Gig review: NORDA MULLEN – Half Moon, Putney, London, 21 September 2025
For 15 years, American musician Norda Mullen toured the world with the Moody Blues as a flute player and multi-instrumentalist after Ray Thomas’ retirement. Though she guested with John Lodge on his solo tour earlier this year, she leads a rather quieter existence these days in Richmond upon Thames, the nicest part of London in my biased opinion. However these gigs at the nearby Half Moon have become a tradition and the all-seated show was sold out.
As at last year’s show, support came from Quinny and Company, led by her neighbour Jim Bernard. Full disclosure – I know Jim from the American ex-pat community that my partner belongs to in this part of London and even helped with his press release. But don’t just take it from me- their recent ‘Along the Way’ EP was favourably reviewed in these pages by Jason Ritchie.
Opening with the Christian messages of ‘Worth More’, his band included daughter Sarah who had flown in all the way from Colorado. As well as singing the likes of her composition ‘Drifting’, and ‘Dreams’, she even strummed a ukulele at one point. Father and daughter harmonised well and duetted on a fun cover of Bryan Adams’ ‘When You’re Gone’.
Songs like ‘Hold On Tight’ also benefited from the addition of some delicate lead guitar work from Alan Wishart who was an early member of Big Country. They ended with the folky, America-sounding ‘Under the Willow’ and a rocker in ‘Suzy and Alexander’, Jim throwing everything into his delivery and former Suzi Quatro drummer Colin Woolway a real force, making light of recent ill-health. It all made for a very pleasing warm up.
Introduced by husband Kelvin- who also wrote some of the songs and made a few cameos on acoustic guitar- Norda Mullen opened initially with an intro on the melodica before switching to her more familiar flute on ‘Steal My Thunder’. It was probably the most prog sounding song of the night though gradually developed a lighter and funkier feel. In contrast ‘I Like It’ was gentle folk-pop and led nicely into the first of the night’s covers, a very authentic ‘California Dreaming’, appropriately so as after being raised in the South she spent much of her professional life there. After ‘Live This Way’, ‘Down By the River’, penned with Kelvin about the queuing crowds paying their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth, boasted another lovely flute solo.
Mentioning that a theme of the night would be paying respect to favourite female artists, The Pretenders’ ‘Back On the Chain Gang’ was another one faithfully rendered before her ‘flutified’ instrumental version of ‘Nights in White Satin’. It was hauntingly beautiful but to her credit, and despite the presence of Ray Thomas’ widow in the audience, this was not a night otherwise to trade on the Moody Blues connection, but rather establish her own musical pedigree.
On a Michelle Shocked cover, ‘If Love Was a Train’, the band were let off the leash with a bluesy jam, Norda switching to bass and allowing both guitarists and the keyboard player to play solo slots. ‘Strange Imagination’ was a real grower, sung by tousle-haired guitarist Noris Schenk and with Norda playing penny whistle while ‘Give It Up’ which she described as the nearest to a protest song was again enlivened by flute and melodica, before she took to piano for a Bonnie Raitt ballad, ‘Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again’.
‘Live For Today’, once again lifted by some lilting flute melodies and ‘Its OK’ were a little gentle for my own liking but in contrast (after wrongly introducing it as a sixties song) a cover of Focus’ ‘Hocus Pocus’ was a major shock. Noris seemed to enjoy rocking out on the riffs while Norda’s flute playing took the place not only of Thijs Van Leer’s original equivalents but also his yodelling, probably for the best!
In contrast a Fairground Attraction cover ‘The Wind Knows My Name’ was beautifully delivered with Norda again switching to piano and harmonising sweetly with sister Christie. The latter was also playing that most un rock and roll of instruments, the xylophone, as Norda switched back to bass for ‘Home’ which was the set closer, after a fashion.
The band stayed on stage for a couple more numbers, starting with another Fairground Attraction cover in ‘Find My Love’ before ‘Going Up the Country’, the old Canned Heat classic though I didn’t realise that itself was a cover of an original 1920’s song. It was another perfect showcase for a flute solo, and yet this was an evening of surprises to prove that Norda Mullen has a broader musical palette to offer.
Review and Photos by Andy Nathan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
American/German singer/songwriter Désirée Mishoe who records under the name of May the Muse, has released an intriguing debut album full of musical variety.
The album is produced by Justin Hawkins, who also plays most of the instruments on this album. His brother Dan guests, as do drummers Darby Todd (Devin Townsend, Willie Dowling, Robert Plant) and Jeremy Black, and Jem Godfrey of Frost*
The topical ‘USA’ certainly pulls no punches lyrically, a fiery and feisty start to the album. Then you have the sumptuous ballad ‘Wasted’, which could easily grace the airwaves of BBC Radio 2. It also features a rather fine guitar solo from Mr Hawkins!
The underlying musical theme is one of melodic funk, be it the 70’s throwback sounds on ‘Drama’ (think ELO’s ‘Discovery’ album or late 70′s Stevie Wonder), with its swirling strings and sassy guitar solo, or the Prince like ‘God Damn’ – got to love those synths and funky bassline. Mind you, ‘Millions’ is a more modern pop rocker where her vocals shine above the insistent drumbeat and guitar riff.
The topical ‘USA’ certainly pulls no punches lyrically, a fiery and feisty start to the album. Then you have the sumptuous ballad ‘Wasted’, which could easily grace the airwaves of BBC Radio 2. It also features a rather fine guitar solo from Mr Hawkins!
Darkness fans will doubtless enjoy the connection; however, it is still May the Muse who is rightly the star of the show. ***1/2
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Gig review: LUKE MORLEY – Bloomsbury Theatre, London, 19 September 2025
With Thunder on indefinite hiatus for some while during Danny Bowes’ long road to recovery, their guitarist and songwriter Luke Morley has been keeping himself extremely busy. In between touring with the Quireboys he has now trebled his solo output in the space of two years with a couple of albums, most recently ‘Walking on Water’, which he is now touring.
Having really enjoyed the first time he dipped his toe into solo live action at Islington Academy early last year, this was something to look forward to and especially so as after rave reviews I was keen to check out Bobbie Dazzle. Sadly, she pulled out sick so there was just the one support in Willie Dowling, also a recruit to Spike’s current line up of the Quireboys. Dressed in a harlequin suit and with a seventies ‘shag’ haircut, he was an engagingly eccentric character with a touch of vaudeville in songs like the Sparks-esque opener ‘I Killed My Imaginary Friend’. The pianist led a trio though the band format did somewhat drown out his lyrical messages.
Many of those songs had an edge to them with his bile directed at greedy capitalists (‘Gravy Train’ and ‘Rats In The Maze’) or politicians (‘Long Drop Down’ and ‘F— You, Goodbye’. In the week the US President was given the fawning red carpet treatment at Windsor Castle, he was the target of some well-timed satire prior to the title track of the album ‘The Simpleton’. On a lighter note, as a fan of his original band The Grip I did enjoy their old song ‘The Ballad Of Vera Daydream’ which ended the set. An original and unique character though not I suspect to the taste of everyone present.
Luke Morley came on stage accompanied by a very similar band to that last tour and indeed opened with a song from previous solo album ‘Songs From The Blue Room’ in the heartland rock-ish ‘I Wanna See The Light. All that was missing from the recorded version was the female backing vocals, but bassist and Thunder bandmate Chris Childs and keyboardist Sam Tanner provided admirable vocal support all night.
Luke’s solo material is largely stripped of those trademark blues rock riffs we are used to in Thunder, but makes best use of his voice and wears the influences of the classic era of rock and pop on its sleeve. This meant that I found it easy to make inadvertent comparisons regularly. The title track of the new album reminded me of the verses of The Hollies ‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’ and as it went into the instrumental section my partner and I were wondering which of a number of John Fogerty/Creedence numbers it could be, while the sixties garage rock feel of ‘Snakeskin Parachute’ was cut from the same cloth as John Mellencamp’s ‘R.O.C.K. in the USA’.
There was less chat than I recalled from last time, but he did dryly describe that ‘Errol Flynn’, his song about coming to terms with no longer being youthful, had been written about his father but he increasingly realised was about him. That was one of a number of songs where he swapped his Stratocaster for a pink Spanish-style acoustic guitar and indeed even on the electric solos he shared the spotlight with old mate and current Cats In Space guitarist Dean Howard, sporting a dapper trilby.
This was never going to be a night focused on Thunder songs and there is only one man who could do them justice. Nevertheless Luke is more than entitled to play the songs he wrote and chose wisely with ‘River Of Pain’, rearranged with a slower jazzier swing which he joked was bossa nova, though he delivered a more familiar guitar solo in the second part of the song.
Among the new songs ‘Always A Saturday Night’ was an agreeable listen and ‘Natural High’ a solid rocker that at a stretch might have been a suitable Thunder song. ‘Gun To Your Head’ was far removed though from the day job with some old-style country rock guitar playing from Dean.
The wryly told tale of Thunder’s abortive attempt to crack the States, ‘Killed By Cobain’ came over like a jaunty cross between the Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset and the Travelling Wilburys but was eclipsed by ‘Breathe’ which was a truly superb piece of pop rock with great melodies. ‘Watch The Sun Go Down’ rocked things up a bit and Luke encouraged a singalong, but surprisingly after well under an hour that was the end of the main set.
Fortunately there was an encore of more generous length, beginning with his recounting writing a song in his hotel room in LA in 1991 which was a second Thunder classic in ‘Like A Satellite’, but again neatly rearranged and given a more stripped down feel.
‘I’m The One You Want’ owed a little to the Black Crowes and then developed into a funky and impossibly tight jam. That showed off the pedigree of the players who during closer ‘Go With The Flow’ (the sole survivor in the set off his first solo album El Gringo Retro’ from the early 2000s) they were all given solo slots as they were introduced, he and Dean having something of a call-and-response guitar contest.
This was all quality stuff, the only downside being that some of the rock edge was taken off by being in an all-seated theatre, which itself was not full, making it harder to create an atmosphere. It was instead a chance to appreciate another side of his prolific songwriting and enjoy some great melodies and a uniformly high standard of musicianship.
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Gig review: FM – Islington Academy, London, 18 September 2025
FM are on the road so constantly that it is hard to divine where one tour begins and another ends. However the release of their excellent latest album ‘Brotherhood’ marks the start of a long tour, with the set list incorporating some new songs but also having a bit of a wider revamp. Worryingly few people were present initially at this London date but by the time they hit the stage the eventual crowd was respectable.
Several acts are sharing support duties and I was looking forward to catching Rosalie Cunningham, having missed her set at Maid of Stone Festival. Sadly she caught Covid and with only a day’s notice one of those other supports, Brave Rival, stepped in, which was no hardship for me as a confirmed fan.
Since they also supported FM on their last proper London headline last year at Dingwalls, the Portsmouth-based band have been going through changes. When one of their two lead singers Chloe Josephine left, they regrouped as a more conventional four piece and have accelerated an already evident change in direction towards an out-and-out rock sound and away from the blues scene where they first emerged.
They opened with ‘Bad Choices’ with singer Lindsey Bonnick encouraging a clap along but a trio of songs embraced that new direction: ‘Poison’ and ‘Wild Child’ had sharp and more contemporary sounding riffs from Ed ‘the Shred’ Clarke, but the middle one ‘Control’ was even further from anything they have done before, owing more to Evanescence or Halestorm than more traditional blue based artists.
Photo: Andy Nathan
Despite the short notice FM’s Jem Davis came on to add keyboard colour to the highlight of the set ‘Heavy’, with a powerful vocal performance from Lindsey then a second section in which Ed went right to the front of the crowd to start winding up a lengthy solo which grew in intensity in epic fashion. An older favourite in ‘Fairytale’ ended a short set which confirmed the rapid changes in their ranks. They certainly gained some new fans with this performance though there is a risk the new direction may lose others. I’m eager to discover further at their ‘5 to 4’ EP launch at the 100 Club next month.
In contrast FM have seen no need to take chances with an established formula, though the set was reordered with the lively ‘Synchronized’ restored to the front of the set, featuring the first of numerous tidy solos from Jim Kirkpatrick, who appears to be growing his hair. After the classic keyboard intro and AOR melodies of ever present debut album favourite ‘I Belong To The Night’ , ‘Turn This Car Around’- a distant cousin of Bon Jovi’s ‘Blood On Blood’ and the main set closer for the past few years, was moved forward to early in the set.
On the challenging ‘Someday You’ll Come Running’ Steve Overland’s golden voice still hit all the notes before the first new song. While the new album continues their recent trend of covering a variety of bases, they stuck to two of the more conventional melodic rockers which fitted in seamlessly in ‘Living On The Run’ and ‘Don’t Call It Love’, the latter reminding me of eighties greats like Toto and Starship. In between ‘Let Love Be The Leader’ ( shamefully only a single and never on album) had Steve getting the crowd to join in on his trademark ‘who-oah-oahs’ before a classic harmony guitar solo climax between him and Jim.
A very varied set included the return after quite a long absence of old crowd participation favourite ‘Burning My Heart Down’ with Jem even adding some harmonica at the end, ‘Black Water’ with its Americanised southern blues feel and ‘Does it Feel Like Love’ with a Steve vocal solo mid-song. The only downside was a rather booming mix from the sound desk with the bass arguably too high.
I’m at risk of repeating previous reviews but I am always struck how much the band – whose current line up has been unchanged for 17 years- appear to enjoy playing together with loads of grins and mickey taking, that occasionally disrupt their usual musical tightness. They also appear genuinely grateful and without ego and as a fan of (gulp!) 40 years standing I really feel valued.
One way they reward the faithful is in mixing a few different cult favourites into the setlist and in this case a highlight was one of the first songs they wrote in ‘Dangerous’ - though such are its multiple hooks that, as with ‘Let Love Be the Leader’, its omission from ‘Indiscreet’ remains unforgivable. Another surprise was Steve’s velvety voice singing the sweet melodies of ballad ‘Incredible’ which had gone down so well on their acoustic tour in the spring it was put in the regular set for the first time.
However there are certain songs they have to play and a holy trinity of three of their best known came one after another in ‘That Girl’ – where the tempo seems subtly slower than the original- ‘Bad Luck’, ticking my personal boxes including the twin guitar opening and a mid-song keyboard break that could have come from Survivor’s ‘Vital Signs’ album, and an irresistible ‘Tough It Out’. The main set finished with another post-reunion live favourite in ‘Killed By Love’ with its participatory ‘yay-yay-ohs’.
For many years the pair of encores has been the same, but while retaining the concept of a ballad showcase for Steve’s voice followed by an old favourite – they were completely overhauled. After Jem took centre stage to show off a new waistcoat and more importantly celebrate two years cancer free, he played a lengthy intro and accompanied Steve on the third of the new numbers, the ballad ‘Just Walk Away’. it is hardly my favourite on the album but was arranged exquisitely with Jim joining them mid-song for a sweet solo though the ever-reliable founding rhythm section of Merv Goldsworthy and Pete Jupp were given a bit of a rest.
Everyone was back and Jem made it four at the front with his portable keytar during ‘Heart Of The Matter’, one of ‘Indiscreet’s less heralded tracks but a fitting climax as I always remember it being the set closer in the early days.
This hour and 40 minute set struck the perfect balance between old and new, the songs casual fans would expect to hear and those to please the more committed. Coupled with the band’s affable stage presence it was yet another feel good evening of guaranteed excellence from Britain’s premier melodic rock band.
Review by Andy Nathan Photos by Adrian Hextall (except where stated)
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : RISEN ATLANTIS feat: FRANK BECK – Power To The Past
Frontiers Music [Release Date : 26.09.25]
Singer, Frank Beck, touring sideman with Kai Hansen’s Gamma Ray for many years, now gets his solo opportunity.
Risen Atlantis is the brainchild of Alessandro Del Vecchio, writer, producer, musician, commonly associated with Frontiers Music.
What they’ve gone for is a “modern power metal album with an 80s spirit”.
According to Metal Hammer magazine, the term ‘Power Metal’ was first used in the context of the ‘Power of Metal’ tour by Gamma Ray, Rage and Conception in 1993.
So there’s a strong thread linking Gamma Ray, Kai Hansen, Beck and the music of Risen Atlantis.
The album’s title, Power To The Past makes much more sense against this backdrop.
Apart from the occasional dalliance with a more Symphonic Metal style, there’s no significant reimagining. Beck thumbs through the big book of Power Metal’s greatest moments, and he sticks pretty rigidly to the script.
Credit to axeman (and co songwriter), Brett Jones, for bringing many of these tracks to life, greatly assisted by Del Vecchio’s classy contribution of piano and keyboards.
Early on, DV’s balletic intro to ‘Glory To The Brave’ in particular raises everybody’s game. It’s like a challenge, quickly taken up by Jones and eventually Beck. The song’s title is a clue to its lyrical content.
The stomping, pounding ‘Legacy Divine’ spills over into Gamma Ray territory. It’s close to pastiche, but thanks to Jones (and Mirko De Maio’s driving, insistent beat) it has enough ballast to keep righting itself.
DV’s orchestral arrangement on ‘Sea Of Tranquility’ and ‘Trapped In Heaven’ sounds amazingly dramatic and vibrant. The clean lines and elegant contours of the choral work edge the songs closer to Symphonic Metal than Power Metal, and are all the better for it.
To an extent that trend continues with ‘No Hell For The Good’ and ‘Power To The Past’, both blending Symphonic and Power metal elements with skill and imagination.
The turbulent ‘Wrong Destiny’ and ‘A Million Miles Away’ return us emphatically to the world of Power Metal, ending where we began. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
First solo release from Disraeli Gears/Burning Codes frontman Paul Archer, which has been designed to be enjoyed best on vinyl. ‘Art’ splits in two: Leeds-recorded alt-rock anthems on Side A, and Belfast-grown cosmic soul on Side B. The album features collaborations with Duke Special, Janet Henry, Jim Lockhart (ex-Horslips), and Jonny Quinn (ex-Snow Patrol), among others.
Not overly sure what cosmic soul is, however, ‘I’ll Be There for You’ is almost hymnal in sound and certainly lifts the spirits. Elsewhere, ‘Heavy Soul’ gets the musical endorphins flowing, as does ‘Art’, with its insistent chorus and guitars.
Paul Archer’s songwriting takes a personal route on ‘Belfast (Place of My Soul)’, a heartfelt song to his hometown. He has that knack of fitting interesting lyrics onto what sounds like a simple melody yet listen closely and there is a lot going on musically.
There are some cracking indie bangers on here including ‘Sticks and Stones’, shades of Snow Patrol with a beautifully big drum sound, and the title track, which features a relentlessly addictive chorus. ‘No FEAR’ should be a single or at least finding a place on your playlists.
The more you listen to this album, the more you love it and surely that’s the sign of any good album? ****
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Gig review: BASEMENT – Electric, Bristol, 21 September 2025
Basement are back! After 6 long years of festivals and US tour dates, the Suffolk-based quintet played 5 dates across the UK. My months of eager checking of their social media had finally paid off, and I was lucky enough to catch them in their sold-out Bristol show at Electric (formerly SWX). The venue was buzzing before the first band even set foot on stage, and you could feel the anticipation reverberating off the damp walls.
Midrift were up first, with a shoegazey, melancholic first few songs. I’ve been a fan of their music for about a year now, and was surprised to see that behind the raw, emotive lyricism and atmospheric guitar riffs were 3 young guys. Two I’ve found out were only 18 years old. One song even included a drum solo, which I can’t really describe in any other way other than mesmerising. They are certainly one to watch, for fans of Slowdive, Deftones and Blondeshell.
Dynamite were the second to play, and brought a heavy, hardcore set which juxtaposed the more sombre tone of Midrift. There was a lot of anger and rage being rattled through the venue, which saw lots of sweaty blokes take to the mosh pits in a flurry of limbs and testosterone-fuelled shouts.
They even bought on Midrifts drummer Kai for a song, which both he and the band absolutely smashed. Hardcore isn’t really my cup of tea, but Dynamite’s high-octane, high-energy set was fun if nothing else. If you like Soft Play and IDLES, Dynamite might be right up your street.
Anxious were the final support act and by this point, everyone was getting a little antsy. 3 support acts meant that the energy was lost a little for Anxious, which was unfortunate. They were a nice tone-down from Dynamite’s rambunctious romp, with a sound similar the rock bands of the early 2000s, like Yellowcard or Jimmy Eat World.
Members from all four bands were stood watching each other as they played like some sort of musician’s carousel, with Basement frontman Andrew Fisher cheering on each support act. It was clear there was a cheerful camaraderie between the bands, and it was really nice to see.
Finally, Basement were on. The lights went up and the band kicked off with their 2019 single Are You The One. The crowd was wild, with mosh pits and crowd surfers flailing as far as the eye could see. Moving into Promise Everything and Aquasun, before jumping back through their discography into Bad Apple, Spoiled and Earl Grey.
Basement surprised us with 2 new songs, the first was slow, reflective and atmospheric, receiving a round of applause at the end much to the amusement of the band. The second was classic Basement, catchy guitar, punchy bass and rhythmic drums, wrapped neatly with Fishers gritty vocals.
They then dove back into their classics, with Whole bringing the energy and excitement in the room to its peak. The band’s energy was electric, and their 6-year absence from UK touring felt as if it was never there.
Basement were back, and the teasing of new music hints that they’re here to stay. Fading and Brother’s Keeper followed, with Breathe and Yoke pulling everyone into the final three songs of Crickets Throw Their Voice, Pine and Covet. Covet bought everyone in Electric together, as their most played song boasting over 196 million streams. All voices were singing together – it seems like all those years of British Primary school assemblies finally paid off.
I was chuffed that 6 songs on the setlist were from their 2012 album Colourmeinkindness, an album of which is definitely in my top 50 of all time. Worth a listen if you haven’t already, and I feel it’s the album that best reflects their sound.
As the final chords of Covet rang out, it felt like the gig was over as quickly as it had started. With three support bands on the bill, the evening felt more like a festival stage line-up than a gig. Which, while showcasing plenty of talent, left the main event feeling a bit squashed. That said, I understand the challenges the music industry is facing and it’s clear that giving newer artists stage time is one of the ever-reducing number of ways to help them grow a following.
In a time when live music is under increasing pressure, it’s more important than ever to support your local venues and artists. They’re the backbone of nights like this and they need us just as much as we need them. Go see whoever you like, but if you want a crazy night to remember, go see Basement.
Review by Jasmine Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : MIKE TRAMP – The Songs Of White Lion Vol III
Frontiers Music [Release date : 19.09.25]
Few musical artists get the chance to rerecord their old material.
Still fewer improve upon the originals.
Mike Tramp continues to claim – clearly very sincerely – that he is surprised to have got these opportunities. He’s now reached The Songs Of White Lion, Volume 3, and has again grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
White Lion’s material usually had more to say than your average rock song, lyrically it was more illustrative in its themes and concepts than most.
Back in the eighties, while their peer group were pouting and pointing, singer Mike Tramp was writing pithy stuff with guitarist Vito Bratta, talking up issues, large and small, universal and personal. From war dead (Warsong) and the genocide of American Indians (Cherokee), to sexual temptation (Dirty Woman) and street crime (In The City).
Worthy, yes, but unlikely chart material.
On these new recordings, Tramp partners with guitarist, Marcus Nand, bass man Claus Langeskov and drummer Morten Hellborn in recreating soft centred hard rock songs, investing them with a new found emotion and passion.
The down and dirty ‘She’s Got Everything’s tale of sexual naivety is something that is both melodic and muscular. And like the album’s new version of the anti-religion ‘If My Mind Is Evil’, it shares a greater sense of range and depth than the original.
Thanks to Nand’s sympathetic axework and the maturity that has grown into Tramp’s vocals, ‘Fight To Survive’ sounds fresh and new. And in doing so, it remains a bold snapshot of the complex art of survival.
A bluesy reimagining of ‘Radar Love’ closes the album in style. It still brings to mind the bar band/ biker video that accompanied the original. Some things never change. Thankfully. ***1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : PRIDE & JOY ANTHOLOGY – 10 Years Of Pride & Joy
Pride&Joy [Release date : 19.09.25]
The Pride & Joy label is celebrating ten years active in the world of rock and metal.
Founder and CEO Birgitt Schwanke has created a bijou music business that just grows and grows.
The 10 Years Of Joy anthology comprises 13 handpicked tracks, primarily Melodic Rock, that best represent the label’s offerings.
We’ve recognised elsewhere that Melodic Rock largely leans towards familiarity nowadays, and that originality has come to mean putting a fresh spin on the past.
More than any other track here, Osukaru’s ‘Dreams Don’t Die’ confirms that view. Written originally by band leader/ guitarist Oz Petersson for White Widdow’s 2014 album, Crossfire.
It opens this 13 track, P&J Anthology, and takes full advantage of Fredrik Werner’s gritty, breathless vocals and a heart pumping chorus. It’s an object lesson in how to embrace a genre that peaked in the eightes, yet still sounds relevant today.
There’s an unshowy elegance to Alien’s ballad, ‘I Remember’, but in places it’s a bit too close to Steve Perry for comfort. Only a softer, dreamier ambience separates it from The Journey singer’s ‘Foolish Heart’ solo hit in 1984. Of course, many might see the resemblance as a plus.
Midnite City’s ‘Only A Matter Of Time’ from their 2023 album, In At The Deep End, is a peach. The album (their fourth) enjoyed uniformly positive reviews in the AOR/Melodic Rock community, especially from GRTR’s resident AOR authority, Andy Nathan.
Pulled along on a melancholy undertow, the song’s melody shimmers and sparkles… singer Rob Wylde’s reined back vocal strikes the right tone for the song’s sentiments.
Why this track was relegated to “bonus track for Japan” is a mystery.
In another world, another time, bands like Nationwide, whose song here, a cover of Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone’ (written by Georgio Moroder for the “Top Gun” movie), would be enjoying frequent headlines. Each time they hit the chorus here they seems to ratchet the song’s sense of tension up that little bit little further… all the best melodic rock is underlined by urgency and momentum, like this. (again, surprisingly, this was only a Japanese bonus track).
It’s the best by far of the four covers on the album. The others being Universe III / Abba’s ‘Summer Night City’; Heaven’s Reign / Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’; Heartline / Foreigner’s ‘Urgent’.
Oliver Hartmann’s ‘Twenty Times Colder’, an alt mix of his last long player’s title track is pretty cool, in more ways than one.
At his most full throated, his vocals call up the powerful voice of David Coverdale. Admitedly, that comparison is nothing new, but is hard to avoid. The parent album might also be worth seeking out.
Final track is Mikael Erlandsson’s ‘Dynamite’ dating from 2008, a tongue in cheek pop/rock song, at the time judged too poppy for Last Autumn’s Dream. It’s a catchy bit of fluff to close with.
Roll on the next ten years. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Over the course of 12 years and five studio albums Ninebarrow (Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere) have earned themselves a reputation for their songwriting, imaginative reworkings of traditional songs, skilled musicianship, and their exquisite vocal harmonies.
Now, on ‘The Hour of the Blackbird’, Ninebarrow have enlisted more than 40 other voices from the Hart Voices (based in Fleet) and the Chantry Singers (from Guildford) to revisit and reenvisage 13 of their songs under musical directorship of Roy Rashbrook, himself a member of the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Ninebarrow have used choirs before in the COVID lockdown single ‘The Hour of the Blackbird’ which went onto raise over £8,000 for the MIND charity. The success of this album is that the choirs complement the songs, often enhancing the choruses as ‘Summer Fires’ ably illustrates.
‘Nestledown’ takes on a whole new life as the choir sings gently behind the melodious singing of Jon and Jay. A personal favourite, ‘Hey, John Barleycorn’ sounds amazing with the choral parts. A song like this would fit perfectly on a Proms programme of traditional music.
Ninebarrow are one of the most inventive and melodic duos and, more importantly, a joy to listen to time and time again since they started out a decade ago. Quite how they will top this album is for another day (although knowing Ninebarrow they will!), as for now, we can enjoy these songs in all their choral glory. ****
Review by Jason Ritchie
Tour dates -
4 October 2025 - The Salt Works Sessions, Northwich, Cheshire
5 October 2025 - The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
11 October 2025, The Flavel Arts Centre, Dartmouth, Devon
17 October 2025 - The Brewhouse, Burton upon Trent
18 October 2025 - North Ferriby Village Hall, North Ferriby, East Yorkshire
24 October 2025 - St Edith Folk, St Dunstan’s Church, Cranbrook
1 November 2025 – St James’ Church, Poole, Dorset - ‘The Hour of the Blackbird’ Album Launch Choir Concert
7 November 2025 - Stowe Presents, Stowe, Bucks
8 November 2025 - Arnside WI & Village Hall, Arnside, Carnforth
14 November 2025 - Folk Inspiration, Guildford
21 November 2025 - Harwell Village Hall, Harwell, Oxfordshire
22 November 2025 - The David Hall, South Petherton, Somerset
29 November 2025 - St Endellion Church, St Endellion, Cornwall
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
David Palfreyman has released music in various guises in the past, including 2017’s ‘Decades’, a concept album with Nicholas Pegg. ‘Opening Time for the Battered’ David refers to as his debut solo album, musically aided by bassist Ben Miles, lead guitarist Rodger Hanna, David Clayton on keyboards, drummers Martyn Barker & Chris Musto and Gary Barnacle on sax. Cats In Space’s Greg Hart guests on ‘Overtime Hours’.
With its warm production sound makes this an album a joy to listen to. Highlights include ‘Life Begins at 60’, a song with a retro lyric and lots of lush keyboards, or ‘Overtime Hours’, which also features plenty of keyboards, along with subtle guitar and a big chorus makes for a grandiose ending to the album.
Hints of prog pop on ‘Locked Door Key’, an extremely catchy tune and little wonder it was released as the album’s lead single. Next single could well be the 80’s pop vibe of ‘Your Days My Days’, or perhaps ‘Highway View’ – if Tom Petty came from Chesterfield it may sound like this! Loving the guitars and sax outro.
David Palfreyman has created a collection of songs that have plenty of melody and thoughtful lyrics. Worthy of a listen and an album that provides a musical balm in these troubled times. ***1/2
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Little King was formed in November of 1996 by guitarist/singer/songwriter Ryan Rosoff in El Paso, Texas. Ryan is joined in the current Little King line-up by David Hamilton (bass, cello) and Tony Bojorquez (drums), and this is the band’s eighth studio album.
Musically opener ‘Catch and Release’ has distinct Rush undertones, not only in the vocals of Ryan Rosoff, but also in the melodies and choruses. Listen out throughout the album for some Geddy Lee approved bass runs by David Hamilton.
Timely ‘Who’s Illegal’ has a thought-provoking lyric wrapped in a gentle melody. Neat guitar soloing on this one too. The guitars on ‘Kindness As Weakness’ are pretty top draw as well, whilst ‘Sweet Jessie James’ is a wonderful song from start to finish. The slower start reminds the listener of Saga, whilst the faster paced finish to the song recalls Rush – again!
Seven songs, clocking in at just over twenty-five minutes Little King pack a powerful and melodic cocktail of prog, rock and alternative. If Rush jammed with REM and King’s X it would sound a little like this. Impressive. ***1/2
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : BEBOP DELUXE – The Albums 1976-78 (3 CD set)
Esoteric Music [Release date : 26.09.25]
Nowadays, founder, guitarist, writer and driving force behind the band Be Bop Deluxe, Bill Nelson, is not for looking in the rear view mirror, so it’s good that Cherry Red offshoot, Esoteric is doing that for us.
This 3 CD retrospective comprises 3 remastered and expanded releases :
Modern Music (1976)
Live! In The Air Age (1977)
Drastic Plastic (1978)
Born in the heart of Yorkshire, Nelson had soaked up every influence that swirled around him.
Disco, punk, glam rock, hard rock, progressive rock, art rock, blues rock, and heavy metal all went toe to toe in the mid seventies, each one fighting for a piece of the action.
Those influences had been carefully filtered through the futuristic / progressive pop of the band’s first 3 albums, and distilled eventually into Modern Music, their fourth.
This was an arty, proggy, poppy, yet ultimately undefinable recording that carried its own unique magnetism.
Nelson had mixed and matched his influences – Pink Floyd, Todd Rundgren, Klaatu and others, stirring in some Top Forty immediacy – in the album’s creation.
Along with the title song’s country rock leanings, and the Rundgren-esque ‘Terminal Street’, Nelson has a finely honed instinct for a story telling lyric and a melody to match. He makes ‘Kiss Of Light’s rolling, graceful shuffle, and the soothing, majestic strains of ‘Gold At The End Of My Rainbow’ into album standouts.
He was always searching, never quite satisfied, and with Live! In The Air Age, he invented his own genre, delivering 11 dazzling versions of songs from BeBop Deluxe’s first 3 albums. He is clearly at one with his band – Charles Tumahai, Andy Clark and Simon Fox – here.
And it’s not just ability and skill. Blood and sweat, grit and gold go into making an album like this.
‘Blazing Apostles’ and ‘Shine’s improv intervals sit well next to the title track’s drama and intensity.
Classy artwork too. The cover is a still from Fritz Lang’s seminal, futuristic movie “Metropolis”.
It was the band’s best performing album, reaching no.20 in the UK charts.
The third and last album, Drastic Plastic came in 1978.
Tailored by Nelson’s expressive and constantly inventive arrangements, warm ballads and fiery axe workouts abound. There are storied journeys through the present and perceptive visions of the future, all pointing to the demise of Bebop Deluxe.
Key tracks, ‘Futurist Manifesto’, ‘Japan’ and the Bowie/Cars like ‘Panic In The World’ signposted the imminent birth of his new band, Red Noise. ****1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
The main recent development for Three Days Grace is the return of original vocalist Adam Gontier who now shares duties with Matt Walst (who replaced him in 2013).
Formed in the late 1990s in Ontario, the band ushered in the early millennium with their own brand of post-grunge/nu-metal. This genre is seeing something of a revival and TDG have every right to be at the forefront.
‘Alienation’ the band’s follow-up to ‘Explosions’ (2022) lyrically reflects a range of modern ills, and maybe reflecting Gontier’s own personal struggles as evidenced on the superb ‘Apologies’.
Caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines Running through my bloodstream Trauma, drama, another vodka Turn into a monster
The quality level of this album is maintained throughout with every track offering an immediate fix for the listener, heavy as hell riffs combine with anthemic choruses. In fact, every track is single length and single quality. The dual vocal thing works well too.
For this listener the only missing ingredient is some guitar solo-ing but the emphasis is on strong melody and vocal hooks. ‘In Waves’ remains my favourite but there’s great consistency overall. ‘In Cold Blood’, another highlight, brings to mind bands like Disturbed. Ditto ‘Another Relapse’.
Long-term fans will relish this new offering and not least Gontier’s return. Newcomers will find much to enjoy. Alienation is relentlessly great. *****
Review by David Randall
THREE DAYS GRACE UK TOUR DATES
09/12 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
10/12 – Glasgow, O2 Academy Glasgow
12/12 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
13/12 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : THE BANGLES : Watching The Sky (4 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 26.09.25]
The title of this Bangles’ boxset, Watching The Sky, is taken from their third (and at the time, assumed to be their last) album, titled Everything, released in 1988.
CD1 : All Over The Place (1984)
CD2 : A Different Light (1986)
CD3 : Everything (1988)
CD4 : Mixes, Live Recordings and B sides
Celebrating the legacy of The Bangles, the box set contains the studio albums alongside the bands’ earliest recordings and a selection of B-Sides, mixes and live recordings.
As with any collection of ambitious, talented artists, tensions and opposing opinions often became an intractable problem. Members left, new members arrived. Eventually landing on a solid line up, albeit temporary, of Susannah Hoffs, Vicki and Debbi Peterson, and Michael (Mikki) Steele.
All Over The Place gained the band a proliferation of praise in the music media, especially from Udiscovermusic.com :
“They deliver a different voice: an emotional expressiveness, often surprisingly direct, that male acts cannot – and cannot even hope – to deliver.”
Many of the band’s songs were written in the Sixties’ pop slipstream, with ‘Live’, ‘Tell Me’ and a cover of Katrina and The Waves’ ‘Going Down To Liverpool’ coasting serenely through the brightly lit shadows of the Beatles, the Byrds and other “sunshine pop” acts of the era.
Music media liked it, but it didn’t break through commercially.
The slick production and outside input of the multi platinum A Different Light changed everything. It spawned five Billboard charting singles, most notably two top five hits.
The first, ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ was written by Liam Sternberg, who’d written stuff for Ratt, Fuzzbox and Baby Tuckoo. And ‘Manic Monday’ (given to them by Prince as a result of his Suzannah Hoffs infatuation, allegedly).
The media were critical of the band’s all out bid for commercial success, but it’s hard to fault any band who have the good taste to cover “September Gurls” (Big Star) and “If She Knew What She Wants” (Jules Shear). And coming late in the running order, Michael (Mikki) Steele’s haunting acoustic ballad, ‘Following’ is rich in colour and mood. A real surprise bonus.
More FM radio tuned fare on third album, Everything, as the result of producer, David Sigerson’s label loyalty. Two giant tracks escaped that lowest common denominator approach, ‘In Your Room’ and ‘Eternal Flame’, written with guns for hire, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. In fairness, ‘Complicated Girl’ and ‘Some Dreams Come True’ showed that Debbi Peterson and Mikki Steele had come a long way as songwriters too.
The ‘Eternal Flame’ single’s global success brought it’s own problems of course, and internal tensions resurfaced.
In turn this led to break up of the band, only to reform some 12 years later. But that’s for another day.
CD4, a “bonus disc”, piles up the remixes and edits, including a couple of “singles” released by the pre Bangles’ band, the Bangs.
Key tracks though, just have to be an “extended dance mix” of ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’, a “purple haze mix” of ‘Hazy Shade Of Winter’ and a “12 inch extended version” of ‘In Your Room’.
There are plenty more. 20 tracks in all.
The box includes an illuminating history of the band, written by John Earls from Classic Pop. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
It’s as if the last 20 years never happened. The Rasmus first came to our attention back in 2003 with their Scandi brand of pop/nu-metal and ‘Weirdo’ sees them on a bit of a roll, following their stab at Eurovision glory in 2022.
Whilst some might say that they have gradually veered from their original goth pop template, ‘Weirdo’ offers up a selection of contemporary “bangers” with the standouts ‘Break These Chains’ and ‘Rest In Pieces’ merely the icing on an otherwise well crafted and rather scrumptious cake.
The band have once again teamed up with the legendary Desmond Child for both co-writes and production (which is shared with another bigshot Marti Frederiksen). It shows, combining the melodic savvy of Bon Jovi with the electronica rock fusion of bands like From Fall To Spring and Bad Wolves.
When the band slow the pace down as on ‘You Want It All’ and ‘I’m Coming For You’ they remain convincing. The Rasmus in 2025; more than a guilty pleasure. ****
Review by David Randall
UK Tour Dates 2025
30/11 Glasgow, GB – SWG3 Galvanizers
01/12 Manchester, GB – O2 Ritz
02/12 Cardiff, GB – Great Hall
04/12 London, GB – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
05/12 Southampton, GB – 1865
06/12 Nottingham, GB – Rock City
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Gig review: MARTIN TURNER – 229 Club, London, 11 September 2025
Celebrating a remarkable 55 years since the first Wishbone Ash album, founder member Martin Turner and his band have been a constant touring fixture for many years. Recent Central London sightings have been at the 100 Club, but this show was in the rather more spacious settings and high stage of one of my favourite London venues, the 229.
Unfortunately, a tube strike shut the entire network and undoubtedly thinned the crowd quite considerably. With the sound bouncing off the walls, it also meant for a slightly subdued atmosphere during opener ‘The King Will Come’, despite the quality of Danny Willson’s wah-wah guitar solo and the first, but not the last, of Martin’s distinctive bass runs.
On what was inevitably going to be a night of nostalgia, it was a welcome surprise to hear ‘Written In the Stars’, the title track of the sole new album he has made since returning to live action two decades ago, but unmistakably Wishbone with the twin guitar leads and its ethereal feel.
After Martin contested its authorship with Andy Powell, ‘Errors Of My Way’ from that very first album showcased the underrated vocal harmonies of the band’s early days, while it went into a new dimension when just as Danny’s solo started to soar, Martin overlaid a very melodic bass line.
While the set list (and indeed Martin’s humorously delivered anecdotes) could perhaps have been shaken up a little more from recent tours for us faithful, those who have seen the band less frequently were treated to an extremely well-chosen set of songs across their seventies albums.
There were some beautiful melodies gracing ‘Persephone’ (Martin being overly self-deprecating when he warned us not to fall asleep), ‘Ballad of the Beacon’ which saw Danny capably fill Andy Powell’s co-vocal on the original, ‘Front Page News’ and the folky ‘Lady Jay’, including a twin lead passage redolent of the better known ‘Throw Down the Sword’.
Though he benefits from sterling vocal support from Danny, and at times drummer Tim Brown who has returned to the fold after a few years away, on the songs where Martin sang without harmonies, he sounded stronger than for some while, and a short touring break seemed to have had benefits. I was also struck by how Misha Nikolic, after ten years in the band, has gradually taken on a greater share of solos as well as the twin harmonies.
There was a spectacular end to the first set in an 11 minute long ‘Phoenix’ with both guitarists, as well as Tim, in fiery form. Then after a 20-minute break the second half gave full reign to some wonderful longer musical passages. For once there was only a sparing selection from ‘Argus’, but it opened with one of the album classics in ‘Sometime World’, with more of those distinctively prominent bass lines and Danny doing a superlative job recreating the original solo.
Two lengthy instrumentals in ‘The Pilgrim’ and ‘F.U.B.B’ never dragged and also showed how the original Wishbone sound evolved during the seventies from an almost jazzy jamming into something with a bit more groove.
Sandwiched between was ‘Rock and Roll Widow’, Danny playing the Ted Turner role on vocals and tasty slide guitar, before the running gag of him being a stunt double for Wishbone members concluded as he took the vocals originally sung by Laurie Wisefield on ‘You See Red’, where he crossed the stage for the first time for he and Misha to pull some moves to accompany their harmony leads.
It seemed the second half was just getting going when it was already time for the finale in the evergreen crowd pleaser ‘Blowin’ Free’ with more fine slide work from Danny. Fortunately, that left time for a generous selection of encores beginning with ‘Doctor’, Martin screwing up his face as he acted out the lyrics in entertaining manner while the band jammed in probably the heaviest fashion all night. Then I was delighted that ‘Living Proof’, one of the quintessential Wishbone songs, was rightfully back in the set.
There was the usual final encore of the blues-rock chug of ‘Jailbait’, with more twin guitar solos and band intros and thanks from Martin, even if he did flunk the delivery of one of his trademark jokes! Nevertheless, those of us who were able to brave the strike and tortuous bus journeys home had been rewarded with the usual excellent set of Wishbone Ash classics from the evergreen near 78-year-old and his skilled bandmates.
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review: CORY MARKS – Sorry For Nothing Vol.2
Better Noise Music [Release date 03.10.25]
Cory Marks new album is a follow-up to last year’s volume 1. Like its predecessor it was produced by Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Shania Twain), Kile Odell, and Andrew Baylis.
The album, in Cory’s own words, is “a rowdy, honky tonk feel-good country anthem made for late nights and good times. With twangy guitars, stomping drums, and a barroom sing-along chorus, it’s the soundtrack to letting loose after a long week.
The song follows a character who is just a good timing simple man … who’s had one to many late nights according to his partner and when times get rough or she’s had enough…
He runs to his favorite small-town watering hole, where the whiskey flows like a river and worries get washed away. It’s about freedom, fun, and the kind of night you’ll never forget – if you can remember it”.
Cory Marks hits the musical bullseye with slower, traditional country like ‘The Heart Breaks When It Wants To’ and then kicks up a storm on ‘Wild Ride’, which as some very tasty solos.
The single ‘Hangman’ rocks hard, showing how easily Cory switches between styles and who is proud to show is musical influences. ‘Pick Up the Phone’ is possibly the hardest he’s rocked to date with a metal guitar riff powering things along nicely.
Whiskey flows through the lyrics (and quite possibly some of the musicians!), where the good time honky-tonk of ‘Whiskey River’ soon becomes an album highlight. The good time vibe continues on ‘A Different Kind of Year’. It is easy to see this one becoming an anthem at his live shows and at NYE parties.
On this album Cory’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and a whole lot of musical fun! ****
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review : FANNY – Rock’n'Roll Survivors (Remastered and Expanded 2 CD Edition)
Cherry Red [Release date 19.09.25]
We reviewed Fanny’s first 4 studio albums (as a boxset) last year.
Their fifth and last album, released in 1974, was called Rock’n’Roll Survivors.
Aptly named.
This new, 2 CD version has been expanded and remastered, with 3 bonus live tracks added. Cover versions of classics by Holland & Dozier, Ike Turner, and Lennon & McCartney recorded at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go live on New Year’s Eve 1974. And more… see below.
How it began: Formed by sisters June and Jean Millington, on guitar and bass, with Nickey Barclay on keys, and Alice DeBuhr on drums, they knew it would be an uphill struggle for any band, but a girl band…
Truth is, there’s been no female rock band to touch them since. The Runaways, Vixen and others who came later got close, but no cigar.
They survived in the face an unenthusiastic music media, somehow avoiding what should have fully deserved acclaim.
June Millington and Debuhr jumped ship in early 1974. For this fifth and final album their replacements were Patti Quatro (sister Of Suzie) and Brie Brandt.
Quatro’s guitar chops (and songwriting) light up the album. Rock’n’Roll Survivors should have been the light at the end of an unnecessarily dark tunnel for the band.
A fab rework of the Stones’ ‘Lets Spend The Night Together’, the much derided ‘I’ve Had It’ and the funky ‘Beggar Man’ to name but three, are all songs that might well have exploded the band into the face of public perception, but were held back by the hands of an unimaginative producer.
The band’s masterstroke though was their “live opera”, on CD2. A one off recording consigned to tape during their US tour that same year.
In faux theatrical terms, it’s constructed in several acts, with the songs from RnRS forming the backbone of the gig.
It’s an interesting conceit, with more there than meets the eye. See the band in costume on the CD cover.
Yes, there are a few bumps and bruises along the way, but driven by the sweaty clamour and clang of live performance, this is one powerful display, or perhaps a first draft of girl power. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
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You have to admire Carl Baldassarre’s honesty for treating this self produced album as an academic exercise rather than a labour of love, although love of music of whatever stripe is clearly his motivation.
His words: “I wanted to make music that draws from the chemistry found in the great R&B, Soul, and Funk music of the 60’s & 70’s.”
The smart move was the band he put together: primarily award-winning musicians Jacob Dupre, Ray Yslas and Nick D’Virgilio, with latest US wunderkind, Thair Thompson on vocals.
In funk rock it’s the percussion that drives the rhythm and the bass that holds the groove, Baldassarre skilfully weaves them together in the construction of a bunch of classy songs.
The influences that we can hear, and the thinking behind his genre interpretation has a direct line back to the seventies, when funk rock was the dominant force in popular music and culture. And we don’t have to look far to find traces of the usual suspects.
‘Keep It Up’ hits a cool dance groove, shades of Kool and The Gang, and the music still has the welcome Westcoast jazz feel that Baldassarre just can’t shake off (even if he wanted to).
‘Heaven’ and ‘Keep The Groove Alive’ might remind you of Chicago in the seventies, when the band’s soul, funk and latin roots were still showing above ground.
Some tracks take a while to embed. Only after a few listens do ‘Joyride’ and ‘Show Me’ identify themselves, respectively, as big fans of Stevie Wonder like soul funk, and Funkadelic’s brass fuelled variant.
‘Famous’ might just be the album’s funk rock peak, slippin and slidin into one of Sly Stone’s liquid grooves.
It’s all executed with precision, as you would expect of Baldassarre.
But the immaculately judged tone and spotlessly clean craftsmanship have their downside: maybe the music could have done with a little bit more dirt under its fingernails. ***1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
It’s no surprise to find Joanne Shaw Taylor in the list of ‘GRTR! Greats’, if only for the fact that aside from her visceral guitar playing ability, she is an exemplar of the modern aspirational musician.
She’s built her career through the twin barrels of musical versatility and a willingness to incorporate different, but related musical influences into her own evolving songwriting process.
This is evidenced by her discography which was originally rooted in her rock-blues influenced debut album ‘White Sugar’, while 16 years later, her new album ‘Black & Gold’ leans much more towards song-driven Americana.
Domestically, she’s also significantly journeyed from her native West Midlands, via Detroit to Nashville, the current hub of what’s left of the contemporary music industry, and a place where a power solo can comfortably fit in a country related song.
Originally influenced by the newfound interest in blues via Stevie Ray Vaughan, the dynamics of Albert Collins, and guitar icons such as Hendrix and Freddie King, she quickly tapped into some of her contemporaries such as Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Discovered and mentored by Dave Stewart, she toured Europe with him under the banner of DUP (De Universal Playas). He encouraged her to become a more fully rounded musician in terms of realising her singing and songwriting potential.
Her growing emphasis on songs is such that on her latest album she’s uses session musicians rather than her tour band, in an attempt to get maximum focus on the songs rather than relying on the familiarity of her tour band for spark.
It’s a brave approach which illustrates her continuing evolution as an artist who is always willing to experiment.
She may be routed in blues but she’s equally open to rock, soul and more recently pop influences.
The cross genre approach has led her to the new album ‘Black & Gold’ being notable for its guitar driven Americana feel. It’s also interwoven with the kind of reflective lyrics that only experience can bring.
She’s described her 12 albums so far as different snapshots of her life, but she’s also smart enough to note that; …when you listen back to them as a catalogue, they’ll always sound like they’re the same artist.”
In the early days of our coverage we noted a weakness in the vocal department, but by 2010 this had been sorted, Joanne’s husky delivery had been fine tuned and ultimately sounded like she’d been chain-smoking Woodbines all day.
Guitar-wise she initially caught our attention with the instrumental title track of the debut White Sugar album, while the ragged vocal, but groove laden ‘Kiss The Ground’, suggested a real talent in the making.
Pete Whalley wrote about that debut album …”be prepared to be blown away by the fresh ‘plug in and play’ style of blues reminiscent of guitar heroes such as Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan” The real shock horror revelation is that Joanne Shaw Taylor is a Brummie lass in her early twenties”.
“…This is a mature crossover blues album that will surely appeal to a wider audience, but there’s still room for some fiery solos and real intense playing as on ‘World On Fire’. Crammed full of good songs, meaningful lyrics, great playing and an intuitive production, all ten tracks are bound together by an inherent flow that gives the album its coherence…”
Dave (Stewart) became a big musical influence for me and a guiding hand generally when I was 15 or 16. He said things like you are good at blues guitar but you should try and sing too. That led me to having the confidence to write songs too.
Dave really made me realise my early potential, he’d always be suggesting more things to try and explore. He would say you have the ability to do this, what else would you like to try next.
Pete Feenstra reviewed Joanne’s May 2011 gig in London
“for a bewildering moment your middle aged fans are transported back in time to the dewey eyed days of the fretboard magic of the younger Johnny Winter, but with added restraint and certainly way more cool.
So welcome to the new generation blues in the capable hands of Joanne Shaw Taylor.”
Photo: Lee Millward
In June 2012 Joanne appeared at the Queen’s Birthday Jubilee with Annie Lennox and also in that year released her third album Almost Always Never which pushed her more towards confessional, narrative driven musical intensity. David Randall noted:
“…If there is a criticism, as previously there is a lack of truly standout tracks. Joanne Shaw Taylor makes consistently solid albums and this latest offering will surely appeal to her growing fanbase but she does need some more, dare I say, commercial tracks to round out what is essentially a fully-formed approach from one of our best blues rockers
…Whilst her soulful, throaty vocals are convincing, you can’t help thinking that they are a tad forced and in truth at times irritatingly monotone, a Birmingham gal singing like she comes from Alabama rather than west of Aston. You either get it or you don’t.”
Photo: Noel Buckley
Noel Buckley, reviewing her October 2012 gig, noted …With each album getting stronger and stronger Joanne is a unique talent amongst the current crop of blues rock artists.”
I think from my point of view I’m one of the biggest guitar nerds on the planet. In the course of a 2 hour show you can start to feel like you’re being beaten around the head with it.
I think it’s important to break the show up and offer some variety or at least a break from 12 minute solos. Perhaps my audience wouldn’t want to hear an entire set of that genre of material but I think in the context of the show it’s a nice pace changer.
When reviewing the live DVD shoot, Pete noted that the songs were based round “…A mix of biographical and poignant relationship songs, intricate word plays and incendiary guitar playing which lit up a powerful set.”
She also broke new ground as an emotive interpretive singer on a soulful rendition of Frankie Miller’s ‘Jealousy’, complete with incendiary guitar work which remained a staple in her live set over subsequent years.
2014 saw the release of Joanne Shaw Taylor’s fourth studio album (following the release of her first live album). Pete Feenstra wrote:
“The end result is an album that’s easy on the ear and maintains our interest throughout via mellow grooves and sparkling rhythms, even if you do have to wait patiently for the solos. Joanne’s husky phrasing draws you in but never quite engages us emotionally, but happily she does that with her guitar playing which bring us full circle.
Pete attended the “secret” album launch in September 2014 and further commented “…Joanne Shaw Taylor may be a consummate guitar playing rocking blues artist, but she constantly defies expectations with wide ranging material and a live show that always seeks to achieve more.”
At Planet Rockstock in December 2014 Darren Griffiths effused: “…From the moment she walked on stage she had the Porthcawl crowd in the palm of her hand and then proceeded to leave nearly everyone in the room with their mouths wide open as we witnessed what can only be described as a God-given talent.”
Photo: Darren Griffiths
Joanne Shaw Taylor gives every impression of a woman going big places in a hurry.
Pete Feenstra chatted to Joanne Shaw Taylor for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio discussing her musical influences and inspirations. First broadcast 20 September 2015.
2016′s ‘Wild’ was produced in Nashville by Kevin Shirley with members of Joe Bonamassa’s band. And if the results didn’t quite match the album title, then tracks like ‘Dyin’ To Know’ and the rhythmic aggression of ‘Wanna Be Your Lover’ came right off the JST template.
She also extended her interpretive abilities on ‘Wild Is The Wind’, on an album that gave her gave her the highest chart position of her career so far.
She was back in Detroit to team up with producer Al Sutton (Greta van Vleet) for ‘Reckless Heart’ (2019) after signing with the newly resurrected Silvertone label.
The relational song based album song included the soulful and emotionally honest ‘I’m Only Lonely’.
Since her album debut a decade ago Joanne has honed her skill-set: stage and song-craft, guitar playing and especially vocals and not least influenced by her prolonged stateside sojurn.
What it does demonstrate is that – for many artists – there is no quick fix for ascendancy in a fast-food mentality consumer-driven music business and much like Joe Bonamassa she has achieved her current position through sustained hard toil and graft.
The past couple of albums have also shown a willingness to break out from the blues rock template she started with when she was described as …the new face of the blues”. It’s a path taken more recently by her contemporaries of either gender – witness Erja Lyytinen, Ana Popovic or King King and even Eric Gales.
If this gig showed Joanne Shaw Taylor staying close to her blues roots there’s a definite feeling that she could easily entice a wider demographic than the predominately male audience of a certain age present tonight.
Three years later Dave Atkinson also noted the change from his last sortie to a JST gig (in 2016)
“Joanne was exuding a swagger and charm new to these eyes. She was bossing the stage, having a cheery word with each band member in turn and smiling, grinning and waving: generally having a ball.”
Even more relevant, the voice was stronger than previously. The first eight tracks here came from last year’s ‘The Blues Album’. That collection of covers seemed to project her vocals more than earlier releases. And she was able to repeat in a live arena those husky tones that have now mellowed into a characterful, emotive delivery.”
And if her 2021 ‘The Blues Album’ felt like a stop-gap, fans were rewarded with another genre shift on the soulful pop of Nobody’s Fool (2022).
The album drew more admiration from David Randall who wrote: “…Whilst the blues percolates through this offering, it is perhaps the most accessible album Joanne Shaw Taylor has produced. It should have made more ‘Best ofs’ in 2022 and not necessarily in the …blues” category.”
Though the album spanned pop, Motown and R&B influences (as on the horn driven ‘True Love’) there was also the chooglin’ blues groove ‘Then There’s You’ to remind us of her musical origins.
Her musical consistency and restless desire to explore new musical avenues were again to be found on the 2024 release Heavy Soul
A very contemporary sounding album within the roots traditions, it trod a thin line between commercialism and a soulful heart, as evidenced by the title track which subtly wove its sway round a booming hook, while you could argue the superb cover of Joan Armatrading ‘All The Way From America’ reminded the listener of what the album was aiming for in the first place.
Photo: Marty Moffatt
Andy Nathan hadn’t seen Joanne in concert since 2018 but noticed the differences in 2024, reviewing her London gig:
“…two things struck me. One was an increased self assurance in engaging the audience, with direct humour, and taking them into her confidence. This was particularly evident when talking about the loss of her mother to cancer a decade ago, with some very sage reflections on grief, as an explanation of the context of ‘Fade Away’, on which she played acoustic guitar.
The other is that those many years based in the States have broadened her musical palette, as an all round songwriter and singer with a strong streak of southern soul even in her vocals, and far more than just a blues rock guitar hero. Most of the songs also had a very Americanised feel to them”
Pete Feenstra chatted to Joanne Shaw Taylor for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, with selected tracks from her albums. This is an edited version of the show first broadcast 31 August 2025.
Joanne Shaw Taylor’s latest album – Black & Gold - was released in June 2025. It more completely integrated the more accessible tunes -Nashville friendly elements – with her blues rock origins, with Pete Feenstra also stating …There’s plenty of salient melodies, subtle harmonies, catchy rhythms and memorable hooks.”
Arguably her most complete album so far, ‘Black & Gold’ is the latest pit-stop for an artist who can confidently look forward to new ways to frame her burgeoning talent.
Pete sums it up …All the time she has grown confidently as an artist. Her husky expressive phrasing (a giant leap forward from her early career), and vibrant guitar playing (in which each solo sounds like an emphatic conversation) dovetails effortlessly into recent songs, on which she’s opened herself more emotionally. And it’s her songs which will ultimately carry her forward.
It’s been an exciting journey so far, from the instrumental title track of ‘White Sugar’ to the nascent songwriting partnership with keyboard player Paul Whitfield on ‘A Grayer Shade of Blue’, one of the stand-out tracks on the current ‘Black & Gold’ album.
It almost feels like a new impetus in an organic career that remains open to all possibilities.
Main story: Pete Feenstra
Continuity: David Randall
Contributors: Dave Atkinson, Noel Buckley, Pete Feenstra, Darren Griffiths, Andrew Lock, Andy Nathan, David Randall, Pete Whalley
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Man this is my kind of blues, you can keep your note bending, face grimacing, guitar histrionics, give me an acoustic guitar, a whisky soaked emotive voice, a kick drum and references to hellhounds, storms, prophets and god and I’m a happy man.
There is a lot of good blues coming out of South Africa at the moment and Ross Harding has just been added to the list of serious contenders. Hailing from Johannesburg but living in the UK Ross is as at home with both the acoustic blues of the single as he is with full on electric blues with his band The Dark Hearts.
This single, released on 14th September is taken from the album Blood and Blues released on 14th November, I hope I get a chance to review that.
Ross is playing various dates in the UK in September November and January 2026, if you are a fan of Robert Johnson, Son House or Keb Mo, his acoustic set is a must. If you are a fan of Black Country Communion, Joe Bonamassa, Slash or Myles Kennedy, then his Dark Hearts show is a must.
For all serious blues fans, put Ross Harding on your radar, buy the single and the album, and get out to see him, you will not be disappointed, he might even do some face grimacing.
If you are young, and wanting to explore the blues, Ross would be a good intro to a lifetime of devotion of that genre Check this single out immediately.
Review by Andy Sharrocks
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
This is their debut album – get out of here, you gotta be kidding me!!!
Seriously, the maturity of the songwriting, the palpable chemistry of the four artists, the harmonies, all seem way beyond a debut album. I would say this band is going to be massive, I hope they are prepared for the ride.
The band is First Time Flyers and they are; Poppy Fardell, Jake Morell, Vicki Manser and Tim Prottey Jones. All vocalists, all instrumentalists, one multi instrumentalist. Tim produced the album and also plays acoustic and electric guitars, drums, piano, banjo dobro, mandolin, lap steel, bass and does the programming. Jake plays acoustic and electric rhythm and lead guitar, Poppy plays acoustic and electric guitar and Vicki plays acoustic guitar, although the girls don’t seem to play on the album, they just sing rather mightily.
The four vocals just bounce off each other, and are so in sync with each other it is uncanny, it’s like they were separated at birth and have found each other through chance, and are making up for lost time.
I have had this album on heavy rotation since it was dropped on me a couple of days ago, and I’m so hooked on it that I need to listen to it at least every two hours. I was even singing the single ‘Primadonna’ whilst washing up last night, their hook lines are that infectious.
To give you a starting block, think Lady A, or a double Shires, (there are four vocalists). I was also thinking as I listened more closely that I could feel an essence of Fleetwood Mac Rumours era, then read with interest that all the songs are about personal experiences the four of them have encountered, although not with each other ,as was the case with Fleetwood Mac. But the personal touch really comes across strongly, and makes the sentiments universally identifiable.
There are 15 tracks in all, and every one of them deserves to be there. They range from country/pop crossovers (‘Jump’, ‘Primadonna’), duets (‘Looking Back Now’), heartfelt ballads (‘Almost’, ‘Before The Wind Changes’), bluesy country rockers (‘Already Out’, ‘Trouble’) My favourites are ‘Trouble’, ‘Already Out’, and ‘Before The Wind Changes’. I also really look forward to the vocal build up in ‘Do You Remember’.
Although this is the bands debut, the individuals are no strangers to the entertainment business. All four are steeped in UK Country heritage as solo artists. so the combining of the four unique talents is explosive. Google any of their names and you will encounter a plethora of videos and songs, all leading up to this ‘big bang’.
The First Time Flyers start an intimate tour of the UK in Manchester on the17th September, to promote the album which comes out on the 12th. I would advise you to try and catch them at these venues, because I doubt if you’ll get that close to them again. This band is going places. *****
Review by Andy Sharrocks
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
Album review: VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Tribute to Clifton Chenier
Valcour Records
This album has been out since June, but I felt duty bound to bring your attention to it.
Released on Valcour Records, it features Mick, Keith and Ronnie, and whole host of other heavyweight Zydeco, Cajun and country players including Zachary Richard, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Sonny Landreth, Jimmy Vaughn, C J Chenier, (Clifton’s son), Anthony Dopsie (Rockin Dopsie’s son) and so many more, including Clifton’s original drummer Robert St Julian.
Who is Clifton Chenier you may well ask? Well, he would have been 100 years old this year, and in 1965 he released an album called Louisiana Blues And Zydeco, on Arhoolie Records, which a young Mick Jagger picked up on whilst on one of the first Rolling Stones tours of America.
Chenier singlehandedly created the genre Zydeco, the word coming from a creole term – les haricots et pas sales, ( beans and no salt) which was Creole talk for times are tough, or just getting by. If you say lesharicots fast you’ll hear the word zydeco forming. Musically he took the Creole house dance music La La, electrified it with horns and organ, whilst adding blues and R and B into the mix. You can see why Jagger picked up on it, it’s basically a rock n roll, blues and r n b gumbo seasoned with accordion
Chenier wrote many songs in his career, and this album is handful of those songs, each one sung and performed by different people, all tied together by Chenier’s trademark accordion sound and washboard, or rubboard as they call it in the credits. It opens with The Stones playing Zydeco Sont Pas Sales, featuring Robert St Julian, and is my favourite, but only by a hairsbreadth. There is such a level of players on this album it’s hard to say which is best, as they are all winners.
It also includes a couple of songs not written by Chenier, including a version of Release Me, a hit in the UK by smooth crooner Englebert Humperdink. This time round it’s sung by Lucinda Williams and Tommy McClain, and transforms a shmaltzy pop ballad into a drunken bar room lament. Class.
There are twelve tracks on this wonderful rootsie album, and two free downloads which feature John Hiatt and Kim Franklin, but I haven’t worked out how to get those, being the technophobe that I am. If you are a lover of roots or world music this is the album to put on your Christmas wish list, or just treat yourself, you know you’re worth it. ****
Review by Andy Sharrocks
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
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Los Angeles based Blacklist Union are a band I highly recommend checking out if you haven’t before now, and they are about to release their 6th album “Slay The Dragon”. Having highly rated the band’s last album “Letters from The Psych Ward” I was looking forward to hearing this, and I have not been disappointed.
Produced by Christopher Johnson (Evanescence, Scott Weiland) the album draws influence from front man Tony West’s encounters with the Shipibo Indians in the Amazon, an experience he used to get over a bad divorce, and one that has provided him with a source of inspiration that has helped create a superb album.
The album will appeal to fans of Guns n Roses, Velvet Revolver, Stone Temple Pilots and The Cult but will no doubt prick the ears of a wider audience. Singles “Mississippi Moonhound”, “Dyin’ 4 U” and the excellent “Up in Smoke” will have you pressing repeat, repeatedly. Then you have the likes of “All Hail The King” and “Can You Heal Me” with their rhythmic, driving force or the equally driven and almost hypnotic feel of “Free At Last” and “Do It For The Song”.
“Slay The Dragon” is a consistently strong album and does not let up throughout, the creative team of main songwriters West and producer Christopher Johnson works incredibly well (Johnson also playing most of the instruments here). One of the things I really like with this record is that every time you play it a different track will stick out as a favourite that time, whether it be “Hey Mr. Superstar”, “Rock N Roll Soldiers” or “X Marks The Spot”, and if “Horns and Halos” isn’t a radio hit then the world has gone completely mad.
Special mention must be made of the album’s title track, with it’s Cult like qualities it feels different from the rest of the songs here and closes out “Slay The Dragon” in fine style. The album is released on Friday 12th September 2025, do yourself a favour and give it a listen this weekend. *****
Review by Nikk Gunns
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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 26 April 2026.
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). First broadcast on 21 April 2026
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Power Plays w/c 11 May 2026
BREITLER Sentinel (El Puerto Records)
FIRE IN HER EYES Too Late To Change (indie)
KING FALCON Wait (indie)
BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS Come What May (indie)
KARIN PARK Shadow (Size Records)
HARSH Don’t Mess With Me (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 11 May 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)
Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.
If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:
If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device
(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.
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***** Out of this world
**** Pretty damn fine
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan of the artist or genre
** Instant bargain bin fodder
* Ugly, just ugly
