Pure Elan Digital Radio

WHAT IS DAB?

DAB stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and it is basically a way to hear more radio stations and to hear them interference free, without hiss and crackle. How good you hear it depends on the number of transmitters in your area and currently only 85% of the population are covered. You also don’t have a fiddly dial to twiddle to try and find the right frequency, you select a station by name by pressing a few buttons and it finds it automatically for you.

WHY DO I WANT ONE?

I had been dithering in the purchase of a digital radio for some time. My ex had one that was permanently tuned to TalkSport in the kitchen. If I wanted to listen to something else I need to use the stereo FM radio and fiddle with the aerial which would only grant me reception if I held it in the air whilst balancing on my left leg, extending my right leg by 45 degrees in a north by northwesterly direction (or so it seemed). That in mind, although now single and able to choose my own channels, I had got out of the habit of listening to the radio at home and wondered if this rather expensive purchase would be worth it.

If you have Sky or Freeview you can pick up some of these new stations on your TV but that is not very portable if you want to listen to the radio in the bath for example.

There are some attractive radios out there such as the wooden Pure Evoke and the trendily retro Roberts’ ones that sold for £80-100 looked great but I didn’t feel I could justify the cost. The Pure Elan is not as attractive as these and is bigger at 29cm across, 17cm high (with aerial and handle down) and 8cm deep at its widest part. It is also very heavy. It retails for about £65-70, but when I saw a half price offer with Nectar’s Summer of Rewards for the equivalent of £35 worth of Nectar points that swung it once and for all and I ordered it.

THE RADIO ITSELF

The radio and its plug are packaged in a large box with and a slim manual. When I first took it out of the box I noticed how heavy it was (I don’t have anything to weigh it on, but boxed it is 3kg) and that it didn’t look as bad as in the picture, it had a smart matt silver finish and appears to be quite sturdy and scratch resistant.. There is an LCD screen on the front with the built in speakers and controls along the top with an extendable aerial. The radio takes 6 x C type batteries for up to 30 hours of DAB listening or 80 hours of FM. As I have always used the radio from the mains I cannot comment if this is true or not. I plugged the radio into the mains and automatically it searched for stations and within seconds was playing BBC 1 Xtra (the first station on the list). The buttons are self-explanatory and I didn’t need to use the manual or Quick Start Guide to get going.

From left the buttons are:

Headphone socket (OK – technically not a button!)

Sleep – there is no alarm facility with this radio but you can go to sleep listening to it for 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes and it will turn itself off. The timer shows up on the LCD screen so you know how long you have set it for.

DAB/FM – Switch between DAB radio and FM. There is a slight time delay every time you select DAB.

Volume +/- - This can go up quite high, supposedly 14 levels but I am quite happy with level 2. The level is shown on the LCD display

Preset Buttons – There are 8 FM and 8 DAB presets with four buttons. You press the button with the arrow (like a Shift key) to access or set stations 5-8. To set a station you just need to press a free preset button for a few seconds.

+/- and select – this allows you to scroll up (+) and down(-) the alphabetical list of stations to find one you fancy, whilst still listening to the current station. When you have found your new choice you just press the Select button and it will play it (with the same slight time delay if you are in DAB). In FM mode you use it to scroll up and down a numerical list as you would on a conventional FM radio but without the lucky guess as to where you are on the dial.

Menu – This changes your setup. For example you can set the LCD backlight to stay on or turn off after 5 seconds. You can also change how the station order comes up when using the +/- keys mentioned above by putting favourite stations at the beginning so you can easily find them. You will also find the Autotune button here if you want to check for newly added stations or manual tune if you want to find the best position for the radio/aerial. (Maybe my days of standing on one-leg are not over).

Info – This is my favourite button, I am always playing with it. On the bottom line of the LCD display below the station name you can choose what info you want displayed. My favourite is Scrolling text which tells you a bit about the station you are listening to and on some stations will tell you the track and artist that is playing, which is always handy. On Virgin FM, for example, you can sometimes get a mini artist biography scrolling past. It is a miracle I manage to leave the house some mornings. Other buttons reveal the program type (pop music, rock music, varied speech) and is handy for stations you are initially unfamiliar with. You can also get the time and date, although the time (received from the digital transmitter, so you know which clocks in the house are now wrong) is permanently displayed anyway. You can also get an accurate signal quality guide out of one hundred. For example 85 or above is good.

WHAT IS THE RECEPTION LIKE?

Straight away I was listening to stations with a signal quality of 97 or above and was thrilled to bits. I can get BBC Essex and most of the London stations but for some reason not Essex FM, even though I live in Essex.

I have found the reception sporadic at times, and I cannot see a reason why this is. I can be listening at 95 or above and then it just disappears for no reason and drops to a signal strength of 17 or something for a few seconds and then back up again. This is obviously frustrating when listening to music but makes spoken word stations unlistenable if it happens several times over a few minutes. Fortunately this is not always a problem and I have researched throughout the internet as to what could be the problem and why I cannot always get a strong signal and there appears to be no real reason or this as I am capable of receiving strong signals, it is just the inconsistency that is a problem, and by its nature DAB should not be affected by atmospheric pressures. Changing station makes very little difference. I can only assume that I am just unfortunate, but whether it is down to my location or this product I don’t know.

WHAT YOU CAN LISTEN TO

The amount of extra stations you can get are dependant on where you live. Enter your postcode in this website to get an idea: http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/search/default.asp

Living in the South East I am probably more fortunate than most and am spending quite a bit of time listening to stations I would not normally have done so. If you have Sky or Freeview some or all of the new stations will be familiar to you. The choice available is quite varied from rock stations to pop stations as well as spoken word stations. There are stations aimed at an Asian audience, a gay audience and world music fans. A lot of stations are advert free (or less than the FM commercial stations) and in some cases DJ free with the emphasis on playing music instead of annoying jingles and daft phone-ins. I have become rather fond of ‘chill’ (http://www.helpmechill.com/) which plays a variety of instrumental and chillout club tracks from artists such as Moby and Morcheeba. They have no adverts and usually no DJs apart from two evening shows a week.

IS IT WORTH IT?

I really enjoy listening to the radio and have it on most of the time if not watching TV or listening to a specific piece of music. That said I do have a few problems with signal strength which means I can’t listen to it at certain times. I really can’t see any reason to justify a more expensive purchase and this suits my needs just fine.

Useful links:

http://www.digitalradionow.com/home.php

http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/home/default.asp

10 NEW CHANNELS I HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO BEFORE

1. BBC 6

Listened to 2-3pm Saturday

Marc Riley plays rock music, although not chart rock. The Suffragettes were live in the studio and were decidedly ropey. It is not mainstream rock, I hadn’t heard of half the Bowie tracks that they played hourly. Nice to hear ‘Blister in the Sun’ by the Violent Femmes though. Usually has track lists but not on all shows

Would I listen again? Maybe

2. Arrow Rock

Listened to on weekend afternoons

Usually old rock, rather than new, such as The Eagles, ELO, Lynrd Skynrd, although there was some Oasis and Matchbox 20. Minimal DJ input. Track listings usually a couple of minutes behind.

Would I listen again? Yes.

3. Capital Disney

Listened to on weekend afternoons, weekday evenings.

Pure chart music with a pop or rock leaning – Lily Allen, Orson, The Automatic, Sunblock. Seems the target audience is teen. DJs (who aren’t very good) have phone ins with the same seven people seemingly phoning in.

Would I listen again? To the music maybe, not for the DJs.

4. Century London

Listened to on weekday evenings.

Bit like Heart and other main stream pop stations – Pat Sharp’s Time Tunnell (guess the year). The clock runs on the display and is always a minute out. Music is pretty much chart stuff and mainstream pop like Pink and S Club.

Will I listen again? Probably

5. Chill

Listened to on weekday evenings

No ads and DJs only for two evening shows a week where more club chill is played. Mainly instrumentals and chill/slow version of other songs such as ‘Born Slippy’ by Barefoot (originally by Underworld). Other artists include Moby and Morcheeba. There are not always track listings.

Would I listen to again? Yes

6. Gaydar

Listened to at weekends and weekday evenings

For London’s gay community, generally no track listing. Music includes chillout, dance and pop stuff like Madonna.

Would I listen to again? Maybe, but perhaps later at night when the music is more dance and the DJs less intrusive.

7. Heat

Listened to on weekday evenings

Affiliated to the gossip magazine, there were a few ads but no DJs. The music was pure chart pop such as Lily Allen, Shakira and Pink, plus older pop ‘classics’ like Kylie, Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills.

Would I listen to again? Maybe.

8. Passion

Listened to on weekday evenings.

This is a ‘varied speech’ station with news and interviews as well as music from 80s pop to World Music. When I listened there were some Bhangra style tracks being played.

Would I listen to again? Probably not.

9. Smash Hits!

Listened to on weekday evening

Chart stuff – Pop/Hip-Hop, no track listings.

Would I listen to again? Yes

10. The Hits

Similar to above

Would I listen to again? Yes

Cellular

I saw this film promoted when I was in America on holiday in 2004. It appealed because Jason Statham was in it playing an all action bad guy, possibly not the most challenging role for him but one he does well. Plus Kim Basinger hadn’t done anything high profile (apart from a supporting role in the Eminem movie ‘8 Mile’) for a few years and she looked fantastic for 50 something. Anyway we didn’t go and see it in the end and thus it has taken me a while to get around to watching it.

This is like ‘Phone Booth’ on the move. High School science teacher Jessica (Kim Basinger) is kidnapped from her home by a gang of men, for reasons she doesn’t understand (or at least claims not to understand). Ethan (Jason Statham) leader of the gang locks her in the attic of the house they take her to and smashes the phone. Being a resourceful lass, Jessica detects a tone on the phone and although the keypad did not survive, she taps away persistently with the wires in the hope that she makes a connection. She ends up calling a young lad called Ryan, desperately trying to run errands to impress his ex-girlfriend. Ryan (Chris Evans – no, not that one) is naturally suspicious of some strange woman phoning him saying she has been kidnapped. Instead of disconnecting straight away he listens to what she has to say, and why she can’t dial the police or hang up, and agrees to drive to the police station and hand the phone over.

The sweet and soon to retire cop, Sergeant Mooney (William H Macy) is slightly distracted by plans to open a day spa with his wife. He tries to help but a fight breaks out at the station and he sends Ryan upstairs to another department. Jessica’s kidnappers return to her room and she hides the phone under her jacket, Ryan can hear them in the background threatening to kidnap and kill her son and no longer doubts her. However he is experiencing a low signal in the police station so leaves to try and beat the kidnappers to her son’s school, rather than continuing and risking losing the connection. There begins a rollicking, fast-paced, tunnel-avoiding ride for the rest of the movie, and plenty of product placement for Nokia. For good measure there is even a little bit of mystery as to why Jessica and her family have been targeted, who these bad guys are and what they want, but nothing that will trouble you greatly.

The film asks you suspend your belief big time that Jessica with no keypad managed to dial a mobile of a lad who was not only also in California, but seemingly in the same area. Plus there are many far-fetched situations that Ryan gets himself to into to help Jessica, such as armed robbery, car-jacking and driving the wrong way down the freeway emerging unscathed through the multi-car pile-ups behind him. Saying that, I don’t think the film intends to take itself seriously, just to entertain. Director David Ellis keeps his finger on the pulse of the action at all times and the pace of the movie does not flag. The performances of all the key characters are solid, but none of them are particularly challenged by their roles. I was pleasantly surprised how the 50-something Basinger managed to pull off a semi-action parts of the feisty Jessica with ease, maybe it was the Botox.

With a running time of little over an hour and a half this film will not inconvenience you greatly to watch. Characters are not deep, and sometimes slightly stereotypical (soon to retire cop anyone?) It is a very easy to watch film, it will not challenge or stimulate you as long as you can suspend your belief long enough to enjoy the ride.

This film has a 15 certificate; there is no sex and limited violence, certainly nothing gory.

Daddy Cool - The Musical

This musical advertises itself as being based on the songs of Boney M, in fact it is based on the songs of Frank Farian. For the uninitiated, Farian wrote and produced Boney M’s songs and those of other acts such as Milli Vanilli, Eruption and No Mercy. I suspect that a musical featuring the songs of Milli Vanilli would not have quite the same appeal, so they seemingly gloss over that and hope the Boney M fans don’t notice.

Following on from the success of the Queen musical ‘We Will Rock You’ and Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia’ there have been a few musicals springing up based loosely around the songs of a certain band. I had seen the Queen musical and knew the story was weak and just an excuse to link all the songs together and chuck in a few jokes; however there was a bit more effort here with the story. Instead of making up a weak plot they unashamedly nicked a tried and tested one from West Side Story, which itself was inspired by Romeo and Juliet.

Looking back I don’t really remember why we chose this musical, I think we thought it would be a fun slice of disco-cheese. If you have seen posters for it they make a big thing out of the stars for the show: Michelle Collins (Eastenders’ Cindy Beale), Harvey (rapper with the So Solid Crew) and Javine (Eurovision entrant and the one who didn’t quite make it into Girls Aloud). However they are actually more in supporting roles.

THE CAST AND PERFROMANCES

SUNNY (Dwayne Wint) is a young lad in love with music, his friends and his girlfriend. Wint has a lovely, sweet soulful voice slightly reminiscent of Lemar and carries off the lead role well.

ROSE (Camilla Beeput) meets Sunny at a club and they fall in love and she vows to stand by him regardless. She has a beautiful singing voice, although it is not the strongest. If you recognise her name it is because apparently she was also in the first series of Fame Academy.

MA BAKER (Michelle Collins) is Rose’s mum and is not happy about her daughter’s relationship. Her singing is one of the weakest and all non sung lines are delivered with her hands on her hips. Disappointing.

PEARL (Melanie La Barrie) is Sunny’s mum and is also not happy with his new relationship as she lost Sunny’s dad Johnny Cool to Ma. Melanie has the one true diva voice in the show.

SHAKE(SPEARE) (Harvey) is Sunny’s best mate and leader of the west end Subsonic Crew. He doesn’t sing and only speaks a few times; mainly he just raps and makes the odd gratuitous shirtless appearance.

BENNY (Davie Fairbanks) is Ma’s son and leader of the East End Blade Squad (not to be confused with Blazin’ Squad who were a bunch of twelve years olds from Walthamstow) he is a bit of a thug and is portrayed well by Fairbanks.

ASIA BLUE (Javine) is a pole dancer at Ma Baker’s club and would- be singer. She is going out with Benny but is attracted to Shake. Javine sings OK, delivers a few lines and that is about it. Nothing much more is asked of her.

Having read that I think you now have an inkling of the groan inducing cheesiness that surrounds this show. If your cholesterol can stand it, read on…

THE STORY

We start off in 1990 in The Islands and young Sunny is living with his grandma, and it is Independence Day. What better excuse do you need to bring out the steel drums and sing ‘Hooray! Hooray! It’s A Holi-Holiday’? Quite. Sunny is then told he must go to England, where it is winter, and live with his mum.

The second scene is Christmas in London and young Sunny and his mum are at church. What else do you sing but ‘Mary’s Boy Child’? This is giving a gospel twist with a bit of rapping thrown in by the little lad playing young Sunny. We then go back to Sunny and Pearl’s flat where she sings ‘Sunny’ to him as a lullaby.

Fast-forwarding to the present day we see grown up Sunny going down to the recording studio owned by Rasputin (I swear I am not making this up) to meet the So Solid Crew, sorry I mean Subsonic Crew, and get a little beatbox demonstration before they perform Milli Vanilli’s ‘Girl You Know It’s True’ in a hip hop style. This is where the Subsonic’s first meet Benny and the Blade Squad from East London and they don’t exactly hit it off. The Subsonics decide to head out to the Shadwell Arches club a bit later and see what is happening.

Benny and his pole-dancing girlfriend Asia Blue go to Ma Baker’s lap dance club where Asia dances. Asia and Ma sing an obscure (to me) Boney M song called ‘Take the Heat off Me’. Meanwhile Ma has banned her daughter, Rose; from going to the Shadwell Arches thus Rose and Sandra sing the song ‘Ma Baker’ in her bedroom before shinning down the drainpipe.

At Shadwell Arches, whilst Asia sings some other songs I don’t know, and I get a bit fidgety, Rose and Sunny meet and surprise, surprise it all kicks off with the two rival gangs. Rasputin suggests a sing off and all agree. Sunny and Rose sing a duet of Milli Vanilli’s ‘Baby Don’t Forget My Number’. It was an improvement on the original. They make a date to go to Camden Market where some more steel drums are found to sing ‘Brown Girl in the Ring’ and there is a lively ensemble performance of ‘Sunny’.

We then see a flashback Seventies scene with another obscure disco track as Pearl remembers Sunny’s dad going off with Ma, and the young Pearl sings a medley of ‘Daddy Cool’ and ‘One Way Ticket’ (the latter originally a hit for Eruption).

Thankfully now there is an interval, the theatre is boiling hot and legs need to be stretched.

Now it is time for the sing-off and traditional Boney M fans will be very disappointed as the songs are turned into raps with very little in the way of words and music can be related to the original songs. There is no mention of a Russian Queen during ‘Rasputin’ for example. Saying that the rapping is excellent, and not a naff effort, it seems for the programme that a lot of the cast members have experience in this field and know what they are doing. The Subsonics win the sing-off (rap-off?) but tragedy strikes as Shake is shot. Sunny can’t continue to go out with the sister of the bloke who shot his mate so ends it with Rose by singing to her Milli Vanilli’s ‘Girl, I’m Gonna Miss You’. A cringe worthy choice of song, but well executed.

We are then treated to one of the best vocal performances as Pearl sings Eruption’s ‘Can’t Stand The Rain’ and gives Aretha and all the rest of the soul divas a run for their money.

Benny catches up with Asia and asks her ‘Where Did You Go’ just like No Mercy. He did a good performance, ably supported by some pole dancing rappers and did well not to be distracted by the audience giggling in a combination of disbelief and embarrassment as the full extent of the tackiness of the show.

I won’t spoil anymore of the show for you, there are some more songs that I didn’t know to close the show, plus a bright orange parrot was lowered from the roof for no apparent reason other to block the view of those in the Upper Circle and back of the Royal Circle. Fortunately it only stayed down for a bit before going back up again.

After the cast took their bows, (Collins, Harvey and Javine taking theirs after the more talented leads) the show finally redeemed itself with a lively medley of Boney M tracks in the expected disco style plus a Boney M tribute performance of ‘Rivers of Babylon’ and a gigantic glitter ball.

There is some humour in the show and some lively tracks and generally the performances are solid. Die hard Boney M fans should think again, as they are unlikely to appreciate the new versions of the songs. If you are looking for a bit of a laugh and a fairly lively show (especially at the end where the audience can get up and dance) then this is worth considering.

The show is currently at the Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Ave, London, WC2.
Box Office: 020 7379 5399

Nearest Tube is Holborn and Tottenham Court Road (Central Line)

Performance Times Mon-Thurs: 7.30pm; Fri: 5pm and 8.30pm; Sat: 3pm and 7.30pm. My 7.30pm performance ended at 10.20pm and there was a 15m interval.

Ticket prices are between £17.50 and £45.00. I purchased my front of the Royal Circle seats for £22.50 +£2 booking fee each through Show-Pairs (http://www.show-pairs.co.uk/). If your company has more than 20 employees, give them a call and sign up to their mailing list for two-for-one offers on selected West End shows. Tel: 020 7976 5887. 76 5887

Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah

The Scissor Sisters formed in New York in 2001, and had a huge global hit with their debut, self-titled album, which was the best selling album of 2004. It was always going to be hard to follow on from this success and the band certainly took their time in making sure they got an album that they wanted. When I heard the first single off this new CD entitled ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ I was relieved that they were still going to make good, fun, listenable pop/rock tracks and pre-ordered the album, hoping that the rest will match up to such a strong single.

The CD kicks off with ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’, which is co-written by their new best friend Elton John. Feeling the pressure to follow up on their debut album, the band just decided to have some fun and this was the outcome. It works for me.

Their second song is obviously a tribute to the aforementioned new chum as it reminds me greatly of Elton’s ‘I’m Still Standing’, with that familiar rock ‘n’ roll beat. It is entitled ‘She’s My Man’ and was apparently inspired by a New Orleans’ pirate called Annie Christmas who passed herself off as a man, as well running a brothel. It has lyrics that include the lines “May the best queen hold the crown, for the most bush sold on the levee”. No beating around the bush here then (sorry).

‘I Can’t Decide’ has a country/blues feel to it with a strong Thirties/Forties Music Hall piano sound (think Bugsy Malone), which I quite like (it has to be better than a Chas ‘n’ Dave type piano after all). I am developing a new found respect for the banjo. In it vocalist Jake sings on gangster acts and deciding whether to let a lover live or die. I am sure he doesn’t mean it literally!

‘Lights’ sounds like it came out of the Studio 54 era in New York during the seventies, it is a very upbeat track with a lively brass section and some disco rhythms.

‘Land of a Thousand Words’ is a heartfelt ballad, with some lovely, meaningful lyrics. The arrangement doesn’t sound like it would be out of place as the main love song for a musical with its heavy, romantic strings. Maybe that is a good idea for their next project…I’d certainly go and see it. Apparently it was actually inspired by the band’s love of James Bond theme songs.

‘Intermission’ is another piano-led track with their mate Mr John tinkling the ivories and co-writing, is seems like a war-time not-quite Big Band track, with lots of strings.

‘Kiss You Off’ has a fabulous guitar rock intro with the vocals mainly being taken by Ana Matronic for a change. She sings about getting rid of a boyfriend who was not worthy.

‘Ooh’ is a catchy hi-energy dance track in the ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ vein, with a very catchy, if not original, chorus (‘Ooh, Oooooh, Oooooh, Oooooh’) but not as good otherwise.

‘Paul McCartney’ was written after singer Jake Shears had a dream about his hero (other than Elton John presumably) Paul McCartney. It has a good brass section and is a very upbeat track and instantly likeable. It doesn’t remind me of The Beatles or Wings at any level, and at the longest stretch of the imagination possibly of McCartney’s Michael Jackson 1980s collaboration period, but better (thankfully).

‘The Other Side’ is another slow track about waiting for a loved one on the other side (i.e. in the afterlife) should anything happen to them. It seems quite a personal song and I can only guess at what inspired it.

‘Might Tell You Tonight’ is another ballad about telling someone that you love them for the first time.

‘Everybody wants the Same Thing’ is back to the dance/rock Scissor Sister formula with a lively beat, which they played for the first time at Live8. For some reason there is two minutes of silence at the end of this track.

On my CD there was a bonus track called ‘Transistor’ which is quite different from the other tracks, heavy electronica and nothing special. I hope this is not the taste of Scissor Sisters to come.

Overall this is an excellent CD that possibly needs to be played a few times to be appreciated, but once done so will never be off the CD player. Their first album was very much a cross genre effort, and whilst there is no single genre to pigeon hole them on this album they have taken on board a more retro Seventies disco era influence then was previously obvious. I also detected music hall and theatrical style influences (they claim to be fans of this and burlesque theatre) but whether this is something that is always been there or something that has come with their Elton John collaboration, I am not sure.

There is some swearing on the tracks, and some lyrics are not for the easy offended.

The Scissor Sisters are:

Jake Shears – Lead vocals

Ana Matronic – vocals

Babydaddy – Bass, guitar, banjo, keyboards

Del Marquis – Guitars

Paddy Boom – Drums

The main songwriters are Jake and Babydaddy.

Useful Links

Songs can be heard on their MySpace site: http://www.myspace.com/scissorsisters

http://www.scissorsisters.com/intro/ Their official site for songs, info and commentary.

http://www.wearescissorsisters.com/. See some videos and discover your Scissor Sisters’ name. Mine is Filthy Loose, but I’d rather you just called me Essexgirl.

Top Ten Motown tracks

As listened to on iTunes....

1. High Inergy - You Can't Turn Me Off
2. The Four Tops - It's The Same Old Song
3. The Supremes - Automatically Sunshine
4. Stevie Wonder - If You Really Love Me
5. Diana Ross - Touch Me in the Morning
6. The Four Tops - Standing in the Shadows of Love
7. The Miracles - Love Machine
8. Diana Ross & The Supremes - I Hear a Symphony
9. Stevie Wonder - As
10. Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections.

George Elliott's Grave.

George Elliott Highgate East 2
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

The grave of Mar y Ann Cross who wrote under the pen name of George Elliot. East Cemetary, Highgate. June 2006.

Love Lives - Josie Lloyd and Emelyn Rees

Husband and wife authors Emlyn Rees and Josie Lloyd, as well as being published individually, have been writing together for a number of years. Love Lives is their fourth collaboration following on from Come Together, Come Again and The Boy Next Door. They have had two more books published since entitled We Are Family and The Three Day Rule. Their writing topics bring them under the genre of chick lit (or women’s contemporary romantic fiction if you prefer!). Obviously a book entitled Love Lives is going to be about love but Lloyd and Rees also bring in relationships with family and friends to try and make the book different from a classic romance. Naturally, as with all good romantic fiction the path of true love does not run smooth and unfortunately this is quite a predictable romance as far as the ending is concerned but the journey there is entertaining enough.

The book is set in a Shoresby, a fictional, seemingly run down south coast seaside resort with its own Beachy Head style suicide spot known as Lost Soul’s Point. As the book starts it has come to the end of the summer season in Shoresby, yet for a change something interesting is happening. Not only is someone renovating nearby Appleforth House after over a hundred years, but there is a documentary film crew in town to make a film about the area and in particular the myths and mysteries surrounding Lost Soul’s Point.

In previous books Lloyd and Rees have given each character their own chapter, in this book they are mixed up and any character can appear next. The four main characters are:

Ned Spencer is a widowed single father who is working as an architect to restore Appleforth House, destroyed by its owner, Alexander Walpole, in 1871 after his daughter’s death as Lost Soul’s Point. After the tragic death of his wife, Ned has decided romance is not for him and has dedicated his life to his business and his young daughter.

Ellen is an ambitious film-maker with an equally ambitious boyfriend. She has been given a great opportunity while her boss is on maternity leave, which she wishes to make the most of. She is trying to make a documentary about the story behind the Walpole suicide and Lost Soul’s Point. She is also intrigued by the stories surrounding other suicides in the area, in particular one concerning a young, local lad almost a year before.

Jimmy is 17 and lives with his step mum and step brother whilst his dad works abroad and his grandmother is in the local hospice. He thinks he might be in love with a local girl and on top of this he has to deal with the tragic suicide of his best friend Ryan at Lost Soul’s Point the year before. It is hinted that there is more to this, and Jimmy’s involvement, than it first appears.

Verity Driver is a talented, popular local girl who is unaware of Jimmy’s existence not to mention how he feels about her. She is more worried about the pressure her mother is putting on her to perform at the local memorial concert for Ryan and her burgeoning relationship with the grown up and extremely cool Denny, owner of the local surf shop.

I think it is in the nature of books with several central characters that it can be quite disjointed. Fortunately in this case it is just at the beginning, once we have met the characters and the story has been established it makes for an easier read. I found the male characters are better developed and more complex than the female characters. Verity in particular seems a bit bland and undeveloped, as if they were just trying to even out the numbers by including her. The character led nature of the book didn’t work on all levels for me. It seemed only the male characters had secrets and depth, the women characters were much more superficial. They were not pathetic or ditzy as in some chick lit type novels; they were smart women, who could be very real and relatable to with a little bit more effort. Knowing in the past that the authors wrote the character that relates to their own gender, I was disappointed with Josie Lloyd, if this is the case with this book.

In conclusion, this is a harmless romance, there is no deep meaning to be found within the pages, you will not learn anything about yourself, and you read this book because you want a light, easyish read for whatever reason. I don’t think this is the best work of their that I have read (so far that honour goes to The Boy Next Door, but I have not read their last two books) and it has not and will not light up the literary sky. It is what is is, a romance aimed at the twenty- and thirty-something female market, and as far as that is concerned it does it as well if not slightly better than most of its peers.

James Morrison - Undiscovered

21 year old Morrison is a white British lad with a soulful voice that has been compared to Otis Redding. He was born in Rugby but moved to Cornwall in his teens. He is a young, slightly scruffy, soul balladeer is a music market that has seen its fair share of similar singers. He has been compared to James Blunt which I think is unfair. At least I hope so, as I was never a fan of Blunt’s music and I don’t think that the shy Morrison is as bland as the other James. My typical music tastes do not normally include white, male, soul singers and I’ll walk over hot coals to avoid them normally, but something about Morrison’s Top Five debut single You Give Me Something attracted my attention and made me want to listen to more. He has a deep gravelly voice which at times reminds me of Stevie Wonder. He claims always to have had this voice since childhood, though he admits it is possibly exacerbated by smoking. Morrison has co-written all the thirteen songs on the album. It was released in July and went to Number One in August.

The CD has a strong start with a track called Under the Influence. It has a catchy hook and Morrison’s vocals sound charmingly grating with a dash of soul, and sounds the most like a Stevie Wonder Motown track and is about being intoxicated by someone and powerless to know your own mind.

The second track is Morrison’s debut single the melodic You Give Me Something that currently gets so much airplay, (which I hope will not be to his detriment) on a variety of rock, pop and easy listening type radio stations. The lyrics are about taking that first step into a new relationship and the track is one of the more positive and uplifting songs on the album which have a tendency to be about relationship break ups.

This is followed by Wonderful World a song about feeling down and not able to appreciate things. It has a catchy, foot-tapping beat and is one of the best songs on the CD in spite of the slightly depressing lyrics.

The ballad The Pieces Don’t Fit anymore is a song about a relationship that no longer works and facing the inevitable. It is one of the slower tracks on the album, and Morrison sings in very softly, especially at the beginning, and resists belting the vocals out as he did on the earlier tracks.

One Last Chance is another ballad with a slight rock touch and is about his last opportunity to sort himself out and find happiness. I have no idea if the song is autobiographical or not, but it certainly sounds as if it is sung from the heart. There is a strong blues element to this song.

Undiscovered in the albums’s title track and in it Morrison invites a lady (presumably) to look a bit deeper, and try and find the real him. It is a very uplifting song, almost gospel in parts with a female vocal chorus.

The Letter is about receiving a letter from a lover and being afraid to open it. Again, it is quite bluesy with the emphasis on gravelly vocals, drums and some harmonica.

Call The Police is not about a criminal act but the feeling of a loss of control at the end of a relationship. I don’t think I am alone in starting to see a pattern here?! It is a good rock song and has a fabulous guitar riff that is rather Nirvana-esque (an influence, along with Hendrix, I was initially surprised that Morrison had) and it rather works with Morrison’s raw edged vocals belting out. I like muchly and easily my favourite.

This Boy was apparently written by Morrison a few years ago when he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with his mother, it is more a song of friendship and putting things behind you than love, which makes a change. It is probably one of the weaker songs in the album but is an enjoyable filler track none the less.

The Otis Redding influence is obvious in a number of tracks, but none more so than If The Rain Must Fall which is very soulful song about how it doesn’t matter if it rains, as long as he has your love.

How Come is another rockier ballad. I don’t think Morrison is able to do a track with a faster beat, just with more frantic vocals. The song is about a relationship where the partner doesn’t seem to know what they want.

The Last Goodbye is (no surprise here) an end of relationship ballad. Rather slow and plodding and adding nothing new. I only notice it playing as it is one of the longest tracks of the album.

Better Man is about how he has become a better man because of his relationship, another slow ballad, this time sung just with a guitar. However I felt it was a disappointing closing track.

I don’t think his lyrics are so deep and meaningful that they will have too many lonesome souls reaching for the razor blades, I think the fact that there is such a theme running through the CD means I am more likely to switch off listening to the lyrics, although one should remember that not all the songs are about relationship break ups and some, such as Give Me Something, are more positive. I feel they are not the kind of lyrics that I would sing along to in the car (where the engine drowns my wailing out) but a lot of the songs have a catchy melody.

The inlay booklet contains the lyrics to all tracks and a few black and white photos of liver performances and studio sessions. At the back of the booklet he thanks his dad for introducing him to his record collection (no Barbra Streisand at his parents house then, unlike mine?) and Uncle Joe for introducing him to the blues and also lists his varied influences of Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens, Nirvana, Radiohead and Marc Bolan to name just a few.

http://www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jamesmorrisonmusic

The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff

The Sims 2 is a huge game franchise. It originated on the PC as just The Sims and added on six expansion packs until the Sims 2 was launched with better graphics and game play. The Sims have also expanded to consoles. This is a stuff pack adding on new items rather than more game play. Before I continue, however, I am going to mention a little but about The Sims 2 for those who are not familiar with it. If you are familiar, feel free to skip the next paragraph.

The Sims 2 (and the original version) is a God-Sim or people management game. There are no levels to complete, you set your own target for the sim or just try and meet their needs and aspirations and keep them happy. Sims have different personality aspirations such as wanting marriage and children, a promotion, more money or many lovers. It is up to you if you want your Sim (who is played as part of a family unit that you create either at the beginning or by getting them to marry and have children) to achieve their aspirations or whether you want to set your own goals for them. The game has much more to it than can be mentioned here, as this is not the right review, so I will move back onto the Glamour Life Stuff pack.

This is a Stuff Pack as opposed to an expansion pack (like University, Nightlife or Open For Business) and does not add anything to the game other than new outfits, furniture of accessories. Other stuff packs include Christmas Party Pack and Family Fun Stuff. You need to have the Sims 2 installed on your PC in order to play this game, though it is not obligatory to have any of the expansion packs or other stuff packs. You also need a 1.0 Ghz processor and an additional 1BG free hard disk. Once you have installed this disc it is the one you will use to play your game with from then on (or until a new expansion pack is installed). It is advised that you back up your existing game in case you should wish to uninstall this pack for any reason.

For a RRP of £9.99 you don’t actually get a lot. The disc is in a yellow and purple DVD case with the distinctive white and green Sims 2 logo across the top and some pictures of the new items contained within and announcing ‘60 Glamorous Items’ on a mock sticker. Inside the case is a 16 page brochure with installation instructions, game tips (which are nothing new to experienced players) and pictures of a few of the new items.

The disc itself it straight forward to install and takes just a few minutes. Once installed it can take you straight to the game where you can find the new items which are kept with your existing items of the same type in the menu, they are not kept separately. The items include some new room sets for the bedroom, living room and dining room, plus some interesting Pop Art and sculptures. There are also new light fixtures, rugs and a stereo. Most of the new clothing is evening wear, although there are a few day outfits and silk pajamas. There is also a fur coat for the ladies. There are a few teen outfits but not children’s outfits. Um…that is about it. Not a great haul when you consider that some fan sites share outfits and furniture they have created themselves for free (although I have had problems installing these so don’t tend to bother). This does seem a bit greedy of EA (Electronic Arts – the game’s manufacturers) to try and get even more money out of loyal fans of the game and then offer them very little content but with millions of people across the world playing it, I am sure they will continue to do well and be a regular money spinner especially if they carry on releasing two or three a year in addition to the expansion packs.