London Sports Writing Festival 2015 - David Millar on retirement, the Spring Classics and his final Tour de France moment

David Millar has raced bicycles professionally at the highest level for 18 years, competing in the Grand Tours, the World Championships and Olympics for Great Britain and represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. And yet the man I see in front of me on the stage in the Thomas Lord suite of Lord's Cricket Ground, being interviewed by ITV's Ned Boulting, has an air of depression about him.

Depression in retired athletes is not a new problem but still remains a big taboo, in the main because it's hard for the general public to feel sorry for sports men and women who've earned a lot of money over the course of their career. It's Millar, though, who has a genuine, heart-breaking reason to be upset about how his professional cycling career came to an end.

Millar and Boulting reporting on the 2015 Tour de France

2014's Garmin-Cervelo team selection came as a shock, both to Millar, who was 37-years-old at the time, and cycling fans, when Millar's Director Sportif, Charlie Wegelius, told him at the last minute he wasn't going to race in that year's Tour de France. Millar recalls: "I can't let that go. From my experience of 12 Tours de France and how I could turn that kind of fitness around, I could have gone. It wasn't the first time I'd been so terribly unfit and out of shape so close to an objective and turned it around; that was my thing. My biggest problem was Charlie. I was like, 'You know me!', and he was just saying, 'Yeah...not good enough, Dave. You've been terrible the last few months, you haven't finished a race'. I told him, 'This was my objective to get ready for the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships, I'll be fine, I've done this my whole career, without fail. Give me a break maybe? I'll do it'." According to Millar, his close friend and former team mate, Matt White, Sporting Director of Orica Green-Edge, would have given him the chance to get his fitness back: "He [Matt White] would have said, 'Dave, don't worry mate, you'll be fine, I trust you, you'll turn it around', and I just heard his voice in my head all the time".

Having essentially been retired by his boss, Millar, rather handily, was called by Boulting and asked to join their ITV coverage of the 2014 Tour de France. Although he'd left the sport, it wasn't on his terms and he felt angry, so his sister - Director of Business Operations at Team Sky - demanded he see Dr. Steve Peters, the well known sports psychologist, who'd he'd only seen a few times before, the first time being 2005 when Millar was released from jail in Biarritz: "My sister basically said, 'David, sort your shit out!'." It wasn't until he sat down and spoke to Steve over Skype that it suddenly dawned on him what was happening. "I sat down to talk to Steve for an hour and immediately he asked, 'How are you?', and I was just like, 'I don't know, I don't know how I am'. He was just like, 'Okay', and then he talked for 45 minutes. He said, 'David you have to recognise that you achieve things, and it's a good thing, but you have to put it to bed'."

Millar riding with Garmin-Sharp in the 2012 Tour de France

To achieve anything in any sport you have to train, but training as a professional cyclist is particularly excruciating. In a sport where ultra-endurance is the key factor in winning, it becomes even more important to train your body to cope with the pain of converting high pedal revolutions into maintained speed. In a typical 180km stage of the Tour de France, the peloton will travel at speeds up to 40kph and gradually increase the pace to drop weak riders until the sprint finish during which specialised sprinters will reach going on 70kph. It's brutal to say the least. Millar explains his relationship with training and how his opinion of it has changed over the years: "I loved racing when I was fit, I hated getting fit. But I think that's the same for all of us as human beings not just athletes. I started to like racing more than the training which is odd because you like the training and the results, what happened to me was I started preferring the racing and I didn't care about the results."

In anticipation of the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana - Millar's staple calendar Grand Tours - Millar rode the 2014 Spring Classics; Milan - San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Paris - Roubaix. Boulting points out as he asks about them, that he knows Millar has a love/hate relationship with the Spring Classics - although it's love with a lower case L and hate with an upper case H: "I got it as I got older and I loved it when I was a junior. The reason I got into bike racing was Belgium when John Barclay (who also mentored Ian Stannard and Mark Cavendish) took me there on a trip, and it was while I was there I was just like, 'Oh man, this is bike racing!'.

"I've said it, and even Bradley Wiggins has, Flanders is the ultimate bike race. Paris - Roubaix is such an iconic event, but Flanders for any bike racer is like" - at this point Millar exhales to demonstrate he can't think of a bold enough word to describe it - "Why?" ask Boulting, inquisitively. "It's so...BONKERS!" says Millar with look of wonder on his face and marvel in his voice which brings a chuckle from the audience around me. "There are times even as a pro, and I've been there at the sharp end of the race in 2010 with [Philippe] Gilbert and [Fabian] Cancellara, you just think to yourself, 'I have no idea where I am!'."

Millar had ridden Paris - Roubaix only three times before 2014 but never finished and so made it his mission to at least finish, not matter the cost, in the that year's edition. However after crashing within 15 kilometres from the finish inside the velodrome at Roubaix, Millar's mind set changed completely and then ultimately ended the race in rather embarrassing fashion: "I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna enjoy this now, I'm just gonna ride to the finish and soak this up. I got into the velodrome and there was a bunch of four or five riders but I didn't want to finish with them, I wanted to do it on my own. As I was coming round they'd all stopped, and I thought oh God this has ruined my whole moment. Instead of unclipping and asking them to move, which I didn't do because I have too much self respect, I just peeled off the track and said I'm done. I was like, 'Yes I've finished', but then my wife said, 'No, you haven't finished'. So I put my helmet back on and got back on the bike and rode my lap of shame to the actual finish line."

Even 18 years on from being a junior, Millar states he was still learning about how to ride the cobble stones of Paris - Roubaix even up until 2014: "All you have [to ride the cobble stones] is stronger wheels and wider tyres with lower pressure. For the first time last year I relaxed and everything becomes so Zen. You get on the cobble stones and you relax your fingers. In the past, I'd been holding on so tight that all the vibrations would hurt my fingers and I'd have to stretch all the knuckles. And then the last year, I didn't hold on. I just relaxed and was floating and I suddenly got it...18 years too late. The guys that practice Roubaix, they teach themselves to relax, but I'd never done it."

Some won't know how the Spring Classic differ, as Millar explains: "What sets Flanders and Roubaix apart is Roubaix is a war of attrition whereas Flanders is for that finale moment. San Remo has the best finale moment but each one has a thing that makes it stand out individually."

As the last question, Boulting asks what Millar misses the most and Millar repeatedly comes back to "my friends" - but not in the way you or I would use the word friends. Millar reels off name after name of pros and ex pros with whom he grew close to, but now he's retired, he never sees them anymore: "The weird thing about professional cycling is you make friends", he pauses and brings forward his hands to count, "Matt White, Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie, Brad McGee, Ryder Hesjedal, George Hincapie, the list just goes on and on, and these are guys I'd've never met in any other walk of life. We had such wonderful life experiences and I miss the comradery. Thing is we never bump into each other and we never will, it's not like we're all old university friends who hook up because we're all weird dudes anyway. We're not on Facebook, we don't hang out. I miss my friends and I miss my team. Don't get me wrong, riding was super hard, but it was superseded by the friendships we made."





Millar and Flecha on the Champs-Elysees in 2013 - his final TdF stage

The evening before stage 21, the final stage, of the 2013 Tour de France, Millar, admittedly in rather an alcohol induced state, proud announced to his team he was going to break away on the iconic Champs-Elysees. As the race began, Millar asked team mate Stuart O'Grady if he wanted to join him in the break. O'Grady refused, with Millar not knowing his best friend was going to confess to doping the very next day and with that, retire. Millar describes the feeling of riding alone at the front of the race down the Champs-Elysees: "I was with Stewie in the neutral zone and I said, 'I'm gonna go in the break, I'm gonna attack on the Champs, do you wanna come?', and he said, 'No, I can't Dave', and I didn't know why. The funny thing is I got to the point to attack and I thought, 'I can do this', and then as I went to attack and thought, 'I can't do this!' - this raises a massive ironic laugh from the audience - 'How the hell am I going to do that?! How am I going to break away on the Champs?!' But once you see the Eiffel Tower you become a racer again and think, 'Oh God, yeah! I'm not tired anymore I'm going to race this!'
"A group of four of us swung onto the Champs-Elysees, [Juan Antonio] Flecha, Cameron Meyer, I can't remember the fourth unfortunately. And I remember feeling stronger than I'd ever done in my entire career as we got onto the Champs. We dropped Cameron and the other guy and it was just me and Flecha. Up until then I was just focused on myself getting into the break to impress my team mates - Millar puts on a voice in mockery of his own idea - that I hadn't taken anything else in. We came round the Arc [de Triomphe] and Flecha was tapping me and said, 'You go'. At that moment I forgot my team mates, I forgot everything else and just enjoyed it. I was flying down the downhill section at about 70kph, slightly flicking the barrier and was just thinking, 'WOW!'. Coming out from the tunnel and back onto the main road was like entering Ben Hur - just a sea of people with flags cheering. It was that moment when I thought, 'This is fucking bike racing!'." Unfortunately, Millar wasn't able to cap his career with a win on the Champs-Elysees as Marcel Kittel won the sprint finish.

As the event draws to a close what becomes evident is how much of a tortured soul Millar sounds, like he had something precious viciously snatched from him. And the truth is he did. His final hurrah on the Champs-Elysees, already planned and after party booked by his sister, was coldly pulled out from under him. But Millar looks back reflectively on what was his final Tour de France with fondness, because he didn't know it was his last and therefore got the chance to actually race, rather than see it as a career coming to an end which would have happened had he been picked for the 2014 Tour.

It's a shame Millar's career ended so bitterly, but in a way it's a relief because he got to enjoy his final Tour de France moment on his own with the people of Paris shouting for him. It may have happened a year earlier than he'd wanted but at least one of Britain's most talented cyclists got it.

Clutch - Psychic Warfare album review

Clutch has been around for over 20 years but have never really made it big in the mainstream. They had their biggest hit in 2013 with Earth Rocker and are back in 2015 with Psychic Warfare; and there's no reason why it can't be massive!



For the fourth time - previously on albums Pure Rock Fury, Blast Tyrant and Earth Rocker - the boys from Clutch are working with producer Machine (aka Gene Freeman), and you can tell from the sound. It's crisp, well engineered but most importantly, organic and raw. The sound you hear on the album is the sound that was in the studio on the day of recording and that's something I really enjoy. To get the most out of the sound of this album, I would really recommend listening to it on vinyl, it'll really improve your experience!

To find out more about their recording process on Psychic Warfare, you can check out this YouTube video about the production of the album - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6jaPniwW6c

The album opens with a very short interlude in which lead singer Neil Fallon is speaking and to open the second track says, "Let's start at the beginning".

The second track is the single from the album; X-ray Visions. If you're not used to Clutch's style prior to listening to the song, you sure will be after. It explodes into the ears and delivers bold blues rock and riff-age from start to finish.

Firebirds comes next in much the same vein as X-ray Visions with two notable exceptions. Fallon's vocals are definitely tested in this one, especially when he screams the title during the chorus, but boy does he knock it for six! I would describe Fallon's vocals as similar to that of Lemmy's in that he's either shouting or not shouting - the difference here is Fallon sounds a lot better when he does.

There's not much to say on A Quick Death In Texas except Clutch turn on the blues even more and it's just incredible to listen to. With groove, swagger and solo to match, it takes on a life of it's own and is a joy to absorb.

Sucker For The Witch probably has the coolest riff on Psychic Warfare, starting as a bass intro from Dan Maines and then joined by the guitar, it rises and drops and rolls producing a seriously sexy rhythm. The chorus riff fits in perfectly too before Sult produces yet another tremendous solo that leaves you in true wonderment of this brilliant piece of song writing.

Track three may have a familiar feel to fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as the verse has a sound resembling Give It Away. After the verse though it's straight back to Clutch and once again we get a riff-tastic chorus and blistering solo from Sult (to be honest I don't think he knows how not to do a blistering solo!).

Doom Saloon is an instrumental interlude and has a very wild west feel to it, with a single strumming guitar that is joined by a distorted, echoing guitar over the top which follows directly into Our Lady Of Electric Light.

Our Lady Of Electric Light is step back from the band. Not as frantic or heavy as the previous tracks but just as riffy and could be called an adventure into the psychedelic side of the blues. The lead guitar sound is quite reminiscent of Link Wray's, Rumble, as the sound shimmers and echoes around Fallon's slow, plodding lyrics.

Track nine, Noble Savage, is a revisit to what Clutch do best after a couple of slower tunes; heavy, riffed up blues with Fallon in good old shouting form on the mic. At barely two minutes 50 seconds, this is a real barnstormer of a song and is 100mph all the way through, giving drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and bassist Maines a proper workout!

Behold The Colossus really lives up to it's name. It's a properly heavy, banging, noisey track with a good amount of Gibson Les Paul thunder and symbol crashing thrown in for good measure. We get a brief reprieve towards the end before it all comes crashing in yet again. By all means listen to it loud but your ears won't thank you!

You don't get a rest after Behold The Colossus though. Decapitation Blues is a song that again lives up to it's name and is a constant bombardment of blues rock and heavy riffs. It's fantastic and is the reason I love Clutch!

The twelfth and final track on Psychic Warfare is a real side step to what we're used to from Clutch. We've heard glimpses of southern rock on previous albums but nothing as 'deep south' as Son Of Virginia (although the name should give you a clue). Not only is it a side step in terms of music style but also in terms of track length. The longest track in the previous eleven isn't even four minutes long and now we get a six minute marathon. And it's not like it gets lost in it's own length either. It paces itself with a slow verse and only increases the pace in the chorus, when the music really comes alive and gives us a heavy dose of rattling drums and crunchy guitars.

Verdict - 9/10
I really, really love this album. It's got everything you want from a blues rock band and more besides. The only thing I feel is missing is more minutes. It's only 39 minutes long, including the interludes at the beginning and end, and for me it needs to be longer. More tracks could be the answer but with 12 already on there I would say it's more a fact of extending the songs a bit more. Sure they're all brilliantly written and recorded tracks but three minutes just feels a little bit short for some of them - notably Noble Savage. I won't let that take too much away from this album though, as otherwise it's all pretty much flawless, and give it a really high 9/10.

SPECTRE - film review

After nine years, four films, six Bond girls and several shootouts, we arrive at the cinematical knot that ties together the Daniel Craig era of James Bond; SPECTRE.



SPECTRE promotional poster

SPECTRE picks up almost immediately after M's death at the end of Skyfall, with MI5 and MI6 in the process of being merged by Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), aka "C", as the British Government attempt to put more focus on data analysis and surveillance and less on 'the man in the field'. It's due to this that for entire span of the film Bond appears to be operating completely rogue behind the back of the new "M" (Ralph Fiennes), whilst employing the help of "Q" (Ben Wishaw) and Miss Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) remotely.

After removing a ring from the finger of an assailant in Mexico City during the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival, Bond embarks on a journey to find out what the symbol on it refers to and who leads this mystery organisation; which by the end of the film we know to be SPECTRE and Bond's most infamous enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). It was also revealed in an interesting plot twist that Blofeld's Father took in James when his parents died and ever since Blofeld felt ignored and so killed his Father and faked his own death.

I referred to SPECTRE being the knot that ties the Daniel Craig era of Bond together at the beginning and here is why I said that. Every villain 007 came up against - Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene, Raoul Silva and Mr. White - were employed by Blofeld to affect the world in some way but when Bond inevitably saved the day and squandered his plans, Blofeld then punished Bond by killing his love interest in each case; most notably Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in Casino Royale.

SPECTRE as a spectacle is a phenomenal sight to behold, taking us through the typical Bond travelogue; Italy, Austria, Mexico and of course, London. The camera work is just beautiful and even during the intense hyper car chase between Bond - in a prototype Aston Martin DB10 (which ironically was intended for 009 but he stole), and SPECTRE henchman Mr. Hinx (former WWE wrestler, Dave Baustista), in the Jaguar C-X75 - the film still manages to portray the tightness and quaintness of the back streets of Rome with even a little comedy involved at the expense of an old Italian man driving a Fiat 500 that gets in the way of Bond's escape.

For me the most jaw dropping moment in the film is opening set piece. The aforementioned Dia de Muerta, looks so good while at the same time looking like it was a nightmare to organise, what with over 2000 extras to direct. In the opening scene, which is a single stunning four and half minute sweeping shot, we are taken down into the melee in the streets of Mexico City, where we see Bond in a skull mask, and up into a hotel where Bond leaves his mistress in the room and heads out onto the balcony in search of his target. It's so smooth and unprecedented in a film with such a huge budget where you expect cuts to fly by as quickly as your eye can blink.

Although rated 12A, there are a couple of moments you probably wouldn't want your pre-teen watching on the big screen; the scene when Mr. Hinx claws out the eyes of a SPECTRE member and when Blofeld is drilling into the side of Bond's skull. The latter moment was particularly 'superhero' ish, in that one minute Bond was getting drills in his skull and the next he was running from the guards and shooting each of them in the open whilst not even receiving a scratch from their machine guns or showing signs of a headache!

I only have one reservation about an otherwise brilliant film and that's the character of Madeline Swan as portrayed by Lea Seydoux. It's not so much the character itself that I have the frustration with, more the accent of Seydoux. As the daughter of Mr. White you'd assume she'd be English, and there's no mention of her Mother being French, but instead we hear a mixture of Queen's English in some scenes and sloppy English with a French accent in others - and it's very confusing!

Finally, and this isn't really a complaint about the film so much, the theme song as performed by Sam Smith that I reviewed a few days ago does fit into the context of the film lyrically but that by no means changes my mind on it. I still think it's a wretched song but annoyingly it does fit.

Verdict - 9/10
Ever since Daniel Craig stepped into the shoes of 007 in 2006 for Casino Royale, the franchise has been keen to shed more light on Bond's past and plunge into the depths of his at times dark character.

2012 was the turning point, when after the disappointment of Quantum Of Solace, director Sam Mendes came on board to produce the most commercially successful James Bond film of all time; Skyfall. After Skyfall became the 14th highest grossing film world wide of all time, raking in £1.109 billion at the box office, it may have seemed an impossible task to make a film to build on what went before and even to out do it. With SPECTRE though, I believe Mendes and co. have made a worthy follow-up and have avoided falling into the trap of copying what was so good about Skyfall and have instead made a film that stands perfectly well on it's own.

The combination of great camera work, excellent story and what feels like a sense of completion make this a must watch Bond flick. Enough said.

Ghost - Meliora album review

Meliora is here! The much anticipated third album from Swedish heavy Metal band, Ghost, along with their third Papa Emeritus.

Ghost - Meliora album cover

Ghost are a welcome difference to the Metal scene of 2015. They're the first band since Kiss in the 1970s to take their gimmick very seriously and keep their identities as secret as possible, most notably lead singer Papa Emeritus III who is known to turn up for shows just minutes before and leave immediately after. Shrouding himself and his cult of Nameless Ghouls in a thick veil of mystery - and I really like it.

Having build this image Ghost go full throttle with it and even bring it to their album artwork (see picture). At first it looks like occult ish imagery, with a dark priest looking over his domain - but on further inspection, from a distance away, is the face of Papa Emeritus III. Very clever if you ask me...

The Swedish heavy Metal group have a very unique sound, with essence of ABBA flavouring their heavy cocktail of papal appearance, occult theme and progressive, dark soundtrack. Ghost have managed to find a perfect slot in the bookshelf of 2015 Metal, combining both super heavy, almost doom Metal, with a softer progressive sound.

Ghost are known now for their sound which portrays an almost ethereal feel, very much similar to one you might associate parochially, despite Ghost's presentation being a complete juxtaposition of that theme with the dark robes and skull face mask worn by Papa.

Meliora begins with Spirit. A typical Ghost song that sets up the rest of the ten track album in safe, familiar accord.

Next are From The Pinnacle To The Pit and Cirice (either pronounced Cherryche or Sirice?) both of which are brilliantly constructed. FTPTTP features an excellent, rocking opening bass line that then opens up the rest of the song which treats us to beautiful harmonics that Ghost are so well known for delivering. Cirice is similar to the previous track in that it's one of the longest tracks on the album and also musically it's phenomenal. Where it differs though is in it's timing. From verse to pre chorus to chorus and back to verse it isn't scarred to mess with it's own rhythm and timing and instead uses it's own atmosphere to lead the experience.

After these two incredible tracks Ghost turn their approach on it's head with a minute long, spooky acoustic number called Spöksonat that acts as an interlude before Ghost's creative juices get flowing on tracks five and six.

On said tracks five and six, we are given two songs that demonstrate the polar opposites musically that Ghost are able to achieve. Firstly, the progressive Metal ballad He Is and then the extremely dark, powerful Mummy Dust.

Much like Spirit, Majesty is a solid track and fits well into the overall flow of the album.

The next track bring two words together rarely seen in pairing; Devil Church. It's another minutely interlude that clears the palate and prepares you for the all encompassing darkness that proceeds.

Absolution is a great song in it's own right, and will probably sit just below Cirice in the singles pecking order, but brings it's own intimidating sound to the party that sets it apart from the rest of the album. The way that it builds and is structured makes it catchy without it being obviously designed to be so, showing that Ghost can write impressive songs without making a conscious effort to produce something that makes the listener sit back in amazement.

The ending of the album comes about via Deus In Absentia, and brilliantly so. This track brings together exactly what Ghost are all about; theatrics, parochial backing vocals and progressive Metal. So theatrical in fact, it sounds like it could have been pulled straight from Phantom Of The Opera.

Verdict - 8/10
I had to listen to Meliora a few times before I "got it". Due to it being progressive in nature you have to listen carefully to get all the messages and musical flavours and that cannot be done properly on one listen alone. I've given it three or four goes on the turn table and I must say it grows with every one. It may not be an outstanding Metal album but in it's own way it's a statement of intent from Ghost as to what they are capable of and is a great demonstration of progressive Metal setting a standard in 2015.

The Strypes bring A* performance on Norwich Waterfront debut

Having already seen The Strypes once before this year (5 May at The Portland Arms, Cambridge - http://ramblingsofanessexlad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-strypes-rock-is-alive-and-kicking.html) I knew what kind of show the audience and I were in for. And despite not being sold out, The Strypes made their Norwich Waterfront debut on Wednesday in smashing fashion!

Perhaps due to it being The Strypes' debut in Norwich, the organisers had put on not one but two warm ups bands; fellow Irish rockers 'The Mighty Stef' and local alternative band 'Secret From Richard'.

Secret From Richard
Unsurprisingly, being on two hours before the main event, Secret From Richard didn't have much of an audience but none the less put on a decent set. They remind me very much of Kings Of Leon i.e. interesting musical arrangement but nothing too remarkable in the lyrics and vocals department. I'll give their drummer a lot of credit; he'd definitely studied some John Bonham tapes!

The Mighty Stef
My friend Dan had seen The Mighty Stef before as the warm up band for Irish punk band Flogging Molly about two years previously and was very complementary about them and to be honest they weren't half bad. If I had to summon up a comparative artist I'd probably say U2 are as close as I can get. An aside, and rather distracting in an amusing way, is that the lead singer of The Mighty Stef had a haircut very similar to Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory...

I probably wouldn't mind seeing The Mighty Stef again. Musically very alternative rock and with a great engaging stage presence I can imagine they'll break into the mainstream sooner rather than later.

The Strypes


L to R: Pete, 19, Evan, 18, Ross, 18, Josh, 20. Picture credit: Karl and Jane Dawson

I literally can't stop banging on about how good The Strypes are! From first hearing their debut record Snapshot I was hooked. The raw rock 'n' roll they emit is so refreshing and I imagine the feeling is similar to how people my age felt the first time they saw The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and other such ground-breaking bands in the early 1960s. Their combination of everything that's great from the 60s and 70s, i.e. rock, blues, R&B (the old kind not rap kind), and punk, portrays them in a way that means you get a taste of all those brilliant bands rolled into one. And it's just fantastic to watch live!

For a group of four lads in which one has only just turned 20, one 19 and the lead singer and drummer are still the tender age of 18, it's incredible how experienced these guys act on stage. Ross Farrelly, the lead singer, for example, shows the frontman-ship of a performer twice his age and is even more stunning when you know that for years he's worn very, very black sunglasses because he's so nervous of going on stage.

Josh McClorey on lead guitar. Picture credit: Karl and Jane Dawson

One member of The Strypes who doesn't have such reserve is lead guitarist, and oldest head, Josh McClorey. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this guy has serious skills with six strings! Having seen them in May I knew exactly how good he is, however since then the young Irish axeman appears to have added quite a bit of showmanship into his repertoire - the inventiveness of the kid is just a joy to behold. He may have borrowed a move from Hendrix, Page, SRV and the like but seeing a guy play a solo behind his back live is still jaw dropping to watch whoever's doing it. A gimmick I'd never seen before was laying the guitar on the floor and playing it like a lap steel, except instead of a slide Josh used his fingers (imagine him with his hands in a piano playing position), which add in the plethora of effects pedals he was using made for incredible, heavy, distorted, masterfully controlled chaos.

Evan and Ross. Picture credit: Karl and Jane Dawson

Back to the start of the gig itself, and after some momentary apprehension, the boys began with the bouncing, banging, riff-tastic track Eighty-Four from the new record Little Victories and with that the nervous energy amongst the crowd soon turned into whooping, foot stomping and applause. The Strypes clearly picked up on this and notched up the intensity a few clicks, thriving off the newfound admiration coming their way. Ross was without his signature sunglasses and early on Pete mimed through the cacophony of noise, "where are your glasses?" with Ross replying with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders; clearly after more than three years of touring Ross feel confident enough to just get on with the show. For the first few songs he didn't really know where to look, however soon after embraced having a few hundred people staring at him and took to it like a true rock star.

As for the set list, it was non stop full throttle from start to finish and played through a selection of tracks both old and new, including a couple I hadn't heard before off their first EP. They went off, only for the Norwich crowd to scream and bay "MORE!!!". Of course The Strypes obliged and performed an encore of three songs ending with the crowd favourite Bo Diddley cover, You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover.

One of my favourite moments from the gig was during the encore when Josh said: "We're going to play you a slow Leonard Cohen song now, just to warm you up again". That 'slow Leonard Cohen song' turned out to be in fact the opposite; their fast paced, punk driven, hard rock track from the Flat Out EP - Kick Out The Jams! The thing I find so great about Kick Out The Jams is the insanely fast bass line Pete bangs out. As a player of a bass myself I was trying to follow it to see how to play it but even standing at the very front of the stage watching his fingers whizz around the fret board was confusing.

To say it was an excellent gig wouldn't do the show justice; it was purely and simply everything you want in a rock 'n' roll gig. I've been to a number of performances this year and I would easily put this one second in the list only to AC/DC at Wembley in July. I mean c'mon it's AC/DC! The Strypes aren't that good...yet.

Sam Smith's James Bond Theme Song Is Nothing To Write Home About

In the past, James Bond films were as much anticipated for their theme song as the stunts, cars and which Hollywood actress was playing the beautiful Bond girl. Unfortunately in recent years the theme song just hasn't lived up to expectations, and Sam Smith's offering for the newest Bond film, 'Spectre' (set for release at the end of October in the UK), is as woefully pathetic as Adele's wail for 'Skyfall'.

I won't make it a secret that I have never liked pop so when I found out Sam Smith was recording the new Bond theme I was less than pleased. Deflated is a good description actually.

When you think of iconic Bond themes I would suspect most people's minds would go straight to Dame Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger' or Sir Paul McCartney's 'Live and Let Die'. The attraction of such names recording the theme was that they were established artists whom had already climbed a top the bejewelled ladder of fame. The massive failure of asking Sam Smith to record this film's theme is also a very clever marketing ploy.

To most people older than 25 he's unknown. Sam Smith's target audience is nowhere near old enough to remember any of the classic Bond films and their themes and therefore will consume any old pop ballad they're given with tasteless appreciation. It's the same logic behind the re-launch of 'Sugar Puffs' (watch the latest series of Dave Gorman's 'Modern Life is Goodish' to get a full explanation). Basically the current generation of young people don't remember how good Bond themes used to be and therefore are numb to how much the quality has dropped. For the producers of the film it's great because they are going to pull in a whole generation of fans of Sam Smith, even if they've never seen a Bond film before. On the other hand you have the lovers of Bond. Those who thought Sean Connery was the best thing since sliced bread and could name every Bond girl since Ursula Andress. It's these people who suffer through the unbearably over produced music that claims to be good enough to be considered Bond material.

To the song itself. It's starts of in very promising fashion with classic strings that immediately takes your mind to a bar in Saint-Tropez; your 1963 Aston Martin DB5 parked majestically outside. That however is as good as it gets and within seconds swiftly rolls down a steep hill before sinking to the bottom of the French Riviera. The lyrics would be better suited in a cheesy love song.  It's very bland and towards the end Mr. Smith sends his voice skywards to a painful sounding alto range, which I'm sure only dogs will be able to understand.

Despite looking forward to the release of 'Spectre' in time for Christmas, I will be sticking my fingers in my ears when the theme comes on, as I assume will most people who have taste in music and value their ear drums.

Shinedown - Threat To Survival album review

American alternative rock band Shinedown have evolved massively since their post-grunge debut in 2003, Leave A Whisper, and with their latest offering, Threat To Survival, the sound may have changed but the message is still as brutal as ever.

Shinedown's Brent Smith, Zach Myers, Eric Bass and Barry Kerch have been on a vertical trajectory to fame ever since the earth shaking monster that was Sound of Madness in 2008, however didn't quite satisfy the fans' lust on the follow-up, Amaryllis in 2012, making it all the more important for Threat To Survival to regain the reigns on the horse the band rode so majestically seven years ago.

Although starting out as heavy as ever with Asking For It and Cut The Cord, the majority of the album progresses with a very modern sound, as if the group has anticipated the current of the mainstream and decided to steer straight into it. This decision may leave hard-core fans a bit deflated, considering there's nothing compared to 45 or Simple Man on this LP but there are classic sounding Shinedown songs for ingestion though - Outcast, Dangerous and Black Cadillac are as close to Sound Of Madness as you'll get.

Saying that though, it's not as if they have completely left the roots of the band behind. The lyrics, written predominantly by Brent and Zach, are as powerful and brutal as on any other Shinedown record, following the same themes as all their other albums; death, depression, drug abuse, violence, bullying, mental illness etc. If you're going to go deep you might as well go all in, right?!

There's more emphasis on making a unique sound on this record, rather than rock 'n' roll, which becomes immediately clear on tracks such as State Of My Head and It All Adds Up which are lead rhythmically by Barry Kerch's genius drumming.

As they've done on Sound Of Madness and Amaryllis, Shinedown close the album with a rather more chilled out track in Misfits. Chilled out musically it may be but lyrically will have you an emotional wreck if you relate to it's socially against the grain message.

Verdict - 8/10

Threat To Survival can't match Sound Of Madness for sheer intensity but I don't think that's the point. A successful band has to be constantly evolving, and to just copy what they did seven years ago would be a mistake, no matter how much fans would love that. I love the album both for the new sound and brilliantly written songs although I can understand why fans from the beginning might be a bit uneasy towards the direction the band have taken.

Individual track rating

Asking For It - 8/10
Cut The Cord - 7/10
State Of My Head - 7/10
Outcast - 8/10
How Did You Love - 8/10
It All Adds Up - 9/10
Oblivion - 8/10
Dangerous - 9/10
Thick As Thieves - 7/10
Black Cadillac - 9/10
Misfits - 8/10

Motorhead - Bad Magic review

A lot changes over the course of 40 years...oh except for Motorhead, and on their 40th Anniversary album, Bad Magic, they're trying very hard to be as loud, brash and gritty as ever, with the consequence being a rather old and worn out sounding Lemmy Kilmister.

After four decades of shouting something has to give, and in this case it's Lemmy's voice. It's been well documented how ill he's been and from pictures online it's easy to see too. On Bad Magic there's nothing lacking in the music department - far from it - every song sounds as original as it's possible for a Motorhead track to be, but there's a real lack of oomph in the vocals. It's been said that on the final mix the producer actually had to boost the volume on Lemmy's vocal track because it wasn't audible enough over the bass, drums and guitar, which is obvious when you listen to the album because it's clear how much pressure his voice is under.

Normally the vocals/lyrics are make or break for me however with Motorhead, a band not exactly renowned for about clarity when it comes to vocals, I think I can look over it because of just how good the musicianship is. Phil Williams is spectacular on lead guitar and Mikkey Dee demonstrates his prowess behind the skins, keeping up with and adding to the insane drive that Lemmy offers with his un-bassist-like, chord/rhythm playing technique.

Motorhead, much like AC/DC, have been labelled by many as bands whose songs sound very similar one to the next, and this album follows that with just a few exceptions. The first of these exceptions being The Devil, which uncharacteristically to every other Motorhead song ever recorded, features a 'stop-go' rhythm as I'd call it, in that there is actual silence between notes in the chorus. Another thing to point on this track is that is has a guest guitarist in Queen's Dr. Brian May, and one things for sure, he doesn't mind getting his heavy on! It shouldn't be a surprise when May shows his musical flexibility but it's nice to hear him shred on a neck and not associate the ensuing genius with a previous track we've heard a thousand times before on commercial radio.

The other exceptions will definitely please the more rock than metal fans of Motorhead. Till The End is almost a hard rock ballad, starting slowly and building to a crescendo of classically Motorhead proportions. As well as this there is the album closer, an uncharacteristic cover; The Rolling Stones's 'Sympathy For The Devil'. Having heard Guns N Roses' abysmal attempt to cover one of the Stones' most well known tracks, I was more than pessimistic about yet another hard rock/Metal interpretation. However, I will report that it's not anything like as awful as Axl and co's version and in fact I quite like it. Lemmy's distinctive grunt fits very well with the depressing war/devil lyrics and the trio stay very true to the original structure, just adding traditional Motorhead grit and drive.

Verdict 3.5/5
Well it's typical Motorhead for three quarters of the album so normally I would only give that 2/5 or so. But on this occasion, with the added musical depth of two rockier tracks I'm happy to move that up to 3-3.5/5. I'm still not convinced by Lemmy's vocals, and there comes a point where you have to say no more, but the production team have done just well enough to mask his frailty enough to produce a good heavy rock/Metal album. I do feel the time is coming though when Lemmy will have to say no more and either scout for new vocal talent or end the band as is, although I don't think that's fair on Phil Williams or Mikkey Dee.

It's difficult to say how Bad Magic will be received by hardcore Motorhead fans but, knowing Metal fans, I think it'll still hit the spot.

The Strypes - Little Victories review

After debuting in 2012 with Snapshot, The Strypes have earned their stripes with Little Victories. Great lyrics, soul-shaking riffs and a clear musical evolution make the 2015 release not to be missed!



Little Victories starts where Snapshot left off; with two heavily riffed, Zeppelin-esque, simply written tracks. Get Into It, the single from the album, sums up life as a teenager in the world of social media and does so with a kickass riff that almost makes you not care so much about the song itself and just focus on the chemistry between guitar, bass and drums. I Need To Be Your Only is in much the same vein as Get Into It in that all you can say is it's clearly a Strypes song by the way it's written, the accompanying riff and the driving bass.

The Strypes have definitely shown how they've progressed as musicians, with the introduction of mellower, less aggressive tunes. A Good Night's Sleep And A Cab Fare Home, for example, demonstrates the versatility of Josh McClorey's writing and shows that you don't necessarily need to be smashing the audience's ear drums to please them. You can hear the influences The Strypes have had over the past few years in this one, with an Oasis/Arctic Monkey's indie sound coming through, which I can't decide if it's a bad thing or not.... (I Wanna Be Your) Everyday is so mellow it may act as an attempt at a foray into the psychedelic, with a smooth, shimmering guitar wah over the top of Ross Farrelly's chilled vocals.

I've already dicussed Eighty-Four in a previous blog post from when I saw Evan, Josh, Pete and Ross in a tiny venue in Cambridge in May, before they'd even announced the name of the new album, but needless to say - it's awesome.

McClorey is assisted with lyrics on Queen Of The Half Crown by his friend Dave Bardon and revives that fuzzy Led Zep sound to great effect once again. Finding out 'half crown' is Irish slang for drunk put a funny slant on the song too. Best Man plants this album straight back into the punk genre. A fast paced, short, sharp song that has The Clash written all over it - not literally, mind.

Three Streets And A Village Green is one of two tracks that appear to describe the longings of home after months traveling the world. Lyrically it's a check on the band's humility and their defiance not to forget their routes in the leafy rural Irish village of Cavan. Again the early-noughties influence is there but McClorey adds a huge amount with a 'different' wahed solo.

Another single next; Now She's Gone. A proper, heavy, distorted outburst of shouty teenage angst that also sees McClorey increase his musical diversity with a stint of tinny lap steel guitar audible towards the end.

A song writing debut for bassist Pete O'Hanlon on Cruel Brunette is an interesting one, written in the form of a short story that tells of a bad experience with a girl (obviously). O'Hanlon's song writing reminds me a lot of very early Pink Floyd or more specifically, Syd Barrett, especially at the beginning of the track, that morphs into jangly mod and back to 1967 Pink Floyd.

Status Update is probably the most cleverly sarcastic song you're going to hear from a band with a writer as young as McClorey. The chorus has backing vocals of "shame, shame, shame", as if a rebellious teenager is just ignoring everyone and not caring what anyone says. All I can picture when I hear this track is a disgruntled teen walking out the door of his parents house with two fingers raised. The chorus alone just screams pissed of teenager, "And it never felt so good - Am I acting like I should be? - Doing things I never could".

Finally, Scumbag City is the second song that tells of the band missing home, or more specifically hating where they are staying. In an interview on Wednesday 19 August on RTE Radio 1, O'Hanlon said how much he hates Shoreditch and the hipsters that inhabit it. One line of lyrics - "There's empty cans on river street, Scumbag City Blues" - actually appears to refer to a real street in the Shoreditch area when researched on Google Maps! This maybe a coincidence but somehow I think not.

Verdict
I'll give it 4/5 for now, or if I'm generous 4.5/5. The only song that troubles me is A Good Night's Sleep And A Cab Fare Home purely because of the indie rock sound which needs to stay in the noughties and doesn't belong on a rock n roll album!

Other than that small hiccup, Little Victories is an excellent album and a clear evolution in The Strypes sound without straying too far. It also gives us a good helping of rocking riffs to keep us happy for another few years until part three of the discography comes our way.

The Strypes: Rock Is Alive And Kicking!

On 4 September 2014, Gene Simmons of Kiss claimed in an interview with Esquire that rock was finally dead. Having seen The Strypes live I can tell you the present and future of rock is very much alive and in great hands!

About a month and a half ago (5 May) I had the pleasure of going to see Irish Blues Rock four piece The Strypes at the Portland Arms in Cambridge. I had wanted to see the band, made up of Ross Farrelly on lead vocals, Josh McClorey on lead guitar and lead/backing vocals, Pete O'Hanlon on bass and Evan Walsh on drums, last Summer when they were touring their first album, 2013's Snapshot, however I missed their final East Anglian gig by a couple of weeks. This time around I was going to make it my mission to see them on their Flat Out tour in support of their upcoming album, Little Victories, which comes out on 21 August 2015.


Little Victories album cover

The Strypes' debut album, Snapshot

In interviews they've said they take most credence musically from Dr. Feelgood and The Yardbirds, which is easy to tell when they play their hard paced, aggressive, 'speed blues'.

It's hard to pin down exactly what genre The Strypes fall into, but to give just a few examples of who they sound like, it's a fusion of Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Jam, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat and The Sex Pistols. This long and diverse list of musical royalty should give an idea of just how much range these four teenage Irishmen have, and it's a credit to their elasticity as musicians that they are able to resemble such bands in the space of just a few songs.

Unbeknownst to me (having not read the tour poster in much detail) the warm up act was a young, 1960s styled pop band called The Red Faces all the way from Sheffield. They looked no older than 14 or 15 years old but had the stage presence of men twice their age, strutting around the stage with as much swagger as the mods they were replicating had done during the height of 60s mod culture. I wouldn't say they were my cup of tea, in the same way as I'm not a big Beatles fan mainly because I prefer 60s rock over 60s pop, but they certainly have the charisma and talent to take them a long way in the music industry. The Red Faces were only on for 30 minutes or so but definitely left me intrigued.

The Portland Arms only takes 200 people inside it's venue (located outside the pub itself) but this just added to the atmosphere and meant we were all packed in like sardines just feet from the bands. I managed to get a spot right next to the technician desk (see picture below).

Portland Arms music venue

It's always tricky to adjust equipment in anticipation for the sweltering conditions that occur when you cram 200 people into a small room, and as I suspected might happen, The Strypes seemed to have problems during and after their first few songs. At first it was Ross' harmonica microphone which wasn't cutting through the other instruments, then Josh's microphone wasn't loud enough to accompany Ross', followed by Ross requiring another towel, as the frontman exclaimed, "I'm fucking melting up here!"

The Strypes start the show in front of a packed venue

There was a very friendly, laid back vibe at the gig which was made clear whenever the band had to stop due to technical problems. On a few occasions Josh would give his tech that stare which means "help me it's not working", and it would be left to Pete and Ross to keep us and the audience entertained. In one particularly awkward silence as we waited for Josh's rig to be set up properly, Pete turned to us, leaned into the microphone and asked, "has anyone seen the new Avenger's movie? I have. It was OK. Not as good as the first one though. You guys look a bit too old for that kind of thing though, right? Oh well, just chat amongst yourselves until we get our shit working. That's the problem with a room that's fucking insanely hot, strings and guitars warp, sweat gets into the electronics and the amps decide not to work, all part of the fun I guess..."

As for the gig, the set list consisted of classics off the Snapshot record such as Blue Collar Jane, You Can't Judge a Book By The Cover, What a Shame, Hometown Girls, What the People Don't See and I Can Tell. They added to these by playing a few songs off the new record, three of which are on the new EP, Flat Out; Scumbag City, Eighty-Four and Kick Out The Jams. Scumbag City is a song that starts slowly with a single strumming guitar intro that builds into a thumping, guitar screaming climax that no doubt will become a live favourite and have crowds shouting the chorus back at the lads in a live situation. Eighty-Four is a track which is more rock driven than the previous song, with driving bass and drums that barrels along like a locomotive to produce a slobber-knocker. The final single is Kick Out The Jams, a 1:27 blink and you'll miss it thrash of rock 'n' roll that has a hint of heavy metal to it with the pounding bass, screeching guitar and shrieking vocals. It was on this number that The Strypes finished the main part of the gig before the encore, leaving their amps turned up to 11 and walking straight through the crowd with the throbbing feedback of their instruments ringing in our ears and reverberating through our bodies!



Left to right; Josh, Evan, Me, Dan, Pete, Ross

The lads told us afterwards this gig was part of a tour visiting small venues to prepare them for their big festival tour over the summer, and in the process get rid of the cobwebs that build up having been in the sanctuary of a recording studio for months beforehand. I took by this that they didn't feel bothered about having the problems they did, seeing as it was in front of a crowd of 200 rather than of tens of thousands.

I should have guessed, them being Irish, that they would be incredibly easy to talk to and friendly but I didn't and was blown away when after the gig, my friend Dan and I asked Evan's father if we could have our LPs signed and the band duly obliged, and also asked if we wanted a photo! I suppose they are used to this kind of thing, having toured all over the world and taken pictures with thousands of people, but to meet a bunch of young musicians who are clearly only in the industry for the pleasure of playing music and not the money is very refreshing.


My signed copy of Snapshot




The Women's Tour Visits North Essex

Yesterday my father and I decided to follow stage two of the Women's Tour from Braintree to Clacton-On-Sea, stopping at Sudbury and Great Bentley en route to catch the Queen Of The Mountains and Sprint sections of the course.


The start in Braintree town centre



Pearl Izumi Team with Team GB riders Dame Sarah Storey, Katie Archibald and Joanna Rowsell



The peloton move through the neutralised high street

To think it's been a year since I went to see a stage of the Women's Tour in Bedford feels absolutely mental but even more so is how the popularity of the event has grown in that time. Even at the start in Braintree town centre the streets were packed with people trying to get a look at the immense spectacle that is professional road cycling. You may have thought that the absence of Lizzi Armitstead following her crash the day before would have put fans off but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Leading the race through neutral zone of the town centre and out onto the main road were children from Beckers Green Primary School, who all looked around in amazement as they saw the throng of people all paying attention to them and the world class riders they were processing. The 138km course would be going via Halstead, Sudbury, Hadleigh, Kirby Le Soken and Great Bentley before turning 180 degrees and heading for the Essex seaside resort of Clacton-On-Sea.

 

QoM finish line on Finch Hill

Once the race had left Braintree we hurried back to the car and patiently crawled through the back log of traffic left behind by the road closures. Free of the mass of traffic the road opened out towards Halstead and Sudbury. Just before Sudbury we turned off to journey through winding lanes to the point where the first QoM section would be decided on Finch Hill. This was a perfect spot for spectators because the climb was long and straight, meaning we could see the riders coming from about 300 metres away.

The race was through in seconds and we dashed off to reach our second destination, Mistley, where the second QoM section was. However, it became apparent as we crawled through yet more back log into Sudbury that we weren't going to make it as the race was matching 85-90% of it's target time. So instead my father redirected us and we cut through to Great Bentley via some of the prettiest lanes I've ever driven in my life!



The break away come through Gt Bentley 1:42 ahead of the peloton

 We arrived in Great Bentley with about 30 minutes to spare and made the most of it by getting a much needed coffee from the pub and settling down with a picnic on the village green, the largest in Great Britain by the way! Proceeding the race to perform a rolling road block was a convoy of around 10-20 motorbikes, some of which were carrying cameramen and photographers. Most of these blokes were serious and didn't even crack a smile to the crowd, however one biker broke the trend, slowing down metres from the Sprint finish line, wiping his forehead and rocking his motorbike side to side in the same way a cyclist would in a sprint to the line. Safe to say it brought a chuckle.



The peloton speed across the sprint finish




Sprint finish on Clacton seafront

The finish on the waterfront in Clacton-On-Sea was barely 10km away now but with the race averaging over 20mph we didn't have long to get there. Luckily the traffic was kind and we managed to park and walk to the bustling finishing straight with 5km for the peloton still to race.
The big giveaway that the race is close is the TV helicopter following the race. As we stood on the finishing straight we could see said helicopter above the houses and slowly making its way towards us, and sure enough as it came into line with us the front of the race came bursting into view round the corner and sprint up the hill towards us and across the finish line.

Once the race had finished we headed up the road to where the presentation ceremony was. Being used to the pomp and circumstance of the aftermath of a professional cycling event, my father and I were ready in front of podium before anyone else in the crowd knew what was going on. 

Stage two winner Jolien D'Hoore - Belgium National Road Race Champion

Overall race leader Lisa Brennauer - World Time Trial Champion

 
The atmosphere at cycling events is always fantastic and yesterday's stage was no different, and I certainly cannot wait until next year's Women's Tour!

Is Muse's 'Drones' Their Best Yet?

Muse have released their seventh studio album, Drones, and can be considered as both the most socio-politically active and best music Matt Bellamy, Ben Howard and Chris Wolstenholme have made to date.



Muse's new album - Drones

The artwork on the album cover is a perfect reflection of what this album is all about; political control. It denotes that even those we see as authority figures are being controlled and are being manipulated by multinational business bosses who use their power to influence politics to make it work for them and not the general population.

Just the title of the album alone sets the tone for what's to come, a very dark, ominous feeling of authoritarian control and a human race that has been numbed into senselessness and has no feeling left of individuality. Muse have always used their libertarianism ideologies in their music but even for them the message behind this album is very strong.

The album opens with Dead Inside. A funky, electric number with dark lyrics of a distraught couple where clearly one is giving more than the other and ends with Bellamy telling how he has become as cold and calculating as his partner.

Next is a 0:21 interlude of a Drill Sergeant screaming orders at a recruit which follows into what I consider to be the best song on the album, Psycho. Psycho is built on a tremendous rock 'n' roll riff that demands a good head banging! The lyrics behind the riff portray the anti-humanity of war and brutal way in which governments turn human beings into senseless killing machines.  

Mercy, one of three released singles, is sung from the perspective of someone who has been broken emotionally, perhaps a veteran of war who can't fit into civilian life. It tells of ghosts and shadows eating away at this soldier's soul and the tyranny of the "powers that be" who are responsible for engaging in conflict. The first verse alone is incredibly poignant and immediately makes you feel sorry for anyone who is damaged by the consequences of violence:

"Help me
I've fallen on the inside
I tried to change the game
I tried to infiltrate
But now I'm losing

Men in cloaks always seem to run the show
Save me from the ghosts and shadows
Before they eat my soul"

 

 

Fifth on the album is Reapers, which opens with the sound that has become synonymous with Bellamy's guitar technique, a legato/tapping scale, and reminds the listener that yes this is still a Muse album! Reapers talks about how drones have upgraded warfare, and how even being an innocent civilian doesn't spare you. It's a very politically motivated song, seeing as drones are being used by allied troops in the Middle East and have killed civilians. It also covers how drones are replacing human fighters and how war is becoming more electronic, digital and advanced with every passing moment.

 

Military drone used in warfare

The Handler is lyrically similar to Psycho in that it describes soldiers as drones and can be programmed to kill on demand.

 

The second half of the album does brighten up however and a feeling of humanity returns to a setting where political tyranny has the world under the thumb and war rages on.

 

As before Psycho, before Defector there is a 0:55 interlude as John F. Kennedy delivers a speech describing the means by which higher powers go about seizing control, silencing those who oppose them.

 

Defector is delivered in the first person as someone who has escaped the clutches of a damning regime and is free to go about his life the way he wants to for the first time.

 

In the same vein as Defector, Revolt is an upbeat, punchy song, which encourages others to break free from the oppression of those at the top of society, as the defector did, and explains how anyone can make of life what they want no matter what anyone says.

 

Aftermath is the most subdued song on the album, with an atmospheric Pink Floyd sounding slide guitar intro, that mulls over the end of war and a world returning back to normal civilised behaviour. It describes a world where all the States have crumbled and humans are free from oppression. Aftermath builds this feeling of relief and humanitarian togetherness and launches into a release of emotion with a great solo by Bellamy.

 

The Globalist is the longest track on the album at 10:08 and explains the rebuilding process after the dramatic war and political ideology that pretty much destroyed it. Going along with the idea of building, this track starts off very docile, slow and acoustic and builds to halfway where it dives deep into a heavily bass driven electric sound that gets faster and faster. The track slows some 02:00 later and piano comes in with Bellamy singing of a world with nothing left, including countries and culture, just the love of humanity as if the world has been cleansed of evil.

 

The close of the album, Drones, is a very surreal song. Sung in the style of a harmonic church choir with no accompanying music it describes every member of their family dead, all killed by drones.

 

Overall this offering by Muse is in a completely different musical direction to their previous album 2nd Law, which was heavily influenced by dub-step, and very much goes back to their roots of guitar, bass, drums, harmonics and electronic overdubs.

Left to right: Wolstenholme, Bellamy and Howard

It's a brilliant album and is also a reminder of how good song writing can really be when done properly. The social and political ideologies addressed in this album are very sensitive so it's good that a band such a Muse has the confidence to take it on, and at the same produce fantastic music.  

Joe Bonamassa Rocks the Apollo

Bonamassa playing his '59 Les Paul

Tuesday night was very special for me. Not only was it my first time at the newly named 'Eventim Apollo' but it was my first experience of seeing blues prodigy, Joe Bonamassa.

I started following Joe only last summer, when Planet Rock announced his four dates at the aforementioned Apollo. I'd never really paid much attention to blues before then, other than the odd Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix song, not that I wasn't interested, so this was new ground for me. Needless to say, once I dug around and listened to the blues staples, I was hooked.

Eventim Apollo

Joe has played the Apollo four times as of Tuesday, and each time it has bestowed a different name; Hammersmith Apollo, Carling Apollo Hammersmith, HMV Hammersmith Apollo and Eventim Apollo. However Bonamassa was adamant of what it was to him, breaking away for a moment to say to the crowd "to me this beautiful venue will always be the Hammersmith fucking Odeon!"; the venue's name from 1962-1992. This passionate outburst from Bonamassa actually got the biggest cheer of the evening.


Joe's playing has certainly developed massively over the decades. Listening to his 2004 album 'Had To Cry Today', it's clear to hear his vulnerable voice; not able to belt out any hard notes and not very enunciated. Ten years later however, there is a notable difference. His latest offering 'Different Shades Of Blue' show cases not only his incredible guitar soloing ability but his improved voice which has been growing steadily since 2010s 'Black Rock' when he started taking singing lessons.

Joe Bonamassa's 2014 album - Different Shades Of Blue

A highlight of his Apollo performance was Joe playing all but four of the eleven tracks from his new album, which showed off his show stopping technique and talent when it comes to soloing. Songs such as 'Oh Beautiful!', 'Never Give All Your Heart For Love' and 'I Gave Up Everything For You' are just a taste of Bonamassa's supreme vocal and guitar playing talent on an album which is his first to consist of only original tracks - apart from the intro track, a 76-second cover of Jimi Hendrix's 'Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)'. Not to be overlooked are the members of Bonamassa's backing band featuring; Tal Bergman on drums; Carmine Rojas on bass and Reese Wynans, formerly of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, on keyboards. All of whom come together to make a sumptuous mixture of rhythm, blues and groove.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjW7mPepKB4&list=PLrHekRUw-GqdricXDRfOu4fyWwrYfSyq_ - Different Shades Of Blue full album.



About three quarters of the way through the concert, Joe introduced a special guest, one that I was not prepared for - Beth Hart. Joe began collaborating with fellow American Beth Hart in 2011 on 'Don't Explain', which features covers of classic blues tracks. Together they performed Donny Hathaway's classic single, 'I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know', and it goes without saying they brought the house down. Beth Hart's shrieking vocals get you right in the depths of your gut and leave you yearning for more, which you do indeed get when Bonamassa peels off from Reese Wynans' mesmerising keyboard and synthesiser wizardry to blitz yet another outstanding guitar solo; pure satisfaction.



'King of the Blues' B.B. King

Even sitting up in the circle as I was, I was able to see closely first hand his unbelievably quick fingers. There's a massive difference between shredding like Slash and soloing like Bonamassa; Slash and other hard rockers play with a huge amount of distortion and other effects, making each note almost an indistinguishable mass of crunching tone; Bonamassa on the other hand, seems to caress every note with care and passion but still portraying the attack and vigour of a man who has been studying the blues for 35+ years. Watching Bonamassa doing a solo is almost a spiritual experience. You can hear the influences of legends such as B.B. King (who Bonamassa opened for in 1989 when he was just 12-years-old), Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy but at the same time it's as original as when the first bluesmen discovered the art of playing the blues in the early 20th century.

I found my brain sore just trying to follow each pluck of his gleaming sunburst '59 Les Paul's strings, and in the end just laid back and admired this marvellous guitar player that no doubt will be remembered forever, as the man who brought the blues back into the mainstream.