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1 week ago | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD Reviews : Mary Chapin Carpenter, Track Dogs, Mitch Ryder (Image: Lambent Light Records) / Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart,” Looking For The Thread” (Lambent Light Records)- This impressive new CD brings together highly regarded American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter and Scotland’s Julie Fowlis and Katrine Polwart in a transatlantic celebration of the delights of intimate music making.
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3 weeks ago | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD Reviews : The Blasters, Hawkwind, Middle Earth (Image: Wienerworld) / The Blasters, “Over There- Live at the Venue, London: The Complete Concert” (Wienerworld)- This splendid live set was captured for posterity at London’s Venue in May,1982, celebrating The Blasters’ first appearance in the U.K. as a concert headliner in all its unadorned glory.
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1 month ago | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD reviews : Home Service, Kris Delmhorst, The GPs (Image: Talking Elephant) Home Service.”A Live Transmission” (Talking Elephant)- Home Service’s former creative mainstay John Tams may no longer be at the helm these days, but this venerable folk-rock institution have recruited a more than capable replacement for their socially aware founder member in the shape of the excellent Bob Fox.
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1 month ago | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD reviews : Sharks, Return To Forever, Nikki O'Neill (Image: Cherry Red Records) Sharks, “Car Crash Supergroup” (Cherry Red)- The latest addition to Cherry Red’s seemingly never ending series of fascinating archive anthologies showcases the entire early seventies output of short lived British rock band Sharks.
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2 months ago | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD Reviews : Loudon Wainwright, Flamin' Groovies, Wishbone Ash (Image: The Last Music Company) Loudon Wainwright III, “Loudon Live in London” (The Last Music Company)- Loudon Wainwright has been a highly regarded figure in singer-songwriter circles ever since his stunning debut album first saw the light of day in 1970.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD reviews: Robben Ford, Blues Caravan 2024, Gryphon (Image: Repertoire Records) Robben Ford and the Blue Line, "Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1993" (Repertoire Records)-The name of Robben Ford may not mean too much to the average record buyer these days but this versatile guitarist has assembled a very impressive body of work over the years, working as a highly valued sideman with everyone from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell and Little Feat.
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Jan 6, 2025 | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD Reviews : 999, Mountain, Davy Graham (Image: Wienerworld) 999,”Emergency at the Old Waldorf 1979” (Wienerworld)- This hitherto unreleased live recording from 999 was captured for posterity at San Francisco’s legendary Old Waldorf venue in July 1979, capturing this fiery punk outfit in particularly fine fettle as they launched into the cream of their energised repertoire with the fury and passion which had become their musical trademark.
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD reviews : Eric Bibb, Martin Harley, Julie Driscoll (Image: Repute Records) Eric Bibb,”In The Real World” (Repute Records)- Veteran acoustic bluesman Eric Bibb has now applied his distinctive musical imprint to more than forty albums during an illustrious career which now spans more than five decades and has seen him picking up three Grammy Award nominations along the way.
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Dec 1, 2024 | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD reviews : Mountain, Soul Asylum, Michael McDermott (Image: Floating World) Mountain,”Over The Top” (Floating World)- The muscular American hard rock outfit formed by bass player and former Cream collaborator Felix Pappalardi and larger than life guitar ace Leslie West in the late sixties may never really have fully captured the imagination of audiences on this side of the Atlantic, although one of their finest creations, “Nantucket Sleighride,” was used as the signature tune of ITV’s long...
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
messengernewspapers.co.uk | Kevin Bryan
CD Reviews : Bronski Beat, Rob Heron, Maddy Prior (Image: London Records) Bronski Beat,”The Age of Consent” (London Records)- Bronski Beat’s debut album, “The Age of Consent,” first saw the light of day in 1984, showcasing a string of distinctive hit singles led by “Smalltown Boy,” “Why?” and their revival of George Gershwin’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” London Records have chosen to mark the 40th anniversary of this momentous event by releasing an expanded version of the album, fleshing out...
