CD Albums - Reviews by Fokeman

CD Albums - Reviews by Fokeman

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
Fokeman 2nd Dec 2022		CD Album Richard Shindell - Sparrows Point (1992)	Review This is one of those recordings you never tire of. I think I found my first copy in a library sale about twenty years ago. I played it over and over in the car and grew to love every song. The first track is a stand-out brilliant song, dealing with the anger and bitterness of a break-up, asking that question that we all when someone leaves us. Are you happy now? Did your life get better now that I'm out of your life? Another great song is all about buying a truck (a Kenworth) and thinking it's going to make you happy forever because it has all the style and paintjob you've ever dreamed of. Those are just two though, and every one is its own little bit of genius. I've since bought it again so that I can enjoy it again - I lost the old copy years ago but remembered how much it meant to me then. I was not disappointed! 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Fokeman 14th Dec 2019		CD Album Yusuf - An Other Cup (2006)	Review I have loved everything Cat Stevens did although all my favourites come from the classics of the Tea For The Tillerman, Teaser & The Firecat etc. I was so disappointed when he let us all down by supporting the Fatwa on Salman Rushdie but I was also so pleased to hear that he was coming back from the deep hole of newly converted dogma. I started playing this album and very soon fell in love with it. I can have it on constant repeat in the car on a 5 hour journey and never tire of it. I love the reworked classic of "I Think I See The Light" but perhaps my favourite is the first track which takes a high moralistic tone and also (let's face it) the point of view of an old man "I avoid the city after dark". We know that he's a little bit scared but also a little bit not happy with the idea of mixing with people having a good time, having a laugh and drinking too much. "In the end" is the song that tells us that we'll all be judged at some stage so we had better treat people well while we're on this earth. "You can't bargain with the truth..." a message for Donald Trump & Boris Johnson. Like they're going to be listening to Cat Stevens! ;-) It's also good that he moves away from his own songs and performs the massive Animals hit (don't forget Nina Simone too) "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". There really isn't a bad track on this album so if anyone else doesn't like it, I recommend persevering with it. It just keeps on getting better, the more you play it. His voice is just the same Cat Stevens that I always loved, his musicians (Alun Davies, Maartin Allcock, Danny Thompson etc.) and arrangements are top-hole just as they always were and apart from a slightly dreamy prayer-like track, it's rivetting from start to finish. I bought my copy second-hand and it's the best fiver's worth I ever had! 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Fokeman 17th Feb 2019		CD Album Bohinta - Wishes (1996)	Review One of the finest albums of Irish music with Irish instruments such as uilleann pipes, whistles and flutes but with a very modern rock twist. Wonderful melodies and atmospheric songs, super harmonies between Martin Furey's voice and that of his sister Áine. Her voice is simply divine and his is haunting and perfectly tuned to the rock medium. It's a continuous amazement to me that this band weren't snapped up and promoted to be bigger than the most commercial of Irish bands you could imagine. It's a story of corporate greed and big music business attempting to crush musical talent by trying to rip them off and squeeze them in directions the artists had no intention of going in. What is left is a selection of tracks which are often sampled and held up as being the best of Irish Rock. And that is what they surely are. There isn't a bad track on the album. As a footnote, and not the most important part of this review, Martin and Áine are the third generation of professional performers in the Furey family. Their father is Finbar Furey, the piper of the family and successful entertainer of many decades. Their grandfather was Ted Furey, who performed as a fiddler across Europe and who had records of his own released in Ireland, France and Germany. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?