Kevin Bryan's Record Reviews (From Dudley News)

Kevin Bryan's Record Reviews

7:00am Saturday 1st September 2012 in NewsXtra

The latest reviews from Kevin Bryan.

Boxer,"Below The Belt" (Esoteric ECLEC 2341)- Boxer  was formed by  vocalist Mike Patto  and mercurial guitarist Ollie Halsall a couple of years after they'd worked together in the criminally under-rated Patto ,and this slick British rock band's  energised debut set first saw the light of day in 1975. "Below The Belt"  sadly  attracted far more attention for its notoriously sexist sleeve design than the compelling  musical content  lurking inside, and the album failed to make a significant impact on the record-buying public despite the presence of  fine tracks such as  "Shooting Star," "All The Time In The World"  and "More Than Meets The Eye." The finished product is now available in CD form for the first time since the mid nineties,digitally re-mastered and boasting a bonus track in the shape of "Don't Wait," which was originally the B-side of Boxer's first single.

                 Jim Croce, "Live-The Final Tour" (Edsel EDSS 1036)-  This rather macabre  offering  chronicles  Jim Croce's final gig in September 1973, just a few short hours before the engaging  singer-songwriter and his musical sidekick Maury Muehleisen lost their lives in a plane crash. The contents were captured for posterity by a fan in the audience at the Louisiana concert ,  featuring   Croce crowd-pleasers such as "Operator" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim"  alongside a hitherto unrecorded cover of The Coasters' "Shopping For Clothes" and a generous helping of the amusing  between songs patter which was always  such an integral  feature of the Philadelphia born balladeer's live shows.

                 "Scots in the Spanish Civil War:No Pasaran!" (Greentrax CDTRAX3639)- The hundreds of brave Scots who travelled to Spain in 1936 to join the International Brigades in their  ultimately vain struggle to defeat the forces of fascism receive a well deserved musical tribute here in the shape of this fine Greentrax anthology. Dick Gaughan's inspirational version of Ewan MacColl's "Jamie Foyers" is the pick of a diverse and compelling package which also boasts telling contributions from the likes of The McCalmans, Robin Laing and Chilean balladeer Carlos Arredonodo.

                  Nelson Freire, "Brasileiro" (Decca 478 3533) - The latest keyboard recital from  classical pianist Nelson  Freire concentrates on the rich  musical legacy of his Brazilian homeland. The vast majority of the pieces are relatively brief composition for solo piano, including sixteen extracts  from the repertoire of the great Heitor Villa-Lobos, most notably the "Carnaval des Criancas,"  which depicts  some of the colourful characters that he  would have come across at the vibrant  Rio carnivals of his youth. Many of the lesser known works featured here also repay closer investigation,many of them heavily influenced by French composers such as Debussy and Ravel.

                   Adele & Glenn, "Carrington Street" (Glitterhouse GRCD 764)-Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson served as the rhythm section for Robert Forster's reformed Go-Betweens between 2000 and 2006,and the gifted Aussie duo have now joined forces once again to assemble this quite splendid collection. Their easy on the ear approach to music-making is reflected in prime cuts such as "I Dreamt I Was A Sparrow," "Remembering Names" and "Auntie Nelly," all of them delivered with a beguiling grace and lightness of touch that's becoming  all too rare these days.