Baz Francis (Magic Eight Ball) - Live at Molly Malone’s / Los Angeles 2015 (EP) (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Modern Rock / Live / Acoustic

Label - Magic Cat Records

Track listing:

01. California In The Fall (Live)

02. Better Off Asleep (Live)

03. Monkey Bars (Live)

04. Perils Of Honesty (Live)

05. Local Girls (Live)

"In the latter quarter of last year I shared one of those beautiful kind of evenings in the presence of friends, new and old, in my spiritual home of West Hollywood, California, and thankfully the tape was rolling to capture the music I made that night too. Every now and then I have made those un-mastered soundboard recordings available to anyone curious of how my gig at Molly Malone's sounded, but upon reappraisal of the material, at the heart of it was something that simply had to be taken further and then given an official release.
Re-designed, re-edited, and now mastered for the first time courtesy of my trusty fellow, Lewis John, I am thrilled to tell you that as of 25th August 2016 you can finally hear the best bits of my gig that night presented at a superior quality unavailable until now, as Magic Cat Records Limited release my new solo live EP, 'Live at Molly Malone’s / Los Angeles 2015'. Available to download from all the usual suspects, this is the sound of me at home and in love with my surroundings. I hope you enjoy how that came out on record."

Thank God the tapes were rolling as this is one of the best sounding live recordings that I have heard in a long time, and really does seem to capture a certain magic that, if you close your eyes, transports you to the actual gig its self. Recorded at and mixed by Molly Malone's, Los Angeles, USA on 7th October 2015 Vocally Baz Francis is in great form here!

This Ep really is well worth checking out!

Rating: 10/10

Magic Eight Ball - Richest Men In The Dolls House (Live) (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Power pop / modern Rock

Label - Magic Cat Records

Track listing:

01. Once Again

02. See You Next Tuesday

03. What Happened In '92

04. It's Not For Me To Say

05. Come Get Your Kicks

06. Red Hair Wrapped Around Her Neck

07. Perils Of Honesty (Acoustic)

08. Russian Ballet (Русский балет) (Acoustic)

09. Eyes Of A Fool (Acoustic)

Richest Men In The Dolls House was recorded live at The Dolls House, Abertillery, Wales on 18th/19th June 2016 (1-6) and 3rd July 2016 (7-9) Magic Eight Ball release a short live album (27 minutes long) that captures the bands raw energy and passion perfectly. There's no studio touch ups here, its truly wart's n all, capturing the band as they perform a live set and featuring three new tracks from their latest studio release, Richest Men In The Graveyard, along side a clutch of more established Magic Eight Ball classics. Now I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of live albums, usually the sound quality and or mix is terrible and you can barely recognise the band yet alone the songs they are playing, but this album is different. Its captures the essence of the songs perfectly, and comes across like a very good t.v. or radio broadcast, although the two live acoustic tracks do come across much, much better!
Well worth checking out!

Rating: 8/10

Magic Eight Ball - Richest Men In The Graveyard (Expanded Edition 2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Power Pop

Label - Magic Cat Records

Track listing:

01 - Falling In Love Is Like A Vampire

02 - It's Not For Me To Say

03 - Dying To Say

04 - Once Again

05 - Eye's Of A Fool

06 - If The World's Never Falling Asleep

07 - Tomorrow Can Wait

08 - Keep Me Out Of The Sunlight

09 - She's Leaving

10 - Darling Will

11 - Once Again (Acoustic Session)*

12 - Eye's Of A Fool (Acoustic Session)*

* exclusive to the Expanded edition.

Magic Eight Ball is a hard rock / power pop band formed in Old Windsor, England, and 'Richest Man In The Graveyard' is their third full length album.
"Formed in 2006, the band released several EPs and singles throughout their early years whilst touring constantly, then in 2013 through Magic Cat Records, Magic Eight Ball released their début album 'Sorry We're Late But We're Worth The Wait' featuring guest appearances from Jason Bowld (Bullet for My Valentine) and Donnie Vie, followed by their accompanying European Tour. The band then released their second album 'Last Of The Old Romantics' in 2014 featuring the late comedy legend that was Rik Mayall (The Young Ones/Drop Dead Fred) on the record, and they once again toured the album across the continent."
The album features the talents of Baz Francis on vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, Dave Draper providing Bass on ‘She’s Leaving’, additional keys on ‘Darling Will’, additional bass on ‘Tomorrow Can Wait’, extra electric guitar on ‘Falling In Love’s Like A Vampire’, additional bass and extra electric guitar on ‘Keep Me Out The Sunlight’ and Jason Bowld providing drums on all songs.

'Richest Man In The Graveyard' opens up with 'Falling In Love Is Like A Vampire', which starts with some atmospheric keyboards before launching into dark moody bass riff full of eastern influence. A great song to open any album with, 'Richest Man In The Graveyard' is off to a great start! 'It's Not For Me To Say' follows, which is a slightly less intense and more melodic track, but still a great song. 'Dying To Say' is up next which is the most commercial track so far on the album, some great vocals from Baz Francis throughout. Next we have 'Once Again', which to me comes across as a mid-tempo rock anthem with some great vocal harmonies. 'Eyes Of A Fool' is another great melodic track. 'If The World Never Falling Asleep' is a brilliant acoustic driven track and one of the albums many highlights! A truly great song. 'Tomorrow Can Wait' is up next and once again we have a great melodic rocker which show cases some great pop sensibilities. 'Keep My Out The Sunlight' has a real Beatles mixed with Madness feel to its verses giving it a refreshing feel before exploding into a great chorus! 'She's Leaving' follows which proves to be another great melodic rock song. Next we have 'Darling Will' which is the album proper's closing track and another great  number which see's the albums pace change somewhat to a laid back acoustic led finale.
The expanded edition adds acoustic versions of 'Once Again' and 'Eyes Of A Fool' which gives the listener a different perspective of these great songs.

I have to say that the  Richest Men In The Graveyard is a fantastic album that has left me a little disappointed that I hadn't come across this great band years ago! The perfect blending of modern rock and classic pop sensibilities.

Very Highly Recommended!

Rating: 10/10