Steve Rudd page 4.

Steve Rudd has been writing for thisisUll.com for some time and has proved himself to be one of our most talented writers. Steve's contributions are listed below.. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10.

Album Reviews, Music Videos - Torso Horse - Every Dog Has Its Day Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Calling all Torso Horse fans! Your favourite Goth-Metal maestros have recently reworked their classic Every Dog Has Its Day anthem, and shot a brand new promo video to boot, which - in a word - is stunning. The original version of this track was fantastic as it stood, but Adam and band have felt compelled to rework it a little, and have even added a short-but-sweet keyboard Read more...

Album Reviews - Faith No More - The Platinum Collection (Warner) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	A never-to-be-forgotten rock band for so many reasons, Faith No More hailed from California, and for fifteen years they produced some amazing rock music, a fact that is proven by this awesome collection of some of their best material. With fifteen of their own classic tunes being included, along with a live version of their old classic We Care A Lot, and their infamous cover Read more...

Single Reviews - The Waking Eyes - But I Already Have It (Coalition) Release date: March 20th 2006. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Probably the finest rock 'n' roll band to have busted out of Winnipeg, Canada, in recent years, the four guys that comprise The Waking Eyes clearly sound to have been born for this type of life in the limelight. This is the quartet's eagerly-awaited second single, and the follow-up to their awesome Watch Your Money debut. But I Already Have It comes packed Read more...

Album Reviews - Rising Sun - Dirty Daisy EP Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	An indie-gilded rock 'n' roll quartet with a difference, Rising Sun here present eight extraordinary tracks that prove to be sound testament to the band members' collective talents. The title track in Dirty Daisy is up first and is bolstered by guitarist Dan's heavyweight and swaggering riff. Nathan's raw, soul-inflamed vocals work a treat, while the music is both Read more...

Album Reviews - The Soledad Brothers - The Hardest Walk (Polydor) Release Date: March 6th 2006. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Potentially the perfect support band for any future Rolling Stones tour, these three lads that make up The Soledad Brothers are such a talented trio that they seem to be leaving most Blues-based rock 'n' roll bands in their wake right now, especially on the back of this astonishing twelve-track album that runs for almost an hour. Opening cut Truth Or Consequences is a riff-raring Read more...

Single Reviews - Yellowcard - Lights and Sounds (Parlophone) Release date: March 6th 2006. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	They're back! And they're sounding better than ever! These punk-loving Emo-rockers return with a new single and a new album (both entitled Lights And Sounds), ready and willing to follow-up the astounding success that was the band's globally popular Ocean Avenue album that has sold well in excess of two million copies worldwide. The lads have been Read more...

Single Reviews - The Marshals - Make Her Cry (Vertigo) Release date: March 6th 2006. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	What's in the stars is never meant to be, so croons Marshals band-leader Michael John. That might be the case, just like this song might literally Make Her Cry - whoever she might be, for this is an extraordinarily moving tune that is proving to be a wise choice for the band's debut single release, given the widespread acclaim that it's receiving. The Marshals is an Irish trio, Read more...

People - An Interview With Peter May By Steve Rudd
	I'd like to introduce you to Peter May, a writer of thriller novels that are genuinely exhilarating affairs from start to finish. Peter is famous for writing his series of China Thrillers - a series that includes his Firemaker novel, along with the racy Snakehead story that is set in Texas. Peter always carries out intensive research into the places in which he sets his stories; he also Read more...

People - An Interview With Peter Gadol By Steve Rudd
	Peter Gadol is the exciting author of a number of uniquely exhilarating novels including the deliciously dark, drama-driven thriller The Long Rain. His latest novel is Light at Dusk, and here he spares some time to chat to Steve Rudd exclusively about his life and times, and trials and tribulations as a highly respected and hugely talented writer of the type of stories that Read more...

Album Reviews - B-Movie - The Platinum Collection (Warner) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Cast your hazy minds back to the glory days of the Eighties, and the Synth-Pop Brit bands that were scaling the charts, and does the band name B-Movie ring any bells? It might do for a few people, but this band isn't as much of a household name as it deserves to be, given the quality of the music. This 15-track retrospective is comprised of ten of the band's best tunes Read more...

People - An Interview With Meg Gardiner By Steve Rudd
	Meg Gardiner is an incredible Thriller writer, brought up in the US but currently residing in the UK. Her debut novel called China Lake provided the perfect showcase for her amazing talents, and since its publication there has been no stopping her when it comes to writing novels, with Mission Canyon, Jericho Point and Crosscut being other well-known books of hers that been Read more...

Album Reviews - Dialog - Feel EP (Deuce Management) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	This band is interesting from the off, with all four of its members hailing from a different European country. Frontman Plamen is from Spain, and is clearly a terrifically talented singer, while lead guitarist Adam Petty is English through and through. Dialog ply a rare brand of rock music. The strong and catchy riffs do hark back to that Classic Rock era of the Read more...

Album Reviews - The LVRs - Death Has Become Her (Undergroove) Release date: March 13th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	This dazzling spoken-word album is a side project for two of the members of LA rockers My Ruin, with the singer in Tairrie B doing the talking and musician Mick Murphy providing the background noise, mainly in the form of atmospheric soundscapes that are genuinely dark and deadly. Listeners of a nervous disposition might want to give this a miss, especially should you Read more...

Places to Visit - Skiing In Bulgaria - Part Two By Steve Rudd
	Giant Christmas trees loomed as far as the eye could see below, as I marvelled at the extraordinary engineering it must take to make a gondola a reality. After the thirty-minute ride to the top we were immediately greeted by a stunning panorama of the surrounding countryside which was beautiful beyond words. So pristine and so serene. Well, serene if you can discount the Read more...

Places to Visit - Skiing In Bulgaria - Part One By Steve Rudd
	I could have thought of worst places to be, seeing in the New Year, as the last second of 2005 ticked over into 2006. Happy New Year indeed. For the best part of the past ten years myself and my friends have contented ourselves with heading into the town centre of Driffield every December 31st for one of the few nights of the year when it genuinely hustles and bustles. To drink Read more...

Album Reviews - Yeah, It's Supposed To Sound Like That Vol 2 (17 Track Compilation Album - Colchester Recordings) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	The second compilation release on the label that's run by the singing and songwriting force behind the ace band The Party, James Sherry has once again collated seventeen hugely exciting and varied tracks from some of the best underground and unsigned bands/ artists not only from around the UK, but from around the world. Having said that, most of the tracks Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Loop by Nicholas Evans Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	This is the second breathtaking novel from Nicholas, the first having being the international best-selling weepy, The Horse Whisperer which shot the English-based writer to fame. The Loop has nothing to do with horses whatsoever, and instead focuses on the trials of a wild pack of wolves that is terrorising a farming community in Montana. A 29-year old wolf expert called Helen is Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Thirteen By Steve Rudd
	I remembered the ring simply because it wasn't the type of ring that a man would usually choose to include in his pro-macho jewellery box. The rare stone at its heart shone like a bewildering beacon demanding attention in the pits of hell, while its subtly alluring design was elaborately detailed yet delicate. To all intents and purposes it looked like a lady's bridal ring, and thus the plot thickened. Read more...

Album Reviews - Babar Luck - Care In The Community (Rebel Music) Release Date: March 13th 2006 By Steve Rudd
	Rewind a few years back into the early 90's, and a hugely original band called King Prawn was taking the underground music scene by the storm, especially on the back of superb albums such as Surrender To The Blender. Fast-forward back to the present day - 2006 - and the former King Prawn (RIP) bassist/ backing vocalist in the Read more...

Album Reviews - Keeping It Peel (Thisisull Compilation Album) By Steve Rudd
	A fitting tribute to the legend that was DJ John Peel, this 12-track CD commemorates Peel Day from October 13th 2005. The good people behind the high-profile website www.thisisull.com put on a concert in memory of the man, and the bands that feature on this CD appeared at such a gig. In total there are six bands on this release, each with two Read more...

Music Reviews - Bob Geldof at Hull City Hall - Thursday 1st December 05 By Steve Rudd
	December 1st 2005, in my mind, has gone down in history as an unforgettable day. It was the day I met my biggest hero. And whoever said that to meet your hero is usually a disappointing affair was wrong in this instance, and since meeting Bob Geldof (twice in one night!), I'm filled with even more respect for the man ... the god. I never ever thought I'd get the chance to meet Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Thirteen By Steve Rudd
	I remembered the ring simply because it wasn't the type of ring that a man would usually choose to include in his pro-macho jewellery box. The rare stone at its heart shone like a bewildering beacon demanding attention in the pits of hell, while its subtly alluring design was elaborately detailed yet delicate. To all intents and purposes it looked like a lady's bridal ring, and thus the plot thickened. Read more...

Album Reviews - Kelley Stoltz, Below The Branches (Subpop) Release date: February 6th 2006. By Steve Rudd
	This man is amazing; a true star-in-the-making. Kelley is San Francisco-based, and a home recording artist to boot, following-up his 2001 album Antique Glow with this astounding 13-track album that stuns the senses with its down-to-earth and humbling sensitivity that streaks through every song right from the curtain-raising Wave Goodbye: a tune that's both Read more...

Reviews, Books - Notes From a Small Island By Bill Bryson Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Good old Bill is a natural comedian and never holds back when it comes to being honest. He's one of the world's best-loved and most famous travel writers, and this volume of 'notes' is exclusively concerned with a number of weeks that Bill spent investing in the art of travelling around Britain back in the mid 90's. His travel writing talents first came to prominence when he released Read more...

Reviews, Books - Flashback By Jenny Siler Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	The past is a puzzle for everyone, a tattered collection of memory and desire. Even those people we most long to understand remain no more than a sum of those static moments we've chosen to hold them in. This is a must-read novel for any discerning fan of high-octane, Steve Hamilton-esque thrillers, as the drama-drenched action flits the length and breadth of the Read more...

Reviews, Books - Book Recommendations by Steve Rudd
	Here are some short and sweet book recommendations in place of the usual fully-fledged reviews, quite simply because I haven't had time to write up these reviews in more detail. The fact is that there are too many great books, and far too little time to read them - let alone write about them in gushing retrospect. Anyway, here's some mention of some of the books I've recently been Read more...

Reviews, Books - Complicity by Nick Quantrill Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	The rain refused to ease as Coleman made his way through Queens Gardens and on towards King Edward Street. He pulled his collar up and hurried his pace... This is a staggeringly enthralling showcase for Hull-based writer Nick Quantrill's unmistakable talent for writing fiction - and crime fiction, to be more precise. He has written a fair few short stories that revolve around crime Read more...

Album Reviews, - Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World (Parlophone) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Thank God for the songwriting talents of Richard Ashcroft. He is now some six years into his solo career since the nation's favourite band from Wigan - The Verve, that is - split. Luckily, the material that Richard has released as a solo artist has consistently been just as enticing, and this latest 10-track album of his will have surely to goodness attracted plenty more Read more...

Single Reviews - The Fallout Trust - Washout (At Large) Release date: Feb 13th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	At just over three minutes long, the latest single from the London sextet in Washout perfectly showcases just how talented this band is. Given that there are six members, the music naturally has immense depth, and fortunately no elements are drowned out in the mix. The guitars ring especially proudly, as band frontman Joe Winter sings out his pretty little heart. Come the sublime Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Twelve By Steve Rudd
	Dinner-time came and went, and on us four hardy men trekked. I hadn't been feeling too well for the past couple of days, so I hadn't been eating all that much. The reason I was probably feeling so down and out was no doubt due to the lack of food that I'd consumed, so it was bit of a Catch-22 situation all round. Read more...

Single Reviews - Cherubs - Paper Cut Moon (Cargo) Release Date: Feb 6th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	You might already have caught this extraordinary outfit during one of their 2005 festival appearances... perhaps at the Carling Weekend or T in the Park for starters. The widespread consensus seems to be that to hear them is to love them, and there's no wonder if this attention-demanding single is anything to go by. Paper Cut Moon pits beautifully rousing guitar Read more...

Single Reviews - Fallout Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down (Mercury) Release Date: Feb 7th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	A chart-friendly anthem for the masses, the wall-of-sound vibrancy that blasts out of this beauty of a single release is the ultimate wake-up call for anybody who even remotely finds their ears attracted to high-calibre Pop-Punk music. Sugar, We're Going Down is melody and harmony-saturated to the hilt, thus ensuring that it's ludicrously catchy in the extreme, as the energy Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Eleven By Steve Rudd
	As the cunning midday sun burned my retinas to a blinding crisp, I slyly slipped on my designer sunglasses, hoping that my three so-called companions might not notice. I looked out of place amidst such blatant wonders of the world, with the horizon-hogging mountains looking down on my little life like the hard-hitting rock above pitied me in some inhuman way. I understood perfectly, for I Read more...

Single Reviews - Jeffron - Dance Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Having started playing the piano at five years old, Jeffron was something of a child prodigy when it came to music, and he is a self-taught guitarist, keyboardist and vocal arranger. After he left school he started to indulge in the twin arts of song production and song arrangement, and he's worked with the high-profile likes of the Sugarbabes, Liberty X and Errol Brown. Now, though, he's trying to make a Read more...

Single Reviews - Boy Kill Boy - Back Again (Vertigo) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	When a DJ like Zane Lowe pronounces that a particular song is the 'hottest track in the world today,' the nation tends to sit up and listen. Well, that's what he had to say about Back Again, and he does have a point - for this tune is an overwhelming example of how melodic rock bands should write chart-hungry anthems. Chris Peck leads the band as they mean to go on, as he strikes a mesmerising barrage of Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Ten By Steve Rudd
	As the sun rose, so did my spirits. The men before me were all aged and seemingly wise. You could just tell that all three of them had been born in this valley, and had all lived and worked there ever since. If any, or all, of them genuinely believed in a heaven, then it wouldn't be an, other-worldly place delighted by harp-twanging angels. Read more...

Reviews, Books - East Of The Mountains By David Guterson Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Alright, so you might not have heard of the author before, but you might actually be already familiar with some of his 'work,' as his debut novel was called Snow Falling On Cedars... a staggering bestseller that came to be made into a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Such a debut made it apparent that Guterson is one hell of a story teller who goes to great Read more...

Reviews, Books - Scott Phillips - The Walkaway Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	It is imperative that you keep your wits about when reading this novel more than with almost any other mighty slab of fiction ever published. If you've never read Phillips' awesome debut novel The Ice Harvest, then there's actually little point whatsoever you even making a beeline for The Walkaway, for this mesmerisingly cool epic crime-drama is the incredible Read more...

Music Reviews - Tuesday 5th July 05 - REM at Hull KC Stadium By Steve Rudd photos by Matt Rudd & SMC
	The quality of weather couldn't really have been any worse for what is essentially deemed as being the height of summer, but the relentless rain failed to dumb down most people's spirits. Unfortunately, myself and (some of) my family arrived late at the venue. One of my brothers, Martyn (who has long been the biggest REM fan in the family, and who is almost Read more...