Boston retro rockers Watts are one of those bands who seem to have got better with each album. Hearing their work chronologically is very telling: although 2010’s rough and ready ‘On The Dial’ has enjoyable moments, it’s blown out of the water by 2015’s ‘Flash of White Light’, which in turn isn’t as thrilling as the best moments of 2016’s ‘Black Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll’. At the heart of it all, of course, there’s always been that love for The Stones, the grubbiness of Johnny Thunders and the general trashiness of ‘Let It Be’ era Replacements…but there’s no escaping the idea that they just got better at their craft. That’s better than a band who put out a couple of stellar albums and then swim the murky waters of inconsistent art (Manic Street Preachers, we’re looking at you). With all that in mind, though, Watts were unlikely to top ‘Black Heart’.
Author Archives: Real Gone
Led Zeppelin: 50th Anniversary Releases – What, Exactly, Does Jimmy Page Have Planned?
In January 2018, it was announced that Led Zeppelin’s posthumous live release ‘How The West Was Won’ was to be given a reissue to coincide with the band’s 50th anniversary. Recorded at two US shows in 1972 and then spliced together to give the feeling of experiencing a complete show, it has rarely been cited as a fan favourite. Nevertheless, that’s not stopped it being re-issued on CD and also given a blu-ray and (prohibitively expensive) vinyl release for the first time.
FERRIS AND SYLVESTER – Made In Streatham EP
Blending various singer-songwriter elements with a UK themed Americana style and more than a touch of adult pop, Ferris and Sylvester’s debut EP ‘The Yellow Line’ was very much a bright spark in 2017. After that release, it seemed to be a case of onward and upward for the duo, with an increasing social media presence and some great reviews for their follow up single – the decidedly pop-oriented ‘Better In Yellow’, released at the end of the year.
Philip Whitehead explores wintertime blues on new single
Philip Whitehead is a singer-songwriter from London whom over the past year or so has been releasing download independent singles. His last offering, ‘Paper Man’s Blues’ – released in November 2017 – was his best track to date, being an acoustic track that harked back to the personal nature of Bob Dylan’s classic ‘Girl From The North Country’ [streaming here]
DELUXE EDITION DREAMLAND: The Beautiful South – Blue Is The Colour
In January 2018 it was announced that both The Beautiful South’s debut LP and Housemartins ‘London 0 Hull 4’ were to be reissued on vinyl. Classic albums both, but here at Real Gone we think that any Beautiful South deluxe edition CDs are long overdue. We’d like to take this opportunity to look at what might make up a box set of their 1996 best seller ‘Blue Is The Colour’.
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