Mutation (Ginger Wildheart) - III - Dark Black (2017)

Genre - Hard Rock / Noise / Alternative

Label - Round Records

Track  Listing:

01 - "."

02 - Authenticity

03 - Toxins

04 - Devolution

05 - Irritant

06 - Skint

07 - Hate

08 - Victim

09 - Dogs

10 - Deterioration

III - Dark Black is the third instalment of Ginger Wildhearts Mutation project. This time around all of the tracks were written by Ginger Wildheart and Scott Lee Andrews, with Devin Townsend adding to the mix on Devolution. Ginger himself says that Mutation will not be for everyone, and its certainly not for anyone who has a weak disposition. Its loud, its noisy, its brash, its bloody brilliant. A great noisy mess!
The album begins with a very short intro in the form of "." before launching all guns blazing into 'Authenticity', which really lets you know exactly what you are in for with the rest of the album! 'Toxins' blasts past, before we have the Devin Townsend collaboration, the rather excellent 'Devolution', which is exactly what you would expect from a collaboration between such noise loving merchants! 'Irritant' has quite possibly one of the best chorus's ever written in, "fuck off you cunt, you are an irritant", just pure class! 'Skint' hurtles along leading us into the brutal 'Hate'.  'Victim' is pure unadulterated chaos, as is the albums penultimate track, 'Dogs'.
the album closes out with 'Deterioration', yet another blast of intensity. In fact the intensity levels never drop below maximum from the albums start to its finish. Clocking in at twenty six minutes this album is short, but not all that sweet.

For this album, Ginger has not only attracted the talents of Scott Lee Andrews and Devin Townsend, but has also roped in the likes of Phil Campbell (Motorhead), Givvi Flynn, Toshi, Paul Catten, Jamie Oliver and Dom Lawson to help out.
Recorded by Jase Edwards and mixed by the magic ear of Dave Draper, III - Dark Black really is the crowning glory of the Mutation project.

If you like it loud, noisy and chaotic, check it out, if you don't, well I really wouldn't, this album could give you nightmares

Rating: 10/10

The Dowling Poole - Deep Breath EP (2016)

Genre - Rock / Pop / Alternative

Label - 369 Music

Track listing:

01 - Deep Breath

02 - A Kiss On The Ocean (Live Acoustic from Manchester)

03 - Paper, Scissors, Stone (Live Acoustic From Manchester)

Released very late in 2016, The Dowling Poole issued their brilliant Deep Breath EP. Once again following the formula of its two predecessor releases, Myles Checks Out and Bright Spark EP's, of featuring three tracks, one new exclusive studio cut, in this case the rather excellent 'Deep Breath', and once again two more live acoustic tracks recorded in Manchester (UK).
This time around the new studio track, 'Deep Breath', has a darker more menacing atmosphere about it, once again show casing another side of this mega talented combo's song writing. A really great track that really leaves the listener longing for album four, or at the very least, more new EP's!
The two live acoustic tracks are taken from the same session / show as the ones released on the previous two releases, once again having a brilliant sound quality and feel to them, and once again showing just how good these guys are live!
Please, Willie Dowling, Random Jon Poole and Givvi Flynn, stop teasing us and get album four underway!

Very well worth checking out!

Rating: 10/10

Ginger Wildheart & Ryan Hamilton - Fuck You Brain (Charity EP) (2016)

Genre - Rock / Pop / Punk / Blues

Label - Round Records

Track listing:

01 - Fuck You Brain

02 - Ode To The Idiots

03 - Dogbreath

Ginger Wildheart and Ryan Hamilton, too immensely talented musicians who have made no secret of their long running battles with depression have decided to get together to record and release a charity single, with the proceeds being donated to The Samaritans to help with the support that they provide to so many, especially around this time of year.
Lets discuss the music first before I post what those involved have to say about the project.
The lead track, Fuck You Brain is a great up beat rocker, that sees the lead vocal being shared by all those involved. The perfect blend of rocking guitars and pop melodies, with some wicked pedal steel guitar courtesy of Maurice Hipkiss
The Ep's second track, Ode To The Idiots, is written by Ryan Hamilton, and recorded during the sessions for his recent pledge campaign (more on that album to follow). Its short and sweet, but a great pop punk song non the less.
the Ep's final track Dogbreath is an instrumental, and about as mental as it gets. coming across as a mix of Patience and Gratitude and Mutations Wham City.
A great little Ep that's well worth having in your collection, even more so considering the cause that its raising money for!

Rating: 10/10


The EP is available HERE

Now over to those involved to tell you about this project:

Ginger Wildheart - Drums/Bass/Guitar/Vocals.
Ryan Hamilton - Guitar/Vocals.
Givvi Flynn - Vocals.
Emily Ewing - Vocals.
Matthew Colley - Piano.
Maurice Hipkiss - Pedal Steel.
Dave Draper - Percussion/Guitars.

A message from Ginger Wildheart:
"Ironically I struggled even getting to the studio to record my parts for this single, deep as was in my current battle with depression. The same attack that almost killed me a week ago.

My depression wants me dead. So far I'm winning on weight advantage, but the battle is never over.

This is a very vulnerable time of year for sufferers of mental health issues, and suicide sees a marked increase over Christmas and New Year. So the help provided by The Samaritans is invaluable, especially over this period.
Please help us in helping someone this year.

Obviously severe depression is not seasonal, but the reminder that you yourself are 'not doing so bad' is reinforced over this Festive holiday. If you have a healthy family, loved ones who are safe, a warm home, a job and a hot meal staring at you at some point, then you are doing better than many people this Xmas

 To simply say "thank you" for what you have, please donate for those suffering from suicidal thoughts, struggling with depression/anxiety, or for those helping such a person through this holiday period."

  message from Ryan Hamilton:
"Ginger and I have both been very vocal about our struggles with depression and anxiety. Mental health issues like these deserve much more attention, and respect, than they get.

After we wrote "Fuck You, Brain" we weren't quite sure what to do with it. Ginger had the idea to use it as a charity single, and asked if I was ok with that. I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough.

I hope everyone enjoys the new music and fun collaboration. I also sincerely hope we can raise a good deal of money to raise awareness, and do some good, for an issue very important to us." 
A message from Givvi Flynn:
"When Ginger asked me if I'd like to get involved with this single, it was a no-brainer. My own mental health requires daily management (as does that of many friends and colleagues) so I fully appreciate how dark some days can be - why wouldn't I want to do something which might help those suffering similarly?

I hope the song raises money and awareness for a great cause, it was a pleasure to be part of such a positive, rewarding venture."


A message from Emily Ewing:
"It has been a real honour to have my vocals feature on this track. The song has such an important message. One that speaks to me personally as well.

My anxiety is an on-going battle, some days are certainly worse than others. There are times when I can't see light at the end of the tunnel. Panic attacks have also played a major role in my life. As a society we need to stop saying "Get over it", "You have nothing to be sad about". Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there or happening. It's hard to pretend everything is fine when it's not.

I hope this song raises awareness and lets anyone going through a hard time with mental illness know you are brave to face it everyday and you not alone!!!"

Again the Ep is available HERE

The Dowling Poole - Bright Spark (EP)

Genre - Pop / Psychedelic / Power-pop

Label - Self Released / 369 Music

Track listing:

01 - Bright Spark

02 - The Sun Is Mine (Acoustic Live In Manchester)

03 - Where The Memories Fester (Acoustic Live In Manchester)

Following hot on the heels of their Miles Checks Out Ep released earlier last month The Dowling Poole release the Bright Spark Ep, a new three track EP that pretty much closely follows the formula of its predecessor with one brand spanking new studio track accompanied by a further two live acoustic tracks recorded in Manchester.
First I'll briefly speak about the two live acoustic tracks. The sound quality is once again tremendous, and once again they capture the very essence and quirkiness of this outfit perfectly in their live environment, especially the little bit of banter at the beginning of Where The Memories Fester.
And as for the new studio track Bright Spark, well what can I say, maybe not as instant as Miles Checks Out or some of the groups other tracks, but an absolute stonker all the same. Musically Bright Spark has Willie Dowling written all over it, but both vocally and lyrically it feels very much like a Random Jon Poole track, especially with Random tacking the lead vocals throughout the verses.
Bright Spark, together with Miles Checks out does the tremendous job of leaving the listener longing for the group to get around to record their third studio album, please hurry, I'm loving the vibes on the new songs!

Rating: 10/10

The Dowling Poole - Miles Checks Out EP (2016)

Genre - Psychedelic Pop / Psychedelic Rock / Power Pop

Label - Self released / 369 Music

Track listing:

01 - Miles Checks Out

02 - Saving It All For Saturday (Live Acoustic From Manchester)

03 - Getting A Licence (Live Acoustic From Manchester)

Willie Dowling and Random Jon Poole return with their Dowling Poole project and a brand spanking new Ep, Miles Checks Out Ep. The Ep features one brand new studio track and two excellent live cuts taken from their live acoustic show in Manchester.
The studio track is just brilliant,  quite typical of what we have to come to expect from this rather excellent project, worth purchasing the Ep for alone. The two live acoustic tracks are recorded brilliantly, capturing the band at the hilarious best, I mean the two live songs really do capture the true essence of this project, and the sound quality is amazing, they could very well have been recorded in a studio, the sound is that good!

Well Worth Checking Out!

Rating: 9/10

Hey! Hello! - Too! (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Pop / Punk

Label -  Round Records / Pledge Music

Track listing:

01 - All Around The World

02 - This Ain't Love

03 - Glass Of champagne

04 - Kids

05 - Forever Young

06 - Loud And Fucking Clear

07 - Can't Stand You (Hurting Me)

08 - Lets Get Emotional

09 - A History Of Lovers

10 - Body Parts

11 - Perfect

Its been a rough ride for Ginger Wildheart's Hey! Hello! project. Originally conceived around the time that he was working on the Mutation projects as a noisy pop project that was to release a couple of  pledge exclusive singles. recorded with Victoria Liedtke on co-vocals and Ginger pretty much handling everything else, the project ballooned up into a full album that Ginger eventually released commercially in 2013 to great critical and fan acclaim and a few selected live dates including a trip to Japan. Just when things were looking like they were really going to take off there was a falling out between Ginger and his then manager and boyfriend of Victoria and for all intents and purposes it looked as the though Hey! Hello! were dead in the water. Then all of a sudden Ginger enlists the services of Love Zombies vocalist Hollis Mahady for some live dates and then the next thing you know there is a tour book for late 2015 and an album in the bag. Unfortunately disaster would once again strike and the album and tour had to be postponed as Ginger was hospitalised with depression. Then just as the band are set to release the album and embark on some rescheduled UK live dates, Hollis decides that shew no longer wants to be apart of the band and relocates to LA! The album is immediately pulled (but not before it had released it to some lucky pledgers) and once again things begin to look dark for Hey! Hello!. The band decide to hold some auditions to find a new female vocalist but when the online fan community voice some rather cruel and negative opinions Ginger announces that he will re-record the album with him singing all the parts. Then the wait begins!
Now the wait is over, the album is here and Ginger and the band have pulled a fast one, or several to be honest!
Firstly the track listing has been rejigged, Three tracks have been outed Automatic Love, Don't Stop Loving The Music and Little Piggy are gone and replaced by All Around The World, A History Of Lovers and Perfect, but wait that's not all. The guys have also enlisted the help of various guest vocalists! The sly buggers them!
The album opens with the blistering melodic pop rocker, All Around The World featuring Vicky Jackson on lead vocals. Things are off the a great start! Next up we have the re-worked version of This Ain't Love, featuring Emily Lee on lead vocals. The arrangements been tinkered with when compared to the initially released version, but only serves to highlight Emily's powerful lead vocal. Great song!
The cover of Sailor 1976's Glass of Champagne follows, this time with drummer Ai and Laila K singing in harmony. I have to say that I think that I prefer the original Hey! Hello! cover of this with Ginger and Hollis vocally sparing through the verses. Still a good solid track. Next we have another of the re-worked tracks in the form of Kids. Now Kids is still one of the best songs on the album all the stronger for the stunning vocal delivery of Cat Southall!
Christina Maynard tackles the emotional vocal for Forever Young and does a sterling job of it to!
Long time co-conspirator Givvi Flynn provides the snarling duelling lead vocal with Ginger for the awesome Loud And Fucking Clear, that is after Ginger provides an verbal update on what's been going on....The songs lyrics have been completely re-worked and they pull no punches trust me!
Can't Stand You (Hurting Me) sees Cat Southall taking the lead vocal again on this fantastic melodic song. Next we have another of the albums highlights in Lets Get Emotional. The Rev and Ginger provide some blistering guitar work whilst Eloise Kerry provides a sneering angst filled vocal. Next we have the second of the new songs, A History Of Lovers, which sees Ginger handling the lead vocals. Another slab of Gingers melodic genius! We then have the albums quirkiest track. This time its the re-working of the Albion track, Body Parts. Here we have Ai and bassist Toshi singing the verses in Japanese whilst the chorus stays in English. Somehow this feels a little out of place and breaks the albums momentum. Closing out the album is the last of the new tracks, Perfect. This is a blistering song with The Rev delivering a great lead vocal!

So despite a little stumble towards the end, Too! is a fantastic album and proof positive that there is something truly magical about Hey! Hello!

Rating: 10/10

Ginger Wildheart - G.A.S.S. Month 12 EP (2015)

 

Genre - Hard Rock / Pop / Punk / Alternative

Label - Self Released

 

Track listing:

01 - Don't Lose Your Tail, Girl

02 - Waves Of Sadness

03 - I'll Have Another

So here we are, after twelve glorious months we come to the final instalment of Ginger Wildhearts mighty G.A.S.S. project, and what an a project its been! With this , the final instalment adding the last of the tracks we have had, thirty six brand spanking new songs, twenty four previously unreleased demos / outtakes (that's not including the Chutzpah! demos!), a plethora of awesome artwork, podcasts, articles (both on horror films and the secret history of rock 'n' roll) and diary updates!. What a ride it has been, and in typical fashion, it would seem that Ginger may have very well kept the best for last, as the three new songs in this months instalment are quite simply brilliant.
This months offerings opens up with, Don't Lose Your Tail, Girl. This is quite possibly the best song, definitely the most epic (and yes I am considering Sky Babies in there too!) song that Ginger has ever released. It twists and turns through so many tempo and style changes, yet always remains tight and focused. A truly wonderful song that features the talents of Givvi Flynn (vocals), Lynne Edwards (vocals), and  Jase Edwards (synth swells, piano, harpsichord, orchestral synth and noises). A really brilliant song!
Next up we have Waves Of Sadness, which is much more of a typical straight up rocker, but don't let that description fool you as its a real stonker of a track. Its loud, proud, shouty and yet melodic and harmonic, fucking brilliant, once again showing Ginger at his best. This time the song features the talents of Jase Edwards, Lynne Edwards, Stix, Simon Wilson, Sophia Vassalos, Squirrel and Tom Spencer on vocals.
This months new songs close out with I'll Have Another. This song is a really bouncy rocker in some ways quite reminiscent of a certain Status Quo, although I am sure that I can hear elements of Dancin' and Better Than Cable (by The Wildhearts) in there too. This is another really awesome track, featuring the talents of Robin Guy (drums), Tom Spencer (vocals and guitar), Jase Edwards (vocals), Squirrel (vocals), and Lynne Edwards (vocals), and is a great way with which to end such an ambitious and hugely successful project on.

and this months bonus demos.....

well as has become tradition here, lets see what Ginger himself has to say about them......

PRIDE ON FIRE – "I can only assume by the sheer level of musicianship that was the side project proposed by that ‘super-group’ collection of LA rockers, who ultimately wanted Cory Taylor to sing for them. There’s no doubt that Corey has the better voice. Christ, he has a better voice than even his fans know. I’ve heard him go in person, he’s insane.
I do doubt, however, that he’d have written a more emotional melody and personal lyric than this. Hell, if this wasn’t going to get me a pro gig in Hollywood then it was never going to happen.
And, subsequently, never did."
THIS TOO WILL PASS – "Oh, I LOVE this verse melody.
I honestly didn’t know, until Adam Perry (of A) pointed it out, that the chorus is identical to a Blur song. I forget which song (hang on, wasn’t it ‘This Is A Low’?) but he was right, of course, their song had obviously lodged itself subliminally into my psyche and I’d totally reproduced it, note for note, on this home demo.
To be honest I’m amazed that this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often, but I’m thankful that it was picked up on before the song was released and their lawyers had me shot and hidden in a desert somewhere.
Still, that verse. That’s lovely that is. And Damon Albarn didn’t write that."

Pride On Fire is yet more proof that this group of musicians should have recorded and released an album together, as thanks to G.A.S.S. we have now been privileged to hear three demos, (Pride, Shine and The Thin Line...), all of them absolutely brilliant songs! A beautiful song that's just, well almost the perfect power ballad!

This Too Will Pass is the demo of one of the bonus tracks that would end up on Gingers best of compilation Ten. Here it is fairly stripped back and as stated with a different (and in my opinion superior) chorus. Another great sneak peak at the evolution of a song.

So there we have it, the last instalment of G.A.S.S. I dare say that the first of every month is never quite going to feel the same without out monthly shot of musical perfection.

Rating - 10/10

Ginger Wildheart - G.A.S.S. Month 10 EP (2015)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Pop / Punk / Extreme / Alternative

Label - Self Released

 

Track listing:

01 - No One Smiled At Me Today

02 - Hot Piss

03 - Caer Urfa

 

Bonus Demos

04 - Frankenstein 2000

05 - Without Emotion

So here we are, the tenth instalment of Gingers mighty G.A.S.S. project, what a ride its been so far, and its not over yet as there are still two more instalments to come!
The first of the brand spanking new tracks this month comes in the form of No One Smiled At Me Today, (Featuring Jimmy Ashhurst – bass & vocals, Mark Gemini Thwaite – guitars & vocals, Robin Diaz – drums, Rami Jaffee – organ, Mike (Bull’s – Eye) Bowen – vocals, Kayla Parzynski – vocals). Recorded by the same line up as last months Friends Of Bill whilst Ginger was in the USA, (a line up that someone has given the name Elizebeth). This is a cracking song, a great melodic rocker, I understand why so many fans are hoping that this line up turns into something a little more permanent as there is definetly a certain chemistry there! A great song that does not disappoint.
Hot Piss is up next, a perfectly disjointed affair very much in the veins of Gingers previous Mutation projects. A great song that features the talents of  Jon Poole – bass and vocals, Denzel – drums and vocals, Chris Catalyst – guitars and vocals, Jake Adams – vocals, Jasmine Adams – vocals, Taylor Graley – vocals, Daisy Vanbergen – vocals. If you enjoyed the mutation albums or Endless Nameless by The Wildhearts you are sure to love this. Disjointed and manic but not overly distorted!
Caer Urfa closes out this months new tracks. Its a beautiful melodic track that features the talents of, Robin Guy – drums, Paul Ronney Angel – mandolin and bouzouki, Big Lou – vocals, Matt Nasir – piano, Hannah Rickard – accordion, fiddle and vocals, Kevin Vanbergen – hammond organ, Thea Brook – vocals. This is a great song that sees Ginger turning back the years lyrically, as he looks back to his early years. Another great song!

Now for this months demos:

 
This months demos are Frankenstein 2000, the last of the three songs that Ginger wrote for Alice Cooper that never got used. (The other two being Molly O Lindy and Friction In My System), and Without Emotion.

Ginger explains:

"FRANKENSTEIN 2000 – I wrote this verse about a model I was briefly seeing in Japan, called Summer, so the ‘Frankenstein’ line was originally ‘Summertime’. It was a lovely song originally, and although the relationship didn’t last long the melody stayed and I eventually used it in Save Me, on the Yoni album.
The line “but when you walked into the room the audience forgot the sound, and looked around” was absolutely true, and happened as me and Willie were playing an acoustic gig in Tokyo, and Summer walked in. I always loved that line."
and
"WITHOUT EMOTION – Matt Sorum approached me to write a song for a proposed solo album for Cherrie Currie, ex Runaways (who’s mentor, Kim Fowley, sadly passed away recently. Lovely fellow). It’s funny, all the way through our email conversations I realised Cherrie thought I was a girl. I don’t know if the male reveal lost me the gig or she didn’t like the song, but she didn’t use it anyway.
Givvi Flynn, on the other hand, sang the demo (recorded by Jase Edwards) so well that I was happy to let her record it for her solo album ‘Thieving From The Magpies Nest’."

What can I say, both of these songs are great. I actually think that I prefer Frankenstein 2000 to the song that that the melody eventually became. (Save Me). There just seems to be something magical here that I really connect with, it really is a pity that Alice didn't choose to record these three songs, or even that Ginger never chose to record them properly for that matter.
As for Without Emotion, I have always loved this song, ever since I first heard the version that Givvi recorded for her album, Thieving From The Magpies Nest! Here we get to hear how Ginger envisioned the song I guess. Its still has basically the same feel, just maybe slightly heavier guitars, buts a great song and performance. Would have been interesting to have heard Ginger on vocals though.

So once again Ginger knocks it out of the park and delivers a phenomenal product with this months instalment, although to be honest I don't think that we have had a bad instalment so far!
Just a real pity that it will all be over in two months time (for the time being anyway!)

G.A.S.S. has proved to be a huge success with Ginger so far delivering 30 brand new songs in ten months together with over 20 demo tracks, all of the highest standards and no fillers in sight!

Rating - 10/10

The Dowling Poole - Kiss On The Ocean EP (2014)

Genre - Melodic Rock / Powerpop

Label - Self Released

Track Listing:

01 - A Kiss On The Ocean

02 - Fuck You, Goodbye (Previously Unreleased)

03 - The Straw Man (Previously Unreleased)

04 - Hey Stranger (Live In Manchester)

Here we have the second official release from the excellent if rather eclectic new out fit The Dowling Poole, put together by music scene veteran's (if not legends!) Willie Dowling (of Honeycrack, Jackdaw4 and The Grip fame) and Jon Poole (of Cardiacs, The God Damn Whores, and Wildhearts fame).
This rather excellent little Ep features the title track, which is a brilliant little melodic track that even the Beatles would be proud of. This track also features on the bands debut debut album, Bleak Strategies, which was reviewed by the site previously. The other three tracks are all previously unreleased numbers, two studio tracks and one a rather touching live track, which is dedicated to legendary Cardiacs leader Tim Smith.
The two new studio tracks include, Fuck You Goodbye, a brand spanking new track written specifically for this Ep. Again this a rather melodic song, propelled along by its acoustic framework before building into quite a powerhouse of a song. Its a great track and if the bands second album is heading in this musical direction then we are all in for a treat. The other track, The Straw Man was recorded during the Bleak Strategies sessions, and for some reason left off of the album. Despite its rather dark subject matter, the nasty Jimmy Saville business, this is a great little track.
All of the songs here have both Willie Dowling's and Random Jon Poole's legendary quirky sense of humour stamped all over them, making for a fun ride for the listener.
This is a great little Ep, and good introduction to the band. Available at the bands bandcamp page for
 just 99 pence this really is something that you should be checking out!

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rating 10/10

Ginger Wildheart - G.A.S.S. Month 3 EP (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Pop / Punk

Label - Self Released

Track listing:

01 - Only Henry Rollins Can Save Us Now

02 - Do You

03 - Petite Mort

Bonus Demos

04 - Friction In My System

05 - Patience And Gratitude

So here we are with the third installment of Gingers mighty G.A.S.S. project, and once again Ginger mixes things up a little.
Opening track, Only Henry Rollins Can Save Us Now, which features Kelii Compulsive on vocals, (Recorded by Tim G and mixed by Jason Sanderson), is a great up tempo rocker, with a feel very reminiscent of How I Survived the Punk Wars from last years Hey! Hello! album, in fact the vocal melody throughout the verses are of an almost identical styling, but the chorus is huge and well, very Ginger. A great song and a great start to this months ep!
Next up is Do You? (again  featuring Kelii Compulsive on backing vocals and recorded by Tim G and mixed by Jason Sanderson). A more melodic rocker, a really beautiful song that apparently was written from beginning to end in one shot according to Ginger. This song has something really special about it, some great lyrics, and well it just hits the mark if you know what I mean.
Finally closing out the three new songs is the awesome Petite Mort. A real departure for ginger style wise. This track features Yolanda Quartey on lead vocals and  Nathan Connolly on lead guitar. Yolanda's vocal performance is simply huge, a really powerful delivery that just brings the song to life. The song is a down beat ballad at heart, but grows into a real monster. A truly inspired track and proof that Ginger is still trying to challenge himself in the song writing department.

Next up with have the two bonus demos / tracks, this time taking the form of Friction In My System and Patience And Gratitude. Here's what Ginger has to say about them,

"FRICTION IN MY SYSTEM – Around 1999 I was commissioned to write three songs for Alice Cooper. As a huge fan I was eager to take up the challenge, but ultimately I’m not sure if the songs never reached him or he hated them. Either way I never heard back.
Engineered by Kev Matthews (who engineered Earth Vs The Wildhearts) these long forgotten recordings have been recently unearthed, thanks to Kev’s brother Ray Zell.
PATIENCE AND GRATITUDE – Written as an exclusive track to accompany a video I was messing with, just having developed the editing bug, it’s only fitting that we offer this as a, now, exclusive download, seeing as YouTube are pulling independent music from their site, unless it sits & rolls over and plays by its corporate rules.
Recorded by Jase Edwards, and featuring the voices of Givvi Flynn, Vix Fuzzbox and Chris Catalyst, this was a free flowing ramble through my head that we committed to the digital noticeboard. We hope you enjoy it, even without the visual bonus of seeing that dog."

Friction In My System is a great track that would have made a fine edition to any Alice Cooper album (and I am a huge Alice Cooper fan!), that sees Ginger doing his finest Alice impressions (vocally any hows!). Its great to finally hear this song, I just hope and pray that we see the other two at some point in the G.A.S.S. project.
There's not too much that I can say about Patience And Gratitude. Its a great little instrumental song that has a special place in the hearts of Ginger fans, and again showcases a different side to Gingers songwriting.

Rating 10/10

Ginger Wildheart - G.A.S.S. Month 1 EP (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock / Pop / Punk

Label - Self released

Track listing:

01 - Everything

02 - That's A Nasty Habit You've Got There

03 - Bloody Knees

Bonus Demos

04 - Ice (Demo)

05 - The Jackson Whites (Original Demo)

OK so Ginger Wildheart has had tremendous success as of late with his various Pledge Music projects, most notably the awesome 555% triple CD release and the Mutation / Hey!Hello! releases, but this time he has opted to go down a far riskier path with his G.A.S.S. project, So what is G.A.S.S? and just why is it so damned risky?
G.A.S.S. (Ginger Appreciation Secret Society) is a totally fan interactive project, the ultimate fan club so to speak, with membership spread overt three different levels, with the most basic offering full access to the exclusive website, and access to 36 brand new tracks, (yes I said 36!) spread over a twelve month period, as well as access to various demos etc, podcasts, competitions etc, and the ultimate top tier offering a membership card that allows the holder to gain access to meet and greets throughout the year. Pretty awesome hey?
So this is a review of the first batch of the 36 songs, (the plan is to release 3 a month over a twelve month period, a little like the aborted Singles club that Ginger tried a few years ago, which got aborted due to an inept record label!)
So what do we have here then?
Track one, Everything, featuring Givvi Flynn on backing vocals and recorded (and mixed) by Jase Edwards, is a mid paced melodic rocker that would have fit comfortably along side any of the tracks on the now legendary 555% project or for that matter even on the aforementioned aborted singles club! A great song!
Track two,  That's A Nasty Habit You've Got There, recorded by Jase Edwards, mixed by Jason Sanderson and also features Jason Sanderson on backing vocals, is a slightly darker track with a quicker tempo. Again this song would have fitted well on the 555% project or even Market Harbour, another great song!
Track three, Bloody Knees, again recorded by Jase Edwards, mixed by Kevin Vanbergen and featuring Givvi Flynn on vocals and Jon Poole on keyboards, is a real monster of a song. Givvi and Ginger sharing lead vocal duties in much the same way as Ginger did with Victoria in Hey! Hello!, but this time around the song feels much darker, more Market Harbour than anything else, with a real Wildhearts feel in places (check out its awesome mid section!), just less heavy. Bloody Knees is one of the best songs Ginger has produced ever, and this guy has created some corking tracks over the years. A definite classic!
Its important to note that Ginger plays all instruments, unless otherwise stated, on all three tracks in much the same way as he did with the Hey! Hell! project, and again does a grand job!
So that's three great new tracks, membership also allows you access to various rare demos / outtakes that again will be uploaded and made available over the twelve month period. This month we have two, Ice and an original demo of the Wildhearts classic The Jackson Whites.

I'll allow Ginger to explain,
"ICE - I'd been given a brief to write some pop/rock songs for a Japanese artist, something that sounds like Ginger. I penned a few songs (I'm sure we'll be sending you the others in due course) and the artist didn't like them because they were too melodic and sounded too much like The Wildhearts. This has happened a few times, once for a proposed movie soundtrack where the director insisted I write something as he was a huge fan (No Way Out But Through), then complained that it sounded too much like me writing a song for a film. This is why I don't write for people very often. This song was recorded with Jase Edwards."
"THE JACKSON WHITES - This is a home demo that I made of The Jackson Whites, the first track written for Chutzpah!, in New York City, 2008. This was before bringing it to the band, where we made a further demo of it in Finland, recorded by our manager at the time, Virpi, which also featured standard tuning. The decision to drop the tuning was made in Denmark as we were actually recording the album. So much for demos, eh?"

Ice is a great little poppy rock track, that if I am honest, I am surprised has been made available as a bonus demo, when the quality of its recording and hell the quality of the song could have easily made it possible to put it out as one of the new 36 tracks! Ice = a great three minute pop rock experience!
The Jackson Whites demo is a surprisingly good quality demo of an early version of the song, You can hear what it sounded like before they tweaked a couple of the riffs and down tuned the guitars!

If this first instalment of G.A.S.S. experience is anything to go by then we are in for a real treat with Ginger pushing himself to deliver the quality product that he has become symnominous with!

Rating 10/10


NB - G.A.S.S. membership is available at any point over the next twelve months, with all releases being made available in due course, so there is plenty of time to save those penny's if you cant subscribe straight away.

Givvi Flynn - Thieving From The Magpies Nest (2013)

Genre - Hard Rock / Pop / Punk? / Rock
Label - Pledge Music

Track listing:

01 - Good Guys
02 - Without Emotion (written by Ginger Wildheart)
03 - TV Is King (The Tubes cover)
04 - Seven Day Summer
05 - Darlin' (Danny Frye cover)
06 - More Beautiful Than Before
07 - Dirty (written by and featuring Willie Dowling of Honeycrack / Jackdaw4)
08 - Penny Arcade
09 - The Chauffeur (Duran Duran cover)
10 - I Did It Again
11 - Everyday (Slade cover)
12 - Thieveing From The Magpies Nest


After hearing Givvi's numerous contributions to other artists music such as Ginger Wildheart, Jackdaw4 and more rercently Random Jon Poole's solo album, I was really looking forward to hearing just what this little lady with a huge voice from the Midlands could deliver on her debut album. I was not dissapointed. Opening with the brilliant Good Guys with its thin Lizzy meets New World Order riffage the album gets off to a great start. Following quickly is Without Emotion, a great song writtn by Ginger Wildheart and donated for this release. "I sang on the original demo of this song when Ginger wrote it back in 2010. If my memory serves me correctly, it was put together very quickly by Ginger and Jase Edwards and I arrived one Sunday to do my thing and buggered afterwards. True to his word, Ginger let me have the song for my album (as he had flippantly promised at the time) when I asked. I am eternally grateful off soon."
The song has a typical Ginger feel to it, and Givvi delivers a fantastic vocal performance, (although to be honest the entire band do a fantastic job throught the album!) defininetley a favourite for me.
Next up is the cover of The Tubes classic, TV is King, an enjoyable enough track but in my opinion not as strong as the previous two. Seven Day Summer follows, a songs that sees Givvi duet with guitarist Jay Clark, a solid song a quick return to the standards set by the albums two opening tracks.
Darlin' is a cover of a song by Danny Frye, a good old fashioned rock 'n' roller of a track that sees a nice change in both pace and tempo, another great song. "Danny Frye did rock ‘n’ roll in a dirty, sexy, Cleveland punk way and I loved the ‘Hellbent’ album (still do). He also had the most glorious voice and I wish I’d had the chance to sing with him. Sadly, he was taken from the world on July 12th 2003 and I only knew him very briefly. This song is full of Danny’s wicked sense of humour and it’s been a pleasure to remember him during the recording process. RIP Danny, this one’s for you x"
Givvi and the gang follow this up with the wonderful More Beautiful Than Before, which has a delightfully venomous feel to it and a truly wicked guitar solo!
Next up is the wonderful little track Dirty, written by the one and only Mr Willie Dowling of Jackdaw4, Honeycrack, The Grip, Sugar Plum Farries fame. Dirty brings another change in both style and pace proving that this album has plenty of variety! " I just had to record this – it was definitely the final piece of the jigsaw. And who wouldn’t want a Dowling original on their CD?! When I heard the demo, I couldn’t stop singing it. I have learned that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. As you now know, I asked :). Big love and huge thanks to Willie for not only letting me have the track, but for being kind enough to play and sing on it too. That’s right, THE man is on HIS track on MY album. I love that sentence."
The wonderful Penny Arcade follows proving to be yet another great track and leading nicely into The Chauffeur, a cover of the Duran Duran err pop classic? Well to be fair Givvi and the guys turn in a truly great performance turning this song, which apparently was the first song Givvi ever recorded many years ago with her father, into a monster of a track.
We then get to I Did It Again with its fun Rolling Stones esque riff, a grteat song that quickens the pace again and brings a cheerful element of fun back to precedings!
Everyday, a Slade cover is the albums penultimate track, a great atmospheric track that slows things down a little but is awesome non the less!
"I tend to go for unconventional voices and Noddy Holder has got to be the king of shoutycrackers! What a noise! Slade wrote so many amazing songs that it was difficult to choose one but the sentiment in this is lovely – something I’d struggle to write myself. As you may know, I’m quite good at the shoutycrackers myself so I thought this would make a nice addition. Technically, this is the album ballad."
The albums closer is also the albums awesome title track, the wonderful Thieveing From The Magpies Nest, a great rocker with its lyrical seemingly poking fun at the Xfactoe culture. A great way to close a truly wonderful (and long over due) debut album from the massivly talented Givvi Flynn.
" Inspired (I think) by an Elvis Costello ballad, Jay wrote the bridges to this first then he and I finished it during a couple of studio sessions. With Eli’s help, this track has turned into a monster! So much so that we have given the middle section its own title (Part II – To Hell and Bacharach). Many folks have told me I should go on X Factor. I shouldn’t. This is why."

 Very, Very Highly Reconmended!!!!!!!!

Rating 11/10

Album credits -

Givvi Flynn – All lead vocals, backing vocals, button monkeying, engineering, general pushing &.

Jay shoving Clark – Guitars, bass, programming, vocals on ‘Seven Day Summer’ and ‘More Beauty Than Before’, backing vocals, production, engineering, piano on ‘Penny Arcade’.

Eli Cameron – Piano, backing vocals, programming, keys, video editing, production, engineering.

Willie Dowling – Vocals, keys and additional guitars on ‘Dirty’.

James Wall – Backing vocals on ‘I Did It Again’ and ‘TV is King’, photography, filming, salad logistics, photobombing.

Brandon ‘Bradderz’ Clark – Additional Guitars on ‘Penny Arcade’.

Lord Percy Scandal – Logistics manager, online presence, Pledge Music liason, admin and TFTMN photography.

Mutation (Ginger Wildheart) - II - Error 500

Genre - Hard Rock / Metal / Experimental / Extreme / Alternative
Label - Pledge Music (exclusive at moment)

Track listing:

01 - Bracken
02 - Utopia Syndrome
03 - White Leg
04 - Protein
05 - Mutations
06 - Computer, This Is Not What I...
07 - Sun Of White Leg
08 - Relentless Confliction
09 - Innocents In Morte
10 - Benzo Fury

What can I say? Pure unadulterated intensity, I think that that is the only way to truly describe this album, which is the sixth albums worth of material released by Ginger in the matter of nine months, unbelievable!
Where as Mutation I, The Frankenstien Effect was pretty much Gingers baby, with him going into the studio with the song structures melodies and ideas firmly in mind, Error 500 is much more of a coroberative effort, with the multitude of musicians involved lending their input and the resulting album has to be heard to be believed. Intense does not really describe this album, there's riffs, lots of them, great vocals, intense to say the least, and some great songs that really do make this one hell of an album. Gingers original plan was to release both The Frankenstien Effect and Error 500 to those that had pledged, and then get them to vote on which tracks should make it onto the commercially released album, but this has proved a little tricky with many, Ginger included, saying that they believed that Error 500 should be released as it is and not broken up or diluted in any way. This is one hell of an album, and probably as extreme has Ginger can get, definetly its a million miles away from his previous solo or even Wildheart releases. Error 500 even makes The Frankenstien Effect sound like a Bon Jovi record!
I really can not find the right words to describe this album, but can honestly reconmend it as possibly the most frontier challenging album since The Wiuldhearts released Endless Nameless back in 1997.

A great album well worth checking out if you are brave enough, and just check out the credits below to see just who appears on this monster of an album!

Rating 10/10





Ginger Wildheart - Mutation (II) - Error 500

Song Credits:

Produced, Engineered And Mixed By Kevin Vanbergen (Except Track 10)
Track 10 Produced by Tom Bellamy & Paul Mullen.
Executive Producer Kevin Vanbergen
Mixed By Kevin Vanbergen

Recorded @ The Chairworks Studio & FX Yourspace
Mixed @ The Attic
Mastered By Dick Beetham @ 360 Mastering
Chairworks Studios Credits:
Assistant Engineers: James Mottershead, Bob Cooper
Pro Tools Engineer: James Mottershead
Runners: Harry & Andy

1: Bracken:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Paul Astick
LV: Ginger
BV: Ginger
Rich Jones
Kevin Vanbergen
Tom Bellamy
Denzil
Craig Temple
Simon Wright
Givvi Flynn
Jake Adams
Daisy Vanbergen

2: Utopia Syndrome:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Paul Astick
LV: Ginger, Craig Temple,
Dave “Catfish” Corbett (Hick vocal)
BV: Ginger
Rich Jones
Craig Temple
Harriet Bevan
Dave Kerr
Givvi Flynn
Paul Astick

3: White Leg:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger
KEYS: Jon Poole
LV: Ginger, Paul Astick, Jon Poole
BV: Ginger
Rich Jones
Harriet Bevan
Dave Kerr
Givvi Flynn
Paul Astick
Luke Dunnell
Tom Bellamy
The Boys From Black Moth!

4: Protein:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Kevin Vanbergen
LV: Ginger
BV: Paul Astick
Harriet Bevan
Ginger
Rich Jones
Givvi Flynn
Jon Poole

5: Mutation:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Jon Poole, Tom Bellamy
PROGRAMMING & KEYS: Tom Bellamy & Paul Mullen
NOISECALL: Merzbow
LV: Mark E Smith
BV: Tom Bellamy
Paul Mullen
Luke Dunnell
Ginger
Givvi Flynn

6: Computer, This is not what i …
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Shane, Jon Poole
LV: Ginger
BV: Ginger
Givvi Flynn
Paul Astick
Rich Jones
Harriet Bevan

7: Sun of White Leg:
DRUMS: Denzil
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Jon Poole
Keys: Jon Poole
LV: Ginger, Paul Astick, John Mackenzie, Jon Poole
BV: Ginger
John Poole

8: Relentless Confliction:
DRUMS: Denzil, Ginger & Paul Astick
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Paul Astick
LV: Mark E Smith
BV: Ginger
John Poole
Chris Catalyst
Simon Wright

9: Innocentes in Mortes
DRUMS: Denzil,
BASS: Jon Poole & Shane Embury
GTR: Ginger, Rob Stephens, Paul Astick
LV: Luke Dunnell
BV: Ginger
Paul Astick
Paul Mullen
Givvi Flynn
Rich Jones
John Mackenzie
Luke Dunnell

10: Benzo Fury
Programmed and Performed By: Tom Bellamy, Paul Mullen & Denzil
PROGRAMMING & KEYS: Tom Bellamy
GTR & BASS: Paul Mullen
LV: Paul Mullen
BV: Denzil
Paul Mullen