Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Live in London
(The Last Music Company)
★★★

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT has been a highly regarded figure in singer-songwriter circles ever since his stunning debut album first saw the light of day in 1970. 

The British music press were engaged in a fairly futile quest to discover “the new Bob Dylan” at the time and Wainwright was a prime contender for this accolade, blessed with a sardonic wit which set him apart from many of his contemporaries in the field. 

He may never have become a household name but Loudon has assembled a very impressive body of work over the years, and this fine live set blends some freshly minted new material with gems from the great man’s illustrious back catalogue such as Motel Blues and Be Careful There’s A Baby In The House, with his son Rufus chipping in on vocals on Out Of This World. 

Flamin’ Groovies
Let It Rock : Live From The San Francisco Civic Centre 1980
(Wienerworld)
★★★

THIS hitherto unreleased live package captures the Flamin’ Groovies energised brand of rock revivalism at its most powerful and committed. 

Their infatuation with the delights of British invasion pop has already been well documented, and this agreeably rough and ready package features high-octane revamps of classic ditties such as A Hard Day’s Night, Paint it Black and Back in the USSR, to name but a few. 

Long-term members Cyril Jordan, George Alexander and Chris Wilson didn’t appear to have lost any of their passion for music-making with the passage of time, and as an added bonus the compilers of this splendid set have also found space for three additional tracks recorded at San Francisco’s Old Waldorf a few days earlier, including the title track of their critically acclaimed Shake Some Action album.

Wishbone Ash
Wishlist
(Talking Elephant)
★★★

TORQUAY’s finest musical exports have gone through more than their fair share of trials and tribulations during an existence which now spans well over half a century, and the current incarnation of the band obviously feel that the time is now right for them to unveil a live collection of their most requested concert favourites. 

The contents were selected by the band’s fans themselves, and the CD will apparently only be made available to fans attending gigs on Wishbone Ash’s current Wishlist tour, where the fortunate punters will be able to invest their hard earned cash in the delights of perennial crowd pleasers from founder member Andy Powell and his cohorts such as Thrown Down The Sword, The King Will Come and Blind Eye.