Reviews: Jack Savoretti, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and The Maybes?...

Jack Savoretti – Between The Minds
 
We’ve all heard of music to be miserable by, well in this collection of unplugged tracks, Jack Savoretti makes the exact opposite of that. This is music to cheer yourself up with, music to help reset a broken soul.
 With its rich and haunting beauty, there is a deeply sweet power in Jack’s voice, that reminds a little of Chris Isaak, Nick Drake, and James Blunt, while being distinctively, gorgeously his, while his exquisitely woven musical accompaniment caresses the mind and leaves it at peace.
The self penned material is excellent, but so is the live cover version of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire.’ If you don’t get goosepimples from listening to this one, you’ve got too many jumpers on.
Jack Savoretti is a certainty for global superstardom, no question, but at the moment, you can still catch him playing the small venues, but not for much longer.
 
For gig details get over to his Myspace – www.myspace.com/jacksavoretti

5/5, Rikki Wright
 

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
 
This is a dark and funky beast of an album, with Nick Cave’s intense vocals perfectly complementing the superbly tight and  surprisingly dancey music of his Bad Seeds.
The title track springs from Cave’s uneasy relationship with the story of Lazarus, and how it must have felt for him to have risen from the dead, in the biblical tale. He compares Lazarus with Houdini and mourns his untimely end. Typical Cave really, dark and thoughtful, with an undertone of humour. There is even a slight whiff of The Rocky Horror Show sound to it, but in a good way…
Comparisons must also be drawn with David Bowie, The Doors and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground, yet there is still a unique quality that is all about the alchemy between Nick and the Seeds. They have a sound and a feel that is all their own, one that time and experience have not diminished over the years, as they once again make an album that sounds fresh, interesting and as cool as a deep frozen cucumber.
 
4/5, Josh Green

 
The Maybes? – Talk About You
 
The Maybes? are one of Liverpool’s very finest and most popular bands, being the perfect combo of great musicians an uber-charismatic and talented frontman, Nick Ellis. He reminds of a young Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler, while having a creative spark and sound that is all his own. This hotly anticipated single promises much, and more than delivers..
There’s a new album peeping over the horizon too, and I just can’t wait to hear it…

4/5