Docendo Discimus' profile

Every bit as great as one could have hoped, 13 Aug 2009

"I was born like this, I had no choice / I was born with the gift of a golden voice", 73-year-old Leonard Cohen sings sarcastically in his cracked, rumbling, ever-deepening bass, and the audience at the O2 arena erupts into deafening applause.

One of the greatest, most intelligent and charismatic songwriters and composers popular music has ever seen, the old Canadian has made one of the finest and probably the most accssible albums of his entire star-studded career with 2008's "Live in London". Some hardcore fans would probably have preferred a few more rarities, but everybody else should be delighted by these two discs, a wonderful document from Leonard Cohen's first, warily… Read more

The one absolute must-have Status Quo album, 5 Jun 2009

Taped over three nights at Scotland's leading live venue, the Glasgow Apollo, these classic 1976 recordings find Status Quo at the top of their game.

The band had tentatively moved from psychedelia to hard rock and boogie rock a few years earlier, and they were touring in support of their latest LP, "Blue for You", so a standart concert would probably have included more than two songs from that particular album. But when you make a live album you want it to reflect more than just the sound of your latest album being played on stage, right? At least that's what the Quo did, and they succeeded, too. There have been several live albums since this one, and good ones, too, but none… Read more

This could be any competent bar band..., 14 May 2009

...but Creedence is isn't.
You know those amateur bands who model themselves on acts like Deep Purple or the Eagles and perform as "Deep Purple Jam" or "The Eagles Experience"? This is kinda like that. A competent cover band.

Sorry, Mr Cook and Mr Clifford, but this is just the oddest thing. Not only does singer John Tristao sound eerily like John Fogerty, his vocals are literally a carbon copy of the lead vocal tracks that Fogerty recorded for these songs around 1970. And this meticulous recreation of the Creedence Clearwater Revival sound is just plain weird, especially considering the supposedly strained relationship between Fogerty and his former band mates. Why would… Read more