The latest reviews from Kevin Bryan.

Bill Nelson,"After The Satellite  Sings" (Esoteric CDCD 1010)- Wakefield's finest musical export is probably best remembered  for his work with outfits such as BeBop Deluxe and Red Noise during the middle and late seventies, but this increasingly reclusive character has maintained a remarkably prolific  creative output since those days despite being largely shunned by the major record labels for the past three decades or so. Esoteric  Records have now embarked on a major Nelson re-issue programme spanning these "lost years " and this 1996 album emerges as a particularly fine piece of work, with  a sublime blend of the spontaneous and the surreal underpinning  excellent  tracks such as  "Streamliner," "Dreamster 2.L.R." and "Rocket To Damascus."

 

"Axels & Sockets-The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project" (Glitterhouse GRCD 796)-The third CD in this  absorbing series paying tribute to the unique musical legacy of the former Gun Club frontman  features telling contributions from many of Pierce's old friends and admirers,including Nick Cave,Iggy Pop  and Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore. The participants were entrusted with the task of putting some musical flesh on the  bones  of  a relatively  bare demo tape discovered in Pierce's loft after his untimely death in 1996 and they've risen to the challenge admirably here,with Messrs. Pop,Cave and Moore in particularly fine fettle on the opening track,"Nobody's City."

 

Bad Company,"Live at Wembley" (SALVOSVX032)- This splendid audio-visual package was recorded in high definition at Wembley Arena in April 2010, and found the reunited band taking an enjoyable jaunt down memory lane as they revisited the cream of their illustrious back catalogue ,including perennial crowd-pleasers such as "Can't Get Enough," "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Making Love." Paul Rodgers,Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke also found space for some lesser known items in their energised  set list,including "Deal With The Preacher" and a nifty cover of The Coasters' 1957 hit,"Young Blood."

 

"The Very Best of Dionne Warwick" (Metro METRSL088W)-This easy on the ear 2 CD set chronicles the cream  of Dionne Warwick's subtly memorable output from her creative heyday in the sixties,when the New Jersey born diva's collaboration with the peerless songwriting duo of Bacharach and David yielded timeless gems such as "Walk On By," "I Say A Little Prayer"  and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" The parting of the ways sadly came in 1970 and her musical career  was sadly never able to scale the same heights again,although  Dionne  did enjoy a U.S. chart-topper five years later when she joined forces with  The Detroit Spinners and producer Thom Bell to record  "Then Came You."

 

"The Last Shout-Twilight of the Blues Shouters 1954-1962" (Fantastic Voyage FVTD207)-Music specialist Dave Penny's latest foray into the r&b archives has yielded a rumbustious 3CD set which shines a welcome spotlight on some of the larger than life performers who strove manfully  to maintain the jump blues tradition during the early years of rock'n'roll,including Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner  and Jimmy Witherspoon.  Their gloriously exuberant brand  of music-making may have lost much of its popular appeal long long ago , but  the robust delights of  "The Last Shout" are  well worth investigating nonetheless