Carvalho Diablo

90 years young today. The cheese may well have slipped off his sandwich a few years ago but the man remains one of my all time heroes. Happy birthday Mr Eastwood sir.

Snowfall is ace.

Been enjoying Wallander. Not great but enjoyable. I had to make do with the Branagh version, struggled to find streams for the original. What's struck me as much as anything though is just what a shit fucking actor he is. A mumbling, bumbling, stumbling fuck, and the rest of the Swedish coppers are just as bad (especially that curly haired foppish ponce).

Review : Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea Some old bluesy guy whom I'm honestly none too familiar with but I see this album is from 2001. Curious what to expect... Done Got Old is all naked vocals and resonator guitar. Buddy is lamenting his ageing, the vocal is recorded brilliantly, immediate and breathy, wonderful tone. Cracking opener. Baby Please Don't Leave Me - I was not expecting those bass drum or bass guitar sounds at all. Guitar and vical sounding ace. Sounds almost like Trent Reznor got his hands on this? BPDLM rumbles along like a tank in the southern Vietnamese jungle but just like the Yanks in that conflict, it sticks around far too long. Look What All You Got - the snare drum snaps. Buddy's got something on his shoulder, just waiting for you baby - I think that something must have been the killer guitar solo. For a 2001 recording this track just is not mixed well imo. Not my favourite. Stay All Night is a bit slower, gets into a groove and stays there. Unremarkable. Tramp - I love that opening blues lick, but again that mix is a bit too mucky and murky. She's Got The Devil In Her is another solid and dirty but unremarkable blues workout. I Gotta Try You Girl prowls in, nice slow groove and more tasty soloing and bass. I'm finding the slapback reverb on the guitar just way too harsh and it's now spoiling this album for me. Pity because this is one of the best songs so far. This whole thing is reminding me of the Pink Room sequence in Fire, Walk With Me. I love that film but not sure whether the juxtaposition of those Badalamentian tones jive with the style of song on this record. Who's Been Foolin' You is more upbeat and up tempo. A throw away track, does nothing for me. It's A Jungle Out There - last song, the rhythm guitar has a lovely chorus and jangle to it, love that piano underneath. Are these drums samples? Triggers? Another uneasy soundscape. More tasteful soloing which just doesn't sit comfortably in the mix for me. What a strange record. Fairly lengthy at 54 minutes but it just flew by. Grammy award winner but large parts of this grated on me. Lived bits, hated others. Ultimately the production killed this for me. Favourite song was I Gotta Try You Girl but I feel that a remix and a more vintage soundstage would be more fitting and befitting of these compositions. Sorry Howie! 5/10

Are we all finished with Taj Mahal? Who's next to pick?

Loving Barstool Sports Pizza Reviews on YouTube atm, a series of short vids where Davey The Prez Portnoy goes round sampling hundreds of pizza slices in an attempt to discover the best pizza in America. Lots of special guests, frequently funny.

Fair play, I did enjoy The Martian.

Out of curiosity then...

Alien is 10/10, possibly the greatest horror film ever. Blade Runner looks amazing and is no doubt highly influential but it's just never really floated my boat. The rest of his stuff is a mixture of meh and shite.

I've said it before, Ridley Scott is a chancer who's made only one and a half good movies in the last 50 years.

Fuck Hopkins.

I was just about to say about the tv show, I thought the casting was excellent, Mikkelsen especially. Pity series 3 disappeared up it's own hoop and was as boring as fuck. I actually fell asleep during an episode. Shame because the first 2 series were excellent imho.

Review : Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal No preconceptions whatsoever, save maybe a sitar or two? We'll see. Let's go... Leaving Trunk kicks the album off with a harmonica lead funky groove. Nice vocals and great guitar. The singer has nice tone and a great rasp to his voice. Loving the mix, the guitars sound great Excellent start, digging this. Statesboro Blues - the 60s production job sounds great and very involving. The drums panned hard left, probably bounced down from an 8 track desk. This all feels very familiar, like I've heard this a 1000 times before. Hard not to like anything as rootsy as this. Checkin' Up On My Baby - another 12 bar shuffle and harmonica lead, really like this singer, reminds me of George Thorogood. Love the guitar solo. 3/3 so far. Everybody's Got To Change Sometime reminds of James Brown. E Z Rider just reeks of the 60s, another great vocal lead track. The playing is very live, sounds great. The singer reminds me of Hendrix at times. Dust My Broom is another track that's unashamedly boogy woogy, quality blues, shuffle and rawk. Digging that slide and keys. Diving Duck Blues - great title. The guitar mimics and follows that walking prowling bass line for a super groovy feel . Again, this just reeks of the 60s. Loving this. Celebrated Walkin' Blues is pedestrian by comparison. Guitar sounds mint, harmonica wahs and wails. Transported to the bayou, eating jumbalaya and crawfish, how come I've never heard of these cats before?! Dug this album from start to finish, a very enjoyable and easy listen. No one song jumped out, just a collection of joyous compositions, each being completely comfortable in it's own skin. The playing is banging throughout and the production is amazing for the time. I'll award Taj Mahal (a conservative) 8.5/10. Great pick.

Haven't got a clue what to expect with this one.