This DVD is recorded in December 22nd, 1992 in Birmingham Town Hall. Magnum played in house!

In my humble opinion the beginning is a little weak, since 'All England's Eyes' is a song that I find quite annoying. Also 'Vigilante' not impressed me: I expected a more aggressive version. Instead what I appreciated from the first minute is the quality of shots. The director uses the cameras really well, managing to capture the emotions that the musicians forward. Also because although Bob Catley is not a stage animal has a truly impressive stage presence. Also the peeled Tony Clarkin not disappoint. But the song that struck me most was 'Kingdom Of Madness' here becomes very epic. I must say that Magnum is one of the groups on stage are among the best that I have observed (in this case only on this DVD, unfortunately) and award-winning company Clarkin / Catley always work in perfect manner. Even the idea of including a Christmas section in concert with a Father Christmas is great. For me it was a big beautiful surprise. I would not say that the location (a good theater) has helped to found successful... Or that on the Christmas atmosphere... But the thing is really nice!

In conclusion I noted that this DVD is very good, perhaps extreme good. Magnum are a good Prog act, not Heavy Prog but sure in Heavy Prog tradition. It is true: Magnum invented the Class Metal. But in my opinion remaining in the wake of Prog tradition. So this DVD please me in extreme manner. And I am sure that this DVD please you too much.

by Mandrakeroot


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Supreme Court to consider hearing case challenging Obama’s citizenship

By James Janega
Chicago Tribune

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by many opponents of Obama’s election.

The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer’s supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation’s highest court.

The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.

Legal experts say the appeal holds little chance for success, despite appearing on the court’s Dec. 5 schedule. Legal records show it is the tip of an iceberg of nationwide efforts seeking to derail Obama’s election over accusations that he either wasn’t born a U.S. citizen or that he later renounced his citizenship in Indonesia.

The Obama campaign has maintained that he was born in Hawaii, has an authentic birth certificate, and is a “natural-born” U.S. citizen. Hawaiian officials agree.

Among those filing lawsuits is Alan Keyes, who lost to Obama in the 2004 Illinois Senate race. Keyes’ suit seeks to halt certification of votes in California. Another suit by a Kentucky man seeks to have a federal judge review the copy of Obama’s original birth certificate — which Hawaii officials say is locked in a state vault.

Other suits have been filed by Andy Martin, whose case was dismissed in Hawaii, and by a man in Ohio whose case also was dismissed. Five more cases have been filed and dismissed in Hawaii by a person currently suing the “Peoples Association of Human, Animals Conceived God/s and Religions, John McCain (and) USA Govt.” The plaintiff previously sought to sue Wikipedia and “All News Media.”

The most famous case questioning Obama’s citizenship was filed in Pennsylvania in August on behalf of Philip J. Berg and sought to enjoin the Democratic National Committee from nominating Obama. An appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Earlier, a federal judge rejected it for “lack of standing,” which in this case means that, because the plaintiff’s alleged injury is shared equally by everyone else, the matter should be left for decision by the Electoral College or Congress rather than the courts, said legal scholar Eugene Volokh of the University of California at Los Angeles.

The remaining case with the highest profile is Donofrio v. Wells. Because it was distributed by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to other justices for conference, it gained undue importance among people with little knowledge of Supreme Court processes, Volokh said.

Many petitioners seeking stays of pending events have their cases distributed to the full court, he said. Of those, Volokh found 782 were denied in the last eight years while just 60 were heard — and not all of those cases were successful.

Source: Detroit Free Press

The later incarnation of the Wigwam – from late ’74 onwards – tends to confirm another not very profound notion – that once things have blown apart, members of interesting bands, or re-jigged versions of the same, find it difficult to match up to the legacy created first time around. The constituent parts/later versions of the Beatles, Spirit and the Mahavishnus (McLaughlin excepted) clearly didn’t, though we might quibble about Springfield and Weather Report. In Wigwam’s case, with the possible exception of ‘Nuclear Nightclub’ (my entry point into the band, and thus a record for which I have a bit of a soft spot), later output never quite reached the exalted heights of the earlier albums.

Anyway, what do we have here? The first CD is the more interesting. It gets off to an inauspicious start with 3 pieces of rather average, psychedelically tinged rock from ’69. Jukka Gustavson nudges the band into a more distinctive mode with the fine ‘Pedagogi’ (track 4); but it’s early bassist Mats Hulden who really gets things moving with his ‘Haato’ from 1970, an entirely successful multi-sectioned effort. Quality drops for the next 3 tracks – all covers: the Band’s ‘Chest Fever’ and ‘King Harvest’ and Spirit’s ‘Fresh Garbage’. The rest of the CD – tracks 9-15, also live – is first rate, featuring the classic line-up. Standouts include a blistering ‘Losing Hold’ from ’71 and a genuinely magnificent reading of Jukka Gustavson’s ‘Fairyport’ from ‘73. The vocal performance here is much more confident than the rather tentative effort on the studio album. This track – by turns, both deeply touching and irresistibly swinging - is worth the (fairly hefty) asking price alone.

The second CD, mostly featuring the post-‘74 version of the band, is less compelling. Jim Pembroke’s songwriting dominates and whilst the band is never guilty of producing anything less than tasteful, well- arranged rock, it lacks the quirkiness of Wigwam’s best stuff. Guitar solos, hardly featured on the early material, tend to outstay their welcome. Tracks 8 and 9, though, see a partial reunion of the classic formation (minus Pohjola) and matters lift considerably.

As the distance in years becomes steadily greater, the ‘70’s seems less a falling off from the high point of the ‘60’s than a musical golden age in its own right. That is, at least until the combined forces of punk and technology made musicianship unfashionable/unnecessary. What other age produced output as interesting and diverse as that of Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Eno’s Roxy Music, Genesis, Steely Dan, Bowie, the superb Italian prog. bands (Banco, PFM, Area and others), the Canterbury set (the Hatfields, the Softs, Caravan, Gilgamesh, et al), Magma, the Mahavishnus, early Weather Report and Return to Forever, Gentle Giant, Tasavallan Presidentti, the whole gamut of ‘Krautrock’ – and Wigwam?

In summary: not perhaps a set for the uninitiated, who would be better advised to start, like I did, with the more user-friendly ‘Nuclear Nightclub’ and work backwards. For me, though, this is 20 quid well and truly spent.

by tads51


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Brakes is Eamon Hamilton (vocals/guitar), Thomas White (guitar/vocals), Marc Beatty (Bass) and Alex White (DRUMS). Containing previous and current members of British Sea Power, Electric Soft Parade, Tenderfoot and The Pipettes, together they are responsible for two previous albums, 2005’s ‘Give Blood’ and 2006’s ‘Beatific Visions’. Both received rave reviews, prompted major festival appearances including Glastonbury and the Electric Picnic and toured with Belle and Sebastian, The Killers, Editors and others.

Touchdown is a powerful, poignant musical statement, far and wide the most textured Brakes record to date. It’s melodic and deeply involved, sure to be one of 2009’s best pop records.The very cool people at Fat Cat have given me a track “Crystal Tunings” from the new album for download.Check it out and stay tuned for upcoming live dates to be added to the ones announced below. Anyone who has seen Brakes live will tell you they are a tour de force !!!

MP3: Brakes - Crystal Tunings

Jan 28 @ Proud Galleries - London
Feb 5 @ Fuzz - Sheffield

http://www.myspace.com/brakesband

- Mark

Twilight actress Kristen Stewart is set to make the jump from emo vampires to punk rockers after being cast as Joan Jett in the upcoming Runaways biopic. The film, called simply The Runaways, will be written and directed by music video vet Floria Sigismondi (Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People,” the White Stripes’ “Blue Orchid”). The biopic will focus on the band’s “meteoric rise as teenagers to their dissolution and disillusionment.” Additional casting for the roles of keyboardist Cherie Currie and guitarist Lita Ford has not been announced yet. The Runaways are generally regarded as the first all-girl rock band and stayed together for roughly four years. Jett went on to have an even more successful solo career. Though the casting of Stewart as Jett bothers us a lot less than having Kirsten Dunst play Debbie Harry, is she T-U-F-F enough to fill Jett’s leather boots?

Related Stories:

• Biography: Joan Jett

• On the Travers Take: Peter Travers Reviews Twilight

• The Runaways’ Sad Song: New Documentary Shows the Dark Side of the Original Riot Grrrls

Do you like Ummagumma’s studio side? How about “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast?” If you answered No you can probably stop reading. But if you like that kind of weirdness you may enjoy this super rarity from late ‘70s Italy that is being released by BTF for the first time ever on CD. Carlo Barbiera, keyboardist and composer of this group begins his description of the project as follows:

“To wrap up sculptures in a cloak of sounds, in search of tri-dimensional music…”

“Nascita della Sfera” (Birth of the Sphere) produced this sprawling conceptual work based on the life of Italian sculptor Luciano Ceschia (1926-1991). Barbiera wrote the piece and assembled a large troupe of musicians to record it. In the ‘70s the LP was a very limited private pressing, but BTF/AMS have remedied that with a tasty gatefold mini-lp sleeve CD release. I have seen the results described as “experimental electro-acoustic progressive” and also “proto-folktronica.” ItalianProg.com says the work reminds a bit of early Battiato. In general there are just enough flavors of the ‘70s RPI scene to appeal to its fans and the rest should be fans of the avant and electronic genres. It is a product of its time and a bit rough around the edges so be aware of that. If you like your prog polished with top notch production values and linear sensibilities, this is not for you. This is a home-made sounding project that pays no lip service to any commercial conventions, something that not everyone will appreciate but only adds to the fun for me.

It is charming and absolutely successful progressive music to my ears. While the CD is chaptered 32 times, the pieces are connected and this album plays like one long daydream. You move from one short sound experiment to the next: some are beautiful, some are dissonant, some are fairly traditional, some are totally musically insane. In short, just what the adventurous listener craves. To give a bit more description I’ll describe some of the more common track scenarios. One track will be an acoustic guitar just frittering away like Gilmour does during Psych Breakfast, very soft, nostalgic, beautiful. The next track will be short flute or sax solo that drifts off down a dark hallway. Then you might have cacophony of hideous loud clanging noises over voices. Then a piano solo or clocks ticking or running water. Then spoken word vocals. Then a variety of synthesizers creating a wall of sound. Then a child’s laugh. You get the point? It’s the kind of album one either loves or hates, which is why I referenced the two widely known Floyd pieces. This album is even a bit more “out there” and frankly a bit more sincere than the Floyd works I mention—Ummagumma sound a little contrived in places whereas this album feels more natural. The guitar playing is quite frequent and very enjoyable as the players try out several different styles from spacey acoustic to blues to jazz to even a brief bit of hard rock. The acoustic guitar of “Campenelli” literally sparkles with effervescence to great effect and are back by strange piano and synth sequences. The saxophone excursions near the end are like a person coming apart…beautiful at first but descending into some chaos. What I really like about this album is the complete freedom from the chains of a rhythm section. So much music is a slave to having constant drums thumping away—this album allows musicians to play free-form without being constrained by that. Like a situation comedy that is brave enough to not use a laugh track there simply are no rules here. This is about sound and the moods the sounds conjure, it is not about “songs.” Overall I find this album enchanting and perfect for a rainy day. My guess is that some fans of today’s more hard-core avant-garde projects may find this album a bit “quaint” as it doesn’t pack the in-your-face edge of someone like Toby Driver. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t viable. This album is interesting to me musically, historically, and has the charm of its creator coming through via boundless enthusiasm.

The BTF reissue is even more generous than usual with two separate, thick booklets, one in English and one in Italian. The liner notes written by Barbieri are some of the most heartfelt and humorous I’ve ever read. He recalls moments of his life in a sort of stream-of-consciousness burst which fits well with the music here. Great detail is given about other contributors also, their backgrounds, and what they are doing now. The sound is taken from the original master tapes and while not exactly awesome it is certainly acceptable to me. Barbieri and his 13 year old aspiring musician son worked together on processing 13 additional bonus tracks adding more than a half-hour to the dream sequence. There is some real bang for the buck here for the experimental music lover but it requires a listener with patience as well as an open mind about what “music” really is.

by Finnforest


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By Daniel N. Alvarez

Part of a continuing series: Britpop Faves.

When Pulp, the perpetual Britpop outsiders, went into the studio to follow up their first taste of commercial success, the Gold-certified His 'n' Hers (Island, 1994), few would have guessed the unassuming quintet would craft a groundbreaking album that would transcend the Britpop scene, while also creating a recording that was quintessentially British.



While Different Class (PolyGram/Island, 1995) contains the same new wave/glam hybrid of His 'n' Hers, it surpasses their previous effort due to frontperson Jarvis Cocker's development into the most compelling, perceptive figure in rock music at the time. The full-length sees Cocker, a cross between Robert Smith and Morrissey with a keen understanding of sociology, come into his own as a songwriter, weaving tales of sex, drugs, and the rigid, enduring class system that has afflicted England for centuries. Though many UK bands played with the class system (the Verve, the Happy Mondays), none of them investigated it - and rallied against it - like Cocker.


For the love of...: Pulp's "Common People."


The record's first single, "Common People," is a fascinating story about a wealthy, young Greek woman that Cocker met at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She confesses that she yearns to understand the plight of the "common people" that she saw in London. At first, a young Cocker attempts to facilitate her slumming, but his indignant response slowly turns to rage, as he shows her she will never live like common people because she cannot "understand what it means to live your life with no meaning or control, and with nowhere left to go." With one simple story, Cocker details the hardscrabble existence of the bulging British lower class without a touch of pretension.

Down on the dancefloor: Pulp perform "Disco 2000."


Cocker's storytelling made Different Class a sensation, and Pulp's players made it musically legendary. The album is full of catchy melodies, built around Candida Doyle's wanton keyboards and Russell Senior's jangling guitar work. Doyle's sublime piano drives the ethereal "Bar Italia," and Senior's punchy guitar turned "Mis-Shapes" (another biting commentary on Britain’s antiquated class system) into a live staple and successful single. The two Sheffielders team up for the uplifting, silky “Disco 2000," which sees Cocker lamenting lost love with the kind of wistful, dramatic approach that would make the Moz blush.

Ready, steady: Pulp play "Sorted for E’s and Whizz."

The album’s best track is the synth-kissed, acoustic guitar-based, “Sorted for E’s and Whizz.” The ode to MDMA and amphetamines, unsurprisingly, ignited a storm of controversy, while, in reality, the song is merely a light-hearted chronicle of the burgeoning drug culture that was sweeping the country. Though the song unquestionably highlights hard drugs, Cocker reminds us, “In the middle of the night/ It feels all right/ But tomorrow morning/ You come down.”

Pulp has often been seen as the most British of the Britpop bands, because, of all their peers, they were the most interested in documenting, lyrically and musically, what was happening in the late '80s and early '90s. Nobody explained the life of the typical Brit as fully as Cocker did, and nobody melded the synthpop of the Smiths with the guitar rock of the Stone Roses as well as Pulp. Different Class will forever be their crowning achievement, and just may be the best British record of the decade.

As I indicated less than two weeks when featuring Benji Hughes’ excellent A Love Extreme, releasing a double-disc album as a debut can be a risky venture for numerous reasons. Inaccessibility is the primary one for sure, along with a widespread assumption that the release may play by the “quantity over quality” ideology. There is no simple way to avoid these initial beliefs, apart from releasing consistent quality of course. Taking this methodical approach of releasing a debut album with over an hours’ worth of material can also prove to be a showcase of an artist’s confidence in regard to their songwriting. After all, the production cost for producing a double-album is considerably more, packaging and distribution included. If they truly intend to take this route, they must have material that they are fully committed to and feel that audiences will feel the same way. No one knows where Benji Hughes will go from here, but another example of contemporary independent songwriters who were adventurous enough to take the double-album route upon releasing their debut was Future Clouds and Radar. The Austin-based five-piece put out a self-titled debut in 2007, featuring 27 tracks of a very diverse nature. Some listeners noted the album for its successful use of stylistic variation, but the most outstanding feature that most listeners found was related to the consistency in quality that stretched over the vast selection of material.

As a veteran songwriter who had already seen a respectable share of success with Austin favorites Cotton Mather during the mid ’90s (their 1997 album, Kontiki, is highly recommended), Robert Harrison already had the credentials to attempt such a grandiose feat. Thanks mainly in part to Oasis’ Noel Gallagher’s very convincing promotion of to the adored Kontiki, the album had become very successful in the UK when it was reissued in 1998. NME basically went on to call them the next Supergrass and Cotton Mather had a few years of ample overseas recognition before the group was abolished in 2003 after releasing The Big Picture in 2001. What occurred next consisted of a series of tragic circumstances, as Harrison’s intent to continue immediately with his songwriting was put on hold after he suffered a critical spinal injury shortly after Cotton Mather’s break-up. Restrained to his bedroom, he continued writing songs as recovery loomed in the future. Always noted as a rather prolific songwriter with three albums and two EPs in the span of seven years with Cotton Mather, it was also a tendency of his to put out at least something every year whether it was a full-length or a single. To spend such a long period of time in recovery must have been devastating, but he obviously used the time wisely to release the debut for his new project, entitled Future Clouds and Radar.

Upon the release of Future Clouds and Radar’s debut, their style tended to be consistently within the realm of psychedelic-rock. While other elements in the vein of electronica, pop, and blues were also sporadically present, psychedelia was a driving force that ultimately resulted in a cross between ‘60s pop and psych-rock experimentation. Still though, whether one was a fan of the bluesy “Devil No More”, the power-pop flair of “Let Me Get Your Coat”, or the brass-led funk cover of Bob Marley’s “Wake Up and Live”, the album offered some of the most successful interpretations of stylistic variation that I had heard all year in 2007. Harrison’s full recovery is a blessing for both him and listeners alike, as he has now reverted back to his expectedly ambitious scope. Just slightly over a year after the debut’s release, he is back again with Future Clouds and Radar’s second album, Peoria. However, this time it not “he” alone who writes and stars on the tracks. Peoria happens to be a more cumulative effort, featuring four other members who provide just the right dose of contrasting perspectives to complement Harrison’s songwriting beautifully. Peoria proves to only be about half the length of its predecessor, but Harrison’s knack for stylistic variation remains undoubtedly prevalent.

As both Future Clouds and Radar’s debut and the recently released Peoria suggest, Harrison’s excellent songwriting was not effected one bit by his five years away from the music industry. If anything, he has returned with more successful ideas than ever. However, unlike the expansive array of styles presented on a track-to-track basis on their debut, Peoria offers an overall more consistent sound that is a result of several blended musical genres and techniques. There is a decreasing emphasis on psychedelia and more on power-pop, as is presented on an infectiously concise track like “Feet on Grass” where a jazzy key progression underlies a series of sweeping strings, alternating percussion, and guitar progressions that sound like they are straight out of a ‘70s spy flick. When the next track, “Mummified”, arrives, the departure is able to illustrate a stark melodic contrast within a comparable instrumental arsenal. Over a series of familiarized strings and guitar progressions, the primary addition here is in the brass that flows seamlessly over Harrison’s excellent vocals (which sound like a cross between John Lennon and Jellyfish’s Andy Sturmer). The first four minutes prove for an illustriously brilliant pop soundscape; it is easily one of the best things Harrison has ever written. The final three minutes of the track are quite fascinating as well, equating to a mixture of avant-garde jazz, psychedelia, and sample-led electronica as this epic of a track comes to a masterful conclusion.

“Feet on Grass” and “Mummified” are just two instances of the stark contrasts on Peoria, this time more melodically and structurally than stylistically. “Eighteen Months” serves as the most linear track on the album in rather enjoyable fashion, employing a series of repetitive guitar riffs over Harrison’s vocals as it sits perfectly between the epic “Mummified” and the electro-acoustic experimentations of “The Mortal”. A few other highlights include “Mortal 296”, which sounds like some Gypsy death march with its smatterings of discordant brass, and “The Epcot View”, a catchy opener in a power-pop vein that sounds strikingly similar to Lawrence Heyward and Felt with its jangly guitar progressions and quickly adjusted keyboard enhancements. Even more so than their debut, Peoria is a remarkable stylistic achievement for Future Clouds and Radar. While the few critics of their excellent debut complained about occasional periods of stylistic indecisiveness, Peoria offers up a consistent sound while still remaining to tread in different stylistic territory throughout the entirety of the release. From avant-garde jazz to cleanly infectious power-pop, it is remarkable how Harrison and co. are able to conjure up such a fascinating sound so consistently.

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Future Clouds and Radar - Feet on Grass

Download audio file (fcloud-fee.mp3)

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Future Clouds and Radar - Mummified

Download audio file (fcloud-mum.mp3)

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Future Clouds and Radar - The Epcot View

Download audio file (fcloud-epc.mp3)

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