New Musical Express, January 14, 1984

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NME

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Jungle bungle


Roy Carr

Steve Nieve
Keyboard Jungle

Between the wars, one of Hollywood's favourite failsafe heart-tuggers concerned the aspiring clean-cut composer who, when not agonising over his "tenement symphony," willingly supported 17 younger brothers and sisters by pounding hot rhythms on a saloon piano by night and working on the docks by day. He never seemed to get tired, angry or dirty!

Inevitably, after overcoming an illness which paralysed both hands, a trumped-up murder rap, and the advances of a society strumpet, and winning the world heavyweight boxing championship (his blind girlfriend needed the money for her operation), our hero gets to play Carnegie Hall whilst his bad-seed brother does an about-face and becomes a priest.

This assortment of 14 self-composed solo piano studies is often evocative of the kind of rhapsodic romanticism that the would-be Gershwin tinkled in between the brash Busby Berkeley Broadway production sequences.

The attraction of this Attraction's neo-classical solo debut seems to be for those young students who aspire to side one of Jarrett's Koln Concert whilst still failing to master "Kitten On The Keys."


Tags: Steve NieveKeyboard JungleThe Attractions

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New Musical Express, January 14, 1984


Roy Carr reviews Steve Nieve's Keyboard Jungle.

Images

1984-01-14 New Musical Express page 26.jpg
Page scan.

Cover.
1984-01-14 New Musical Express cover.jpg

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