Todd is God

It had been a while since Shelby Lynne had last stood in stage in London - a fact she alluded to on a number of occasions during the evening's proceedings. When she was last here in 2001, she played Shepherd's Bush and was touring in support of the (now classic) I am Shelby Lynne album. I seem to recall standing next to David Hepworth and Mark Ellen for a while (or was that at Lucinda Williams?). Anyway, the gig remains one of the best I've ever seen. She just blew me away that night. All these years on, could she do the same?? Not quite, but you know what, she gave it a good go. The set was a near perfect blend of songs pulled mostly from I Am Shelby Lynne, and her new album of covers of songs made known by Dusty Springfield, with a few others from Love Shelby etc thrown if for good measure. It was safe to say that from the moment the band launched into opening track 'Life is Bad' (a Sheryl Crow-esq country rocker from I am Shelby Lynne) the audience knew that this...

I've been a bit quiet here for a few weeks, due to a combination of circumstances, but hopefully the next couple of weeks I will catch up with a few reviews and comments that I have been meaning to throw up here, a hand full of gigs and some album reviews/comment on the new metallica, jackson browne and ice cube albums amongst others. But, I really need to start with Todd and Arena. Arena was waiting for me when I returned from Holiday in Crete, and my first listen -about 5 mins after getting home - was at 11pm after a long day. I was, quite frankly a bit unimpressed. However, the following day I spun the disc thrice more and transferred it to my iPod where it since fought with Metallica, Jem, and The Wedding Present for attention. First things first. This is not an album that is a) going to set the music world alight b) suddenly make todd an arena rock star. So, knowing that, what do we have? An enjoyable slice of retro rock I'd argue, that gives more than a passing nod to oth...