Reviewed by Tony Cummings

It’s not every day you get a CD which recounts the fictitious biography of prog rockers The Purple Tripe Collective or blues legends Smiling Jack Ramsden & The Irwell Delta Boys. Or a talking squid who dreams of a brighter tomorrow. Or a commercial for Dr Crankshaft’s Original Prune Juice. Or a sculptor who works with custard and plaster of paris. Such is the CD debut of British Christendom’s first stand up comedian. Occasionally the proceedings raise a belly laugh, though as Marc Catley conclusively proved years ago, playing intentionally badly (as here on “Blues In Eee”) is often more painful than hilarious. But Rich has a nice feel for the surreal – try the truly silly “Focus On The Arts”. After all the mayhem there are two musical tracks, tacked rather incongruously on the end. They show Rich is a pretty good heavy rock man of the old school.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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