Cherry Red [Release date : 28.08.26]

Lucky for some. This neatly packaged 2 CD set follows hard on the heels of the band’s all new recording, Circle The Sun, released (and reviewed here) in October last year.

This “new” set captures all the remaining (and there are a lot) BBC sessions and concert recordings down through the years. It includes several chunks of previously unreleased stuff from John Peel Sessions, so it’s worthy of your attention.

The tracks cover the years 1970 – 1981, years when the band’s line up walked a tortuous path – a total of 16 musicians spun through the revolving door that was Atomic Rooster during this period.

And yet, led by ever present, Vincent Crane (ex of The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown), it was a fairly tight nucleus of musicians who contributed to the band’s recordings.
Primarily, Crane, Nick Graham (founder member with Crane, left soon after debut was released; writer of Cheap Trick’s no.1 single, ‘The Flame’), John (Du) Cann, Carl Palmer (who left to join up with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake), Chris Farlowe (who left to enjoy a solo career), Rick Parnell, Steve Bolton (who left to forge a career as a back up/ studio artist) and John Goodsall.

It was a “star studded” line up no matter how fast the door revolved.

The seventies were popularly described as a time of political and industrial uncertainty in the UK, and the USA. Culturally and musically too.

The rage and aggression that fuels the song ‘Friday The 13th’, the song that gives this collection its title, was the beginning. The band’s first release and a huge hit.

The live version kicks off CD1… a Mike Harding live session in 1970.
That opener shapes both CDs’ thematic content.
‘Seven Lonely Streets’, ‘Death Walks Behind You’, ‘In The Shadows’ and ‘Devil’s Answer’ lead us through Johnny Walker and Friday Rock Show sessions, all describing the bleakest of landscapes, internally and externally, and given the evocative music and atmospheric delivery to match.

Live, the songs reproduce the tones of fear and paranoia that often cannot be captured in the studio versions.

That’s further emphasised by the material on CD2, from the John Peel Sessions. None of them have been previously released, so they are quite the discovery.

The constantly shifting currents and moods in the band’s driving, elemental music are again captured on the live versions of ‘All In Satan’s Name’ and ‘People You Can’t Trust’ from the BBC1 In Concert Sessions from 1972.

It’s obvious through all these sessions that Crane was in his element. As quoted by the late Malcolm Dome : “From Progressive Rock, to Blues, to Soul and Psychedelia, the music of Atomic Rooster and the compositions of troubled visionary, Vincent Crane stand alongside the best music of the era”.

Sad to say, Crane’s mental troubles proved impossible for him to live with. He committed suicide in 1989, aged 45. *****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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Power Plays w/c 3 August 2026

STORMBRINGER Dirt And Bone (Attic Records)
SARI SCHORR Mr. In The Middle (Provogue Records)
JAMES KENNEDY & THE UNDERDOGS Shadows (Konic Records)
KATH & THE KICKS Sleep (indie)
VELVETEEN QUEEN Too Far Gone (Silver Lining Music)
SESAME GIRL Prettiest Girl In The World (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 3 August 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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