Something Beautiful

So… The Soft Cavalry. What is it? A happy accident? A lovers’ story? A crisis of faith? In reality, it’s all of these. For Steve Clarke, The Soft Cavalry’s self-titled debut album is equally a labour of love, and the first record he’s masterminded from start to finish, with invaluable contributions from his wife, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, on co-vocals and spiritual/practical guidance, and Steve’s brother Michael, who produced the record.

AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett
While Herman's Hermits will undoubtedly never get the critical respect afforded other British Invasion groups like the Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones, or the Kinks, as a group they weren't as silly as most people remember them. OK, maybe they were – certainly when on camera – but they and their producer Mickie Most had the good sense to pick solid songs to cover (the Goffin & King nugget "I'm into Something Good," "Silhouettes," originally done by the Rays, and Sam Cooke's great "Wonderful World"), which allowed them to sustain a hit-making career long past the end of chart action for such rival pop-oriented British Invasion acts as Gerry & the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer. This four-disc set covers the Hermits' years with Most (1964 to 1972) about as well as one could in terms of content, representing everything the group did with him, including a brace of rarities, unreleased tracks, and sides that singer Peter Noone recorded with Most as a solo artist on the producer's RAK label. For most Hermits fans, it will seem like too much of a good thing, as all of the group's hits have reappeared numerous times in compilations too ubiquitous to list – but they would be making a terrible mistake to pass up this set. Indeed, if anything, this quadruple-disc set is too much of a great thing, if such a thing is possible (though with one important flaw). And that makes it well worth saving up for.

Wonderfully directed, Wildest Dreams Tour makes a viewer feel practically omnipresent at Tina Turner's 1996, three-night stand in the Amsterdam Arena. With camera angles seemingly coming from everywhere, the massive scope of Turner's show is put into a proper, and enjoyable, visual context, along with the star's own artful way of reaching 50,000 fans at a shot with fierce energy but an unmistakably nuanced performance. Turner's secret weapon: her voice, with its whiplash gospel, survivor's pride, and endless capacity for ecstasy. It doesn't matter if she's dancing as if her life depended on it or launching tiny ripples of erotic warmth with the barest of gestures: she still flaunts for this Dutch crowd her share of Jerry Lee Lewis's profane fire.

For those that are unfamiliar with Paradisia the exciting and extremely talented independent three-piece formed after The Night VI disbanded a few years ago. The band is currently made up of Sophie-Rose (vocals), Anna (harp) and Kristy (vocals, keyboard) and Sound of Freedom their magnificent debut. The band's name itself is a word they use to describe an idealistic and beautiful aesthetic, a space away from reality to a place that occupies a perfect limbo between this world and a dreamlike utopia. The diversion to a higher sphere that music tends to offer most often; escapism. With relatable lyrics that draw inspiration from personal experiences, Paradisia is a world in to which most can escape.

In that enticing, enthralling school of 1960s “girls with guitars”, Goldie & the Gingerbreads are top of the class. Self-contained and accomplished as instrumentalists, with an eminently soulful vocal prowess, the Gingerbreads remain true pioneers of women in rock’n’roll, and with a fascinating history to boot. Born in the discotheques of Gotham, Goldie & the Gingerbreads were a popular club act with a handful of recordings under their belt when an admiring Animals caught them on a NYC visit in late 1964. “Imported” into the UK, the group scored a hit with ‘Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat’ and went on to tour with the Rolling Stones, Kinks and others, as well as maintaining a high visibility in the UK on their own. They made several more worthy if unsuccessful discs with producer Shel Talmy before splitting in 1967.