Pill - popping German prog has its inspired moments.........While it may take stamina to stomach at one sitting,this is a surprisingly listenable blast from the progressive past. *  *  * Record Collector

“Like some deft hybrid of Jamie Lidell,Snax and Matthew Dear – not to mention Prince and the Neptunes – Codina dispenses these 13 tracks of clever,supra-catchy alt.pop with almost unseemly ease… will make you glad to be alive. Seriously.” NME – 8/10 Album Review

Eccentric. There’s a world. Here’s another: fantastic. Those two worlds largely sum up this long-player from Spektrum,and assorted grime,producer Gabriel Olegavich. It’s got wit,invention,smart production and funk by the skip load. It’s all-too-rare that white boys successfully take the Funk into uncharted territory (Bowie and Byrne are two rare exceptions) but Gabe’s done it proud. This record’s thrillingly modish and lots of fun. ‘Get Your Motor Started’ is a swampy,molasses-thick party track with catchy hand-claps (not clapping along unison’s impossible) and a guitar riff which sounds like it’s been around forever. The Neptunes-y ‘Dirty Party’ is a Casio-driven affair stripped down to its Calvins and made to wear a dicky bow and a massive false ‘tache. Musical,primal and forward facing,it’s a missing link between Jamie Lidell’s modern soul,early Hot Chip and Rick James’s animal sexual appetite. A true funk original
iDJ Magazine

Pick of the week!
Caspa,aka Gabriel Olegavich,has experimented with classical music as well as leading the hot'n'heavy disco-punk band Spektrum. Now the clever sod has turned his attention to R&B. A record with balletic poise (all slinky verses and sherbet fountain chorus),Used To Go Dancing is what Prince's Sign O' The Times would have sounded like had it been written in London in 2008. Perhaps it's time,in the wider interests of humanity,for Olegavich to start giving away fractions of his spare talent to Pendulum,the Pigeon Detectives and other such clodhopping berks. Seriously,this man could make Nickelback sound good - if he wanted to.
The Guardian - The Guide

The album is full of songs that contain standout vocals and brilliant musicianship that will appeal to everyone who loves rock. 7 / 10 Powerplay

Ex – Dream Theatre singer puts past in the shade. Coming on like the very best of Dream Theatre duelling with Queensrcyche have to offer,its an impressive return. 8/10 – Jerry Ewing – Classic Rock – April 2007

– Firewor   Firewoks Issue 34 – “For fans of guitar-crunching melodic rock with superlative vocals and fantastic production. Excellent

Kerrang – Sept. 25th – “this unit has not forgotten how to rock!” KKK

Metal Mayhem Oct. 2008 – “A must hear slab of quality hard rock!” 8/10

.....Blasts from the past rarely come finer then this - Kerrang KKKK

BALD,sweaty,sardonic and with a self-depreciating bite - Hamell On Trial (aka American stand-up comedian/ musician,Ed Hamell) is about as punk as a Sex Pistols T-shirt drenched in spit.

When he arrives on stage,he does so amid flashing lights,committing assault and battery on his 70-year-old acoustic guitar.

When Hamell eventually pauses for breath,he launches into what he calls the terrorism of everyday life: including memories of his cynical Hungarian father,the bizarre jobs a struggling musician has to endure,dabbling with drugs,and his Catholic-Jewish family. The show is essentially a barbed-wired biography of this 52-year-old New Yorker,interspersed with hurricane-force rock songs that not only entertain but add weight to his stories.

There's no cheesy story-punchline gags,either,and in no way do you get the feeling his anecdotes are exaggerated. For those who like controversial comedy,this one-man show might just be for you.

Edinburgh Evening News

He holds a mirror up to the dark corners of human behaviour and pulls us out of that mire of complacency and says the things that we all think but don't really want to say out loud.

Nick Pynn just makes really great music. It's very simple and dynamic. He's a multi-instrumentalist: he plays violin,guitar,the theremin,and he sings clever little songs.

Hamell on Trial is an astounding musician-comedian. He beats this 1937 guitar and tells amazing stories.

He beats this 1937 guitar and tells amazing stories.

When I saw him he told a long story about a bluegrass festival he'd been to where he'd had to hide under the bus so he could drink,because the place was full of Christians.

He's got another one about how a lesbian recorded one of his songs,which then made him a lot of money on royalties,and how he's realised since then that all his songs are about lesbians. Celebrity choice - Rich Hall,Telegraph

If you imagine Frank Black fused with Fu Manchu,you'll get an idea of this energetic American performer,aptly boxed as a one-man punk-folk band. Hamell's acoustic-electric compositions tear into aspects of life he's uncomfortable with,such as the sterility of fast food that one day,he sings,we won't have to eat at all

The freshness and free-spirited West Coast vibe that Jan Berry and Dean Torrence helped to create within the early '60s So Cal music scene permeates The Complete Liberty Singles (2008). Gathered on these CDs are all 42 A and B sides issued by Jan & Dean during their early-to-mid 1960s stint on Liberty Records. Although judicious amounts of compression help to keep the sound crisp throughout,gone is the fake equalization and overbearing noise reduction that marred the vast majority of Jan and Dean best of CDs. By default several early charting selections for the local and regional Arwin,Dore and Challenge imprints are not here. However,unquestionably the loss of those formative sides is certainly made up for by the great care taken while focusing solely on the duo's core hit-making ('62 - '66) era. In much the same spirit that Dean Torrence painstakingly compiled the excellent vinyl anthology Gotta Take That One Last Ride (1974) in the mid 1970s,producers of The Complete Liberty Singles have gone back to the finest source materials with an ear toward replicating the sonic punch and power inherent in those seminal mixes. To that end,their mission has certainly been accomplished. Casual fans and collectors' alike are treated to every one of the baker's dozen of Jan & Dean's key Top 40 entries. Of course titles such as Surf City, Drag City, New Girl In School, Little Old Lady (From Pasadena), Ride The Wild Surf, Honolulu Lulu, Sidewalk Surfin', Dead Man's Curve and Popsicle will be familiar to all fans of the surf music sub-genre. Studious enthusiasts have the most to gain thanks to the full,rich tonality of some of the second-tier tracks,namely A Sunday Kind Of Love, Tennessee, Linda, When I Learn How To Cry and the criminally underrated She's My Summer Girl. Of particular interest are a few rarities,including the flipside to Popsicle — which was the cover of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) — the b-side only Submarine Races and the Berry solo single Universal Coward b/w I Can't Wait To Love You. Visually accompanying the tunes is a 20-page liner notes booklet with essay's from both surf-music expert/journalist David Beard and producer Ed Osbourne,as well as reproductions of vintage 7 picture sleeves,not to mention plenty of rarely published photos. Major kudos goes to the hoe-daddies and mommies over at Collectors' Choice Music for realizing such a thoroughly and exemplary executed package.
Allmusic.com review - 4.5 out of 5

Third album shows the Winter of 1969 to have been a hot one.

There were two reason why Second Winter created a stir when it was first released in 1969 - or three if you include the music.

The first was the cover: an arresting photo - montage of albino Winter with   his flailing long,pure white hair,and a purple colour wash......... The second was the three-sided double album: the forth side was blank...........Which brings us onto the third reason. Even in the blues guitar soaked Britian in 1969,Second Winter stood out,creating a nagging suspicion that our home-grown revered axe heroes were missing a trick somewhere. The first tour de force on Second Winter is a brave,Hendrix- style decontruction of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. The original is no slouch,but Winter's version is a hot rod compared to Dylan's Chevy.

Elsewhere Winter provides templates for ZZ Top(Hustled Down In Texas) and Stevie Ray Vaughan(I Love Everybody)

 Winter is the father of Texas blues. 8/10 Classic Rock

Thirty-seven years for a follow-up? It may well have been worth the wait. Leaf hound's debut,Growers of Mushrooms,was roundly ignored upon it's release in 1970. It took a while for people to realise just how good it was,by which time copies were changing hands for a grand. Sole remaining original member Pete French was a singer on par with the likes of Paul Rodgers and David Coverdale,and saw stints with Cactus and Atomic Rooster; but now back with a new band - rather than looking back- their timeless classic rock finds them soulful,heartfelt and perhaps surprisingly,Mr French sounding better than a man of his age should. As good a rock album as you could hope to hear.
Kerrang - KKKK

Nearly 40 years after their cult debut,1970's proto-stoner masterpiece Growers of Mushrooms,Britain's Leaf Hound finally release their second album. To say that the planet's been dramatically overhauled and renovated in that time is an understatement. So,has the wait been worthwhile?Well,Unleashed is a classy album that manages to be retro in an Atomic Rooster/Budgie style,while also keeping pace with modern - day heroes like Orange Goblin and Firebird. Only vocalist Pete French remains from the original line-up,yet Leaf Hound have retained an enviable 1970s authenticity and spirit. This is an unpretentious hard rock record,relying on strong songs and powerful  performances. Admirable retro qualities indeed. 7/10 Classic Rock

..you can't deny their genius when it comes to crafting empowering anthems….Kerrang K K K K

....A band we should cherish. - KKKK Kerrang

…creators of one of 2007's best albums by far - 8/10 Rocksound

...makes this a staggeringly meaningful album in every way. 4/5 The Sun

…something incredible is taking place ,just awaiting the world to catch up - KKKK - Islington Gig

Huge riffs ,exquisite harmonies,lashings of mellotron… - KKKK - Kerrang

Steve Hackett was one of the more artistically adventurous members of Genesis,a band whose creative vision moved from progressive rock to formulaic pop after the guitarist’s departure in 1977. Nowadays Hackett prefers the term ‘permissive rock’ and his remarkable ability to play blistering electric guitar and move seamlessly onto a classical instrument is a staple characteristic of his eclectic (if not schizophrenic) solo albums. His acoustic guitar albums were often blighted by swampy reverberation and reliance on effects processors but he is accomplished enough to allow his playing to speak for itself. Tribute does his classical playing full justice: the recorded sound is still not as natural and naked as classical purists might prefer,but the use of reverb is subtler thanks to Roger King’s excellent engineering. The Bach tributes are performed with impressive agility (most notably an astonishing performance of the Chaconne from BWV1004),and a finely played arrangement of a Byrd keyboard piece,but La catedral and La maja de Goya best show Hackett’s highly personal,involving and poetic style of playing.
Gramophone - April 08 - David Vickers

Pure psychobilly with rockabilly and venom in equal measure…….They always maintain the newest is always the best – this time they could just be right.   4 ½   Big Cheese