And so we find ourselves in the brave new world of 2008, where Katy Perry is kissing girls and liking it, Jane McDonald is in the top ten album chart and where it’s been 11 whole years since The Verve’s seminal album “Urban Hymns”. A lot of mucky water’s passed under the bridge since then - not least with band in-squabbles causing the Wigan ensemble to call it a day in 1999. Lead singer Richard Ashcroft has churned out a couple of solo albums since, but obviously the cash has run a little high and dry because they’re reformed and reacquainted for their fourth studio album, entitled “Forth”. So have you missed them? Has there been a Verve-shaped hole in your life for the past nine years?
Primal Scream have always touted themselves as the ethos of rock’n'roll: back in the day they made upstarts like Oasis look tame with their supreme love of narcotics, wild party lifestyle and euphoric acid-tinged rock. Yet like the Happy Mondays they keep on trucking, spitting out album after album and generally defying all odds to still be alive and kicking. These days though, lead singer Bobby Gillespie is more likely to be spotted playing with his rock’n'roll-named kids (Wolf and Lux since you ask) than filling up on booze and brown - hell, his tanned new look has even landed him a modelling contract for Uniqlo. So with all this off-rock’n'roll-message behaviour, does the band’s latest album “Beautiful Future” satiate our rock’n'roll needs as only they can?
When Crowded House released their hit-packed album “Woodface” in 1991, lead singer Neil Finn’s son Liam was seven. Fast-forward 17 years to the present day, his dad’s band have split up and reformed and, as it turns out, baby Liam is now all grown-up, decidedly beardy and definitely following in his father’s footsteps. And while the hirsute one might look like a musical Captain Caveman, RealMusic Blog can confirm that he doesn’t just emit strangled yelps - rather, his sound encompasses dreamy, thoughtful, potent pop, shot through with fabulous melodies and harmonies…
RealMusic Blog remembers the heady days of Garage glory, when a young Craig David teamed up with Artful Dodger and dropped a track that sent everyone crazy. Back then, we used to spend our days busting the two-step with a pout to rival Posh Spice and the smooth voice of Craig David singing ‘Re-re-wind’ blasting out of our sub-woofer speakers. Craig’s been a busy boy since then, churning out four albums, clocking up 13 million album sales worldwide and swelling his fan club with the likes of Elton John, Missy Elliot, Beyonce and Usher. So would the 2008-styled Craig David live up to the glittering memories in our head? We headed to London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire recently to find out…
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