No se andaba por las ramas, said her friends; she didn't beat about the bush.
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Hard Hats is the second studio album by Phil Beer, released in 1994, some 15–16 years after his previous solo album, Mandoline, though between those years he had worked on other albums with Paul Downes amongst other artists. Being released around the same time as Beat about the Bush by Show of Hands, this album has a rocky edge to it, and was released on CD and cassette. Allmusic rated the album (mistakenably titled as Hard Cats) 2/5 stars but did not give a review.
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He was criticised by some for being unduly negative about current players and for glorifying cricket "in my day". He once remarked, amusingly without any sense of irony: "We didn't have metaphors in my day. We didn't beat about the bush".Tibballs, G. (2007), The Bowler's Holding, the Batsman's Willey, Haydock, Ebury Press, Trueman was nevertheless respected for his unsurpassed knowledge of the mechanics of fast bowling, and many feel he should have been used as a bowling coach for England's under-achieving teams of the 1980s and 1990s, a point once emphasised by his fellow-summariser Trevor Bailey on Test Match Special.
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The album was produced by Simon Emmerson and Massey of Afro Celt Sound System and featured a crossover African and electronica-influenced sound with the band's typical English folk style. The album marked the first time since Beat about the Bush (1994) that the duo had undertaken experiments with a rhythm section. Many fans and critics welcomed it and it became the band's best-selling album, although a minority of fans did not welcome the album's new direction. After the duo had promoted the album between throughout 2006, the album would have more sporadic promotion in 2007, including the "Tour of Topsham" pubs in March 2007.
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This was followed in June with their first full live album, Once Upon a Time in West Twelve, recorded at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 18 November 2005, and was followed on 29 October 2007, by a live DVD of the same concert under the title Beat about the Bush. 2007 also saw the release of a compilation album of early demo recordings, entitled The Early Garage Years. They also released a DVD under the title Blue Movies, which includes all of their 15 music videos. In January 2008, the band began a mini-tour of Scotland, playing five cities (Stirling, Dunfermline, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh) in as many nights.
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Including filmmakers, producers, former Ministers of Culture and their drivers. Some pretend to be sincere, but beat about the bush, others pour ashes on their head. Only one thing is obvious - their versions differ. Truck drivers, who were carting the stolen equipment away from Koliba, make hints but are afraid to say more. Yes, she has truth at heart, this is true, but the film is to be decent and shall harm no one (...)” Krekovič is not happy with the result, perhaps. At least he says, “If somebody has awaited an investigative report, he will be disappointed.” But then he poses a remarkable question: Is the way Piussi proceeds the result of her “helplessness” or does it indicate a “method?” He quotes Piussi: “"I'm not the type disposed to 'poke', in such cases," she confessed to the magazine Film.sk.” Krekovič continues, “Whether this is helplessness or method, is difficult to discern.
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Following the album's release, Phil Beer left The Albion Band, allowing Show of Hands to become a full-time musical partnership.Roots liner notes They subsequently recorded one final cassette-only album, 1991's Out for the Count, but before they released their first studio CD, release, 1994's Beat about the Bush, they would form the Anglo-Chilean band Alianza for one album in 1992, and record a Show of Hands live performance in 1992 for released in 1994 as Show of Hands Live. Along with Show of Hands and Out for the Count, Tall Ships never returned to print after its original run in 1990. To keep the availability of music from the cassettes that the band likes most, on their newly established own label Hands on Music, they released a compilation album in 1995 of the name Backlog 1987–1991, which features highlights of the three cassette albums, including three of the six tracks from Tall Ships.
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The album is a double album, with each disc containing nine songs. The songs re-recorded were originally composed and recorded between 1992–2003, with Worldmusic.co.uk saying the album "features fresh versions of songs that rarely reach the current concert set lists." The first track, "Cold Frontier", was originally the title track for their 2001 album of the same name. "The Bristol Slaver" had featured on Dark Fields (1997) alongside the third track, "High Germany". Re-recorded material from the band's first CD album, Beat about the Bush (1994), was placed on the first disc consecutively with "Captains", "The Oak" and "Armadas" appearing as the fourth to sixth tracks. The second disc features a re-recording of the duo's first single, "Crazy Boy", released from Dark Fields (1997). The disc also features three live songs from the "house concert", namely "Cut-throats, Crooks and Con-men", "Man of War" and "Unlock Me".
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