Tim H

Black Country Communion 2 - This is at least as good if not better than the first one, thus violating the golden rule that supergroups only ever managed one good album before it all goes pear-shaped. Led Zeppelin are alive and well!

Heather Findlay - The Phoenix Suite EP. Got a far better appreciation of this record after having heard the songs played live.

Ihsahn - After. Black Metal with added jazz sax.

Karnataka - The Gathering Light. Sometimes you just want to listen to some over-the-top epic symphonic prog.

Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied, Pt. 2: A Midnight Autumn's Dream (Now that's what I call an album title!). Melodic power-metal from Italy, saw them supporting Sonata Arctica last month. Impressive album, emphasises songwriting rather than widdly soloing.

Chantel McGregor - Like No Other. Debut album by the young singer and guitarist; having seen her live playing electric blues as a power trio, this album is a lot more varied than I expected, but pretty impressive.

Heather Findlay - The Phoenix Suite. All I will say is it sounds absolutely nothing like Mostly Autumn whatsoever.

Mostly Autumn at the City Hall in Salisbury last night - absolutely stunning gig, one of the best I've ever seen them do. Had I known they'd open with "Distant Train" I would have worn my DEMU "No Kettles" t-shirt again

Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays

Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied: A Midnight Autumn Dream

Saw both bands at Reading last Thursday - a great gig.

My photos are (or will be) at - not that there's much there yet. Uploading and captioning them is a pain.

Yngwie Malmsteen covering ABBA. It's far, far better than you would expect.

Tyne and Wear Metro: The Musical. This goes way beyond merely bad - it goes past terrible and comes out the other side - it's just awful in a compellingly surreal way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tyne/hi/front_page/newsid_9435000/9435038.stm

Marillion - "Size Matters". Live album recorded at the 2009 convention in Holland.

John Lees Barclay James Harvest - Live at Shepherds Bush Empire

Always reminds me of their magical set at the Cambridge Rock Festival in 2009 - RIP Woolly Wolstenholme.

Arch Enemy: Wages of Sin - You would not believe that's a female vocalist)

Judas Priest: Nostradamus - Epic concept double-album, a quite amazing piece of work

Van der Graaf Generator: A Grounding in Numbers - This one will take a few more listens to assimilate, I think

Phideaux: 313 - Great quirky melodic prog album.

Kate Bush: Hounds of Love,

If I can get a 48 hour pass, Sat/Sun is looking good!

Make that a 72-hour one! Heather's playing on Friday.

Tim, it's very tempting to say yes, but I somehow doubt I'd be able to get away (Mrs W does not share my taste in music and is unlikely to willingly accompany me). I'll see what I can do.....

Panic Room and Stolen Earth on the Saturday, Mostly Autumn on the Sunday, don't know what day Heather is on yet.

Colin - You coming to the Cambridge Rock Festival this year? Mostly Autumn, Panic Room, Stolen Earth (effectively the final lineup of Breathing Space with a different keyboard player) and what is to date the only confirmed live appearance by Heather Findlay's new band. Also Chantel McGregor, The Enid and Caravan.

Judas Priest - Nostradamus. Epic concept album, sometimes compared with Kiss' infamous "The Elder".

Before that:

Elbow - The Seldom-Seen Kid. Sorry, just don't get what all the fuss is about with this lot. Loads of musicians I respect love them, though.

Magenta - Seven. Pretty hardcore old-school prog; Bit derivative of 70s Yes and Genesis, but has it's moments. Christina Booth has a fantastic voice, and Chris Fry is a great guitarist, though.

Winter in Eden - Awakening. British take on the Euro symphonic metal genre; good songs survive poor production.

"A Treasure of Well-Set Jewels", the new solo album by Liam Davison of Mostly Autumn (with guest appearances from Heather Findlay and Anne-Marie Helder) - Impressive album on the first couple of listens.

A lot of recent purchases, mostly cheap downloads (20p a track) from mflow.com

Barclay James Harvest - Live at Shepherds Bush Empire 2006 (actually the John Lees BJH)

Ihsahn - After (Stunning album if you like modern metal)

Arcade Fire - The Neon Bible (Apart from "Intervention" which is great song, I'm struggling to see what the fuss is about with this lot)

Therion - Sitra Ahra

One of the few bands today who are as bonkers as ELP were in the 1970s, but in a completely different way.

Disks 1 and 2 of Barclay James Harvests' "Sea of Tranquillity"

RIP Woolly Wolsenholme. There's a new Mellotron player in Heaven now...

Bigelf - Hex. I've heard then described as "Psychedelic stoner prog" and "T-Rex doing musical theatre, but in a good way". Great album, whatever you class it as.

And before that, Mostly Autumn, Go Well Diamond Heart. Still on a high from an absolutely stunning gig at The Globe in Cardiff on Sunday Night. The album is almost certainly my album of the year.

Arcade Fire, on Saturday Night Live.

 

I've tried to warm to them, I really have. I bought two of their albums. I can see why others like them, I just don't get them.

Same here. I feel I ought to like them on paper - all that multi-layered instrumentation; My problem is there just isn't enough melody there from my tastes.

Therion at Shepherd's Bush Empire last night - Metal band with four lead singers and some amazing multi-part harmonies. Amazing show.

Opeth - Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD. Incredible band.

New Dance Orchestra - Electronica. NDO being Geoff Downes (Asia, The Buggles) on keys and programming, and the very lovely Anne-Marie Helder on vocals.

Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man. Tell me, exactly when did the Manics start sounding like Queen?

Black Country Communion. Fantastic hard rock/blues supergroup featuring Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa.

Robert Plant - Band of Joy. Robert growing old gracefully with an album of Americana covers.

Enisferum - From Afar. Finnish folk-metal. With banjos.

Kyrbgrinder - Cold War Technology. In-your-face metal power trio fronted by Johannes James, Threshold's drummer.

Pure Reason Revolution - Hammer and Anvil

They now sound *nothing* like their debut The Dark Third. Opening track sounds like The Prodigy.

I agree about Ms Sparnenn - lovely voice, I just wish she'd sung lead on more of the album!

I don't know - she actually sings significantly more lead on the first disk than Heather did on "Glass Shadows". Assume you have heard Breathing Space's two albums?

Hopefully "Go well" is a "grower". I'll give it another listen next week when I have a long(ish) car journey.

It absolutely is - it really hits hard after four or five listens - see the review on my blog

BTC - with you re. Crimson - I can listen to the first 2 albums plus a bit of the 3rd (Lizard), then it all becomes a bit much - I never understood quite what they were trying to achieve with "Larks Tongues", I found it quite unlistenable

"Lark's Tongues" was quite far out, but don't miss the magnificent "Red", one of the best things they ever did.

Currently OMS - the new Mostly Autumn "Go Well Diamond Heart" (limited edition double CD ordered direct from MA Records).

Not quite sure what to make of this - it starts off OK enough with a good strong opener but seems to lose its way in the middle with some rather indifferent material then improves over the last few tracks - on the basis of first listening it comes across as perhaps not quite up to the standard of previous MA albums.

Perhaps it'll sound better the second time around....

Stick with it, Colin. This is one of those albums which isn't immediate, but does take a few listens to really get in to. It's not perfect (What on earth was Bryan thinking with those awful lyrics for "Something Better"??), but there are some great songs on there. And Olivia Sparnenn is a very talented vocalist.