Craig+david

The Story Goes… was the third album by British R&B singer Craig David, following his breakthrough number one in 2000, Born to Do It, and Slicker Than Your Average. Picking himself up and signing to Warner Bros. after the demise of his Wildstar/Telstar record label, David offered The Story Goes… as a very personal album filled with his own experiences over the past few years, including his own relationship breakdown in "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)," being mesmerized by a woman during his partying phase on the tracks "Hypnotic" and "Just Chillin'," and another doomed liaison on the song "One Last Dance."

In his 2000 debut album, Craig David merges smooth-soul crooning with a cascade of glistening keyboards, circling guitars, and sophisticated rhythms. Displaying a healthy marriage of current R&B vocal stylings and U.K. club/dance fused beats, David's music skillfully evades feeling robotic and cold, while still sounding pristine and immaculate. As an artist who is in his late teens, he conjures up a personal and revealing work that delves into both his mature sound and youthful attitude. Co-writing and co-producing with Mark Hill of the British garage act the Artful Dodger, David wraps his scorching-cool vocals around a mellow attack of keyboards and drums, while distinctly focusing on romance, relationships, and clubbing.

The dwindling record sales, the rather embarrassing tabloid kiss-and-tells, and the downright unflattering Bo' Selecta! impersonations have made it easy to forget that not so long ago, Craig David was one of Britain's most credible soul talents. His fusion of 2-step and soulful R&B struck a chord with audiences both at home and across the Atlantic, his debut album became the fastest-selling ever by a male solo artist, and his failure to pick up any Brit Awards – after being nominated for six – sparked a tabloid frenzy. Greatest Hits, featuring 12 Top 40 singles, is a comprehensive roundup of David's career so far, taking in the early glory days, the backlash years, and three new tracks that suggest he isn't ready to be written off just yet.

The former British teen sensation kicked off his singing career with the stellar Grammy-nominated Born to Do It, which blended 2-step, R&B, and pop. With his second release, Slicker Than Your Average, Craig David shows a different side. While Born to Do It was filled with romantic lyrics, Slicker Than Your Average shares David's feelings about fame, with a small dose of his trademark love songs. On the title track, David takes a stab at those who criticize his "squeaky clean" image and musical style: "Now they're telling me that I'm too R&B/How I turned my back on the whole UK garage scene/Now they're stressing me when/I know there's so much more to see."

A fresh blend of Craig’s pioneering garage sound, RnB and blazing club bangers, this album is a celebration of one of the UK’s most loved artists, back on British soil, and at the helm of his own unique, authentically British sound; a sound that made waves across the globe, making him the voice of one of the most pivotal eras in UK music, and in turn, making him one of the most successful artists in UK chart history. Sixteen years since the critically-acclaimed, Born To Do It changed his life, Craig catapulted back into the charts and in to the nation’s hearts with Big Narstie on the single "When The Bassline Drops", marking the beginning his triumphant return. From the bass bubbling smash hit, "Nothing Like This" with Blonde to the stripped back "All We Needed" showcasing Craig’s vocals, the new album pays homage to his distinctive signature sound, but also shows Craig in a new found light. It is the same, instantly recognisable voice, but showing the progression of an artist that has truly come in to his own.

UB40 fans intrigued to see how former frontman Ali Campbell would fare since his acrimonious departure a year previously could be forgiven for thinking the Brummie vocalist was in the midst of a midlife crisis, judging by the guest appearance of grime artist Sway and a cover of a Britney Spears song on his third solo album, Flying High. But while its star-studded roll call may be more suited to pirate radio than the Radio 2-friendly guest list of predecessor Running Free (Mick Hucknall, Katie Melua), it isn't the radical departure its credits suggest. Indeed, only the rather shoehorned quickfire lyrical delivery of the aforementioned South London MC on "It's a Crime" would sound out of place on his previous outfit's back catalog, as Campbell wraps his distinctive nasal tones around 14 tracks that stick rigidly to his well-worn formula of lilting reggae and breezy ska-pop.

Face Up is Lisa Stansfield's first offering for the new millennium, and on this disc she treads similar waters as on previous albums, except for a few more adventurous outings. The album's first single, "Let's Just Call It Love," incorporates the British garage 2step beats introduced to Americans and popularized earlier in 2001 by fellow Brit Craig David, and makes for an unusual but interesting leadoff single. The album's opener, "I've Got Something Better," is classic, funky Lisa Stansfield at her best, and the song gets more and more fun with each repeated listening. Other standouts include the Burt Bacharach-ish show-stopping ballad "How Could You?," the pleading "Don't Leave Now I'm in Love," and the set's most obvious hit, the breezy, disco-laced anthem "8-3-1."

Bassist Mick Paul, best known for his work with the David Cross Band, is releasing his new album “Parallel Lives” on June 9th. The album features guest appearances by David Cross (King Crimson) and David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator). Says Mick about the new album, “I’m interested in the way our lives tend to mirror each other without us realising it, hence the title ‘Parallel Lives’. Two of the songs relate to my children who are now grown up, I can see how their lives echo mine and of course how my life has parallels with my parents and the way they saw things and reacted to events- and how it goes on through the generations. It is not a concept album in the traditional sense of having a story as such but I think there is cohesiveness to the overall content of the lyrics that tell some of my story. I also feel that the moods and general feel of the album very much reflect how I felt when I was writing it.”

Roger Glover, Ronnie James Dio, Jon Lord, David Coverdale, Tony Ashton, Glenn Hughes, Ray Fenwick, Eddie Hardin, John Lawton, and many many more… Deep Purple have always been known for their contributions to the hard rock genre. Despite this heavy reputation, the individual members have all worked outside the rock field from time to time on solo material or sessions, exploring different and often seemingly unlikely musical avenues. This two-disc set brings two such projects together for the first time.

Nine Skies are a French progressive rock band inspired by many influences: rock, pop, progressive, classical, jazz… The first album “Return Home” was released on the 30th November 2017 via Anesthetize Productions. The second album, called “Sweetheart Grips” is a double album released on the 1st of November 2019, with guests such as Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett, Frost …), Clive Nolan (Arena, Pendragon …), Dave Foster (Steve Rothery Band, Dave Foster Band …), Riccardo Romano (Ranestrane, Steve Rothery Band …) and others. This title refers to the practice dating back to the Second World War, when soldiers were known to take precious family photos (and Pinup Girl photos) and put them under clear grips on their 1911 pistols, called ’Sweetheart Grips’.