Steve Swift’s Rambling Reviews

Luke Marzec Releases A-Side Soul Excellence! 4 songs, so strong!

Soul yes and many others are doing it, but Brit Brilliance Luke Marzec does it so well, with such groove and brass brashness, or he just takes the fun a little. Either way, it's a stunner...

RIP Bill Mercer, Wonderful Voice Of WCCW. And so I revisited an episode from 1984 and saw how good his work was...

Not a great episode, but we go get some Von Erich v Freebirds excellence. And Bill's work is clear and commendable...

Never Heard The NWOBHM Bitches Sin Debut, So Now’s The Chance! Well liked, but...

I never heard it originally, was only about 14 at the time, so I was limited in what I could hear. Will it delight like so many NWOBHM albums I've heard lately?...

Memphis Wrestling Doesn’t Quite Hit It This Week! Still Good Though...

Half the matches didn't work for me, half did. Still good scores, but Memphis Wrestling is usually somewhat better, can't knock a coconut down every time and I'm expecting it will be back to excellence next week...

Beloved AOR band Alien Turn Back The Years With Stupendous New Album!

AOR of this quality is hard to beat, old and new melding and blending to produce a tasty brew. Been doing it awhile, can still do it peerlessly, one of the AOR albums of a year not 4 months old...

Christian Mistress, what a name for a Heavy Metal Band!

But this isn't any old Metal album, this is an album in which you can hear the enjoyment, open, radio ready but still very rocking music.
To push for accessibility without sounding forced is hard, Christian Mistress pull it off with aplomb...

’The Shakedown’ Movie Is An Overlooked Comedy Gem!

Released last year, this South African full is a kooky Comedy caper with no irony or heading- imagine that! Decisions lead to spiralling decision and no one comes out of this with much credit, except the actors, dorector and writers, the characters are another matter...

Hannah Wicklund Live Is Blues Rock But Different!

That rounded bottom end, that thick 70's sentiment makes this music full, fecund, fantastic. Hannah Wicklund is coming up fast, this album is a good example of why...

The Invitation Is An Overlooked Thriller Film Brilliance!

What a wonderful thriller, it didn't make much money and it's almost 10 years old, but what a superb film, it allows you to make your own decisions by not forcing anything, imagine that! Taut but because of the set up and performances, this is an overlooked gem.

Steven Wilson New Album! Organically growing pieces, but is it involving enough?

Steven Wilson has nothing to prove; Great band work, great producing work, great solo work. And some people complain that he doesn't stick to one thing musically, but why should he? This album, 'The Overview'? lots of organically unfolding pieces, lots of 70's Floydian Prog, but it did tend to wash over me sometimes...