 Relax Listen (who often fall into the category of Easy Listening, but blend styles including Jazz, Pop and Rock) have a brand new album out called ‘Tonight’.
Although the Tonight album is not strictly a concept album; like my favourite Relax Listen album to date Through a Looking Glass, or the clever dREaM album, there is an ongoing theme throughout a lot of the tracks which to me conjures up a late night feeling of clubs in the 70’s and 80’s. Here’s a track by track review of the Tonight album:  As a big fan of 80’s nostalgia, I was really looking forward to The Wedding Singer at The Wolverhampton Grand, particularly as it starred Ruth Madoc who I fondly remember as Gladys Pugh from Hi de Hi and Ray Quinn who I remember as Brookside’s Anthony Murray.
I have seen also seen the film version so I correctly predicted that a fun, light hearted experience was in store. What first drew my attention though, was the set. Even before the show actually began, the audience were treated to trailers from films that were big in the 1980’s, like The Goonies and Rambo! The very start of the show whetted our appetite even more with a very clever ‘Back to the Future’ nod! I found this very impressive.  The production at the Wolverhampton Grand of Brassed Off was top spot of the trends on Twitter last night, following the opening Press Night performance!
The praise from the Tweets spoke volumes about the reaction of the audience of which I was lucky enough to be part of. Having seen the film version only once, twenty years ago, I could only vaguely remember the bittersweet tale but knew I had enjoyed it. Also, I expected Jeffrey Holland to be great in the role as Danny (the role played by Pete Postlethwaite in the film) as I have seen him on the stage a few times (and fondly remember his role of Spike in Hi-de-Hi).  As the Small Fakers started their set it was immediately apparent how they have clearly mastered the The Small Faces band's presence and stage attitude. What I didn't expect is quite how much they physically resemble the band!
 ‘This Other World’ is the second album from Paul Harper and Andy Hubble (Harper n Hubble Music). It promises to take the listener on a journey, not only to Mars, but also to ‘This Other World’ of strained personal relationships; the tension of national and international relationships and that you will hear about the corruption of power and wealth as well as childhood memories being recalled.
This is my review of the 12 songs on the album:  Legendary bass guitarist and singer Bruce Foxton bought his outstanding ‘From The Jam’ show to The Robin 2, Bilston last night.
 Award winning singer/musician eLAY from Birmingham, England is making a comeback after a terrible illness. He has put his energy (amongst many other interesting projects) into releasing a brand new EP. If you are a fan of musical genres which include funk, indie or rock, then you should find eLAY appealing. This 2 Track EP really shows eLAYs individuality and creativity. It is actually produced by eLAY himself at Production Boudoir studio and consists of the tracks ‘Crazy’ and ‘I Want You’ and I have been lucky enough to have had a sneak preview of it: ‘Crazy’ has a 70s/80’s funk appeal to it. It is extremely catchy, very original and is about seeing someone you know from afar and not having the guts to approach them and tell them how you really feel. ‘I Want You’ is actually the opposite to ‘Crazy’ in the sense that it is about getting straight to the point and saying how you feel. It is a more bold and direct song and is slower and smoother than ‘Crazy’ (although both tracks highlight eLAYs cool and distinctive vocal technique.) This EP is out from 31/3/18 and is a must listen! Karen Hill   Having not seen the Tom Cruise film version of ‘Rock of Ages’, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when it came to a live production of it by the WBOS at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, but I had a feeling I would at least love the 80’s rock soundtrack.
To call this production “amateur” once again would feel like an almost uncomfortable insult. The set is impressive, as are the costumes, choreography, and acting; and credit must be given to the band “Arsenal” who flawlessly provided the soundtrack to the story.  As a very big fan of The Kinks, I was looking forward to Sunny Afternoon, a musical based on their music.
What surprised me was how as an audience member, you get really absorbed into the ups and downs of the wild rock n roll lifestyle The Kinks led! It is quite apparent that Ray Davies wrote this and it is definitely written from his tongue in cheek perspective. There is some very clever and ironic humour which the audience appreciated as they did with the less subtle visual characterisation of his brother Dave! |
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