LISA STANSFIELD - LIVE IN MANCHESTER Review

She’s been around the world and she can’t find her baby, but Lisa Stansfield still loves her hometown, “because everyone gets so excited that it gets really sweaty”. Live In Manchester reveals that the feeling is reciprocated, its two CD set of her September 2014 show at the city’s Bridgewater Hall documenting the affection in which this partisan crowd still holds a woman whose multi-million sales are often forgotten. This at times sounds like it was recorded at the back of the room, but it’s a still decent document of slick, funky, soulful performances covering her entire career, from All Around The World to tracks off her last album, Change, via her cover of Barry White’s Never, Never Gonna Give You Up.

Single Review: A-HA - UNDER THE MAKEUP

Very huge and symphonic, which made it hard to get into, but Morten Harket is a beautiful singer and the melancholic feel emerged eventually. A-ha have made some amazing songs – Take On Me is one of the best singles ever, and I loved Analogue. I’d love to see Morten collaborate with Johnny Marr. Imagine how good that would be!

The Classic POP OF . . . BOND (All James Bond Soundtracks)

1963: From Russia
With Love
The first film to be scored
by John Barry and with Matt
Monro delivering a rousing
vocal for the end titles.

1964: Goldfinger
Every musical element gels
for the first time and sets
the template for the genre
of music that is Bond. The
first of three title songs by
Shirley Bassey.

Marc Bolan - Love and Death Review

Limited to 1,000 copies, Love And Death is based on 12 very early demos from 1966 made by Marc Bolan for his first manager, Simon Napier-Bell. The demos remained unheard until extra instrumentation was added in 1981. The album’s release at that time by Cherry Red came as a picture disc with a free interview book, You Scare Me To Death. Let Them Eat Vinyl’s reissue omits the book and is pressed on heavyweight white vinyl. It also drops the three songs Cherry Red added for the album’s 1998 CD version, which came from Bolan’s single The Wizard.

Deafheaven: New Bermuda - Album Review

With their third album Deafheaven continue to push the boundaries of what is expected within black metal. Returning to their heavier roots on ‘Brought To The Water’, the progression of the band since 2013’s ‘Sunbather’ is incredible, mastering technicality and emotion with an eight-minute epic of soaring instrumentation. With veteran producer Jack Shirley at the helm, the Californians’ direction is breathtaking with some mind-bending time signatures. Each song showcases a part of this band’s diversity and ‘Baby Blue’ utilises the dark, brooding type of chord progression that we have come to love from the experimental five-piece.