you like good music? That sweet soul music? Well get yer arse in gear and give this a listen. Now!
Because it’s old fashioned soul music that Ms Marr is serving up. None of that 21st century so-called nu-soul nonsense that is remarkable only in it’s lack of soul. This is the real as the sound of a classic soul revue comes powering out of the speakers. It’s the sound of Stax, all hot and sweaty. And it come from a Sri Lankan born Australian! Now some of my mothers best friends were called Jaywardene but I don’t remember them as soul boys and girls.
Even more impressive is the fact that most of the material is original. You’d never guess. Ms Marr has a great soul voice and with both bands hitting all the right notes. Songs like ‘Real Good Man’, ‘Force of Nature’ and others can stand up in the company of the classic with no sense of shame. A real treat.
MARY GAUTHIER
Rifles & Rosary Beads
Proper
Mary Gauthier is a fine singer / songwriter and has put out some good records over the years. But this one takes a sideways step.
See the songs have been written with armed forces veterans and their families, highlighting the hardships that so many encounter when they return to civilian life. Which makes it a worthy project. But with so many of her own songs hinging on the lyrics as much as the melodies, a certain something seems to have been lost in the process. After all, experiencing pain and loss doesn’t mean you can write down your feelings in a lyrical manner.
So some songs (‘Soldiering On’) founder on the words, even if the sentiment is a strong one. Conversely, ‘Brotehrs’ and ‘It’s Her Love’ capture the feelling beautifully. It’s an admirable project which will hopefully help those who came to it via SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit that helps veterans process and relate their war experience through songwriting. They’re the ones who count here.
URSUS X
Orion
independent
Do you want to know how prog the Swedish duo of Bjorn Johansson and Staffan Luckander aka Ursus X are? Well, the album only has two tracks and the shortest one lasts a fraction of over 21 minutes. That’s how prog they are!
And it’s all instrumental. So very early Mike Oldfield as they involve an array of weird and wonderful instruments with Luckander taking care of keyboards and Johansson getting to grips with bouzouki, Jew’s harp, Vietnamese bamboo flute, djembe drums and the more conventional guitar sounds. There are some choral vocals in places, lots of Middle Eastern melodies and they’ve went to the bother of using real people rather than samples, all of which helps give a warm, organic sound to the record.
They’re not reinventing the prog wheel as so much has gone before, but what they bring is imagination, diversity and enthusiasm to their chosen medium. A good one for the fans of the deeper end of the progressive rock spectrum.
CASSELS
Epithet
Big Scary Monsters
The Beck Brothers aka Cassels seem to be very angry About A Lot Of Things.
Which is the prerogative of the young. I was angry as a youngster. Then life got in the way, fucked me up big time and spat me out the other side. Now I’m too old and tired to be angry. In fact, anyone who is over 40 ans still angry is either lying or in need of medical attention. That’s a fact, and not an internet one. A real one. But in the post hardcore world of Cassels anger is currency.
And they’ve got it in Bitcoins. For sure, the duo seem to owe quite a lot to the Sleaford Mods and their ilk, but The Kids seem to like this sort of thing and I’m sure they will be taken with the likes of ‘War Is A Really Clever Metaphor For Divorce’, ‘You Turn On Utopia’ and their kin. The guitars are scratchy and the drums are primitive and the angles are obtuse. One for your angry younger brother. Or grandson.
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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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