Jim Bianco and Beady Eye

Jim Bianco “Loudmouth”
With St. Patrick’s Day almost here, I’ve got a brilliant drinking song for you. If “Sinners” doesn’t get the bar singing along, nothing will. Bianco has that great Tom Waits meets Peter Gabriel whiskey soaked croon. On “Talented” it’s almost a gospel number with it’s slow majestic chords and honest biting lyric. The stripped down Stones like blues of “But I Still Want You” charms quickly. The anthemic “OK, I Suppose” shows a deep understanding of human pathos on a gut level. It’s not all slow tempo stuff either, as “Take You Home” is a bouncy pop gem. Bianco’s wry approach will appeal to fans of both Bob Seger and Randy Newman.  Amazingly, this release was funded by his rabid fans. Some advance copies are under $3 on Amazon, this is the best value a music fan can ask for. Otherwise wait til official release on April 5th.

Beady Eye “Different Gear, Still Speeding”
And life after Oasis moves on, in the form of Liam Gallager’s new band Beady Eye. Liam’s signature vocal and sliky smooth riffs permeate every track, notably the Lennon-like “The Roller” and obvious tribute “Beatles and Stones” which is a rant about how he’ll play the way he wants, damn the trend. Well if classic rock and blues is what he serves up, then I’m all in here. Excellent tunes include the Creedence-like guitar riffs on “Wind Up Dream” and mod rhythm of “Millionaire.”

This nothing less than a rebirth and clearly Liam has found his mojo as most songs here hit the mark perfectly. Even psychedelic ballads like “The Morning Son” shows a new maturity and the amount of gems here land it in my top ten list. And if this is what it takes to bring Brit pop to a new generation of listeners, so be it.