Music Reissues Weekly: Keeping Control, Where Were You - Leeds and Manchester navigate the aftershocks of punk

KEEPING CONTROL, WHERE WERE YOU Leeds & Manchester navigate the aftershocks of punk

Box-set chronicles of independent-minded regional music scenes

“Keeping Control” were the watchwords adopted by The Manchester Musicians’ Collective, an organisation founded in April 1977 to bring local musicians together and give them platforms. On 23 May 1977, it put on its first show – also the first live show by The Fall. Instantly integral to Manchester and its music, the Collective went on to put out two compilation albums, 1979’s A Manchester Collection and 1980’s Unzipping The Abstract.

Manchester International Festival exhibitions review - a new arts centre puts Manchester firmly on the cultural map

★★★ MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL A host of giant inflatables, and much more

A host of giant inflatables, tricky balancing acts and a licence to print old master engravings - what's not to like?

At 94, Yayoi Kusama is said to be the world’s most popular living artist. People queue for hours to spend a few minutes inside one of her Infinity Rooms, spaces with walls mirrored to create infinite reflections.

Album: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies

Noel's latest is portentous but never convinces

Council Skies was created in Noel Gallagher’s new studio, partly during lockdown, an attempt to reconnect with where he came from, Manchester, as per its cover art. It’s not an exercise in nostalgia (except insofar as everything either Gallagher sibling has ever done is), but more about mining his origins for inspiration, authenticity and emotional meaning. There’s an audible earnestness, then, a ferventness, but, unfortunately, the ratio of catchy anthems is low.

Album: BC Camplight - The Last Rotation of Earth

★★★★ BC CAMPLIGHT - THE LAST ROTATION OF EARTH Dark, often uncomfortably funny

Dark, often uncomfortably funny, dispatches from Brian Christinzio’s consciousness

On Brian Christinzio’s sixth album as BC Camplight, he wants listeners to know about his recent experiences and their effect on him. Herewith, a mostly unembroidered account of how he sees things. When allusiveness arrives, the metaphors are easy to interpret. The last three tracks are titled “Going Out on a Low Note”, “I'm Ugly” and “The Mourning”.

Lapwood, Hallé, Niemeyer, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - light and fiery Poulenc concerto

★★★★ LAPWOOD, HALLE, NIEMEYER, BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER Light and fiery Poulenc concerto

A varied evening with a star organist – and a world premiere

“Let the organ thunder!” is the sentiment a lot of us will associate with an orchestral concert featuring the king of instruments. The Hallé’s programme with Anna Lapwood as soloist (repeating, from her BBC Proms debut with them in 2021, the Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony) seemed designed to evoke that thought.

But the organ in the Bridgewater Hall isn’t exactly made for thundering. Big Bertha it is not. What it is really good at is a light, clear and sometimes fiery sound – ideal for Poulenc’s 1939 Organ Concerto, which was the undoubted highlight of the evening.

Ohlsson, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - a Rachmaninov special

★★★★★ OHLSSON, BBC PHILHARMONIC, STORGARDS A Rachmaninov special

A consummate pianist in complete control of a concerto Everest

Maybe he thought it was a relaxing way to celebrate his recent 75th birthday – maybe he just fancied a trip to Manchester to play with the BBC Philharmonic – either way there was something very special to hear in Garrick Ohlsson’s Rachmaninov Third Piano Concerto on Saturday.