Robbie Williams RUDEBOX. EMI
“It wasn’t till I was in a studio the other day listening to a few of the tracks back, I was with the Soul Mekanik boys and the thought hit me… Do songs like the ones you like, I’m eight albums in, so why didn’t I think of this before? Doh! I’ve just been scared to make this record before I think.” Well Robbie, you’ve at last convinced me. Now I’m no fan but there’s a lot about this album I like; its (very) rude rap, its diversity (he still hangs onto a few pop ballads that are as good as anything he’s recorded before), its humour, its exuberance. Robbie adds, “My solo career started when the Britpop explosion did, and I thought, try and make songs that sound like that, but this is now… I’m 32 years old, eight albums in, and this is the record I’ve always wanted to make. It’s the start for me. It’s reignited how I think about what I can do with music myself. I’ve always been scared to try out different things and with this album I think I’ve lost the fear of where I should be in my head as a populist; as a populist artist. It means I can just go and do wonky pop now, which is I really wanted to do anyway.
My Chemical Romance THE BLACK PARADE. Reprise
The other night I was travelling to a gig with my associate JJ and we started to discuss the new Chemical Romance album. I wasn’t too sure about how good or bad it was and wanted JJ’s view. He loved it and described the rather complex story behind it; it’s a concept album which Gerrard Way does not regard as a Chemical Romance release (he has said that 2007 will see the next band’s release) – hence the uniform dress code, etc… Gerrard described the album as: “The story of a man who dies tragically before his time in a hospital. Death comes for him in the form of a Black Parade because his strongest childhood memory is his father taking him to see a parade as a boy. The parade leads him to his final judgement; an examination of mortality.” He also said that The Black Parade also represents am alter ego for the band for this album as well as a collective name for their devoted fan base. With this information firmly lodged in my brain, I listened to the album again and discovered something new each time I played it. There’s no doubt it’s a grower, it’s very brave and one helluva recording…
Vega 4 YOU AND OTHERS. Columbia
It must be around three years ago that I travelled down to London to attend a showcase by Vega 4. I was impressed by this multinational four-piece’s performance and songs, in fact so much so that for me it was not a question of ‘if’ but when and how big. A couple of EPs were followed by a great album but the band found much more success abroad than in the UK. Following a long period of silence here the second album is about to drop, and if there was any justice it should fly…
The Bronx Live
The Howling Bells Live
Manchester Academy 4, 21 October 2006.
The Darkness The Final Show
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