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Elly Roberts reviews
Nemesis
- Released: November 2005
- Rating: 6/10
Even though Rob McCulloch hails from Bolton,clearly the Manchester music scene has influenced his repertoire. He alsolikes Paul Weller, Tim Burgess and The Stones Roses – a potent mix.
Nineteen year old singer – songwriter McCulloch has garnered a local fanbase in his hometown, and is now attempting to target a larger audience.With the right exposure he should succeed.
Under his belt, he has delivered a debut indie CD full of versatility andpromise. He rocks – power opener Let It Go and Be Free – a cool pair indeed.Balladeering with equal class and quality, Taking Off With You hints at TheVerve’s genteel sways on this meticulous album of fascinating passionate,introspection and thoughtful lyrics, as part of his observational template.
Melody driven and well structured, he has a clearly defined objectiveof making music that resonates at all levels of age and gender, possibly inthe same mould as Richard Ashcroft .
For a teenager, he has a profound and unparalleled depth to thelyrical content, in true troubadour fashion. A subtle splattering of raunchyguitars, strings, neat beats, simple but gorgeous acoustic guitar, allthrown into a tidy blend. The voice isn’t the best in the world, but morethan compliments his compositions. At his aching best it’s irresistiblestuff.
Keep an eye out for McCulloch – he’s destined for considerable success.
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Let It Go
2. Taking Off With You
3. Take Me Whole
4. Be Free
5. Doing You Wrong
6. F*****g With My Mind
7. Hard To Breathe
8. Beauty Inside
9. So Many Colours
10. Questions In Disguise
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.