News: Get Ready to ROCK! reviewers name their Best of 2003-2023 – Top Albums and Live Acts

April 5th, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

As part of the rock website Get Ready to ROCK! 20th Anniversary year, the review team has named their favourite albums and live acts.

An extensive feature is published on 5 April which reflects the interests and insight of the review team over two decades.

Melodic Rock Editor Andy Nathan has coordinated the listing.

Andy says “As the website covers such a wide range of music, and each contributor naturally gravitates towards their preferred genre, there was never going to be a wide consensus.”

Five albums were named twice, three from veteran classic bands and two from a newer generation. Step forward: Rush, whose final album of their distinguished career, 2012′s ‘Clockwork Angels’, was nominated by Dave Atkinson and Brian McGowan.

Marillion with their most recent effort ‘An Hour Before Its Dark’ (the choice of Dave Atkinson and David Randall) and Journey, whose career-reviving 2008 album ‘Revelation’ got the nod from melodic fans Jason Ritchie and Andy Nathan. Rush and Marillion win the countback as another album also received a nomination.

The album that arguably kick started the classic rock revival in the year of GRTR!’s launch, – ‘Permission To Land’ by The Darkness – won the votes of Jason and Karen Clayton. And finally, to prove GRTR’s reach beyond the big names, Chasing The Monsoon‘s 2019 debut ‘No Ordinary World’ won the votes of David Randall and Pete Whalley for its ambient, world music-influenced prog.

Five other acts received more than one nomination, but the critics differed on which album to pick. So honourable mentions to another great mix from metal to singer-songwriter, old to newer in Thunder, Metallica, Volbeat, Tina Dico and Cats in Space, the latter edging it with three different albums selected.

In terms of Live Acts this was a category where perhaps inevitably the older acts with a legacy catalogue dominated. Two guitarists share the honours with three nominations – evergreen former Genesis mainstay Steve Hackett, and the man who spearheaded a blues rock revival, Joe Bonamassa.

The latter probably edges it if only because our contributors (Pete Feenstra, Alan Jones and Dave Atkinson) were able to identify three specific shows, 13 years apart.

Prog acts were heavily rated again with Camel and Marillion among those to receive two votes, as were AOR giants REO Speedwagon on their rare UK visits and Michael Schenker who has successfully revived a career that was in the doldrums when GRTR! was in its infancy.

Selections from the listing will be played on Sunday 9 April in ‘Assume The Position’ on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio (22:00 GMT)

Feature

EDITOR NOTE

The GRTR!@20 promotion celebrates 20 years of the popular rock website Get Ready to ROCK! The website’s archive of reviews and interviews will be highlighted as well as new features celebrating 20 years of activity.

GRTR!@20 Home Page

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)