One thing you can say about Robbo is that he doesn’t waste any time. After all, it’s only 33 years since he parted company with Thin Lizzy and he’s just released his first solo album. Okay, he had his own band, Wild Horses, and worked with Frankie Miller and Motorhead, but this is his first solo outing since departing from Lizzy at the height of their fame. The album happened as a result of Robbo’s friend Soren listening to some old demo cassettes and suggesting that Robbo should record them as a solo project.

The songs that made the final cut are a mixed bag; some Robertson originals, some Phil Lynott songs, some Frankie Miller songs and some collaborations with Lynott and Miller. Some have been released before and some haven’t. The only element common to all the songs is Robbo himself and the band (Ian Haughland, Nalley Pahlsson, Leif Sundin and Liny Wood) put together for the album.

The album opens with 2 Robbo compositions, the title track, and “Passion” which wouldn’t sound out of place on an 80s Don Henley album and runs through various permutations of Robertson, Miller and Lynott compositions, finishing on the Frankie Miller classic “Ain’t Got No Money”. The poppiest song ever written by Phil Lynott, “Running Back” from the “Jailbreak” album, appears in 2 versions here, a slow blues version and a mid-tempo rocker which works well apart from the jarring piano solo.

It’s obvious, even on the first listen, that Robbo is still a great guitar player. His growling and howling Les Paul/Marshall sound is as distinctive as ever and his solos still show great technique and melodic invention. Even the vocals are good and the rhythm section and production are excellent. Which tells you that there’s a big “but” on the way.

Although Robbo plays virtually everything except drums on this album, he isn’t a one-man-band. He has a talent which only functions properly with a collaborator strong enough to encourage the greatness and to know when to apply the brakes. Apart from the Celtic soul brothers Frankie Miller and Phil Lynott, and perhaps Jimmy Bain (also Scottish), Robbo hasn’t worked with anyone strong enough to bring out the best of his abilities live or on record. The best material on the album is written either by or with Lynott or Miller apart from, possibly, “Texas Wind”.

Robbo’s musical versatility also works against him at times. He’s known mainly as a melodic rock lead guitar player but he grew up playing with a band (Dream Police) which later formed the core of the Average White Band and also played on a live Graham Parker version of “Hold Back the Night”. Most fans like their heroes to stick to one predictable style and Robbo is just too good for that, which is one of the reasons why he always polarises opinion in the rock fraternity.

“Diamonds and Dirt” is patchy because the songs are written by a variety of people over a relatively long period of time and some songs don’t wear too well. The one constant throughout the album is the great playing which we expect from a rock hero. If you set aside the rock sectarianism and listen to this album with an open mind, it’s actually really good.

There was a tingle in the air at Bush Hall, a sense of expectation – and those expectations and hopes were fulfilled.

Jake Morley is a singer-songwriter who gained a strong following from his early YouTube recordings showing him playing the guitar in a very peculiar and jaw-dropping style. As he sings the upbeat love/hate-song to London, entitled “This City”, his hands flash around his guitar, plucking at strings, banging it on top, on the side, whacking and plucking a whole band out of the one instrument.

This was a very popular video, but there is always a danger that the musician can be trapped by the popularity of this one thing, to become an online only flash-in-the-pan.

This night, in a gig that launched his first album “Many Fish to Fry”, Morley proved that he has the potential to be much more than a one-hit-youtube wonder. Looking 100% at ease with where he was, and what he was doing – playing to a packed Bush Hall – Jake and his talented band proceeded to grab the already eager audience into the palm of his hand and lead them through his collection of songs that were at times heartfelt, funny, revealing and emotional – and ultimately uplifting.

This is a man to follow, but not just on social media sites, but in real life whenever he plays a gig.

This is music to cherish, an album that is personal, but speaks to you on many levels.

This is Jake Morley.

www.jakemorley.com

Confused? You will be, but probably not as confused as Conor Oberst appears to be on the basis of the latest Bright Eyes offering “The People’s Key”. The album, released this week, probably has the most commercial and accessible mainstream sound Oberst has created to date coupled with lyrical content which is often irritatingly obtuse.

On first listen, “The People’s Key” impresses on a musical level; there are melodies which are instantly accessible and loads of instrumental hooks and riffs to pull you in to the arrangements. The vocals display Oberst’s voice at its best, emphasising the plaintive, keening qualities to good effect especially when it’s pushed to the point of cracking. Even when the voice is thickened up by overlaying it with a slight delay, the effect works and the production wrings out the maximum emotional effect from the vocal line. Read more

It’s difficult to believe that it’s been 20 years and it’s an understatement to say that it’s been a roller-coaster.  This is the closest thing to a hometown gig on the tour and there’s a lot of love and mutual respect here.  The audience looks a lot older than at the last London show I saw and the reason is that most of these people are the fans that were there at the beginning.  This is an audience primed and waiting for the fuse to be lit.  The flamethrower that ignites it is “You Love Us” and Newport Centre erupts; the Manics are back in town.

James is trying not to swear too much because his dad’s here and Nicky manages a whole gig with only 1 costume change.  It would be easy to be complacent on a night like this but the Manics just don’t work that way; they’re incendiary from start to finish.  Songs from “Postcards from a Young Man” feature throughout the set and are well received by the partisan crowd, particularly the title song.  The strength of the performance, however is in the Manics back catalogue and their ability to deliver them with just as much venom as when they were originally recorded, although between songs the love and respect within the band and between the band and the audience is obvious.  There are a lot of references to Richey tonight and the tone is one of fond remembrance, which suggests that maybe the band are beginning to come to terms with that particular tragedy. Read more

“This Is Our Way Out” is the first EP from the Brighton-based 5-piece Goodluck Jonathan (inspired by the current Nigerian President, or just a coincidence?) and it’s a very interesting box of tricks. Like most interesting bands, they’re difficult to define precisely. The basic feel lyrically is indie nudging towards emo but musically they cut across a range of styles from the spiky, 2 guitar indie sound (going back through Franz Ferdinand all the way to Television) to seriously heavy metal riffing. You even get a power ballad for the final track.

“Bruises Disappear”, the first track, starts with a spiky delay guitar intro and is a pretty good summary of the dynamics of the EP with an ethereal angelic choir on the heavy metal chorus, a spoken megaphone section and a power-riff section to finish. What sets this track apart from the rest of the EP is the political reference in the 2 spoken sections to refugee camps in Calais being destroyed by the authorities. It’s unusual but welcome in this setting. Read more

It’s been two long , agonizing years since I last saw Westlife live on tour but, their performance at the CIA on Friday 21st May proved that it was definitely worth the wait.

The show ‘Where We Are’ featured some of the best songs from the album of the same name. They sang ‘What About Now’, ‘Shadows’, ‘Where We Are’ and a jazzed up version of ‘How To Break a Heart’’.

As well as the new tracks, they also played some old favourites such as ‘If I Let You Go’, ‘Uptown Girl’, ‘Tell Me What Makes a Man’, ‘When You’re Looking Like That’ and of course ‘Flying Without Wings’ which had me in tears for yet another year.

As is tradition for a Westlife gig, the boys did a medley of cover songs in the middle section. I look forward to this every time as I never know what they’re going to sing. This year we were treated to ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ (very appropriate for this tour), ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and ‘Sex On Fire’ – all were huge crowd pleasers. Read more

So what do you want from your live music? Do you:

a)want to hear the band play all their recorded material exactly the way it sounds on the album or;

b) want them to hit the stage with the aim of blowing you away with technique, dynamics, showmanship and sheer enthusiasm. If you’re in the b) set then the Billy Walton Band are the band for you.

The 100 Club is a venue with a fascinating past. If you’re interested in the history of rock music, it’s worth a visit just to look at the photos on every wall, where you can see everything from early jazz to The Damned and beyond. The Billy Walton Band set takes inspiration from many of the bands featured here and many, many more. Read more

Reviewing can be a really difficult gig sometimes. Every album which actually gets a release represents a huge amount of work and creative input for the band or artist and deserves to be taken seriously. Sometimes, however, you get an album or single which tests your ability to dig out some kind of positive comment and, unfortunately, this falls into that category.

This is David Saw’s second album and the publicity surrounding it focuses on the fact that David’s best friend is James Taylor’s son, Ben Taylor and that one of his early songs was covered by Carly Simon who is Ben Taylor’s mum and ex-wife of James Taylor (the singer-songwriter ,not the English jazz organ player of JTQ fame). So Carly Simon covered a David Saw song. Why? Read more

Black Gold are 2 multi-instrumental Brooklyn musicians, Erick Ronick and Than Luu, who got together after their paths crossed repeatedly while on tour with various bands including Panic At The Disco and Scissor Sisters and decided to explore the special musical chemistry they generated. The result of this is the album “Rush”, preceded in the UK by the single “Breakdown”.

This is one of those albums that creates an instant impact from the dirty opening synth intro of “Detroit” and leads you through a kaleidoscope of musical styles. The arrangements feature electronic and acoustic instruments blended together with a batch of songs which ranges from ballads (“After The Flood”) to widescreen epics (“Plans And Reveries”) and everything in between. Read more

‘Crash Love’ is the eighth studio album from alternative rock back AFI and features their latest single ‘Medicate’, which was released in October 2009.

The new album, which was two years in the making, is quite different to their previous ‘Decemberunderground’ and while it isn’t as strong as it’s predecessor, it’s still a great listen and will be huge with AFI fans everywhere.

Lead vocalist, Davey Havoc said: “Honestly I’ve never been more proud of an AFI record. We are thrilled to hear it come to life.”

The single ‘Medicate’ is a really catchy and memorable song with a good sound and lyrics; it’s easy to see why it was chosen as the first release from the new album. Read more