Tag: 2014

Maybe the coolest record we’ve ever heard from this mod British combo – a set that gets way past the easy retro references of previous albums, and goes for a vibe that’s quite complicated, but still pretty darn groovy! The set’s got the look and feel of the best jazzy soundtracks of the 60s – and these guys bring in a nice range of styles to match – from jaunty groovers to more complicated sonic explorations – served up on a blend of Hammond, Fender Rhodes, mellotron, timbales, tablas, electric sitar, and more – all with a feel that’s maybe somewhere in the best territory of Roy Budd during his Get Carter years! The whole thing’s wonderful – a great evolution from before – and titles include “Trans Adonis”, “Theme From Last Man On Earth”, “Aardvark”, “Blow Your Own”, “Hail Caesar”, and “Changing Faces” – and although most of the set is instrumental, three tracks feature some guest vocals too.

Album Debut album from pianist, singer and songwriter David Woodcock who hails
from Southend. It’s classic and quality British pop rock following in the footsteps of special artists such as Ray Davies and Ian Dury.
7/10

Big Boss Man

Last Man On Earth – Album

It’s been four years since we last saw a new release from Big Boss Man (BBM). Happily, it was well worth the wait. Nasser Bouzida, Trev Harding, Scott Milsom and Desmond Rogers have once again shown they are a force to be reckoned with in the studio or live.

While four albums in 15 years are not prolific, (they have had sideline projects in between times) this latest release further enhances Big Boss Man’s reputation. There is no finer example of the saying ‘less is more’. Each LP is top draw and ‘Last Man On Earth’ is a continuation.

Those of you familiar with their work, will know Big Boss Man are all about a hip hybrid of 60s and 70s drenched R&B, funk, Latin, jazz, soul and psych.

Interestingly, BBM include a couple of guest vocalists here. Princess Freesia who takes charge of the title track (an instrumental version is also included) and ‘Painted Rainbow’, while Al Greener assumes the duties on ‘Changing Faces’ and a very fine job they do.

I usually try to pick some highlights for my album reviews, but this is so good, I’m spoilt for choice. Let’s start with the title track and the only single so far, ‘Aardvark’. They happen to be the first two tracks on the album, but they really set the standard for the rest of it.

‘Crimson 6T’s’ rhythm is heavily influenced by Little Walter’s ‘My Babe’, but with the addition of a brass section, it is a slice of gorgeous Hammond R&B.

‘Shot Down’ takes into the realms of psychy, fuzzy groove, while ‘Hail Caesar’ with its Latin overtones is about as cool as it gets.

I do hope the lads do not leave it another four years before they put out their next release. More please.

Every now and again you hear an album that really does it for you, and this is it.

Last Man On Earth is the fourth album from Big Boss Man, 15 original songs, each and every one of them hitting the mark and punching well above their weight. 

The Theme From… the title track kicks us off, which together with the vocal version later could easily be a soundtrack for a Bond film – and should be. And this sets the theme for the rest; well written, groovy guitar licks, funky bass, classic organ sounds and more.

Aardvark adds sax to this particular upbeat swinging floor-filler, Crimson 6Ts using brass in a similar way- both giving a modern edge to classic sounds. The Bear and Project 6 are more placed now than then, Sladey is psychedelic, Painted Rainbow offers conspicuous female vocals on a release that’s instrumental biased.

Last Man On Earth is the soundtrack to the summer and deserves to be noticed by the mainstream as well as the more discerning ears. An essential purchase.

Had your heart smashed to pieces by some cruel, manipulative good-for nothing that you mistakenly assumed to be the love of your life? Well, at least you can console yourself that this summer there are a couple of cracking new break up albums that can help you get over that insignificant other. Pete Fij (him from Adorable) and Terry Bickers’ (once of The House of Love) magnificent Open Heart Surgery is full of sweet, guitar drenched, slow burning Galaxie 500-esque tunes which contain dark and bitter tales of rejection, stalking and technophobia – which are bang on for a rainy Bank Holiday Monday.

And if you are a little more glass half full then you should cock an ear to Southend based piano man David Woodcock who takes a slightly different approach on his fantastic debut album, where over upbeat piano riffs the estuary man tells of ‘37 year single mothers who could teach me a thing or two.’

In fact the whole album, which lyrically documents a wonderfully English rubbish relationship, is a hoot from start to finish. It may be rooted very strongly in the Essex/South East pop tradition with its nods to Ian Dury, The Kinks, Madness and naturally enough Blur. Yet at the same time Woodcock is perhaps our very own answer to Ben Folds, a kind of garage punk Elton John, albeit one with a mischievous glint in his eye and some very quirky subject matter for his tunes.

It kicks off with Same Things, a humdinger of piano driven tune that was for me the single of last summer and the best bit of Britpop since, oooh fellow Southenders Menswear. And then to prove that gem was no fluke Woodcock launches into Open Secret with cascading piano and Mott The Hoople style horn riffs powering another power pop total gem which even descends into a messy psych coda.

In fact there’s not a duff moment here from the hysterical relationship travelogue,The Adventures Of You And Me – surely the first pop song not by the Darkness to mention Lowestoft – to End Of An Era with its Something Else period Kinks style chorus.

And it ends magically too with the drunken sing-along that is I Forgot To Miss You, appropriately enough recorded live in a Southend pub.

So no matter if your are nursing a bruised heart or skipping along Shoeburyness beach with your loved one, David Woodcock’s debut is an essential soundtrack. English pop album of the year so far? You betcha.

5 STARS

The UK’s mod-liest funk-soul-jazz-rnb-psych-fuzz outfit, Big Boss Man, are back with their fourth LP shortly and have decided to go with the whole concept-album – er – concept. In this case, the apocalyptic ‘last man on earth’ idea. It’s probably why they’ve run with the titleThe Last Man On Earth. Well – the sixties was a decade where all that hedonism was balanced by the very real threat of ‘the bomb.’ Imagine the nightmare prospect of having to wander alone through an atomic wasteland in your three-button suit without the slightest chance of finding a decent tailor. Ghastly. Well, Big Boss Man, I’ll see you your concept album and raise you the notion of a concept review! Let’s pretend your album was a compilation made by the last man on earth back in the day (on early Phillips compact cassette) to stave off the misery of endless zombie/ vampire hordes and having nowhere to get suit repairs and find out what he’d be listening to…

David Woodcock’s debut album is a wonderful thing. It conjures memories of great UK music hall era – but with a sharper pop focus. Think Ian Dury, Madness – even UK Squeeze. Musically uplifting but lyrically it conveys bleaker black humour.

Imagine the collision between the piano pounding pop of Madness and catchy cockney tunes of Blur.