Epiphone Pro-1 Plus Acoustic

My newest guitar (I must stop buying them now, I have too many - said nobody ever) is an Epiphone Pro-1 Plus, in 'Blueburst', or 'Trans Blue' - I'm not quite sure. It's blue anyway. You can get them in dark red, black, and two kinds of wood finish. I started off liking the red, then went to natural and ended up with blue, partly because it matched my Ibanez, see elsewhere. I expect they all sounds the same!

There are three levels, the Pro which is around £100 has no white binding and not such a good spruce top. Then the Pro as here £150, then the Pro Ultra which has electrics and a cutaway body, £200.

They all have a mahogany body, an okoume neck and a rosewood fingerboard. I guess I'll never know if the extra 50 quid was worth it for the better spruce top, but it looks a nice thing, and the binding sets off the blue nicely.

The tuners are said to be high quality and have a good turn ratio (or whatever that is called) and work well, though possibly not as good as all that, just okay.

It's supposed to be easy to play, with a good aspect neck and jumbo frets, and thin strings, though in truth I haven't really noticed it being that easy - maybe that's just me!

I got it for a good price, and also by chance really there was an offer on that month to get a free accessory pack with the guitar, which duly arrived a month later from Epiphone. It comprised a strap, strings, tuner, polishes, plectrums and so on, worth £40 - so I am happy with what I paid.


It is loud. I'm comparing it to my Ovation, and it is a lot louder than that. And the tone is good, not as harsh as the Ovation, sounds great.

The blue finish was blemish free, but I have noticed it picks up dust really easily, and scratches too, despite my care with it. Ironically my major complaint about the guitar is to do with scratches... the scratch plate. This was billed as being impervious to scratching, which it appears to be, the only trouble is to achieve that they have made it of a plastic without a shiny finish, more matt - and that (for me) generates a scratchy noise when playing from the nail of my little finger. I am having to adopt a new technique to avoid this, which I'd rather not. If I could return to a 'shiny scratch-plate that gets scratched' some how I would...

I'm also not convinced by the light gauge strings as supplied, they feel wrong somehow. I use them on my electrics, but here there's something a bit loose about them. I'll try heavier gauges next time.

Truth be told - I bought this because I was bit bored with my Ovation... but though this Epiphone is nice, it isn't as good as the Ovation. The Ovation is class. So no disrespect to the Epi. I just haven't bonded with it yet I guess.

Ignoring that, I'd give it thumbs up - I'm happy with it and build quality and sound is great.

Ibanez GIO GRG121DX

Here is my new Ibanez GIO GRG121DX, in Starlight Blue Sunburst.

It's a lovely thing. I got it reasonably cheaply on eBay, advertised as being brand new, an unwanted gift - and it turned out that was true, immaculate condition and it came with a great gig bag too.

 As far as I know it has a mahogany body and a maple neck, 24 fret rosewood fingerboard and IBZ-6 Humbucking pickups.

I'm not well versed with technicalities to be honest, all I know is that the action is great, and it sounds really good through my Fender Mustang 1 v2 amp.

You can't get simpler controls... well actually I guess you can, but one volume, one tone and a selector work nicely, and the tuners are precise, if a little too stiff.

Okay, I really wanted a red one, but the blue has grown on me, it's a lovely finish.

It's nicely weighted too, unlike for example my Epiphone SG which is very neck heavy.

All I need to do now is learn how to play it!

Epiphone SG and Les Paul Special

Epiphone SG Worn G-400

I started learning to play the guitar about 44 years ago, not that you'd know. Because I'm still not very good at it.

My first guitar was an awful old acoustic thing bought from a school friend. My second was a Shaftesbury copy electric, also from a friend, and also a bit worn out. But to be fair it kept me going for many years as I half-heartedly plugged away at learning.

Then, on a whim, I bought a cheap Fender Stratocaster copy for just over £100. It was okay.

But I got the urge for a 'proper' guitar... but couldn't afford a real Gibson or Fender, so I bought this cherry red work of art.

It is great, I like it so much, it's simple, it sounds great, it's well made - I don't really know how a 'real' SG could be any better...

I paid under £200 for it, an absolute bargain, more details about the guitar are HERE.

Oddly, though, I started looking around recently for another guitar. Basically I'd like a room full of 'em. I spent a lot of time looking at Fender Squier Telecasters.

Epiphone Slash Les Paul Special-II

So - what happened! I was seduced by this beauty. I'm not quite sure how.

Full title is Slash "AFD" Les Paul Special-II Guitar Outfit - AFD standing for "Appetite for Destruction" and outfit, because it comes with some bits and pieces - a really nice gig bag, some Slash plectrums and a Slash strap.

The front of the guitar is 'Appetite Amber', the rear and neck are a lovely cherry red. It's simply gorgeous.

It has simple controls, much like a Tele, and though the neck is bolt-on, unlike the SG, it's very similar in feel, action and quality.

It cost £150 on special offer, delivered.

An extra feature is that the lower pickup contains a tuner which is a joy to use and seems quite accurate, press a button and flashing LEDs show you how far off the string is from tune. Brilliant.

More details are HERE

There's just one problem really - they are very, very similar when playing them... I don't know what I was expecting really... maybe I should have gone for the Tele after all.

Martin Simpson - Vagrant Stanzas

I am really a rock music fan. If you browse my CD collection, it is mostly rock. Planet Rock is permanently tuned into my digital radio. However, I have a quieter side too, and that betrays an admiration for folk music. By no means all folk music, however. I find some of it excruciating. But when it's good, it's hard to beat.

A few years ago I went to a gig called the Four Martins. It was a guitar playing evening, 4 guys called Martin each with a distinctive style, and it was very enjoyable. And the best of the four to my ears, was Martin Simpson.

Subsequently, I did nothing about following up on this chap, but by chance recently I came across an advert for this album, his latest. I had a quick listen on Spotify and ordered it immediately, in fact the "Deluxe Limited Edition" version, with an extra CD included.

It is Martin Simpson playing a guitar or banjo and singing... that's it. But it sounds fantastic, it's just bliss. To me anyway - my missus thinks it's a bit dreary. Well yes, I see her point, there are very few upbeat songs here, it is all a bit sad... typical of folk music generally I suppose. In fact one track, "Jackie And Murphy" - I defy you not to have a tear in your eye by the end, and an anger of the injustice the story of the song portrays - read the sumptuous sleeve notes to find out more... quite moving.

So the songs are written by Simpson himself, or are arrangements of traditional British and American tunes. The production is unobtrusive but perfect for the music. The guitar playing is superb and the singing... well elsewhere in this blog I review a Kate Rusby album and repeat the cliché that she has the voice of an angel. There's no reason I couldn't use the same phrase to describe Simpson's voice, but it don't sound right, do it? Let's settle for the fact that his voice is just perfect for what he's singing, can't imagine how it could be bettered.

Very highly recommended, 10/10, you could buy it here.

Peter Gabriel - New Blood

You might have read my review of Peter's previous album, if not find it here.

This is much the same, but this time he's orchestra'd up his own work, not someone else's. I think the album Scratch My Back was a triumph. I was a little worried about this new effort. But then I saw Peter perform extracts on Jools and I was won around. As usual with Gabriel's work, repeated playing just makes the thing get better and better. There's a quality here that is rare these days.

I guess in an ideal world I would prefer the guy to come up with something new, but this album is not a bad substitute as he significantly reworks some of his best tunes, transforming them into a whole new level.

Aside from the lengthy atmospheric introduction to Solsbury Hill, which gets old pretty quickly, the whole album is spot on. How someone unfamiliar with his oeuvre would take to this is hard for me to say. But it just oozes quality from start to finish.

Very highly recommended, 10/10, you could buy it here.

Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

Straight away can I declare myself as a huge fan of Peter Gabriel, stretching back to his Genesis days and through his solo career. The man is a genius. Now, I'll try not to be too gushing about this album!

It's taken me a year or so to get around to buying this CD. I guess I was a little disappointed when it came out to discover it was in effect a 'covers' album. I had a quick listen to it on Spotify and it sounded dull, so I didn't exactly rush out to the shops to buy it. Duh. For some reason I thought about it the other day, and it turned to be cheap as chips to buy, so I ordered it. It arrived. I played it. Dull. Played it again. Hmmm. Played it again... oh yes... Played it again (etc) - now I LOVE it, can't stop playing it, am humming it constantly - the missus is sick of it!

Just to briefly explain the concept, Peter has persuaded a diverse selection of artists to allow him to record their material in his own inimitable fashion, and they are going to reciprocate by recording one of his songs in the future, hence the title. And the other thing - no guitars or drums. So, this album is dominated by orchestral instruments and arrangements. It sounds fantastic - it is 'lush' - the proper use of the word.

There are songs by David Bowie, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Talking Heads, Elbow, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, and, new to me, The Magnetic Fields, Regina Spektor and Bon Iver. They're all interpreted brilliantly, and (because I'm biased!) are all better than the original versions. His version of Elbow's Mirrorball is absolutely fantastic, I could talk about each track... but I did say I wouldn't gush...

Suffice to say that this album is simply wonderful - it's not a driving record, you've got to sit and listen to get it, but if the mood is right this is about as good as it gets. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen... no - don't be an idiot like me, give it several listens... then you'll thank me.

Very highly recommended, 10/10, you could buy it here.

Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer

Now, to my shame, I hadn't really taken any notice of Ron here before I saw a recent documentary about him on BBC4. The programme was in fact about the man himself and the making of this album, which I ordered the very next day, so impressed was I.

The saying goes, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and this really applies to Ron, who just doesn't look the part. What's more, seeing him during the recording process you would never expect him to come up with the stuff he does. Shame on me. He's fantastic. His singing is great, his song writing is better, he seems like a thoroughly decent chap adrift in a world that expects artists to be extroverts and usually a pain in the arse. He is neither, and that's really appealing. To me anyway

The music on offer here is gentle. It's beautifully produced by a chap who 'got' Ron and made the most of him, Bob Rock. Maybe it's a little too gentle in places, there's very little edge to any of the tunes, though the lyrics are exceptionally interesting.

If you've never listened to Ron, I'd give him a go... I know I got the album weeks ago and it's growing on me each time I play it, always better than the other way around.

Very highly recommended, 9/10, you could buy it here.

Kate Rusby - Make the Light

It is now a few years since I last reviewed a Kate Rusby album (see here), during which time, as I understand it, she's become a mum and put out a Christmas album, which I have to admit I've not bothered with. Bah Humbug... Christmas, thank the lord it's over. Anyway.

This album is, unlike her previous work, self-penned. Not being an avid reader of sleeve notes these days (due in no small part to how small the bloomin' writing is on the darn things) I would not have known this if I hadn't read it elsewhere. The songs sound just the same as they usually do. Which is, of course, quite excellent. I could bang on about each individual track, but in fact they all merge together into a wonderful calming glorious whole, leaving you with about 50 minutes of peace and tranquillity in an otherwise noisy and discordant world.

Having been a rock fan all my life, this sort of stuff should not impress me. But it does. Greatly. My previous purchase was some old noisy tosh from Them Crooked Vultures, which should be more my cup of tea given the participating artistes, but it leave me cold. Rusby leaves me warm, which is just what you want in our current icy climate. I think I'm on the change. Nurse! The screens!

Very highly recommended, 9/10, you could buy it here.

John Peel - the olivetti chronicles

There is a famous black and white photo of the original Radio One DJs, taken when the station was just about to open. There are some familiar faces, and some strangers. There's a young Terry Wogan, Tony Blackburn, and Kenny Everett. And down at the front, looking a little uncomfortable, is a young John Peel

Now, I cannot claim that I actually ever listened to his shows that much. When he played music that I (subsequently) liked, I was too young to stop up that late. And by the time I could stay up, he was often playing utter rubbish (in my humble opinion). However, it doesn't really matter that I didn't go along with much of the music he played, it was that he really believed in it himself. I cannot imagine he ever said he liked, or disliked, a record for any other reason than that he really did. He had what so very few celebrities have, utter credibility. In spades.

The BBC coverage of Glastonbury will never have the gravitas that he gave it. His radio show was just an institution, and is sorely missed. This book has two shots of him on the cover. The rear shows him as a young man, the front as an old chap. Worryingly, both pictures look scarily like me, at a similar age. Separated at birth?

So, the book. It's a really good read. It gives an insight into his life. It is only peripherally about music. It often made me laugh out loud. It also highlights something I didn't know just by listening to him speak... he could really write too.

The book is arranged curiously, but interestingly. The articles, none more than a page or two long, are ordered by alphabetical order of title, not chronologically. So one minute you can be back in the seventies, and then flung forward into the recent past, and then back again in a few pages. Surprisingly, this works. It's an interesting exercise to read the pieces and ignore the date, and at the end try and work out when it was written.

Okay, he clearly becomes increasingly curmudgeonly as time goes by, but the wit always remained. And it is so nice to hear him criticising the rubbish we've had foisted on us over the years, but with no real malice, and equally his generous praise for people who, frankly, don't deserve it - but if that's how he felt, fair enough, eh?

Recommended, 9/10, you could buy the hardback version here.

AC/DC - Black Ice

I won't trouble you much with this review. It's short and sweet.

You either like AC/DC... or... I don't want you reading my blog, so please leave now! As has been said, I suspect, in every review of this album, it's just what you would expect from AC/DC. There are no ballads. They haven't thrown in a rap. It's the same old thing And of course that means it's just brilliant. It's Dad Rock. I'm a Dad. It works for me.

The only thing I'd add is that after the initial euphoria of hearing the songs for the first time has worn off... well... it starts to get better! Yes, it's a grower... there is depth there, these are good songs.

These guys are old now... Angus is in fact my age, which must mean he's probably creaking and groaning when he picks up a dropped plectrum. But they know how to put a rock song together, and the 'young guns' of the rock world would be well advised to check out just how it should be done.

Recommended, 10/10, you could buy it here.

Led Zeppelin - Mothership

Let me say straight away that I don't own this particular collection, will not own this collection in the future, and have no idea what is on this collection. Well I have really, but you know what I mean. I don't have to know or hear this music, because I've already bought it in various ways several times before, and I know exactly what it's like.

It's bloody brilliant, that's what it is. No, really it is. Trust me on this. Well, I suppose I'd better make the odd caveat here. If you really, really like Westlife, if you think the winner of X Factor is going to have a major influence on music today, if you think Rap music is a positive life enhancing genre or indeed think that a Club Mix Dance Compliation including the work of Billy Bunter is the dog's nads... then it is possible you won't like Led Zeppelin. Tough... go away, I don't want you to like them.

But if you have any reasonable level of discernment and haven't heard this work yet in your lives (yes kids, I mean you) then get your lug-holes around this album and find out just who it is that a lot of today's popular beat combos are copying the style of. Marvel at the musicianship. Be awed by the vocals. Soak up the sheer power of the sound. Cliché time... if you only buy one CD for Christmas... make it this one. Take time to appreciate it. I doubt this level of musical brilliance will happen again for a long time to come.

Recommended, 10/10, you could buy it here.

Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo...

There are quite a few things that are too long about this album. "Coheed & Cambria" for a group name is cumbersome and I can't ever remember it, I agree, that is my fault, not their's. But the album title in full is "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness". Now that's just plain daft.

And then there's the music itself. It runs to over 70 minutes, which I agree is good value, but it's stretching my ability to appreciate this kind of music way too far. In the old days (oh no, off he goes...) albums were 40 minutes if you were lucky. Just because they can be 73 minutes, that's no reason to make them that long, and this is a good example. Condense this to half it's length, it would be much better. Because it is good stuff.

Now, I do like prog. I liked Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and, um... Rush! Hmmm. So I'm happy with mad lyrics (yes, Anderson, I mean you!). But this is pushing it. This guy seems awfully angry with something, but the lyrics are impenetrable, so I'm not sure what it is he's mad with.

The album starts really, really well. Excellent, I started listening and thought I was in for a treat. But it's all a bit samey. It's good, but it all seems to merge into one very long splurge of the same thing. A good thing, but the same thing.

I think I'm quite glad I did buy this album. It was a bit of an impulse buy, and often they are the best. It has its faults, but overall it's a fairly enjoyable listen. Just don't try and decipher the lyrics, that's all. Phew. Oh, and switch it off half way through...

Recommended, 7/10, you could buy it here.

Just what is Number One?

The other night the Missus went to sleep, leaning against me, on our settee. (Ahhhh.) Anyway, the TV programme that had sent her off finally ground its way to some sort of conclusion, and I was left with the remote to hand, but unable to move without disturbing her.

So, I started flicking channels like you do. And like you do these days with the remarkable number of channels to choose from, I found nothing whatsoever of interest. And, just to give an indication of how desperate the choices were, I ended up on Ceefax.

Now I know that Ceefax is a sort of free lunch, in that it's a miracle you can get data to flow alongside your TV picture... but it really is awful, isn't it? In these broadband days, it's just beyond the pale. Anyway.

Looking through the menu options I picked out Music. And then the Charts. And it struck me, not for the first time, that I had absolutely no idea whatsoever of what was in the charts. And that I haven't known what the number one song is for... well... months... in fact, to be precise, since they stopped showing Top of the Pops. Now, the day they cancelled that show there was much rejoicing from the other members of my household. Because, for them, it signalled the end of a sustained period of great grumpiness on my part.

No longer would they have to sit through half an hour of moaning every week as I gave my (almost always) caustic comments on the quality of the acts they paraded before us on the show. Bloody awful, 99% of it. You know I'm right.

But, blimey I miss it. Not because it was any good. No. But because it's part of life. Since I was a nipper, I've always watched it. When I was at school I'd record the charts in my diary. I'd know what the top five songs were, every week. When I was a teenager, Pan's People were just about the best thing on TV. You look back now and wonder why, but back then they were, and that's that.

And over the years (okay, increasingly rarely) there have been great TOTP moments. I've bought loads of CDs on the strength of a performance seen on the show. But key to the whole thing was that countdown. Just what was the most popular song of that day? It didn't matter that complete garbage managed the feat... bloody irritating frogs, talentless boy bands, Cliff Richard... the thing was you did know. Like the weather. You watch the weather forecast, it's not always nice weather, but you knew what to expect.

And now... I'm not prepared to go hunting around trying to find out who is number one... I just want someone to tell me at the end of half an hour of dross. I don't know why, I just do. Is it too much to ask?

A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song

This book is a hugely enjoyable read for anyone, like myself, with an interest in the Beatles and their oeuvre. Though it could be argued that close examination of their lyrics may detract slightly from the pure enjoyment of listening to the songs, I think after all this time to have new insights into their work is highly rewarding.

The author has tracked down at least an interpretation of pretty much all their songs here. Through interviews with people around at the time, and bringing together things said by the group during this period, there are quite a few revelations on what exactly they were banging on about. He even manages to track down some of the subjects of their lyrics, for example the Lucy of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The book is well written, well researched, and has some great pictures of the group.

It's not all gushing praise either, the author does tell it like it is about some of their less wonderful work. And it's interesting to read how often Lennon was dismissive of his own work on many occasions.

Highly recommended, 9/10, you could buy it here.

Kate Rusby - 10

Kate Rusby is simply a joy to listen to. If you'd said to me a few months ago that I'd be happily listening to olde English folke music, lyrics about cows and men conscripted to serve before the mast, and general old-world unhappiness, I would have thought you mad. But I am. And it's all down to Kate's voice and guitar.

I haven't looked, but I fully expect that other reviews of Kate say 'voice of an angel' somewhere along the way... because it's true. Made all the more appealing by the Northern edge to her singing. It's perfect for the songs she sings. "10" is a compilation of moments from the first 10 years of Kate's career. The songs are all folk, and the production, singing and playing are beyond reproach. I went to see Kate play live recently, and she can knock this stuff off live just as well as here on record, she is an extraordinary talent.

I can't praise this album highly enough. If you want to hear someone on top of their game and you like the folk vibe, buy this album, you will not regret it.

Highly recommended, 9/10, you could buy it here.

Shawn Mullins - Soul's Core

Like many, the first time I heard this chap was when he had a minor hit with a track off this album, "Lullaby". The song had a spoken verse and a sung chorus, and it was the voice that got you in both cases. Shawn must smoke a lot of cigarettes... That song is not entirely representative of the album... the other songs are sung straight, and most are of a quieter one-man-and-his-guitar nature.

The thing I guess I like is the sheer American-ness of it all. Not saying I like America that much, just the exotic nature of his voice and the lyrics. He's telling a story of his life in the States, touring around, playing "coffee house gigs". It sounds so great and romantic, which I can imagine it isn't really, but stuck in the rainy UK that "travelling from town to town" sounds warm and exciting and just fun. The voice though... hear him say "does the dishes"... every time I smile.

There's another minor hit on this album, "Shimmer", which is pretty noisy stuff for a folk-rock singer. But my favourite track is perhaps the quietest on the album, "Twin Rocks, Oregon". The lyrics are just great, and it's difficult to imagine the narrative of the song didn't really happen to him. It's genius.

Highly recommended, 9/10, you could buy it here.

Devendra Banhart - Niño Rojo

It must be great as an obscure artist to have one of your songs picked up and used in a national TV campaign. I've bought two albums recently because my Missus fancied them, having heard just a snatch on an advert. (The other one was Jose Gonzalez.)

A song from this album "Little Yellow Spider" was featured in an Orange advert. I can't say it provoked me to go and find out who it was, but the Missus was probably correct to do so, and then she talked me into buying the album. I've often found that the albums you end up liking the best are initially quite hard to take. And the opposite. Again, that Jose Gonzalez album we bought, put it on and immediately loved it from start to end. Trouble is, a few weeks later it's gathering dust. I still like it, but it's appeal is fading fast. Not so with Devandra. First hearing, didn't like it at all... but it's starting to grow on me.

It's very hippy. In fact if you view the two videos that are included on the CD, you'll discover it's VERY hippy indeed. To me it sounds like Donovan impersonating Marc Bolan. It's very mellow. It rarely gets more complex than a solo voice and a guitar or two. None of this is meant as criticism, it works very well. There are some truly inspiring moments along the way, and a few you could live without. 45 minutes passes without too much trouble.

Thing is, I keep getting to the end and starting it again. I'll give it a week and get back to you. I'm expecting to be addicted by then, or alternatively thoroughly sick of it. But at the moment, I'd give it a thumbs up.

Recommended, 7/10, you could buy it here.

Beatles Discography

I love the Beatles. Always have, always will. I grew up with their music, and though it has become a cliché and must bore the pants off the youth of today, there has been nothing to touch them since.

My Amazon based Beatles aStore might be of use to you. It has links to Beatle books and CDs, DVDs and Videos. I recently completed buying (well re-buying, replacing the old vinyl) all the Beatles albums. I can't imagine you'd be disappointed with any of them... whether you're young or old. You don't need me to tell you they're all classics, in one way or another. It's amazing how rough the early albums were, and how sophisticated and in some way 'heavy' the later stuff became.

To visit the store, click here,

and here is their discography, not completely comprehensive, just the UK album releases:

Probably not much of interest to anyone but me, but the above discography is XML, formatted using CSS, my first foray into this new world.