Yearly Archives: 2022

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Melodic Rock – Primer

GRTR!@20 Anniversary - Melodic Rock - Primer

Melodic Rock Editor Andy Nathan witnesses the melodic revival… When GRTR! started in late-2002 traditional melodic rock and AOR was still in something of a prolonged hangover from the years of grunge which swept away the genre, and indeed much … Continue reading

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Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Still Rocking – Primer

GRTR!@20 Anniversary - Still Rocking - Primer

Who remembers MySpace?  By 2010 social media had taken over as the main online marketing tool for bands.  Managing Editor David Randall surveys two decades of rock which brought great opportunity but also riven by world recession and pandemic… By … Continue reading

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Gig review: DEEP PURPLE – O2 Arena, London, 20 October 2022

DEEP PURPLE- O2 Arena, London, 20 0ctober 2022

Deep Purple’s distinguished career is being extended by a late period, dare I say, Purple patch. Albums seem to be coming at a swifter rate and 2020’s ‘Whoosh’ received the band’s best reviews and chart placings in years, being followed … Continue reading

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Album review: IAN HUNTER – Overnight Angels

ian hunter overnight

Rock Candy Records [release date: 07.10.22] Ahhh… the sweet smell of excess. In 1977, Ian Hunter’s third solo effort came off the back of two albums that were critical successes, but commercial failures. Clearly built on strong foundations, Overnight Angels … Continue reading

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Album review: VINNIE MOORE – Double Exposure

VINNIE MOORE - Double Exposure

David Randall chatted to Vinnie Moore about his career with tracks from his solo albums.  First broadcast on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on 4 December 2022. Mind’s Eye Music [Release date 08.11.22] We were mightily impressed with Vinnie Moore’s … Continue reading

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Album review: BANG TANGO – Psycho Cafe (2022 Remaster)

bang tango psycho cafe

Rock Candy Records [release date: 07.10.22] It might be exaggeration to describe Bang Tango’s music as a radically different take on Hair Metal, but it was certainly its own man. The band, Joe Leste on vocals, Kyle Stevens and founder, … Continue reading

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Album review: DANGER DANGER – Screw It (2022 Remaster)

dangerdanger-screwit-500

Rock Candy Records [Release date: 07.10.22] Somebody lost the “best before 1989” label when Danger Danger were recording Screw It (1991), the follow up to their gold album debut. The sexist album cover; the impossible to misinterpret, double entendre song … Continue reading

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Album review: JULIE DRISCOLL – 1969 (remaster)

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Cherry Red [Release date: 28.10.22] From the beginning of her career in the sixties, singer Julie Driscoll had worked with the Brian Auger Trinity. And indeed she fronted that band when she scored two UK Chart hits in 1968, covers … Continue reading

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Album review: FOXTON & HASTINGS – The Butterfly Effect

FOXTON & HASTINGS – The Butterfly Effect

Absolute [Release date 28.10.22] Few bands have continued the legacy of a truly legendary act than From The Jam, their original line-up two thirds of the seminal outfit. Whilst never being just purely a tribute act, The Jam bass player … Continue reading

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Gig review: H.E.A.T. – Electric, Brixton, London, 18 October 2022

H.E.A.T- Electric, Brixton, London, 18 October 2022

Since H.E.A.T’s London show was first announced in early 2020 a lot has happened. The show was postponed twice, the venue switched and Vega dropped off the bill after refusing to play second fiddle to the fast rising Mason Hill. … Continue reading

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Gig review: QUARANTUNE ROCKS 2022, The Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville 21 & 22 October 2022

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A group of rock music fans who supported each other during Lockdown gathered at the Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville on 21-22 October, for Quarantune Rocks 2022, a weekend of live music supporting new rock bands and small music venues. “For … Continue reading

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Album review: CACTUS – Evil Is Going On (The Atco Albums 1970-72, 8 CDs)

Cactus_AtcoAlbums1970-72-min

Cherry Red [Release date 28.10.22] Quite some Cactus boxset. Cherry Red have repackaged all of the Blues Rock legends’  releases into a sturdy 8 CD box. It contains the 4 studio albums recorded 1972-74, and 4 albums’ worth of live … Continue reading

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Album review: RICHARD MARX – Songwriter

RICHARD MARX- Songwriter

Shelter Records (Release date 30.09.22) Only a year after releasing his last album. ‘Limitless’, Richard Marx is back with perhaps his most ambitious work yet. The very title suggests that despite a solo career which made him one of the … Continue reading

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Gig review: MONSTER TRUCK- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 11 October 2022

MONSTER TRUCK- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 11 October 2022

The main stage Saturday lineup at this year’s Download Festival was enlivened by two fine mid afternoon performances, one after the other, from Those Damn Crows, then Monster Truck. A bout of severe hay fever had stopped me fully enjoying … Continue reading

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Quick plays: MOON LETTERS, SILVER NIGHTMARES, MITCHELL’S KISS OF THE GYPSY

MOON LETTERS Thank You From The Future

MOON LETTERS Thank You From The Future  Website Moon Letters hail from Seattle having formed in 2016 and this is their second album. Their line-up consists of guitarist Dave Webb, vocalist and flautist Michael Trew, drummer Kelly Mynes, bassist Mike … Continue reading

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Album review: THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Celebration

THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Celebration

Cleopatra Records [Release date 28.10.22] The question has to be asked.  Do we really need another take on the classic ‘Tubular Bells’?  It has to be one of the most re-worked pieces  not least by Mike Oldfield himself. Well, it … Continue reading

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Album review: 25 YARD SCREAMER – Nemesis

25 YARD SCREAMER - Nemesis

White Knight Records [Release date 07.10.22] Welsh trio 25 Yard Screamer, now it seems a duo, captured our attention in 2007 with their magnum opus ‘Cassandra”.  That year they appeared on our Rising Stars stage at Cambridge Rock.  Since that … Continue reading

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Album review: CLIMB ABOARD MY ROUNDABOUT (British Toytown Sounds, 1967-1974)

Climb-Aboard-front-cover-jpeg-min

Cherry Red [Release date: 28.10.22] The British Toytown Pop Sound of the late sixties was not a genre with staying power, but it was fun while it lasted. The very nature of its aesthetic – vaguely humorous songs describing mythical … Continue reading

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Album review: TURKISH DELIGHT – Volume 1

TURKISH DELIGHT - Volume 1

Escape Music [Release date 21.10.22] Turkish Delight celebrates the joy that Escape Music co-owner Khalil Turk has for the kind of music he loves so much, namely AOR and melodic rock. This selection was personally chosen by Khalil, with material … Continue reading

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Album review: STRYPER – The Final Battle

stryper final

Frontiers [Release date: 21.10.22] Stryper are a talented, durable, outspoken band, and well before their gradual drift from AOR to Hard Rock to Heavy Metal they were strongly influenced by what they observed around them, and accordingly expressed their beliefs … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE SHEEPDOGS – Electric Ballroom, London, 9 October 2022

THE SHEEPDOGS- Electric Ballroom, London, 9 October 2022

There seems no end to a newer generation of bands drawing their inspiration from the classic rock sounds of the late sixties and seventies. One such are The Sheepdogs, from Saskatchewan in rural Canada, though they have actually been around … Continue reading

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Album review: TRAGIK – Cry For Love

Tragik-CryForLove-front

Rock Company Records [Release date 14.10.22] Album number eleven I believe by Tragik who feature Phil Vincent (vocals, bass, keys), Dirk Phillips (drums), and Damian D’Ercole (guitars). Once again Jacob Hansen has mastered the album. ‘Thrill Of It All’ and … Continue reading

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Album review: IRON ALLIES – Blood In Blood Out

iron allies blood

AFM Records [release date: 21.10.02] Iron Allies is a band with an impressive Metal heritage. It’s Herman (Accept/ Victory/ Moondoc) Frank’s new band, and if ever an artist invokes the genre it is he. He’s brought in another well known … Continue reading

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Album Review: C85 (3CD Various Artists)

C85-cover-min-800x800

Cherry Red [release date: 21.10.22] Taking its lead from NME’s ultra successful C86, this 72 track, triple CD release, C85, celebrates the rise and rise of the Indie band in the UK. In 1986, NME scribe Neil Taylor had the … Continue reading

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Gig review: HOWARD JONES TRIO – The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, 16 October 2022

hjones_ac2022

“I just want to reassure you that we are actually here, not holograms.” It’s an usual way to open a show, but, having seen the technological marvel that is ABBA Voyage a few days previously, Howard Jones wants to emphasise … Continue reading

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