Author Archives: GRTR! HQ

Album review: ROB COTTINGHAM – Back Behind The Orchard Tree

Posted on April 6, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

[Release date 03.04.19] You have to hand it to Rob Cottingham. He doesn’t like to sit idle, and this re-working of the Touchstone/Cairo founder’s debut solo album has been on his bucket list for some time. Having learnt a shed … Continue reading →

Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to WISHBONE ASH

Posted on April 6, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

WISHBONE ASH - The Tivoli, Buckley, 3 November 2018

GRTR!’s melodic rock maestro Andy Nathan charts the progress of Wishbone Ash, currently celebrating their 50th anniversary Wishbone Ash may have a criminally low profile in the wider world, but there aren’t many bands that can boast both a history … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Call Collect, FEATURES | Tagged albums, Andy Powell, classic rock, feature, introduction, Laurie Wisefield, Martin Turner, Steve Upton, Ted Turner, Wishbone Ash | 1 Comment

Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to COZY POWELL

Posted on April 6, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Joe Geesin recalls Cozy Powell’s long career, the key albums, and a friendship with one of rock’s finest drummers Colin Flooks, better known as Cozy Powell, was a renowned rock drummer who, like many, lived like he played – hard … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Call Collect, FEATURES | Tagged Black Sabbath, classic rock, Cozy Powell, discography, drummer, drums, feature, hard rock, introduction, Rainbow, Whitesnake | Leave a comment

News: Singer songwriter JOSH TAERK plays live for Get Ready to ROCK! (Sunday 5 April, 21:00 BST, GMT+1)

Posted on April 3, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Canadian singer songwriter Josh Taerk plays an exclusive live session via Get Ready to ROCK!’s Facebook page on Sunday 5 April at 21:00 BST (GMT+1) Josh was born in Toronto, Canada. He is an official Recording Academy/Grammy Member and his … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, NEWS, Video | Tagged acoustic, Facebook, gig, Josh Taerk, live, pop, rock, session, singer, songwriter, Sunday 5 April 2020, video | Leave a comment

Feature: Call Collect: An introduction to FOCUS

Posted on April 1, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Focus - Hard Rock Hell Prog, Pwllheli, 21-22 March 2014

In their own words, Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman discuss the early days of Focus and their wider success…and demise in the late 1970s. This feature is based on interviews in 1990 for a ‘Record Collector’ article published in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Call Collect, FEATURES, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rock Stars | Tagged Bert Ruiter, Dutch, feature, Focus, Holland, introduction, Jan Akkerman, Pierre van der Linden, prog, Progressive Rock, Thijs van Leer | Leave a comment

Album review: JOE SATRIANI – Shapeshifting

Posted on April 1, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sony Music [Release date 10.04.20] We’ve always commented on the energy displayed by Satriani not least sustained during a two hour live show. Recent albums have been pretty convincing too. That energy permeates this latest offering and will surely translate … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, hard rock, heavy rock, instrumental, Joe Satriani, metal, review, Shapeshifting | Leave a comment

Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to MAGNUM

Posted on March 31, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

David Randall has followed Magnum since the 1990s when they consolidated their earlier successes. They split in 1995, subsequently re-generating in 2001. Since that time they have gone from strength to strength, maintaining a consistency across several albums and touring … Continue reading →

Posted in Call Collect, FEATURES | Tagged Bob Catley, Dennis Ward, feature, hard rock, interview, Lee Morris, Magnum, Mark Stanway, melodic rock, pomp rock, Rick Benton, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Feature: What NAZARETH mean to me…

Posted on March 30, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Nazareth - STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL Day 1 - Ebbw Vale, South Wales, 25 July 2015

Joe Geesin revisits one of his favourite bands – Nazareth – and discusses the impact they made on his musical interests and signposting their recommended albums. The long enduring Scottish rockers Nazareth have been around since the late 60s (and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, What a Band/Artist means to me... | Tagged albums, Dan McCafferty, hard rock, Nazareth, Pete Agnew, review, Rodney Matthews | Leave a comment

News: Albums of the Month (January 2020 – March 2020)

Posted on March 28, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

In his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on Sunday 29 March David Randall featured a selection of tracks from “Albums of the Month” (January-March 2020) (29:45) BLIND EGO Preaching To The Choir (Gentle Art Of Music) As with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS, NEWS | Leave a comment

News: Get Ready to ROCK! Radio encourages listener participation during self-isolation (March 2020)

Posted on March 23, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is inviting listeners to host their own show during extended periods of self-isolation, as a result of the virus pandemic. The radio station broadcasts a wide mix of classic rock music for 18 hours a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, NEWS | Tagged broadcasting, coronavirus, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, pandemic, playlists, programme, requests, show, virus | Leave a comment

Album review: THE REVEREND SHAWN AMOS & THE BROTHERHOOD – Blue Sky

Posted on March 23, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Put Together [Release date 17.04.20] Americana tinged with a little bit of everything – electronica, reggae, ambience, psychedelia, the blues. And that’s the just gently flowing opener ‘Stranger Than Toda’y. Shawn Amos is a New York songwriter and record producer … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, ambient, Blue Sky, blues, electronica, gospel, psychedelia, reggae, review, The Reverend Shawn Amos & The Brotherhood | Leave a comment

Album review: THE DANBERRYS – Shine

Posted on March 23, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Singular Recordings [Release date 08.05.20] The third album from Americana husband and wife duo The Danberrys (Dorothy Daniel and Ben DeBerry) is something of a ‘game changer’. While their previous two outings – The Danberrys (2013), and Give And Receive … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Leave a comment

Quick plays: GENTLEMEN’S ACADEMY, NELS ANDREWS

Posted on March 17, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

NELS ANDREWS Pigeon And The Crow Probably the most interesting thing about this fourth studio endeavour by Californian singer songwriter Nels Andrews is that it was recorded at Whispering Pines Studio in LA which was originally built for Sam Cooke … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged acoustic, album, folk, Gentlemen's Academy, Joy, Nels Andrews, Pigeon And The Crow, review, rock, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: EILEEN ROSE – Muscle Shoals

Posted on March 17, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Holy Wreckords [Release date 17.04,20] Looking back, I had my last encounter with Eileen Rose with the release of her third solo album, Come The Storm, a record I had down as a strong contender for my 2005 album of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Americana, country, Eileen Rose, Muscle Shoals, Nashville, review, roots | Leave a comment

Album review: MAYA RAE – Can You See Me?

Posted on March 17, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Black Hen Music [Release date 24.04.20] It’s perhaps not the smartest PR move in the book to compare the debut album (of sorts) – by an artist not yet 18 – to timeless classics such as Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, Can You See Me?, Maya Rae, review, rock, roots, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: DAVID CROSS & PETER BANKS – Crossover

Posted on March 8, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Noisy Records [Release date 17.01.20] David Cross will be best known for his time with King Crimson in the 1970s. His more recent solo works and collaborations (with the likes of one-time Van Der Graaf sax player David Jackson and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, ambient, Billy Sherwood, Crossover, David Cross, fusion, Geoff Downes, instrumental, King Crimson, Peter Banks, review, Tony Kaye, Yes | Leave a comment

Album review: GRAHAM GOULDMAN – Modesty Forbids

Posted on March 2, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

David Randall chatted to Graham Gouldman in the first hour of his weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 5 April 2020. Lojinx [Release date 20.03.20] Graham Gouldman is a real trooper. In recent years he has … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged 10CC, album, Graham Gouldman, interview, Modesty Forbids, pop, review, Ringo Starr, rock, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Book review: STEVE ROTHERY – Postcards From The Road

Posted on February 27, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Astral Horizon Press [Publication date 21.05.20] Steve Rothery’s photo book was first published in 2016 when it was sold via a pre-order campaign and then at gigs and the band website. Now it gets a full release. Rothery was a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Fish, Marillion, photography, Postcards From The Road, review, Steve Rothery | Leave a comment

Album review: PHIL SAATCHI – Sun Come Up

Posted on February 25, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Jobbing Brighton musician , singer, and writer Phil Saatchi’s main claim to fame seem to be collaborations with Sam Brown on her 1990 debut Stop!, and with Phil Manzanera on And The Beat Goes On in 1991. Oh, and a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Phil Saatchi, pop, review, rock, Sun Come Up | Leave a comment

Quick plays: JEFFREY FOUCAULT, AMBERLY CHALBERG, DANIEL STEER

Posted on February 24, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

JEFFREY FOUCAULT Blood Brothers Blueblade Records [Release date 27,03.20] No question, Americana is the new rock n roll. And the opening number – ‘Dishes’ – on Jeffrey Foucault’s follow up to his critically acclaimed 2015 album Salt As Wolves – … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged album, Amberly Chalberg, Americana, Blood Brothers, country, Daniel Steer, Hi-Line, Jeffrey Foucault, pop, review, rock, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: STEVE HARLEY – Uncovered

Posted on February 24, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Absolute [Release date 21.02.20] While Cockney Rebel never really made the A grade, The Psychomodo – an album that languished amongst my 1970s LP collection – has always been one that I’ve always felt a strange affinity for, even if … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classic rock, Cockney Rebel, cover versions, Covers, review, singer, songwriter, Steve Harley, Uncovered | Leave a comment

Quick plays: LARS BOUTRUP, AL DI MEOLA

Posted on February 23, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

LARS BOUTRUP’S MUSIC FOR KEYBOARDS The Great Beyond Ex’cess Records (Release date 02.03.20) Danish keyboard wiz Lars Boutrup evokes organ grinders of a bygone age. In doing so he also fashions his own version of classic keyboard-led rock. ‘The Great … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged Across The Universe, Al Di Meola, album, guitar, guitarist, Hammond, instrumental, keyboards, Lars Boutrup, Lars Boutrup's Music For Keyboards, organ, progressive, review, rock, The Beatles, The Great Beyond | Leave a comment

Book review: ON TRACK…Toto/The Solo Beatles/Steely Dan (“Every album, every song”)

Posted on February 19, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Pubishing [Publication date January/February 2020] Liked and loathed in equal measures by the music press in the 1970s and 1980s, ultimately the band may have had the last laugh. As author Jacob Holm-Lupp reiterates, their latest offering – XIV … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged AOR, book, classic rock, Donald Fagen, fusion, George Harrison, Jazz rock, John Lennon, melodic rock, On Track, Paul McCartney, pop, review, Ringo Starr, Steely Dan, The Solo Beatles, Toto, Walter Becker | Leave a comment

Album review: HARRY CHAPIN – Live At The Bottom Line (The Bottom Line Archive)

Posted on February 7, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Store For Music [Release date 28.02.20] Harry Chapin was tragically killed some seven months after a series of gigs at New York’s legendary Bottom Line venue. In that sense, it marks a great songsmith and performer at the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged 3-CD, album, expanded, folk, Harry Chapin, January 1981, Live At The Bottom Line, pop, reissue, review, singer, soft rock, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: GORDON GILTRAP – Woman

Posted on February 6, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Angel Air Records [Release date 28.02.20] The latest couple of Gordon Giltrap albums may appear slightly disingenuous to the hardcore fan and may even dupe the casual observer. Both Peace Will Fall and now Woman have been released without any … Continue reading →