Concert For The BBC - Chris Barber Jazz And Blues Band (The)

Advantages: Great sound, great playing.
Disadvantages: Not enough tracks.

...band called The Hot Spuds. After receiving guitar lessons he formed another group called the Vulcans, at a bout this time Chris felt music was about the only thing he was good at and decided to make it his career. After leaving school Chris then started to play live gigs seriously, first with a Country and Western band called Bill Jordan and the Country Boys, going around playing air force bases. Through doing this he also met some jazz musicians and formed his own jazz bands, followed by a stint playing in the resident band of a cruise liner. As the UK "Blues Boom" developed Chris found he didn't much like playing in that style and mainly stuck to playing bass, However he was starting to play with much bigger names such as Alan Price, Dusty Springfield and Paul Jones (ex Manfred Mann). At this time Chris got also got into the Motown... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Technically very good, virtuoso performances, good prog
Disadvantages: A little dated, won't make you look trendy

...Ash don't seem to have dated as well as other bands: they did the twin lead guitar thing and combined rock, folk and blues long before Thin Lizzy but while Lizzy are perennial favourites Ash are largely forgotten. The Allman Brothers are revered but say "Ted Turner and Andy Powell" and people would probably say: "Television guy? Radio One DJ?" Originally released in April 1972, "Argus" is said to be the crowning moment of the recording career of Wishbone Ash. Fans and critics see it as the definitive Ash album yet I bet it hardly ever figures in those "best 100 albums of all time polls" you get when magazines and newspapers need to fill space. If you've never heard of Ash, they're a bit like Jethro Tull or Yes: prog rock combined with jazz, blues and folk, with quite delicate vocals. In fact the whole sound is quite delicate... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Too many to mention
Disadvantages: At 35 minutes, it's just too short. However, quality will prevail over quantity

...Nick Lowe's new, slowed-down, laid-back, lie-down direction continues with this fine album, At My Age. Backed by a band of crack musicians, he crafts carefully polished, three-minute gems from original material with, as usual, a few little-known country or blues covers tossed into the mix for good measure. Guest appearances from, among others, Chrissie Hynde and veteran jazzer and major influence on British popular music Chris Barber show the high esteem in which this master-songwriter and performer is held by his peers. Underrated? Not by those who know his matchless body of work. Sadly, with the public as a whole, it's more a case of him being unknown and, with a profile lower than Gordon Brown's popularity ratings, it's hard to see that changing. A word of advice, if the weather warms up again any time soon, this is the one to buy... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful