Just in case you didn’t know – The Wildhearts are releasing a brand new live album.  Reviewed Here
It gets an official release in December for those who didn’t know.
“Ginger gave me two instructions: “Loud guitars and loud crowd”….I didn’t have a choice in either as that’s what was captured during the recording” – Live album producer Dave Draper

At a time when we are craving live shows more than ever, Round Records presents  ‘The Wildhearts – 30 Year Itch’, recorded live during the band’s ‘The Renaissance Men’ and ‘Diagnosis’ tours during 2019.

The 17-track album showcases the incendiary energy that has made The Wildhearts one of the best loved UK live rock acts of the last thirty years. A perfect moment in time, thirty years from the band first playing live, that shows a band still at the height of their powers, bristling with energy as they deliver classic tracks such as ‘Caffeine Bomb’, ‘Suckerpunch’, ‘Let Em Go’, ‘Vanilla Radio’ and ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’.

Ginger says, “There are a few authorised bootleg live albums of The Wildhearts doing the rounds, but as soon as Danny rejoined the band I knew I had to capture the classic Wildhearts line up on record. There were a few reasons for this, the main one being that we’re still alive, which is a situation that could change at any second with this group.

I also wanted people to hear how insanely powerful The Wildhearts are as a live band. Pounding drums, chainsaw bass and bombastic guitar riffs, all underpinning harmony vocals and huge anthemic songs that every member of the audience sings like a football crowd. 
It’s a surprisingly emotional blend of noise, passion and unity.

As far as I’m concerned this is a classic album by a unique band playing timeless songs that don’t fit into any established genre. Is it rock? Is it punk? Who cares, it’s The Wildhearts.”

Although the release date of the album was set pre Covid, the albums Imminent release will give the fans a little taste of what they can’t have with the current situation.

Mastered once again by maestro Dave Draper, this double album captures the band’s balls out performance that still kicks the ass of crowds up and down the country, 30 years since they started!

Dave explains “Never Outdrunk, Never Outsung‘ was my first adventure into the world of working with The Wildhearts. I carried a lot of pressure on my shoulders to make sure it was as close to the experience of actually being in the crowd. Judging on what the feedback has been since it came out, I can say I think it worked out just fine.

So when the time came around to make another live album for the boys, myself and Elliot Vaughan once again jumped in the car and captured a few shows from The Renaissance Men and Diagnosis tours of 2019.

When it came to the mixing, like on ‘Never Outdrunk…’, it was really good to hear older tracks having a new lease of life and power from the boys…. the two songs from ‘Endless Nameless’ that have made this new album are highlights for me and I’m sure many of you will agree. Timeless songs with all you mad bastards singing your hearts out on. What’s not to like? Ginger gave me two instructions: “Loud guitars and loud crowd”….I didn’t have a choice in either as that’s what was captured during the recording, Thank you for making my job a lot easier, guys!”

The album will be released commercially on the 4th December 2020. The commercial release also features an exclusive limited edition coloured vinyl version and also a CD version with 4 exclusive postcards, that will only ever be available with this version.

Buy ’30 Year Itch’ Here

If 2019 was the year the music world once again woke up to The Wildhearts, then 2020 really should have been the year that they cemented their position as the very best seven-legged live band the UK has to offer.

 

Luckily for me The Wildhearts were one of the last bands I got to see live before the world was consumed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and now when I think back to that amazing Friday night headline slot at Butlin’s Punk & Alternative Weekend – where playing to a largely partisan audience they made so many new friends – I take one look at the track listing of ’30 Year Itch’ (the band’s soon to be released double live album) and I must admit I can’t help get a little robot chubby on at the prospect of hearing the band delivering the goods once again…albeit right here in my living room.

 

Consisting of 17 tracks spanning the length and breadth of the band’s (almost) three-decade long career – and thankfully avoiding some of the perhaps more obvious tracks – this album was recorded across both The Renaissance Men and Diagnosis tours undertaken by the band in 2019 and achieves what every great live album sets out to achieve by making you feel like you are right back in the audience stage front and centre (don’t worry though as other crowd positions are available if the pit is a bit too rough for you). Plus choosing to work once again with the wizard that is Dave Draper really does add plenty of sonic salt ‘n’ shake to proceedings, making this one of the most remarkable sounding live albums I’ve heard since Exit_International’s ‘Live At Le Pub’.  Anyone spot the connection?

 

From the furry boxing glove opener that is ‘Dislocated’ through to the set closing – best song ever with a music video filmed on a flatbed truck – ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’ there is hardly a second to catch your breath as riff after motherfucking riff hit you from every direction, and whilst ‘Let ‘Em Go’ might not be in my list of all-time favourite Wildhearts’ songs it’s impossible not to be swept along in the moment and I suddenly find myself singing along at the top of my voice.

 

Highlights? Well hearing the likes of the sublimely brutal ‘Urge’ and err anthemic ‘Anthem’ live is most welcome in my house, whilst the huge singalongs that are ‘Sick Of Drugs’ and ‘Vanilla Radio’ are just designed to have you bouncing down the street when you plug this sucker into your in-car stereo system.  Of the deeper cuts aired here ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ and ‘The Jackson Whites’ perfectly capture the band’s latter years, whilst in ‘Diagnosis’ (which seems to be  everyone’s favourite song from 2019’s ‘Renaissance Men’ album) the guys have written perhaps their most ‘Earth V’s’ era sounding song in many a long year, and thus perhaps unintentionally brings them sonically full circle.

 

Whatever you may think about this point though in this current rich vein of form The Wildhearts really are a 30-year itch you can’t help but scratch, and what more, if you were lucky enough to pre-order this bad boy from the band’s website you should have also have received a bonus 4 track CD of tracks not included on the album including a blistering ‘Top Of The World’ plus a pogotastic ‘Shame On You’ before ‘Nothing Changes But The Shoes’ and ‘My Baby Is A Headfuck’ sends yours truly ambling off down memory lane via two tracks that still sound as awesome as they did when they first got me into The Wildhearts all those years ago.

 

‘30 Year Itch’ is truly amazing stuff! Make sure you are in on the celebrations when the double album goes back on sale via the band’s website soon.

Buy ’30 Year Itch’ Here

Author: Johnny Hayward

Ginger Wildheart is a man every music fan should know as he writes songs of quality and quantity in equal measure and by right should be headlining stadiums around the world but alas this sadly isn’t so.

Anyway, back to the task in hand, my ears pricked up as soon as I read that on Friday the 16th of august at exactly 5:55 pm there would be a new Ginger Wildheart album to pre-order with an immediate download on Ginger’s very own Round Records label.

As soon as 5:55 pm kicked in I duly pre-ordered the album and got my download of Ginger’s new album titled “Headzapoppin” to wrap my excited ears around.

“Headzapoppin” kicks off with the glorious track titled “Meet my killer” and is an earworm straight out of the gate with a great riff and an infectious chorus with great lyrics.

Up next is the track “Catch that stranger” which starts off with a dreamy intro sequence before the listener is slapped in the face with some killer guitar work and that then leads us into a nice bit of pounding drums with loud guitars before leading us back into the gorgeous chorus segment.

“Saturday Matinee” then starts off with a lovely keyboard intro with some stunning jangly guitar work through the song and we also get some acoustically strum guitar thrown in to add even more texture to this wonderful track.

Then we get the track “Yorvik (my hood)” with an outstanding bass intro and some great crashing drums with yet again a terrific trademark Ginger chorus.

“Love is” is a beautifully crafted ballad with some beautiful heartfelt lyrics with genuine honesty. Another great piece of music.

“As theodos spoke” is what I love about Ginger’s music you never know what you are going to get and this track has an experimental feel to these ears with Ginger singing in a more gruff vocal with some great bass and drums and a great riff thrown in for some good measure.

This leads us into the track “Boxes” and the quality does not let up and is an instant foot-tapper with a great guitar break and is a short straight to the point song clocking in at under 3 minutes.

“The answer is yes” is the next song up and is a fantastic power-pop nugget of a tune with great harmony and is an all-round winner of a track.

“Pound coins + kitchen roll” is a tune with some great lyrics on Ginger making his way through life and is another instant melody that gets straight into the listener’s skull and buries itself there with a great harmony.

Finishing of this album is the track “Zap” with lyrics which deal with Ginger’s mental health problems but as someone who struggles with depression on a daily basis this reviewer can instantly relate to but as Ginger often does we have a serious subject matter wrapped up in an uplifting euphoric melody that makes the listener feel there is hope with this ongoing condition.

 

Overall what we have with “Headzapoppin” is a stunningly crafted album with great lyrics and music going hand in hand to make this a much purchase release that with multiple plays will reward the listener time after time, now I’m off to play the album again while I suggest you go out and buy it.

Buy Headzapoppin’ Here

Author: Gareth ‘Hotshot’ Hooper

I was overjoyed when through my letterbox popped the remastered double cd version of the classic Wildhearts self-titled album (otherwise known as the White album).

Before we get into this sonic beast of an album I want to point out how lovingly packaged this reissue is.

Round Records is Ginger’s own label and in fairness to us Wildhearts fans we would be happy with a newly remastered White album but in this day of digital downloads, Ginger and his team have gone out of their way to give us something special and boy do they deliver. This double cd book edition features great inside comments from the band on the making of the white album and also has stunning pictures which make this a must-have.

Right onto the music and kicking us off is the nearly 9 minute opener ‘Rooting For The Bad Guy’ which just blasts out of the speakers with a heavy riff, pounding drums and driving bass with ginger’s great gruff vocals shouting out and leading us into a gorgeous harmonic chorus with great backing vocals from Cj and Scott.

Next up is ‘The Sweetest Song’ which is a tale of a woman who has ruined a relationship and starts off with another ginger shouty vocals then goes into a stunning band sang “Na, na, na” chorus.

‘The New Flesh’ was a single off the album and is yet another earworm with some great call to arms lyrics of troubled times which sadly in the years since this album has been released are still as relevant as ever.

“Slaughtered Authors” starts off with the driving bass of Scott Sorry with the drums of Ritch Battersby joining the party before Ginger and Cj complete the line-up. This gem of a track starts off in a slightly more relaxed mode and then builds up to a great band sung chorus. This track is another over the eight-minute mark but with its great instrumental passages when it finishes leaves you still wanting more.

‘Bi-Polar Baby’ is another in a long line of classic Wildhearts tracks with it’s beautifully arranged pop melody wrapped up in bone-crunching guitars.

Ending this album is the other single off the album the pounding ‘Destroy all monsters’ which is a tale of a man spurned by a woman and brings the original White album to a fantastic end.

Now after this emotional rollercoaster of an album has come to an end if like this reviewer you want more (and you will) slip in disc 2.

Right out of the speakers is the awesome track titled ‘Borderline’ which was available as a download off the band’s website many moons ago and is a song worthy of being included on any Wildhearts album with it’s catchy melody which immediately gets in the listeners head and stays.

Other highlights on this bonus disc are ‘Oh Bonita’ and ‘Unbroken’ which were extras on the Japanese version of the white album and the ‘New Flesh’ single which will just show the quality of this bands music that even songs  that didn’t originally make the album are songs which are pure class in their own right.

With cd versions and vinyl versions available, this caters to every Wildhearts fans needs and is a must buy.

Author: Gareth ‘Hotshot’ Hooper

Buy The White Album on Vinyl Here

What a time to be a Wildhearts fan. The new album ‘Renaissance Men’ recently out then we are treated to a remastered White Album and ‘Live In The Studio’ and to top it all off ‘Chutzpah! Complete with extras’.

It’s hard to believe that Chutzpah! Was released 10 years ago, wow where has the time gone?

Well, what you get here is this newly remastered version including the Chutzpah Jnr! A release which originally was just sold at Wildhearts concerts so the tracklisting on this new version is 18 songs with both albums combined.

The album kicks off with the short blast of punk rock energy that is ¡Chutzpah! Jnr which draws the listener straight in.

Right on its heels is the frantic “The Jackson Whites” with its sledgehammer of a riff that makes you want to jump up and down and as per usual we have that awesome ear candy of a chorus that only Ginger can wright.

Up next is this reviewers personal fav track off the album titled ‘You Are Proof That Not All Women Are Insane’ with it’s “whoa whoa” chanted backing vocal chorus and the great lyric “ok, so her music and movies are bland these days it’s enough to get a 9 out of 10” which is something we can all relate too.

Another highlight is the Scott Sorry sung ‘The Only One’ which slightly slows the pace down but still has the crunching guitars.

‘You Took The Sunshine From New York’ is a song with a gorgeous melody and great storytelling lyrics.

‘Some Days Just Fucking Suck’ which was originally on Chutzpah Jnr! Is a great song with a deep lyrical meaning which brings to the listener’s attention the everyday hardship of people who suffer from mental illness but also has the positive meaning in the chorus that is “don’t try suicide everything will be alright”

‘People Who Died’ is a song originally done by the Jim Carroll band and here The Wildhearts take the song and bring fresh energy to it with their version and yet again we are treated to the raspy lead vocals of Mr, Scott Sorry.

The album finishes with the title track ‘Chutzpah’ which is another slab of relentless riffing with its shouty fast-paced bridge and then slows down for a great chorus and is a perfect end to this great album.

If having Chutzpah! And Chutzpah Jnr! On the same disc isn’t enough, this version also comes with the added disc of demos which is always interesting to hear and also another disc of unseen footage captured from the Scott Sorry years which adds up to tremendous value for money.

Buy Chutzpah Here

Author: Gareth Hotshot Hooper

Ginger swings from rock genius to self-indulgent pledge monster, crafting some of the finest tunes the UK has tasted in the last 25 years or so, but seemingly a social media time bomb primed to explode. Either way, whenever I’ve met him he’s been a totally nice guy so in I guess that’s just the internet for you…

Kicking off with the low key “May The Restless Find Peace”, I can’t quite place the songs it reminds me of but it’s a nice downer of a tune much greater than the sum of its parts.

On to “Why Aye (Oh You)”.  I could be facetious and say this is pound shop Jimmy Nail or I could be constructive and compare it to Del Amitri. You decide.

The album carries on in a similar vein. I guess the slide guitar gives it a country kind of vibe. You could say it’s a companion piece to 2018’s previous outing “Ghost in the Tangle Wood” It certainly sounds like an extension of that acoustic driven folky introspective sound.

Along with the aforementioned “May The Restless Find Peace”, “Better Love” is another standout track. To my ears it has a Crowded House feel, with perhaps a bit like Billy Bragg’s “Don’t Try This At Home” era. A great tune none-the-less.

The title track “The Pessimist’s Companion” has a bit more going on but remains on the “sounding up but feeling down” theme.

Like many of the tunes found here, “Sweet Wanderlust” and “In Reverse” feel like sketches of classic (Wildhearts) tunes, proving without a doubt that below the self-destruction is a great songwriter trying to find his way out of a chaotic mind.

Last up is the dark and desperate “There Is A House”. Another stand out tune and certainly one you’ll want to skip back to once the album ends.

Ultimately, if you’re a paid-up disciple of Ginger’s gang you’re gonna love this album. whatever I or anyone else thinks about it and more power to you.

 

 

Buy Ginger Wildheart Here

Author: Fraser Munro