Artefacts - Martin Archer & Neil Carver

Advantages: Running In dreams ,summer jets, boy boy boy
Disadvantages: none if you are a fan of this genre

...Iain Archer is an up and coming musician, and has spent periods as a guitarist in the Reindeer Section and Snow Patrol. However it is solo performances where Iain Archer excels, and this, his debut album Flood The Tanks proves to be an emotional hour of music. His style would not look out of place on a Turin Brakes or Doves album with the melodic guitar riff accompanying every song. The album kicks off with Pressure Drop, which is an emotional start to the album, which may be a brave track to begin with, however the bright backing and soft lyrics attract attention. The pace picks up with Running in Dreams, with a louder guitar riff mixed with Archer’s emotional voice to create almost a Placebo-esque sound. The song talks about struggling to break away from repression through dreams. One of the more accomplished songs... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great Dvd, Super Performance
Disadvantages: Not many features.

...Neil Finn was the songwritting force behind the very succesful "Crowded House", and played a massive part in the pop group "Split Enz". Neil Finn is now by himself, with a darker, and more eclectic sound. His first solo album (1998), "Try Whistling This", was a great success in Neil Finn's home Country (New Zealand). Neil Finn has brought with him this time a selection of truely unique artists. Radiohead's Phil Selway(Drums), sebastian Steinberg (Bass), and from "The Smiths", Johnny Marr,(Electric Guitar). A great line up of musicians, making an overall great sound. Neil Finn opens the gig with a great version of the Crowded House Classic " Fall at your Feet". Just an accoustic Guitar, a fantastic version. In with the selection of great Neil Finn songs, there is also a Performance by Neil Finn's son, Liam Finn, who is an up... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fine for a casual Neil Young listener
Disadvantages: Only tells part of the story

...Well for anyone wanting an easy (if possible) introduction into Neil Young this is not really the place to start. For that i'd head straight for the recently released Greatest Hits or older collection Decade (great early career overview) or better still any number of 'classic' Neil albums such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After The Gold Rush, Tonight's The Night, Rust Never Sleeps etc. This collects in a rather random way a couple of tracks from most of Neil's albums which were a result of his failed association with Geffen Records in the 80's. Trans is represented by Sample And Hold and Transformer Man where Neil experimented with the use of vocoders to try and come up with a kind of hybrid Kraftwerk sound with mixed results. Old Ways - a much more languid country album has a couple of good tracks showcased here, Once An Angel... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful