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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
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Album review: ROBERT REED – Sanctuary IV
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Album review: LAURENCE JONES – On My Own
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Album review : FREDDIE AND THE DREAMERS – You Were Made For Me, The Complete Recordings, 1963-70
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Album review: PHIL THORNALLEY – Stacked
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Album review: AMY HOPWOOD – Gone to Flowers
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Album review: SEAN TAYLOR – First Light
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Author Archives: andynathan
Gig review: STONE FREE FESTIVAL Day 2 – O2 Arena, London, 19 June 2016
While the first day of the debut Stone Free festival had an eclectic mix of bands, the second was far more coherent with the theme of progressive rock both in the main arena and the Indigo. Combined with an older … Continue reading
Gig review: STONE FREE FESTIVAL Day 1 – 02 Arena, London, 18 June 2016
Once upon a time, gigs took place indoors, or in football stadiums for the very largest acts, and festivals in a muddy field. While rock festival demographics have gradually got older, the havoc wreaked by the vagaries of the English … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Alice Cooper, Apocalyptica, Blackberry Smoke, blues rock, festival, gig, glam, Jackaman, Jared James Nichols, Michael Monroe, review, rock, southern rock, Stone Free, The Darkness, THERAPY?
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Gig review: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND – Wembley Stadium, 5 June 2016
If ’Born To Run’ established his legend, it was the broad sweep of his ambitious double album ‘The River’ way back in 1980 that propelled Bruce Springsteen into the mainstream, at least here in the UK where as a teenager … Continue reading
Gig review: BERNIE MARSDEN – The Horn, St Albans, 8 June 2016
The back room of a Hertfordshire pub, which is also one of the South-East’s longest running music venues, was the unlikely setting for a one off date with guitarist Bernie Marsden, shaking off his jetlag from a trip to the … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 8 June 2016, Bernie Marsden, blues, blues rock, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, review, St Albans, The Horn, Whitesnake
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Album review: SUNSTORM- Edge Of Tomorrow
Frontiers [Release date 03.06.10] Sunstorm have never been a band as such, but the name given to a Frontiers Records studio project which is now four albums strong over a decade, the one common link being Joe Lynn Turner’s evergreen … Continue reading
Album review: TED POLEY- Beyond The Fade
Frontiers [Release date 13.05.16] A matter of weeks after some erstwhile bandmates produced one of the albums of the year with the Defiants, Danger Danger singer Ted Poley responds with his own latest solo album. A solo album is usually … Continue reading
Gig review: LEAFHOUND – The Eel Pie Club, Twickenham, 19 May 2016
One of the great cult bands, Leafhound are still very much a going concern, but tour frustratingly infrequently. This show was on singer Pete French’s stamping ground, though the younger generation who have picked up on Leafhound as an influence … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 19 May 2016, blues rock, Eel Pie Club, gig, hard rock, Jim Rowland, Leafhound, Luke Rayner, Pete French, Peter Herbert, review, Twickenham
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Album review: VEGA – Who We Are
Frontiers [Release Date 13.05.16] Standard bearers for a new breed of melodic rock that marries the big hooks of the genre’s heyday with more contemporary arrangements and production, Vega have stood the test of time, this being their fourth album … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, The Best Of 2016
Tagged album, Harry Hess, James Martin, melodic rock, Nick Workman, review, Tom Martin, Vega, Who We Are
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Album review: SUNSTRIKE- Ready To Strike
AOR Heaven [Release Date 20.05.16] It seems to be par for the course for Scandinavian musicians from a heavier background to create new side projects to indulge their love of more commercial melodic rock. Following in the footsteps of the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Astral Doors, hard rock, melodic rock, Ready To Strike, review, Sunstrike
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Album review: PJ FARLEY – Boutique Sound Frames
Melodic Rock Records [Release Date 20.05.16] Hot on the heels of Trixter’s acclaimed ‘Human Era’ album which was one of 2015’s unexpected treats, bassist PJ Farley has released his debut album, although judging from an album cover in which his … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, alternative rock, melodic rock, PJ Farley, review, Steve Brown, Trixter
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Gig review: BRYAN ADAMS – Bournemouth International Centre, 29 April 2016
After a few years either commemorating landmark albums or playing acoustic shows, Bryan Adams was back on a more conventional tour of his adopted home country in support of last year’s ‘Get Up’ album, which was a return to form … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 29 April 2016, AOR, Bournemouth International Centre, Bryan Adams, Gary Breit, gig, Keith Scott, melodic rock, Micky Curry, review, rock
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Gig review: JEFF LYNNE’S ELO – 02 Arena, London, 20 April 2016
For most of the past 30 years the notion that the Electric Light Orchestra would be selling out a 14 date UK arena tour would have seemed preposterous. Always derided by critics and seen as uncool, since their creative juices … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, gig, Jeff Lynne, Mike Stevens, pop rock, review, Richard Tandy, soft rock
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Album review: TREAT- Ghost Of Graceland
Frontiers Records [Release date 15.04.16] One of the pioneers, alongside the more famous Europe, of the definitive Scandinavian sound, Treat’s 2010 return ‘Coup de Grace’ features prominently in many lists of the best melodic rock albums of the last decade. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Ghost of Graceland, melodic rock, review, Robert Ernlund, Scandinavia, Sweden, Treat
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Album review: THE DEFIANTS – The Defiants
Frontiers Records [Release Date 15.04.16] The Paul Laine era of Danger Danger, where the Canadian singer kept the flag flying during the wilderness years before the charismatic Ted Poley returned, is often unfairly neglected, not least in the band’s own … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Bruno Ravel, Danger Danger, Defiants, Frontiers Records, melodic rock, Paul Laine, review, Rob Marcello
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Gig review: TOSELAND, Borderline, London – 22 March 2016
With the release of a second album ‘Cradle The Rage’, former motorcycle world champion James Toseland has surely laid to rest any suggestions his musical career might be a gimmick, certainly on the evidence of what seemed to be a … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 22 March 2016, Borderline, Colour Of Noise, gig, hard rock, James Toseland, Little Angels, London, review, rock, Toseland
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Gig review: BLACK STONE CHERRY, SHINEDOWN, HALESTORM – SSE Arena, Wembley, London, 4 February 2016
‘The Carnival of Madness’, a well known USA touring concept which brings together three or four like-minded bands from the newer generation, was making a first trip to these shores, but the personnel involved were in very familiar circumstances. Black … Continue reading
Gig review: JUST SAY YES/ARFM MELODIC ROCK FUNDRAISER – The Spot, Derby, 30 January 2016
Now in its second year, the ‘Just Say Yes’ and ARFM charity melodic rock fundraiser was a must on several grounds. First of all, in its own right as raising a substantial amount for a charity supporting young people with … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 30 January 2016, AOR, Blood Red Saints, Derby, Fahran, festival, gig, Hand of Dimes, Just Say Yes, Lifeline, melodic rock, Melodic Rock Fundraiser, NEWMAN, No Hot Ashes, The Spot
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Album review: RESURRECTION KINGS
Frontiers Records [Release date 29.01.16] Frontiers new project sees former Dio guitarist Craig Goldy continue his return to the spotlight following Giuffria’s poorly received and presumably short lived reunion at Rockingham. This time he has teamed up with a line … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged blues rock, Chas West, Craig Goldy, Dio, Frontiers, melodic rock, Resurrection Kings, Sean MacNabb, Vinny Appice
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Album review: NORDIC UNION
Frontiers Records [Release date 29.01.16] Lead singer of Eclipse, whose ‘Armageddonize’ album was GRTR!’s second best melodic rock album of 2015, Erik Martensson is one of the most prolific, not to say talented, figures in his field. The latest in … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Eclipse, Erik Martensson, Frontiers Records, melodic rock, Nordic Union, Pretty Maids, W.E.T.
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Gig review: CATS IN SPACE – Half Moon, Putney, London, 6 January 2016
One of the more left field bands that emerged in 2015 were the oddly named Cats In Space, with their affectionate homage to the seventies and in particular the lush soft rock sounds of the latter half of the decade … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Andy Stewart, Cats In Space, Dean Howard, gig, Greg Hart, Jeff Brown, Paul Manzi, pomp rock, review, soft rock, Too Many Gods
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Album review: KHYMERA- The Grand Design
Frontiers Records (Release Date 04.12.15) Khymera have now released four albums under a variety of line ups. I must admit the only one I bought was their 2003 debut which had the ‘production line’ trademarks of too many melodic rock … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AOR, Dennis Ward, Erik Ragno, Frontiers Records, Khymera, melodic rock
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Album review: BLOOD RED SAINTS- S/T
Frontiers Records (Release Date 4.12.15) One of 2014’s unexpected surprises in the world of melodic rock was a very impressive debut by Brits In Faith, unleashing a real vocal find in Pete Godfrey. They seem to have had a short … Continue reading
DVD review: NAZARETH- No Means of Escape
Eagle Entertainment (Release Date 23.10.15) This is one DVD that I fully expected to end up on the proverbial cutting room floor. 12 months ago I attended the filming of a special Nazareth live show at Metropolis Studios in front … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS
Tagged Dan McCafferty, documentary, DVD, Linton Osbourne, Nazareth, Pete Agnew, Rodney Matthews
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Gig review: BLACK STAR RIDERS – Scala, London, 11 December 2015
Quite apart from being one of the best of the current crop of bands, there can surely be no harder working outfit than Black Star Riders. A Spring tour, Summer festival appearances and opening for the Def Leppard and Whitesnake … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 11 December 2015, Black Star Riders, Damon Johnson, gig, hard rock, London, review, Ricky Warwick, Scala, Scott Gorham, Thin Lizzy
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Gig review: DEEP PURPLE – 02 Arena, London, 3 December 2015
One of the first lessons I ever learned in rock school was it was an (un?)holy British trinity of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple who effectively invented heavy rock, or heavy metal as it was later badged. You … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 02 Arena, 3 December 2015, classic rock, Deep Purple, Don Airey, gig, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, London, Now What?!, review, Roger Glover, Scot Holliday, Steve Morse
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