EP review: TOM WEBBER – The RAK Tracks

TOM WEBBER - The RAK Tracks

Website  [Release date 29.09.23]

Recorded at the legendary RAK Studios, Tom Webber takes another step up in his musical travels and more importantly, the musical depth and production that comes with recording at such a famous studio. If you though his earlier work was impressive this takes things to a whole new level.

‘Living For Us Both’ is a true story of Tom losing his brother from a young age.  “If there’s a hell or there’s a heaven, that’s where we’re gonna meet I know, until that day in hell or heaven, I’m living for us both”. Despite the sad lyrical basis the music is uplifting – complete with brass – and highlights the soulful side of his singing.

His cover of the 1980 ‘Everybody’s Got To learn Sometime’ by The Korgis is an inspired choice, as the song suits him well as does duetting  with Maya Lane, accompanied by producer Jonathan Quarmby. What a superb version it has to be said.

‘Snowbird’ was inspired as someone who moves from the Northern states of America to a warmer southern state in the winter. A new musical side as this was a real West Coast vibe to it, think Jackson Browne or Graham Nash. Assuming Maya Lane adds the dreamy, Fleetwood Mac approved backing harmonies.

The autobiographical ‘I Am What I Am’ rounds off the EP as Tom Webber explains who he is and how he is proud of it. Maybe a singer out of time, yet at the same time timeless in sound and delivery.

The boy from Didcot done good. Any artist needs that lucky break to go along with their natural talent and here’s hoping Tom Webber reaps the musical kudos and large fanbase his music deserves. ****1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

Sofar Sounds Hackney Wick, London – October 6th
St Pancras Old Church, London – October 11th


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


News: BERNIE MARSDEN, THE KINKS, PALLAS (October 2023)

Bernie Marsden - Giants of Rock, Butlins, Minehead, 25 January 2020

News - Album News

Alkaline Trio release their latest album, ‘Blood, Hair And Eyeballs’, on January 26 via Rise Records.

The Beatles release ‘Now And Then’ on November 2, and it is being advertised as the final ‘new’ Beatles song ever.

Black Sabbath release a limited edition, coloured vinyl box set of their 1970s studio albums entitled ‘Hand Of Doom 1970-1978′. It is released on December 1 via BMG,

Frontiers will release Blue Öyster Cult’s ’50th Anniversary Live – First Night’ on December 8 as 2CD/DVD set. The first single and video from the album, ‘I’m On The Lamb But I Ain’t No Sheep (Live)’ has been released now.

Kate Bush’s studio albums are being re-released through her new label The state51 Conspiracy on vinyl and CD on November 20. Special coloured vinyl editions are being made available via independent record shops.

Camel have a 32 disc super deluxe box set ‘Air Born: The MCA & Decca Years 1973-1984′ released through UMC on November 24.

The Cards, featuring Saxon guitarist Paul Quinn, release their debut album ‘Generation Jukebox’ on November 10.

Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes have announced their new album ‘Dark Rainbow’ will be released on January 26 and have released the lead single ‘Man Of The Hour’.

Ron Coolen and Keith St John release their collaborative album ‘Here to Stay’ on December 1. Guests include Gus G, George Lynch and Steel Panther’s Satchel.

Demon have signed with Frontiers as the band continue to record their new album, due for release next year.

Cara Dillon releases her first album in six years in early 2024. Entitled ‘Coming Home’, the lead single ‘Clear the Path’ was released earlier this month.

DragonForce will release their new album, ‘Warp Speed Warriors’, on March 15 on their new label Napalm Records.

Elbow plan to release their latest album in 2024 with UK tour dates announced for May.

Evanescence release ‘Fallen (20th Anniversary Edition)’ on November 17.

Exodus start work on their next album with a September 2024 release date pencilled in.

Firewind release their latest album ‘Stand United’ on March 1 on AFM Records and ‘Salvation Day’ has been released as the lead single.

Peter Gabriel will release a physical version of his new solo album, i/o’, through Real World Records on December 1.

The Gems, who feature three former Thundermother members, release their debut album, ‘Phoenix’, on January 26 via Napalm Records.

Green Day release their latest album ‘Saviors’ on January 19 via Reprise/Warner Records.

Yes’s Steve Howe has announced that he will release ‘Motif Volume 2′ through his own Howesound label on November 24.

Hugo’s Voyage release their debut album ‘Inception’ through Frontiers on November 17.

Jethro Tull have announced that the alternative mixes of their recent album ‘RökFlöte’, created by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, have been made available via streaming services worldwide.

Judas Priest’s new album will be called ‘Invincible Shield’ and will be released on March 8. The lead single, ‘Panic Attack’, was released on October 13.

Dave Kerzner releases his latest album ‘Heart Land Mines Vol. 1′ through the Sonic Elements label on October 31. An EP is out on digital platforms to encourage listeners to order the album in full.

The Kinks continue the 60th Anniversary celebrations with part two of their career-defining anthology, ‘The Journey – Part 2′, out 17 November on BMG. Part 2 includes singles, B-sides, album tracks and six new Ray Davies mixes, three of which are previously unreleased live performances from the New Victoria Theatre, London in 1975.

Madness have announced their 13th studio album ‘Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie’ which is released by BMG on November 17.

Manowar plan to release a re-recorded version of their 1984 album ‘Sign of the Hammer’ later next year under the title of ‘Sign of the Hammer 2024′. The band plan to release their next studio album in early 2025.

A new album from Bernie Marsden (pictured) entitled ‘Working Man’ will be released posthumously on November 24 via Conquest Music.

Massive Wagons reissue their third album, 2016′s ‘Welcome To The World’ on 19 January 2024. The reissue comes with reimagined artwork and five bonus tracks.

Mostly Autumn release ‘Studio 2′, recorded live in the studio at Abbey Road, through the band’s own label on October 15.

Myrath release their new album ‘Karma’ on February 2 through earMUSIC. ‘Heroes’ has been released as the lead single.

New Model Army release their new album ‘Unbroken’ on January 26 via earMUSIC.

Pallas’s new album will be called ‘The Messenger’ and is due for release in early December.

Paradise Lost release their re-recorded album ‘Icon’ on December 1 to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary.

Cassidy Paris will release her debut album ‘New Sensation’ through Frontiers on December 8.

Pink Floyd re-issue their ‘Atom Heart Mother’ album on December 8 with the added bonus of a Blu-Ray edition of the Atom Heart Mother suite performed at the Hakone Aphrodite Festival, on August 6 and 7, 1971.

Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle releases ‘Anthems – Honoring The Music Of Lynyrd Skynyrd’ on BFD/Orchard on February 2. Guest vocalists on the album include Dolly Parton, Sammy Hagar and Warren Haynes.

Kate Rusby releases her Christmas themed album ‘Light Years’ on December 1.

Philip Sayce releases his latest album ‘The Wolves Are Coming’ February 23.

Sonata Artica have released a new song, ‘First In Line’, ahead of their new album due early next year through Atomic Fire Records.

Creed’s Scott Stapp will release his fourth solo album, ‘Higher Power’, on March 15 via Napalm Records.

Trapeze’s ‘Lost Tapes Vol. 1′ will be released on November 24 via Metalville Records.

Celebrating 50 years since the start of her solo career, Tina Turner’s complete singles collection, ‘Queen Of Rock ‘N’ Roll’, is released on November 24. The 55 song set is available as 3CD and 5LP sets, along with an abridged 1LP edition. All sets come with a foreword from her long-time friend and collaborator, Bryan Adams.

Wicked Smile will release a new four song EP ‘Night Time Riders’ on November 17 to coincide with their UK tour dates.

Yes will release an expanded box set edition of their 1971 album The Yes Album’ on November 24. The set includes mixes from Steven Wilson and tracks from two previously unreleased 1971 concerts.

Neil Young has announced a new album, ‘Before And After’, and it is released on December 8 via Reprise Records.

News - Tours and Gigs

Newly announced UK tours (2024 unless stated):

Bryan Adams, Adam Ant, Kris Barras Band, Blackberry Smoke, Blur, Crowbar, Dodgy, Elbow, Liam Gallagher, the Gaslight Anthem, Happy Mondays, Justin Hawkins, the Human League, James, Lindisfarne, Kira Mac, Magnum, Manic Street Preachers + Suede, Mika, New Model Army, the Pineapple Thief, Chris ShiflettSlash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, the Smashing Pumpkins + Weezer, Tenacious D, The The, the Vaccines, When Rivers Meet, Within Temptation,

Upcoming (Gigs – UK)

Newly announced US & European tours (2024 unless stated):

Anvil (Can 2023), Beartooth (US), Blackberry Smoke (Eur), Blink-182 (US), Bring Me The Horizon (Aus), Diesel (Aus), Dire Straits Legacy + Nazareth (Aus), Disturbed (US), Foo Fighters (US), the Gaslight Anthem (Eur), Greta Van Fleet (US), Guns N Roses (US 2023), Glenn Hughes (US), Iron Maiden + Killswitch Engage (Aus), Judas Priest + Uriah Heep + Saxon (Eur), Manowar (Eur 2025), Billy Joel (US), Machine Head (US), Magnum (Eur), Gary Numan + Ministry (US), Suzi Quatro + Cheap Trick + Jon Stevens + Baby Animals + the Screaming Jets (Aus), Rammstein (Eur), Simple Plan (Aus), Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators (Eur, Brazil, Japan), Staind (US), Tesla (US), Tool (US), Within Temptation (Eur),

Upcoming (USA/ROW)

Neal Morse is bringing his Morsefest to the UK for the first time next January 13 & 14 at the Trinity Church, London.

Steve Miller Band have replaced Steely Dan on the current Eagles US tour due to illness in the Steely Dan camp.

Pretty Maids return to live action next year with dates in August already booked.

George Lynch has announced Lynch Mob will embark on a farewell tour next year, culminating in an appearance at 2025′s Monsters of Rock Cruise in March.

Heart will perform their first live show in four years in Seattle on New Year’s Eve.

Scorpions are planning to tour next year and in 2025, the band’s sixtieth anniversary.

Postponed/cancelled gigs & tours

Bruce Springsteen has postponed his remaining 2023 US tour dates to next year to receive treatment for peptic ulcer disease.

Aerosmith announced that Steven Tyler has suffered a fractured larynx and it’s unclear when the Peace Out farewell tour will resume. ‘Unfortunately, Steven’s vocal injury is more serious than initially thought. His doctor has confirmed that in addition to the damage to his vocal cords, he fractured his larynx which requires ongoing care.” All this year’s dates have been postponed to 2024.

Porno For Pyros have said that their reunion tour will instead be pushed back “a few months” so that they can finish preparing new material.

Vega have postponed the remainder of their current UK tour due to personal issues.

Other Stuff

Eric Martin has said that Mr Big will be finished once their farewell tour is completed next year.

The Police have launched an official TikTok account to mark the 40th anniversary of their final album ‘Synchronicity’.

Songtradr, a music licensing platform and marketplace company supporting artists, labels and publishers, is acquiring Bandcamp. Songtrader will continue to operate Bandcamp as a marketplace and music community with an artist-first revenue share. Since the take over it has emerged half of Bandcamp’s staff have been made redundant.

BMG has acquired some of the rights in the recordings catalogue of Jet.

Stevie Nicks has said in a recent interview that Fleetwood Mac will not continue without Christine McVie, who died in November last year.

‘Welcome to The Darkness’ will be screened at cinemas through Lightbulb Film Distribution on November 9 for one night only, with a digital and Blu-ray release following on December 4.

Graham Nash has sold the rights to his back catalogue to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group. It includes all of his solo catalogue plus songs written for the Hollies and CSN&Y. The same company already owns the musical rights of David Crosby and Stephen Stills.

In Through the Out Door…line-up changes

Guitarist Kieran Robertson (Geoff Tate) has joined Faster Pussycat replacing Mihailo Lukic.

Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder, who has been with the group since 2007, has announced he is leaving the band.

Drummer Mike Portnoy has re-joined Dream Theater and they will be going into the studio to begin working on their 16th studio album – the first with Portnoy since 2009’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’.

News - RIP

Scream drummer Kent Staxx

Nektar founding member and drummer Ron Howden

Massive Attack guitarist Angelo Bruschini


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: CLIVE CARROLL – The Abbot – Clive Carroll plays the music of John Renbourn

CLIVE CARROLL - The Abbot - plays the music of John Renbourn

www.clivecarroll.co.uk [Release date 02.10.23]

I have a confession to make.  In the early 1970s I was heavily into “early music” and for a time performed in a duo recreating the dance music of the medieval minstrels.  That band’s demise was probably hastened by the wearing of doublet and hose during performance.  Not a good look.

There was a resurgence of interest in this genre at the time, and several mainstream artists embraced it.  John Renbourn, long hailed by folkies for his early solo albums and collaboration with Bert Jansch, had already released his early music inspired album  ‘Sir John Alot…’ in 1968 and more particularly ‘The Lady And The Unicorn’ two years later.

Although not confined to Renbourn’s interpretation of early music, Clive Carroll’s latest double album does major on pieces inspired by that period.  ‘Lady Goes To Church’,  ‘Intrada/Danse Royale’ (never released by Renbourn and featuring here “The Unseen University’s Early Music Ensemble”), ‘The English Dance’ (aka ‘Estampie’ and also played by medieval rockers Gryphon) and of course ‘The Lady And The Unicorn’ sit well with the more folky stuff such as ‘Faro’s Rag’ and the bluesy  ‘Buffalo’.

Carroll is the modern day keeper of the flame having opened a gig for Renbourn in the late 1990s and then accompanying him on tour subsequently.  The two forged a close musical partnership until Renbourn’s death in 2015.

Carroll is quick to point out that much of Renbourn’s repertoire remained unplayed live as he stuck to a fairly predictable setlist.  Just as Renbourn freely adapted medieval and folk themes Carroll has added new sections to several pieces.

As for Carroll’s playing, he hasn’t been called “arguably the most accomplished finger stylist in the world today” for nothing, lending his deft touch, experience and – moreover – his real insight to this music.  A particular tour de force is his take on ‘Little Niles’ which first appeared on Renbourn’s ‘Live In Italy’ album in 1998.

Carroll’s mainly acoustic guitar is augmented by a variety of musicians lending more colour to the tunes in the shape of, for example, cor anglais,  flute and percussion.

Amongst the guests on this splendid album, Renbourn’s Pentangle colleague Jacqui McShee (‘Wedding Dress’) and sometime collaborator Stefan Grossman (‘Special Rider Blues’ and ‘Banty Rooster’).  They come together for a rousing ‘Sidi Brahim’ which also attests Renbourn’s interest in eastern and world music.

Clive’s album will have the effect of encouraging further exploration of a legendary player whilst enjoying an updated take on his music.  It may also introduce listeners to early music, its apparent simplicity still appealing to modern ears.  Moreover, it may even get them seeking out more of Clive Carroll.  *****

Review by David Randall


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: SCREAMING EAGLES – High Class Rock ‘N’ Roll

SCREAMING EAGLES - High Class Rock 'N' Roll

FTF Records [Release date 06.10.23]

Screaming Eagles hail from Northern Ireland and this is their sophomore album. The debut came out in 2013 which begs the question what have they been doing since? Notwithstanding the two year hiatus that is Covid.

Opener ‘Thunder & Lightning’ has an AC/DC vibe with vocalist Chris Fry doing his best Brian Johnson impression. And that vibe continues with .45

If those tracks set the scene it has to be said that there is nothing really original about this band, just solid riffery and no doubt a good live attraction.

If there’s one criticism it’s that the album is pretty much balls out rock and roll all the way. There’s little light and shade and therefore nothing to really distinguish them from their peers – and there’s a lot of similar stuff out there. Not least from fellow countrymen like Gasoline Outlaws and Maverick.

As a consequence it’s not such a great listening experience – in fact it’s quite exhausting -but I am sure works well as a souvenir of their gigs where they have played events such as Hard Rock Hell and Camden Rocks in London. The digi-packaging reveals a live photo from one-time GRTR! tog Simon Dunkerley.

There is a lot to like about this album, it’s straightforward, you know where you stand (and when you fall, pint in hand), and even if you’ve heard it all before it could still become mildly addictive. ***1/2

Review by David Randall


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review : THE RUNAWAYS – Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin (5 CD boxset)

Cherry Red [Release date : 29.09.23]

An all female rock band is rare. A successful all female rock band is even rarer.

US band, The Runaways, Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West and Jackie Fox, broke through the glass ceiling in 1976, with their self titled debut album. Not in their home country, but all over the rest of the world, especially Japan, where they were huge.

This was a band just brimming over with talent. It’s subsequent dissolution in 1979 led to Jett writing and recording several Billboard Top Ten singles (including I Hate Myself For Loving You and I Love Rock’n’Roll). Ford enjoyed considerable solo commercial success under Sharon Osborne’s management (esp Close My Eyes Forever, a duet with Ozzy), and Currie went on to have an acting career as well as moderate success in music, along side her sister, Marie.

The Runaways

The classic pre punk song‘Cherry Bomb’ and the sexually charged ‘Is It Day Or Night’, both written by Jett and produced by the band’s manager and “Sunset Strip Svengali”, Kim Fowley, were released as singles from the debut. Each has a dark, derivative swagger, grounded in solid, bass heavy rhythms and both spin on Lita Ford’s tough as teak guitar figures.
They helped propel the album to best selling status all over the world (USA excepted).

Queens Of Noise

The band broke more ground with Queens Of Noise the following year, wading out confidently into a world where toxic masculinity was the norm.

Going toe to toe with genre giants like Motley Crue and Kiss might have seemed inadvisable, but arguably, The Runaways, realising only too well, were saying good bye to traditional views of femininity.

‘Neon Angels’ (also the title of the boxset) and Teenage anthem, ‘I Love Playing With Fire’ pushed them into the pop / rock music zeitgeist, again selling by the truckload in Japan.

Waiting For The Night

In the late seventies the cultural landscape was undergoing massive change. Looking back, The Runaways played a significant role. Women were now expressing their emotions in ways normally associated with men. The clamorous intensity of the band’s music and their knowing lyrics were finding an audience, both sexes.

Waiting For The Night was their third album and first without Cherrie Currie, who had departed. But it was a solid album, a seamless continuation of fiery, rousing hard rock with a feminist message. It broke into many European Charts as well as Japan (but still couldn’t crack the US Market).

And Now … The Runaways

This fourth album was the band’s parting shot.

By 1978, they were just going through the motions in the studio.

Fowley was gone. Producer John Alcock assembled a lot of other peoples ideas and themes into this postcript, for essentially it was the last thing they wrote. A couple of decent songs and performances bubble to the surface, raising hope as we reach them in the playing order…’My Buddy And Me’, and ‘One In A Million’, sung by Lita Ford. The popularity of that particular song / track fired up Ford’s ambition as a lead vocalist, and tutored by Sharon Osborne, she turned that ambition in to a major career.

Live In Japan

Sandwiched between these studio albums, we find the band’s one and only live release. It’s condensed from their Japanese tour recordings, and the sound quality is impressive, especially considering this was 1977. It’s a strong set that includes explosive covers of Chip Taylor’s ‘Wild Thing’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Rock’n'Roll’. As a lip smacking taster, it does just fine.

****1/2
Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: ROB TOGNONI – 100 Club, London, 26 September 2023

Rob Tognoni by Tom Brundage

Rob Tognoni typifies the spirit of old school rock and roll. It isn’t the fact that he and his band have just driven 16 hours from the Orkney Festival in the highlands of Scotland to the heart of London, or that he has to rebuild a connection with an audience already satiated by an avalanche of post psychedelic guitar riffs from London based Chilean guitarist Miguel Montalban and his band, and the contrasting funky grooves of the aptly titled Back To The One.

No, Tognoni is all about capturing the moment and making something happen. He’s at his best on the anthemic ‘Product of  a Southern Land’ and he digs deep for an luscious groove on Tony Joe White’s ‘Roosevelt and Ira Lee’, but ultimately his forte is simply to deliver what it says on the tin.

He’s billed as the Tasmanian Devil, and he is indeed a performer whose sheer force of nature always pulls him through. It helps of course to be armed with killer riffs, bone shaking power chords, hip shuffling boogie figures and a charismatic presence with a ready smile.

He’s ably assisted by the rock solid Mike Hellier on drums and the fluid bass playing of Gaz Rackham, as part of a sinewy power trio.

And so what if his brand of power chord driven classic rock has long been superseded by fellow Aussies AC/DC, Tognoni’s musical versatility and his intuitive ability to draw a crowd into his whirlwind of energy is something to behold.

RT

After a quick glance at his pedals and a cursory eyeball of the room he’s suddenly at the mic asking if we are ready?   And whether we are ready or not, he hits his stride on the opening chorus of “Rock and Roll Business Man, get your money while you can.”

As the crowd populates at the front of the stage, he makes the first of several darting movements across the stage, which surely would have made the late Wilko Johnson smile. Barely pausing for breath, he slashes the neck of his guitar through the warm night air, while locking his piecing gaze at those who aren’t yet dancing.

He’s a rock and roll dervish whose body language is an extension of his powerhouse playing. On the stuttering ‘Bad Girl’ he leans shoulder to shoulder bassist Gaz Rackham  in a clichéd pose that suggests; “it’s only rock and roll but we still like it.”

The trio create an enveloping drone, only for the jagged verse to splinter it into a thousand pieces, as some piercing sustained notes fill the room with an arc of sonic arrows. And in the split second it takes for them to fade into the ether he’s busy shaping a funky wah wah groove in a stop-start whirl of busy dynamics.

Tognoni makes light of the significant width of the stage with further jolting movements, some exaggeration arcs of his non playing hand, and the sheer cut and thrust of his tight rhythm playing. The effect is that of a piston deriving is motion and unrelenting drive from a front man whose energy levels would shame some guitar slingers half his age.

And while there’s nothing from his forthcoming ‘Rebel’ album, he does delve into the “new” live ‘Product of a Southern  Land’ BBC session EP, actually recorded back in 2007, but finally released now. There’s the long time favourite ‘Drink Jack Boogie’, an inevitable John Lee Hooker tribute on ‘Mr. John Lee (The Boogie Man’) and the show stopping title track.

Rob Tognoni tapped into the fabric of the 100 Club’s musical history to remind the die-hards that rock and roll is still about generating spark through sheer passion, guts, energy and an ability to connect with a crowd, a combination of facets that served him so well tonight.

Back To The One by Tom Brundage

Finally a poignant footnote to the photo of Back To The One, featuring Canadian vocalist Steve Braithwaite an early contemporary and band mate of the late, great Jimmy C (Coletsis). Their mellifluous grooves and funky undertow provide a perfect foil for the storm to follow.

Review by Pete Feenstra
Photos: 1 & 3 by Tom Brundage
Photo 4 by Pete Feenstra

EP review (2023)


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


EP review: CULANN – Songs of Saints & Reivers

CULANN - Songs of Saints & Reivers

Bandcamp [Release date 15.09.23]

Ayrshire based Culann have been around since 2008, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2012, followed by their second album, ‘The Great Ecumene, in 2019. Now Cullan – who consist of PJ Kelly (Vocals, Guitar), Sean Kelly (Drums), Greg Irish (Guitar), Ross McCluskie (Keys) and Calum Davis (Bass) – release their first new music since that album.

First question after listening to this album is why aren’t they better known? Hard to categorise, however, they have the melodic intensity of Those Damn Crows coupled with a love of Celtic rhythms and folklore similar to Skerryvore. If that wasn’t enough to entice a listen, Culann have a distinct progressive air to their musical arrangements (although they keep it short & sweet with this four song EP clocking in at just under twenty minutes).

‘Rovers’ and ‘City Eternal’ fair fly out of the speakers, with the former having a tasty guitar driven intro.  ’Rivers’ is based on the story of a Viking ship that raided the coastal towns of Ayrshire, when one night the younger crew member hears a siren coming from the coastline, a mermaids voice that eventually leads them to their doom as the ship crashes on the shore. ‘City Eternal’ has a banging chorus, to use a bit of modern parlance ;-)

‘Saint Andrew’ is another song based on Scottish folklore as an early Scottish King, who faced overwhelming odds before a battle, prayed to Saint Andrew & strengthened by this divine intervention they overcame the outnumbering force & won the battle. This is the song that has hints of Those Damn Crows in it.

‘Heart of the Sea’ is a lovely piece of folk, allowing PJ to show his gentler side of his singing. After the frantic pace of the previous three songs, this provides a calming end to the EP.

These boys are good! What are you waiting for? Off to Bandcamp with you… ****

Review by Jason Ritchie


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

In the fast rising career of Brave Rival this was a significant milestone for the South Coast-based band. As part of their heavy touring schedule they had played support slots at the 100 Club before, but this was their first Central London headliner, as part of the monthly blues club at this prestigious location which always features three bands on a Tuesday night.

The first such were the clumsily titled Thr3e from Bedfordshire, a band who it is fair to say are not in the first flush of youth, and boasting a pair of guitarists and co lead singers in Steve Woodward and Carlos Linnett. They wear their classic influences on their sleeves from sixties R and B to Stax soul (‘Woke Up Tired’) to early ZZ Top on the intro to ‘Just a Matter of Time’, and a homage to Free and Bad Company in ‘Slow Songs’. The most striking song was ‘Picket Fence’, delivered in an exaggerated southern drawl and similar to Sons of Liberty’s material. It may not have been original but as it wore on, theirs was a highly enjoyable set.

BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

Main support came from Big River, all the way from the Medway Delta! This was my first sighting of them although I am sure I have heard friends singing their praises (though that may have been other similarly named bands). A four piece but with Damo Fawsett on guitar covering every bit of ground  imaginable to create a full  sound, they opened with ‘Mama’, and ‘Slow Burn’ from their most recent EP and ‘Why Should I’ further showed off a taut but heavy blues rock sound.
BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

The powerful throaty voice of hirsute and personable singer Adam Barron had something of the young Steve Marriott to it. However jaws dropped when he donned a ukulele for ‘Don’t Hold Out’, and yet it worked very well, especially in tandem with Damo’s guitar. They then pulled off a coup when Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine from Brave Rival made an unscheduled early appearance to make it a vocal trio on Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ (or ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ as I always think of it).

BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

After some rockers in ‘The Long Way’ and ‘Hometown Hustler’ the moody ‘Beautiful Trauma’ showed an unexpected side but the best was left to last with ‘Wings’. Again the ukulele gave it a folkily country rock feel, but as the song rocked up the way Damo went into guitar overdrive was almost Skynyrd-esque.

Big River had been a revelation and set the bar high, but having seen Brave Rival earlier in the year I was confident they could match it. They made a storming start with perhaps my favourite song of theirs ‘Run And Hide’, both singers simultaneously really attacking a song with an air of those feisty nineties stars like Alanis Morrissette and Meredith Brooks. Indeed ‘Bad Choices’ and ‘Guilty Love’ completed an opening trio of hard driving straight ahead rock that gave a lie to any pure blues pigeonhole.

 BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

But ‘Stars Upon My Scars’, one of many new songs intended for a second album whose Kickstarter campaign they were promoting, was slower and bluesier with guitarist Ed ‘the shred’ Clarke showing the other, more delicate, side of his repertoire accordingly. ‘Sink Or Swim’ featured some powerful drumming from Donna Peters, while on ‘Thin Ice’ Lindsey and Chloe led the crowd almost cabaret style in a singalong to the chorus line ‘you’re no good for me…you’re temporary’.

The twin lead singers have slightly different voices but they blend seamlessly, while one of their hallmarks is a chatty confessional style that takes into their confidence their loyal fans (there were a few ‘Bravians’ present who took their enthusiasm to extreme levels). Chloe gave one such insight into past struggles with mental health before her showpiece ‘Insane’. Their pride in getting such a good turnout for their headline show was also heartwarming and details such as signing every single gig ticket build up goodwill.

BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

The Etta James cover ‘Damn Your Eyes’ was a vehicle for an extended and soulful approach with long epic  solos from Ed,  while the more direct ‘Secret’ and ‘Heart Attack’ both had a real groove to them, helped by some bottom end bass work by Billy Dedman,  sporting some very fine facial topiary.

‘Fairytale’  saw those devoted fans singing along to the ‘deeper…down the rabbit hole’ chorus before a set that had flown by ended with another of their slower and bluesier numbers in ‘Come Down’. However there was time for a lively encore ‘What’s Your Name Again’, featuring some marvellously dirty sounding slide guitar from Ed.

 BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

They are continuing that extensive touring schedule- indeed as they mingled with fans afterwards there was an announcement from the stage of another London show shortly at 229 Club. Greater things await for a band who defy pigeonholing and are deliciously different to the norm.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK – The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Their sound may be the most American imaginable, but it seems Robert Jon and the Wreck have made Europe and the UK in particular their second home. At a time when many US acts are pulling out of European tours on economic grounds, by my reckoning this was their fourth tour in the two years since I first saw them, in addition to a slot at Maid of Stone festival this summer.

However on this occasion there was no London date so an away gig beckoned at Cambridge Junction, an hour away from the capital and fortunately with late trains back. That there was such a good (and generally older) turnout for a ‘provincial’ date showed how the band from Orange County, California have won the hearts of the British public.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

There was a also a very good support band in Caitlin Krisko and the Broadcast, plugging  a similar musical furrow of retro blues and soul influenced rock, but coming from Ashland, North Carolina with an added veneer of southern authenticity.

Opener ‘Half Asleep’ was a longish jam but ‘Blue Heron’ and the simple balladry of ‘Haunted By You’ were a lot more direct in their approach. What was most impressive was the way the three band members contrived a sense of space with sparse arrangements where it was possible to hear each of the instruments individually.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Caitlin combined a powerful soulful voice with a strong stage presence, the sleeves of her top flapping as she attacked each song with passion, combined with the manner of a southern belle with liberal use of the phrase ‘y’all’. ‘Operator’ was particularly impressive, combining both a danceable groove and a lengthy solo from guitarist Aaron Austin with notes going off at unexpected angles.

‘Led Blood’ was a lengthy blues followed by the straight ahead rock of ‘Fighting the Feeling’ which I had assumed would be the last song, but instead they played a cover of ‘Rock And Roll’ – very decently, but a point deducted for what has become an overused cliché. Nevertheless this tour made a good start for this talented band in hopefully building the same relationship with the UK as the headliners have.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Robert Jon and the Wreck opened with ‘Pain No More’, given a harder edge by some sharp slide guitar work from Henry James, before he and eponymous singer Robert Jon Burrison fashioned that wonderful sound of Allmans- esque harmony lead guitar at the outset of one of their best songs ‘Do You Remember’. Henry’s soloing was outstanding and his closing solo also enlivened ‘Hey Hey Mama’.

Although a decently appointed venue, the relatively big gap between the stage and the front of the crowd did not help build an intimate atmosphere, or allow band and crowd to feed off each other’s energy, and this dampened what should otherwise have been a highlight in ‘Tired of Drinking Alone’, while Robert’s warm, gruff tones were rather buried in the mix.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

After one of their older songs ‘Blame It On The Whiskey’ they actually gave a live debut to the new single ‘Stone Cold Killer’ which had dropped that very day, which was a straight ahead heavy rocker confirming the direction their sound has been gradually evolving into.

Indeed ‘Bring Me Back Home Again’ with some fierce Hammond and slide guitar, ‘Don’t Let Me Go’,  where the backing vocals rather overwhelmed Robert’s, and ‘Don’t Look Down’ were all cut from similar cloth, whereas their more soul and country rock influences were relatively less in evidence, at least in this particular set.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Although there had been relatively little banter with the crowd, after encouragement from Robert, ‘Oh Miss Carolina’ sparked crowd involvement with singing along and swaying of hands.

So far the songs had been relatively concise, but one of many similarities they share with the Black Crowes is the love of a jam, albeit rather more focused. So closer ‘Cold Night’ began with more of those Allman esque dual guitars and featured multiple long solos from Henry and another from keyboardist Jake Abernathie. Over 16 minutes it epitomised the best of the Allmans and Skynyrd with a side order of Peter Frampton’s ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Just as impressive (but during a ‘mere’ 10 minutes) was the solitary encore ‘Last Light On the Highway’ in which the slow atmospherics of part 1 gave way to a sensational part 2 with a tough riff, the keyboards lending an almost orchestral feel and more than one solo of stunning speed yet melodic fluency from Henry. Not for the first time the song was giving me a vibe of the UFO classic ‘Love to Love’.

While I can never recapture the thrill of the exciting atmosphere that first time I saw them, this was another demonstration of how Robert Jon and the Wreck are one of the best bands around bar none at the moment. Long may they continue to visit these shores.

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Review by Andy Nathan

Pictures by Laurence Harvey (Robert Jon and the Wreck) and Nick Hodgson (Caitlin Krisko and the Broadcast)


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: GREGG WRIGHT – Big Dawg Barkin’

Gregg Wright - Big Dawg Barkin'

Left Hook Music [Release date 01.12.22]

It’s 45 years since Gregg Wright the self proclaimed ‘King of the rockin Blues’ cut his debut solo album back in Louisiana called ‘Khamsin’.

Since then he’s established himself as an international rock blues artist known for his stellar guitar playing and evocative baritone vocal.

In between working with the likes of Michael Jackson, Mick Fleetwood, Spencer Davis, Berlin, Aynsley Dunbar and The Gap Band, he’s also picked up a “Living Legend” Blues Award in LA, as well as being a Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee and he even owns his own Fret-King Black Label Corona “GWR” guitar.

‘Big Dawg Barkin’ is a career update which spans all his influences from rock-a-boogie, blues and soul to gospel, funk, psychedelia and straight up hard rock.

The album is also something of a career update as it includes re-recordings of 4 of his best songs; the grinding groove and heavy duty shuffle ‘Fast One’, the self explanatory ‘Crank It Up’, the deep blues of ‘ …Or Die Tryin’  and the live ‘Driving To New Orleans’.

His own production skills illuminate a unity of purpose born of his impeccable chops, honey dripping voice and engaging songs.

The album didn’t see the light of day until late 2022, somehow contriving to miss the best of the year list, all the more reason to spotlight it now.

From the booming opening to the rough hewn finale, this is a great document of a versatile guitarist who is happiest fronting a power trio in whatever the immediate environment.

He sets his standards high on the opening ‘Help is on the Way’, complete with a familiar stop-time Billy Gibbons riff, a John lee Hooker growl and a psychedelic groove, in which he wraps his vocal husk round some scintillating riffs and shreds.

He’s consummate post-Hendrix disciple with a warm vibrato, a sumptuous array of tones and a keen sense of dynamics, in which he constantly builds a tension with outrageous note clusters over a carpet of layered sound.

His exclamatory “look out”, gives us advance notice of some intense guitar playing to come. And yet he remains a model of restraint, showing us glimpses of his nimble fingered brilliance, while still serving the song before a final exhilarating shred.

The track sets the template for a glossy and timeless guitar driven album which could adorn the rock-blues spectrum any time between the early 70’s and now.

He’s a restless, free flowing player who let his fingers express what his brain imagines, especially on ‘Don’t Talk To My Woman’ which is full of long near lines, a big tone and smoky Hendrix style vocals.

‘Hey Lil Girl’ is a heavier sludgy sledge-hammer blues, with an exaggerated intro with plenty of sustain, whammy bar, slide and double tracked vocals.

‘Crank It Up’ is much tighter arrangement, but is slightly more mixed back with double tracked vocals on a hard rocking outing which evokes the title.

The following acoustic-into-electric melodic ballad ‘Have You Ever Seen The Wind’ has an anthemic feel and could be early Guns N’ Roses with a big sing-along hook and resolving solo.

‘Fast One’ is archetypal Gregg Wright, being a killer dance floor friendly groove with a pulsating beat, full of judicious wah wah, tight rhythmic playing, superb vocals and a catchy hook.

It’s the anchor track to the album as a whole and perfectly distils his intense, but seemingly effortless rock-blues style, in which he makes every note in his solo count in the way an actor might deliver a dramatic speech. File under 21st Century Hendrix!

He also retains a Hendrix feel on the deep blues ballad ‘…or Die Trying’ which is all about the use of space, time, fluid soloing and emotive vocal phrasing.

It’s the sort of song in which you know exactly where it will go, but it’s the journey not the destination that is important.

The 45 second long ‘Pass the Plate’ instrumental is a sister track to the equally short ‘Moving Mountains’. Both gain their purchase from their role as a conduit linking piece, albeit the former has a subtle Peter Green feel, while the latter embodies the gritty crunch of Leslie West.

By contrast, ‘Thank You, Lord’ is a rock-blues gospel outing which owes much to Albert King with its long linear lines, and is embellished by suitable call and response bv’s from The Soulful Angels who include his daughter Cheyenne Wright.

‘Long Distance’ is an exuberant B.B. King styled instrumental shuffle, with an unexpected horns section. He initially uses a shriller tone, before fattening the sound by playing double lines with the horns. This leaves enough space for a mixed back B3 solo over supportive congas from Oogie Brown.

He works hard on ‘Ya Can’t Go Back’ to bring his guitar to the front of the mix, alongside an animated vocal and an eventual soaring solo which evokes the feeling of shrugging off the past.

The late night studio vibe of ‘You Just Evil’ underscores the linear feel of an album that flows from beginning to end, as he rocks out one final time on the live psychedelic whirlwind of ‘Drivin’ to New Orleans’, taken from his 2010 Maryport Blues Festival appearance the UK.

‘Big Dawg Barkin’ is a timely reminder of a hugely underrated talent. It’s master class in hard rocking intensity, flecked by deep blues and consistently inspired guitar playing, which is never more than one side-step away from a significant Hendrix influence.

Gregg Wright is THE ‘Big Dawg Barkin’ and his bark is as loud as his bite. *****

Review by Pete Feenstra


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


News: THUNDER are the latest entrants in The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness (October 2023)

THUNDER – Wembley Arena, London – 28th May 2022

Classic rockers Thunder are the latest entrants to “The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness” a year long promotion to tie in with rock website Get Ready to ROCK!’s 20th anniversary.

During Get Ready to ROCK!’s lifetime the band has been put on hold twice.  They have most recently reformed in 2011 and have since gone from strength to strength.

Signed to EMI in 1989 they had great success with their first two albums but found life harder in the 1990s with the onset of grunge and with classic rock being less in vogue.

Their reappearance in 1999 coincided with a revival of interest in the genre and in spite of several years hiatus in the early millennium they have continued to tour and release albums ever since.

David Randall (Get Ready to ROCK!’s Managing Editor) comments: “The band have more recently produced some of their best work.  In keeping with our selections in “The Grotto” Thunder’s live shows also reflect a high level of quality and consistency.”

The band are currently taking an unwelcome break following vocalist Danny Bowes’ accident in the summer of 2022 and his subsequent rehabilitation.

In the meantime, guitarist Luke Morley has released his second solo album and tours in the UK in January 2024.

David Randall adds:”Once again our choice of artist for October reflects the large amount of coverage and the general consensus of opinion amongst our review team.”

As Blues Rock/Features Editor Pete Feenstra commented, when reviewing their 2017 album: “the real reason for Thunder’s successful return is their own indefatigable spirit which never settles for complacency. It’s also the very reason their fans have stuck with them over the years.

Thunder still have plenty in the tank and their enduring brand of Classic Rock has come round again.”

The Thunder retrospective is published 1 October which charts the band’s progress since 2003 in words and pictures.

The latest artist was announced on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on Sunday 24 September.

EDITOR NOTE

The equivalent of the “Hall of Fame” the Grotto honours selected artists who have been covered consistently at rock website Get Ready to ROCK! over a period of 20 years. The promotion is part of the website’s 20th anniversary celebrations and will feature a different artist or band each month in 2023.

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

So far this year “The Grotto” has welcomed The Darkness (January), Chantel McGregor (February) , Eleanor McEvoy (March), Joe Bonamassa (April), Walter Trout (May), FM (June 2023), Marillion (July 2023),  Cats In Space (August 2023), Steve Hackett (September 2023).

The GRTR! Grotto
GRTR!@20 Home Page


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: 38 SPECIAL – Special Forces and Wild Eyed Southern Boys (Remasters)

Rock Candy Records [Release date: 08.09.23]

In 2008, a major fire in Universal Studios’ Hollywood Warehouse devastated the company’s music archives. 38 Special were one of the bands to suffer a significant loss…and if nothing else, that gives these remasters added resonance.

The master tapes of Wild Eyed Southern Boys, and Special Forces – two of the band’s definitive rock albums of the eighties – escaped destruction. And it’s hard not get excited when you further discover that they have now been dusted down and polished up using today’s cutting edge technology.

The original releases, in 1981 and 82 (effectively their fourth and fifth albums) had signalled a game changing shift in style for the band. Vocalists/guitarists Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes had the foresight to see which way the rock’n’roll wind was blowing. And so these two albums were a mix of Southern Rock’s storytelling tradition and the ascendant Stadium Rock emanating from the US westcoast.

Producer Rodney (Lynyrd Skynyrd/Gregg Allman/Doobie Bros) Mills drafted in acknowledged genre giant, Jim (Survivor) Peterik, to add his commercial nous to the band’s songwriting approach. Several singles popped out of each recording.

‘Caught Up In You’, ‘You Keep Runnin Away’, ‘Fantasy Girl’ and ‘Hold On Loosely’, were all fully formed blasts of hard driving southern rock tempered with accessible hooks and catchy choruses. They all charted, pushing album sales up into multi platinum territory.

The early eighties are not well known for durable recording technology. Consequently, this remastering is all the more impressive. Maintaining the warmth and depth of those original analogue recordings, while at the same time achieving a surprising amount of sonic separation and loudness, is quite some feat.

Each of these remasters have a handful of live bonus tracks. Emphatic additions to these already outstanding albums.  ****

Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: DIO – The Studio Albums 1996–2004

DIO - The Studio Albums 1996–2004

BMG [Release date 22.09.23]

Ronnie James Dio’s eponymous band have quite a legacy, released a long string of solid and well received metal albums, from their formation in 1982 (following Dio’s departure from Black Sabbath) until his death in 2010. There were, of course, breaks while Dio rejoined Sabbath, but that doesn’t detract from the quality.

Ronnie James Dio had been recorded since 1957, but came to world-wide prominence when his band Elf became the vehicle for guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to form Rainbow. Between Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band, he remains one of rock’s finest vocalists to this day.

There’s a good chance anyone reading this will have the band’s first two albums, Holy Diver and The Last In Line, and it’s too easy to forget just how good the later albums are. And this set does exactly what it says on the tin. Well, box. Four studio albums (there was an interim live set in that period), all in digipaks with booklets as per the original releases. Nothing extra, just quality music.

The first disc here is 1996’s Angry Machines, with the band featuring guitarist Tracy G, bassist Jeff Pilson, drummer Vinny Appice and keyboard player Scott Warren. Opener Institutional Man is a heavy crunchy doomy number, a definite Sabbath feel, then things pick up for Don’t Tell The Kids.

The album mixes the atmospheric doom of Sabbath, trad Dio upbeat metal and 90s metal, there was some move with the times, it wasn’t the 80s any more. Some great riffs, Dio’s usual clear bright wide ranging vocals, great metal of the era.

2000’s Magica saw the return of guitarist Craig Goldy and bassist Jimmy Bain, and were joined by drummer Simon Wright. Magica was a concept album (the band were working on a follow up when Ronnie passed), the concept being (very simply) a battle between good and evil, written from the villain’s point of view.

There is a modern feel with an 80s nod, a hint of 80s prog in places, and the odd spoken word intro. Goldy’s guitar is standout and helps give that more trad feel. An album to instantly love. The album’s closing track is an 18 minute epic. And here there is an uncredited bonus track in Electra, the only track released from the unfinished follow on.

2002’s Killing The Dragon, with guitarist Doug Aldrich, is another fine set that I’d forgotten how good it was. The Dragon of the album is a metaphor for technology which Dio saw as a threat to future society.

Another heavy number but less doomy than some of the 90s albums, and the hit of background keyboards adds a depth.  There’s some bright solos from Aldrich. This is no criticism, but like many Dio albums it’s hard to pull out a favourite, but the feel that runs throughout makes this an album that’s easy to listen to beginning to end.

2004’s Master Of The Moon saw guitarist Craig Goldy and bassist Jeff Pilson return, for what would be the band’s final studio album. And it has to be said that the sound and quality across these four albums is fantastic, high and consistent. Ronnie might have run his band with an iron fist but the results speak for themselves. There is not a weak moment across this album, or indeed any of these.

There are one or two bonuses, but certainly nothing compared to some of the 2disc reissues we’ve seen. This is the original albums, booklets with lyrics, digipaks, in a box. As I said, it does what it says on the tin.

The set also comes as a deluxe 4LP set, and this is truly magnificent.

Angry Machines comes on sandy orange vinyl, a heavy (but I don’t think 180g) vinyl, inner sleeve, likewise Angry Machines (yellow vinyl), Master Of The Moon (blue vinyl), while Magic is a double LP, gatefold sleeve, inner sleeves and dark red vinyl, and a bonus 7” 45 of Electra, p/s, blue vinyl. No polylined inner, but the records aren’t tight enough to cause damage on removal. All in a sturdy box. A quality heavy box for quality heavy music.  ****

Review by Joe Geesin


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review : SHAKE THAT THING ! The Blues In Britain 1963-73

Cherry Red [Release date 22.09.23]

Without the blues, there would be no rock’n’roll. That’s the history.

This 73 track, 3 CD package is an extensive collection of recordings by British bands and solo artists, all heavily influenced by American Blues.

In the 10 years between 1963 and 1973, these artists shaped the UK blues / rock genre into what eventually became known as Seventies Classic Rock.

There’s a bunch of of them who stayed true to their school – like Alexis Korner, Alex Harvey, John Mayall, Bert Jansch and The Climax Chicago Blues Band – all of whom ploughed a straight as an arrow blues furrow, often at the expense of commercial success. They are all here.

The research that’s gone into this collection is so impressive. The psychedelic Folk Blues of ‘Down And Out’, from Trader Horne’s one and only, 1970 album Morning Way (1st pressing now on sale Ebay for £400) is here.

The duo, John McAuley, ex Gene Vincent’s touring band, and Judy Dyble, ex Fairport Convention went on to help found Mungo Jerry. Funnily enough, whose song, ‘San Francisco Bay Blues’ sits right next to it on CD3. And even more funnily enough, sitting right next to that is McAuley’s pretty convincing version of Leadbelly classic, ‘Poor Howard’.

We are truly going deep now. The “died far too young” John Martyn has a great, self penned track on here: ‘Going Down To Memphis’, a tongue in cheek “blues song” that turned out to be most unfortunately prophetic for this flawed genius.

There’s plenty of mainstream, commercially facing blues songs/ bands here too. Humble Pie, Taste, Rory Gallagher, Long John Baldry, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, The Animals, Savoy Brown and many others.

Real highlights are two fabulous tracks from Pete Green’s Fleetwood Mac. ‘The World Keeps On Turning’, later rewritten by Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham in the later iteration of the band, and a pithy version of the great Robert Johnson’s 1937 classic, ‘Hellhound on My Trail’.

Get the package, learn a little bit of UK Blues history. *****

Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Talbot Hotel, Oundle, 21 September 2023

THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA - Talbot Hotel, Oundle, 21 September 2023

Reputed to be haunted by the ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots, the upstairs room of this Northamptonshire hotel has its own magic, the delicate lighting and warmth more welcoming than unsettling.

With their ethereal and involving soundscapes, The Blackheart Orchestra were the perfect band for the venue, bringing their own bewitching charm to a night full of blissful and pulse racing highs and lows.

At times bordering on the melancholic, it’s easy to be swept away by the duo’s music as it playfully dances between shafts of sunlight and the shadows, Rick Pilkington and Chrissy Mostyn weaving aural tapestries that break down the walls between worlds.

Opening with the spiralling majesty of ‘Raise Your Heart’, it’s fascinating to see the duo bringing layer upon layer of sound as the stand between banks of keyboards and guitars, deftly switching between them as the vocals spin their own spell.

With a smart use of their instruments and clever arrangements, the glistening promise of their recorded work is translated to breathing life that brims with soul and heart. A whisper that could fill the Royal Albert Hall, and indeed has, their kaleidoscopic material easily shifts from the triumphant and vibrant to such beauty that would make angels weep.

The urgency of ‘Drown Me Out’ and fragility of ‘The Tide’ provide stark contrast, each showing a dazzling grasp of the ebbs and flows of the human condition as the two musicians paint pictures of ominous skies and velvety rolling fields.

This contrast is put into stark relief when Mostyn warns in the velvetiest of voices “my love is a dangerous thing”, opening hearts up to many different possibilities before the glorious sweep of ‘Under the Headlights’ brings things into sharper focus.

Featuring heavily, tracks from latest album ‘Hotel Utopia’ make up over half of the set length but when they spring the ten-day old creation ‘Better Than Me’ on the audience it’s vibrant tribal feel mixed with a rocking staccato bass pattern points to new horizons to come.

The whole is mesmerising and at times jaw dropping wonder is the only way to respond. From the multi-faceted ‘The Warning’ through to the plaintive ‘Dust’ and the jaunty ‘Sebastian’, the nearest the duo have come to writing a pop song, the set is captivating both visually and aurally.

Closing with an epic ‘The Flood’ that manages to blend Kate Bush with Pink Floyd, there was just time for the encore in the shape of ‘Hey Pluto’ to seal what for many was a transformative night.

Whilst the ghost seemingly didn’t make an appearance, it’s certain that The Blackheart Orchestra brought a spiritual experience to all present, their soulful and timeless music an incandescent thing of aching beauty. Sublime.

Review by Paul Monkhouse


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


EP review: LITTLE LORE – Seven Stories part one

LITTLE LORE - Seven Stories part one

Bandcamp [Release date 22.09.23]

Tricia Duffy, aka Little Lore, is back with a new EP, with the follow-up EP, ‘Seven Stories part two’, due out in February next year. A CD version, featuring all seven songs from both parts one and two, will also be released in February.

Little Lore again works with producer and multi-instrumentalist Oli Deakin on these new songs. Deakin certainly adds a lush sound to the songs, none more so than on ‘The Bench’, where the piano and gentle guitar refrains work perfectly to highlight Little Lore’s vocals.

‘Sebastian Says’ is a rollicking slice of Americana, which Little Lore says is about …imposter syndrome and the inner critic”. ‘Running On Empty’ continues her lyrical theme of highlighting the effects of climate change, albeit in a non-preachy manner.

‘Stolen Glances’ is a thought provoking one as the song’s narrator is trying to make sense of movement and observation whilst on a long journey. Again, Little Lore’s vocals give the song that extra bit of sparkle.

Eagerly awaiting the second instalment of ‘Seven Stories’, Little Lore again proves she has a real talent, both lyrically and vocally. A big step up from her 2021 EP, an artist on the up and up. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: UNCLE FRANK – Diablo

Uncle Frank - Diablo

Last Man Media [Release date 06.10.23]

Uncle Frank were formed in 2003 by Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ drummer (and vocalist with Uncle Frank) Frank Benbini and guitarist Naim Cortazzi and ‘Diablo’ is the band’s fourth album. They are joined by Darryl Jnr Benbini on drums and Luke Kool on bass.

First off, the Queen fans amongst you may have spotted Uncle Frank’s tribute to Queen’s iconic cover on their ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ album. They do fully credit Queen for the concept on the album’s liner notes and it certainly grabs the attention as did the original cover concept!

The opening du0 of the title track and ‘Mary Jane’ show the rocking side of Uncle Frank’s music. The chorus on ‘Mary Jane’ is simply superb, whilst the guitars and drums provide the song with plenty of heft.

‘So High’, a dreamy ode to soulmates, which Benbini describes as “sounding like it might have fallen off the back of a late ‘70s Rolling Stones album.” This reviewer would add Fun Lovin’ Criminals to the song’s sound description too. The guitar on this one flows effortlessly over the soulful organ fills.

They seemingly pen radio friendly songs for fun as recent single ‘Be There’ proves to be another instant hit with the listener. ‘Off In The Distance’ mixes a neat blend of rock with a grooving backdrop.

Benbini describes ‘Exercise Them Rights’ as the album’s curveball, saying, “It’s about accepting vulnerability, having the right to feel out of sorts with the world and your own mind.” Brings to mind Blue October and REM and one of the album’s key songs.

Funky, rocking and soulful, Uncle Frank have produced an album that will get plenty of plays and deserving of a place in any self-respecting music fan’s collection. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

UK tour dates -

06 Oct The Soundhouse, Leicester

08 Oct The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

09 Oct Stereo, Glasgow

10 Oct Live at The Kings Head, Salford

13 Oct Slaughtered Lamb, London, United Kingdom


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review : BONFIRE – MMMXXIII

AFM [Release date : 22.09.23]

MMMXXIII is a suite of three albums re-recorded by German Rock giants, Bonfire.

The band’s continued popularity and success through the decades confounds critics, of the genre at least, if not the band.

That of course is down to the influence and leadership of mainman/ songwriter/guitarist, and only remaining original, Hans Ziller.

Ziller has rebuilt his band several times over the years, considering it to be a continual work in progress. His current lineup, an international collective, includes Frank Pane, Ronnie Parkes, Fabio Allessandrini and Dyan Mair, a Greek vocalist, now resident in the UK… “one of the greatest musical talents of our time”.

This is not the first time Ziller has resurrected older material. 2016’s Pearls saw the band rerecording a double album of fan favourites. And again, the band’s last release, another double album, Roots, had an interesting blueprint, again taking some older material and giving it a fresh, “almost unplugged” spin.

With MMMXXIII, Ziller’s gone a considerable step further, re-recording the first 3 albums, Don’t Touch The Light (1986), Fireworks (1987), Point Blank (1989).

On release, Don’t Touch The Light, a rapidfire succession of melodic hard rock gems, if a bit rough around the edges, basked in the glow of universal acclaim. European music scribes drew comparison with global giants Bon Jovi and later with Whitesnake and Def Leppard.

Big hitters ‘Staring Eyes’ and ‘Hot To Rock’ were and still are monster Melodic Rock songs. It’s an album that seldom shifts tempo. What the re-recording does is bring some additional production polish to the table, forming the music’s driving, relentless energy into a more unified sound.

Similar story on Fireworks and Point Blank. The songs are robust and thunderous, the melodies tough but buoyant, and the choruses vertiginous.

‘Ready 4 Reaction’, ‘American Nights’, ‘Give It A Try’ from Fireworks, and ‘You’re Back’ and ‘Know Right Know’ from Point Blank are as good as the genre gets.

In recording the albums using today’s cutting edge technology, almost conversely, Ziller has captured the analogue warmth and indeed the underrated sonic clarity of many hard rock recordings of the genre’s eighties’ heyday. An arrangement tweak here, a marginally reshaped riff there. It doesn’t need much. Like several other talents, he knows that you do nothing for show and everything for effect. ****

Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: STEVE HACKETT – Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live In Brighton

David Randall chatted to Steve Hackett in September 2023 as part of the GRTR!@20 promotion when Steve was the September “Grotto of Greatness” inductee.  This is an edited version of the radio show that will be broadcast in its entirety on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, 1 October, 18:00 GMT.  (For the web, some tracks have been edited).

STEVE HACKETT - Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live In Brighton

Inside Out Music [Release date 15.09.23]

We have to ask:  Do we really need another Steve Hackett live album?  Our September inductee in the hallowed “GRTR! Grotto of Greatness” has released  seven live albums since 2013.  The truth is, unless you must have everything the man has produced and/or were particularly impressed with the specific tour (or even attended the Brighton gig) the answer has to be a resounding no.

However each of these releases is a wonderful document of Hackett’s trawl through Genesis back catalogue and, to a lesser extent, his more selective treatment of solo material.

For many, the ‘Seconds Out’ sortie in the second half 2021 was a bit of a cop-out because it was essentially a Genesis greatest hits but, Lockdown notwithstanding, he got back on track with his 50th anniversary celebration of ‘Foxtrot’.

As ever, it’s an immaculate production and even better on the 5.1 Bluray disc which evidences what makes these tours so compelling: great staging and even greater musicianship.

There is inevitably duplication between live releases and frustratingly the new solo albums don’t really get a look-in.  ‘Surrender Of Silence’ was hailed by some as his heaviest/darkest album but only ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ appears here.

And, of Steve’s earlier solo works, he chose to celebrate the “highlights”.  But most tracks have also appeared on previous outings.  In terms of his millennium live comeback it was only in 2016 that he shifted the focus slightly from Genesis Revisited.

In his summary of our past twenty years coverage, our Prog Rock Editor Alan Jones made the plea that – amidst all the Genesis excitement  – hopefully punters will be turned on to Hackett’s  own illustrious back catalogue.  In other words it should never be overlooked or underestimated.  ‘Sierra Quemada’ anyone?

A behind the scenes documentary – on the Bluray – provides added value but we now await the completion of a new solo album and fleeting reference in, inevitably, ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ and ‘A Trick Of The Tail’ themed shows to come.  ****

Review by David Randall

Feature (GRTR!@20 The Grotto of Greatness) – 20 years of reviews and interviews

Steve Hackett is on tour in North America 3 October-18 November 2023 returning 1 March-9 April 2024.


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: RENAISSANCE – The Legacy Tour 2022

RENAISSANCE - The Legacy Tour 2022

Symphonic Rock Recordings [Release date 15.08.23]

Back in 2015 we saw Renaissance performing at a small venue in North-West England, The Citadel, which remains something of a mecca for prog bands.  Since that time they have played several tours in North America (where they achieved success in the 1970s) only returning to the UK in April 2016 for dates with Curved Air.  This double CD captures the band more recently in October 2022.  The novelty is that they are accompanied by a small orchestra.

For some reason there is no insert with our promo copy so no detail about the band and players. However, it is evident that the core band which we saw in St. Helens pretty much remains: A bunch of consummate professionals with ace arranger/pianist Rave Tsar and fronted by guitarist Mark Lambert.

The band’s history is a tale of two halves. They originally emerged from the band that Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty and guitarist Keith Relf formed back in 1969. They enjoyed a raised profile in the seventies with the key albums ‘Ashes Are Burning’ (1973), ‘Turn Of The Cards’ (1974) – both supplying a track each here – and ‘Scheherazade and Other Stories’ (1975).  Later on they produced more contemporary sounding material in the early eighties before calling it a day in 1987.

Reforming most recently in 2010 they have since released a studio album (renamed in 2014 ‘Symphony Of Light’ with bonus tracks) and several live efforts.

This live set includes two songs from 1977′s ‘Novella’ and one from 1978′s ‘A Song For All Seasons’.

The whole is a vehicle for Annie Haslam’s still intact and sonorous vocals. Whether she can still hit the renowned five octave range is anyone’s guess but she always lends her warmth and personality to the proceedings.

There are in fact as many tracks from Annie’s solo albums as there are from Renaissance: ‘Annie Haslam’ (1989), Blessing In Disguise’ (1999) , ‘Ananda’ (2000), and ‘Woman Transcending’ (2006).  (All worthy of re-investigation in their own right).

As we said in our 2015 review the band do real justice to the Renaissance songbook and whilst long-standing member Michael Dunford (d.2012) – who was part of the more recent revival -  may be absent, I am sure he would approve.

The band’s music is a mixture of prog and the pastoral and the orchestral accompaniment emphasises their classical pretensions. ‘Day Of The Dreamer’ for example is decidedly what was once called “easy listening”. If you are expecting the band’s “hit” ‘Northern Lights’ you’ll be disappointed but this double album does show off well the band’s current incarnation.  ****

Review by David Randall

Gig review (April 2015)
Album review (A Symphonic Journey, 2018) 

Annie Haslam/Renaissance is a Featured Artist at Get Ready to ROCK! Radio


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: MARTIN TURNER – 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

After a number of tours celebrating classic Wishbone Ash albums, founder member Martin Turner and band have now spent most of 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of ‘Live Dates’-  their first live album and the swansong for the first era of the band with Ted Turner on guitar. Interestingly, the current Wishbone line up is also doing the same this autumn.

Then, as now, the classics from ‘Argus’ formed much of the band’s repertoire and they opened with a trio of them. ‘The King Will Come’  is always a good primer for Wishbone music with harmony lead guitars and a superb use of the wah-wah pedal from long time cohort Danny Willson on the solo.

There was also an improvised section in the middle where the band took the place down to near silence and Martin played a brief solo. That said, most of the songs stuck fairly faithfully to their original counterparts with latest drummer (and member of a famous rock family) Sonny Flint having something of the swing and subtlety of original drummer Steve Upton.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

‘Warrior’, with some excellent lead work from Misha Nikolic, led into ‘Throw Down The Sword’ where just as notable as the beautiful closing twin lead passage was the way  the crowd broke into singing along  ’der-der-der’ to the guitar intro – the first indication that after an unseasonally summery September day, many of a Saturday crowd  were already well refreshed.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

The man himself remains a great character with his colourful stage clothes including a Samurai style headband for the first part of the set, and even a lucky Buddha cat perched on an amp behind him. He told stories behind the songs with a raconteur’s entertaining manner and a twinkle in his eye or tongue in cheek never far away, suggesting the spoken word circuit awaits (not too soon hopefully!). That said, his voice also seemed stronger than on recent outings and able to carry the songs, even those that do not rely on harmony vocals.

Arguably the stand out pair from ‘Wishbone Four’ gave Danny a chance to shine, first with lead vocals and slide guitar on ‘Rock And Roll Widow’ then sharing, as Andy Powell used to, vocal duties with Martin on ‘Ballad Of The Beacon’ and taking an exquisite solo, as did Misha.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

Most of these songs are familiar through those trips through the band’s back catalogue, making the Jimmy Reed song, as popularised by the Everley Brothers, ’Baby What You Want Me To Do’ the odd man out. The band did a decent enough job with bluesy solos from both guitarists, Danny on slide and harmony leads, but it was simply less interesting than Wishbone’s own material: an epic ‘Phoenix’ which Martin dedicated to the people of Ukraine proved the point.

After a decent break, the second half began with more Live Dates tracks in ‘Lady Whiskey’ with a fiery solo from Misha who really seems over the years to have come into his own and ‘The Pilgrim’, where the guitar solos were unexpectedly heavy. However partly to create a longer set and partly to save some crowd pleasers to nearer the end, the set then departed from a strict format.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

Instead ‘F.U.B.B’ was a second instrumental which, though lengthy, never dragged with the guitars fairly singing, followed by a lively ‘You See Red’ where Danny in the latest instalment of what became a running joke assumed the vocal role of Laurie Wisefield.

The atmosphere was unusually raucous for a Wishbone-related crowd and as the songs became more direct and uptempo the atmosphere came to boiling point with ‘Blind Eye’, the Mark 2 Wishbone’s finest song in ‘Living Proof’, and- preceded by a story about the famous Swedish girl who inspired the song – reached a peak with ‘Blowin Free’, concluding with more excellent slide work from Danny.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

Introduced by the now familiar anecdote about the former socialite sent to their hometown of Torquay to clean up, ‘Doctor’ illustrated how Martin’s distinctive and intricate bass lines, weaving around and over the slashing twin guitars have been almost a third lead instrument in themselves, before the usual lengthy finale of ‘Jailbait’, the two guitarists trading leads and pulling poses with the sense of fun that characterises this line up, and even Martin trying a couple of new ‘Dad jokes’ on the audience.

It was a evening of wonderful music, as you would expect, yet also a thoroughly entertaining one with an uptempo crowd responding to the band’s own joy on stage. And the good news is that ‘Live Dates 2’ – a number of whose songs were teased tonight – is to be their theme in 2024.

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: STRAY – 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

He may be – according to the title of his own memoirs –  a rock’n’roll survivor but Stray founder member Del Bromham has not lost his musical  creativity. The band have just released a very welcome first studio album in well over a decade, and the first with the band’s newest, expanded line-up which I thought was the best under the Stray name (at least in my time, being too young to remember the original) when I saw them twice, either side of the pandemic. However at the prestigious 100 Club I was disappointed the half-full turnout was not bigger.

As an official album launch show, this was always going to be a different set from the norm and, with an introductory bass solo from the Rickenbacker wielding Colin Kempster, ‘Shout’ was heavy but the song structure felt different in nature to what Stray have done in the past. There had to be older stuff as well of course, and a punchy ‘Houdini’ saw second guitarist Pete Dyer taking most of the vocals on a song from their mid- seventies period where he was their lead singer, while Del excelled with a wah-wah solo, then ‘Time Machine’ boasted one of their classic early seventies riffs.

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

Moving back to the present day ‘I Am’, with its autobiographical lyric ‘I am a lion, I am a tiger, I’m a rock’n'roll survivor’ and boasting a surprising melodic sensibility even in his guitar solo,  and ‘Better Day’ with its pandemic-era lyrics showed that although a genuine and cult guitar hero, his talent as a singer and songwriter is too easily overlooked.

After a dip back into their last studio album ‘Valhalla’ (voted GRTR!’s album of 2009, natch!) for ‘1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’, there were two more new numbers in ‘Black Star’, a superb straight ahead rocker  which had impressed me so much when I heard it at A New Day Festival last year and ‘Living The Dream’ with prominent Hammond from Simon Rinaldo whose addition has moved the band closer to Uriah Heep territory, never a bad thing in my book.

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

The rest of the set was Stray classics, beginning with ‘I Believe It’ which turned into an eight minute epic as Del wound up a lengthy solo,  before after a different, almost reggae-fied intro and what sounded like a slower start than normal, ‘After The Storm’ eventually exploded into a furious burst of one heavy riff and solo after another.

In an improvised change to the setlist ‘Jericho’ featured a fast and frantic guitar and keyboard battle, before set closer and probably Stray’s signature song, ‘All In Your Mind’ was suitably epic, and included Del’s party piece of leaving his guitar suspended from a rig of speakers. In the hands of an excellent band and Karl Randall’s powerhouse drumming in particular, this was pioneering heavy rock at its finest.

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

Sadly there was only time for one encore in a shorter set that some epics I have witnessed in the past, but it was one of my favourite more recent Stray discoveries from the ‘Dyer period’ in ‘One Night In Texas’, where the rumbling rhythms and harmony guitar solos between Del and Pete were redolent of Wishbone Ash’s ‘Jailbait’.

It was a top gig from one of rock’s cult heroes, and the verdict was that the balance between old and new was about right. The latter numbers look like they have real staying power to fit in the set and ensure Stray remain a contemporary force and not just an interesting footnote in rock history.

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Album review/interview (About Time, 2023)


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: ROBIN TROWER Featuring SARI SCHORR – Joyful Sky

Pete Feenstra chatted to Robin Trower for his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.  First broadcast 30 June 2024.

Robin Trower - Joyful Sky

Provogue Records [Release date 27.10.23]

The Robin Trower and Sari Schorr pairing looks great on paper, while in real time it’s a smouldering combination which much like Trower’s guitar tone constantly bubbles up with intent, but sometimes keeps us waiting for a pay off.

‘Joyful Sky’ is also a significant title, in as much as if look hard enough you will find plenty of artistic reward.

It’s a meditative album on which the music supports the song, but also often defines it, leaving vocalist Sari Schorr just enough room to mould the songs to her own end.

Trower has pointed to the way Sari handled the closing ballad ‘I Will Always Be Your Shelter’ as the key to the album’s collaboration.

She’s finds herself singing well within her range on a number of songs, meaning that when she does burst through it’s like an emotional tidal wave.

In many respects Trower and Schorr are two similar minded souls in need of emotional depth, spiritual substance and musical excellence. Their shared values lie at the core of a restless search for the right material to match their creative sensibilities and artistic integrity.

Sari Schorr has been so busy on the blues-rock scene that you almost forget that this is her first studio album for 5 years, though given her excellent performance you would never know that.

Trower meanwhile has enjoyed something of a renaissance as an elder statesman of rock/blues, while successfully changing his style. And though he’s long moved on from being a post-Hendrix disciple, the ethereal tones to be found on Procol Harum’s 1971 ‘Song For a Dreamer’ (his homage to Hendrix) and his carefully structured solos still resonate over 50 years later.

Not for nothing was his 2009 solo album called ‘What Lies Beneath’, as it could be interpreted as a mission statement for his ongoing spiritual quest.

Schorr’s versatility in handling rock, blues, ballads and her ability to illuminate lyrical meaning is the perfect foil a guitarist who primarily communicates through his sumptuous tones.

That said, the album succeeds because of her ability to dig deep and make the kind of musical connections she thrives on.

Once she finds her equilibrium on songs like the lead single ‘Burn’, the heavier ‘Flatter To Deceive’ and the almost brusque ‘I’ll Be Moving On’ the combination of Trower’s deep grooves and her own intuitive phrasing gives the album its organic feel. As a result her voice becomes an extension of Trower’s aching tone.

You could argue that as a vocalist she has big boots to fill in the slipstream of James Dewar, Jack Bruce, Davey Pattison and even Maxi Priest, but that would be to overlook Trower’s own vocal efforts which started shakily, but have over time aligned themselves with his more laid back and sometimes introspective material.

And therein lies the big change, as Sari brings a fresh energy and a natural vivacity to bear on some angular chords, as evidenced by her jazzy tinged presence on ‘Burn’ which leaves Trower to add his extra tonal voice.

He also adds some sculpted tones on the chunkier groove of ‘I’ll Be Moving On’, which leaves enough room for her to characteristically give full vent to her vocals.

‘The Distance’ is built on portentous chords, a treacly tone and pounding drums. It is everything you hoped this collaboration might be, while the stop-start arrangement of ‘Peace of Mind’ creates a restless feel as if looking for the kind of balance to be found in the song title.

Sari sparkles on the wah-wah driven and early chorus of ‘Change It’, complete with call and response bv’s  which totter on the brink of submerging the subtle dynamic they seek to create.

The insistent funky groove again connects with lyrics which deal with lifestyle choices, while Trower adds growling tones before a somewhat perfunctory finish.

The title track moves from a psychedelic dreamy opening to the sudden ascending animated titular hook. Trower adds brooding chords and subtly woven silky tones on a slow building piece.

Sari again provides contrast with a grittier vocal on the percussive funk of ‘Need For You’, which is a fine meeting of voice, double tracked guitar and a tight rhythm section.

The balance between Trower’s tonal variety and different tempos, and Schorr’s mix of intensity and intuitive phrasing gives the album its variety and velocity.

‘The Circle Is Complete’ is different again, being two contrasting pieces of the same song, conjoined by a pregnant pause. The first part finds Schorr’s booming attack somewhat smothered by annoying bv’s which compromise a potential rocker. The latter instrumental section finds Trower in exploratory tonal mode on a piece which fulfils the same function as Peter Green’s ‘Oh Well (Part Two).’

The composite also acts as a bridge between Trower’s 70’s style and his more recent introspection. It also appears to reflect the meaning of the song title, as in a journey ended.

In sharp contrast ‘Flatter To Deceive’ is an exuberant percussive groove complete with handclaps, on a song that would not be out of place on a Sari album.

She dominates the track with an exuberant vibrato, as Trower takes a back seat before finishing with a short solo full of touch, taste and of course the thickest tone.

‘Joyful Sky’ reaffirms the qualities of a truly great guitar player who delivers enough quality songs for Sari Schorr to transform them into a slice of mature, groove laden rock- blues. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Gig review: GRAHAM NASH – Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

The sad loss of David Crosby earlier this year was a reminder that the number of stars from the first wave of classic rock still alive, or at least active, diminishes by the year. That in part was my motivation for seeing his one time bandmate Graham Nash on his latest tour.

In recent years he has been playing some quite modest venues but this date at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, interrupting a long run of  ’Frozen’, was anything but. One of London’s largest theatres on four tiers, the staircases and balconies and even a regal-looking crest embossed on every set gave it an air of real grandeur.

He came on stage wearing double denim and sporting an enviably thick head of silver hair for an 81 year old. The ‘sixty years of songs and stories’ strapline for the tour had led me to expect a solo acoustic format with as many stories as songs, but in fact it was a music-heavy show and he was backed by two very talented accomplices in Shane Fontayne, part of the latter day CSN touring line up and a respected player with Bruce Springsteen among others, and keyboard player Todd Caldwell. The first impression was how they added some delicate harmonies to replicate the trademark Crosby, Stills and Nash sound on opener ‘Wasted on the Way’, while Shane in particular played with great delicacy and precision throughout.

 GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

Going even further back Graham dedicated ‘Bus Stop’ to old friend and Hollies bandmate, Allan Clarke and his recent return to music, then after pausing to pay respect to victims of the Moroccan earthquake, but having been persuaded to keep it in the set, ‘Marrakesh Express’ sounded just as lively as in the day.

He has always been famous for his outspoken views on the state of the world and a reference to the war in Ukraine heralded a medley of ‘Find The Cost of Freedom’ and the autobiographical ‘Military Madness’, complete with a lyric changed to excoriate Putin, while ‘Right Between The Eyes’ was enlivened by some fine organ playing from Tom.

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

I didn’t expect there to be so few songs from his current ‘Now’ album but one such, ‘Better Life’, had his trademark lyrical optimism. As evidenced on oldies like ‘Right Between The Eyes’, ‘Taken at All’, and ‘Carried Away’, which was a request from a fan who had travelled from Italy,  his high tenor voice has aged well and the songs still sound instantly recognisable, though I did notice from time to time he would sing in an almost spoken word style.

I wondered how he would address David Crosby’s passing, given the chequered history between them, but he did so simply and movingly, paying tribute to his unique talent and saying there wasn’t and never would be a day when he didn’t think of him before playing, after the taped acapella, almost Gregorian chanting of ‘Critical Mass’, the anti-whaling song  ‘Wind On The Water’.

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

Photo: Michele Kostiner

Switching back from the piano to acoustic guitar after a few songs, there was a surprise as he covered one of his former bandmates songs in ‘Love The One You’re With’, cocking an ear to the crowd and encouraging them to sing along.

After an interval to allow the man, in his own words, to ‘have a pee’, the opening few numbers of the second set saw him on harmonica and singing about his other specialist subject, the ups and downs of love, though not always his own songs as ‘A Case Of You’ from the pen of former muse Joni Mitchell was followed by ‘Love Of Mine’ dedicated to current wife Amy Grantham, and ‘Unequal Love’.

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

Indeed one feature of the gig was how much credit and exposure he gave to the songs of former collaborators. He perfectly reproduced Neil Young’s melancholy melodies on ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ then after a relatively recent solo song in ‘Golden Days’ paid tribute to Stephen Stills and how ‘4 +20’ had broken his heart when he first heard it.

But most of the rest of the set consisted of the CSN numbers most associated with him, beginning with ‘Cathedral’ which he began solo on piano before the shadows fell to reveal his bandmates. The dramatic arrangement was at odds with the generally stripped back nature of most of the set and proved an immersive experience – albeit without the need for  the acid trip that inspired the song originally!

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

The simpler ‘Just A Song Before I Go’ was preceded by the well-worn anecdote about a friend and drug dealer making a bet that he couldn’t write a song before he flew to the airport that still raises a chuckle every time. Then, after paying tribute to the return to health of the woman he referred to as ‘Joan’, another anecdote revealed the mundane and real life inspiration behind ‘Our House’, at which point you could feel the warmth from an audience reliving their own past.

There was a slight difference for the first encore – referencing that Tom shared his birthplace of Lubbock, Texas a near acapella cover of Buddy Holly’s ‘Everyday’, with the three of them sharing the closest of harmony singing, before probably the trademark Nash song above all others, ‘Teach Your Children’ had people singing and even large parts of the audience taking to their feet for the first time.

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

It had been quite an emotional evening seeing a master songsmith deliver the sounds of the counter cultural generation in such an evergreen manner.  It was a definitive set that will live long in the memory.

Review by Andy Nathan

Photos by Andy Nathan and Jennifer Noble (except where indicated)


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review : RONNIE ROMERO – Too Many Lies Too Many Masters

Frontiers [release date : 15.09.23]

Ronnie Romero’s third “solo” album is delivered by a pretty cool hard rock trio rounded out by guitarist Jose Rubio and drummer, Andy C.

The label make a point of telling us that this is the first “solo” album where Romero has written or co-written every song. The results are mixed.

But there’s no doubting that Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters is a rock hard, hard rockin’ album, with Romero cranking the rock’n’roll machine back to his days with Rainbow and Sunstorm (which wasn’t all that long ago, to be honest).

Some tracks never truly get off the ground, but for most of the album, the trio (with some outside help) construct some modestly impressive bricks-and-mortar hard rock action, and there’s handful where they really find their groove.

‘I’ve Been Losing You’ and ‘A Distant Shore’ gather together less-is-more arrangements, both proving that you don’t need to be bombastic to be exciting.

The kinetic title track’s simple polemic distinguishes itself through Romero’s scorched voice and sheer effervescent energy.

Nowadays, the rigours of the genre demand a little more than loud guitars, fast fingers and a declamatory chorus, and so ‘Girl, Don’t Listen To The Radio’ matches a sense of perspective to the primal thrill of drums and red hot guitar riffery, while ‘Crossroad’, as the title suggests, submerges itself in a distant delta blues.

And in fairness, the album’s highs really do make the lows seem insignificant. ***

Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

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




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


Recent (last 30 days)


Album review: BRICK BRISCOE – Found Footage

TOM WEBBER - The RAK Tracks

Facebook [Release date 20.04.26] Brick Briscoe, what a great discovery. Hands up who’s heard of him. One or two at the back yeah. So I’d never heard of him either, but I’m damned glad I’ve been hipped to him now. … Continue reading

EP review: TOM WEBBER – The RAK Tracks

TOM WEBBER - The RAK Tracks

Website  [Release date 29.09.23] Recorded at the legendary RAK Studios, Tom Webber takes another step up in his musical travels and more importantly, the musical depth and production that comes with recording at such a famous studio. If you though … Continue reading

News: BERNIE MARSDEN, THE KINKS, PALLAS (October 2023)

GRTR!@20

Alkaline Trio release their latest album, ‘Blood, Hair And Eyeballs’, on January 26 via Rise Records. The Beatles release ‘Now And Then’ on November 2, and it is being advertised as the final ‘new’ Beatles song ever. Black Sabbath release a … Continue reading

Album review: CLIVE CARROLL – The Abbot – Clive Carroll plays the music of John Renbourn

CLIVE CARROLL - The Abbot - plays the music of John Renbourn

www.clivecarroll.co.uk [Release date 02.10.23] I have a confession to make.  In the early 1970s I was heavily into “early music” and for a time performed in a duo recreating the dance music of the medieval minstrels.  That band’s demise was … Continue reading

Album review: SCREAMING EAGLES – High Class Rock ‘N’ Roll

SCREAMING EAGLES - High Class Rock 'N' Roll

FTF Records [Release date 06.10.23] Screaming Eagles hail from Northern Ireland and this is their sophomore album. The debut came out in 2013 which begs the question what have they been doing since? Notwithstanding the two year hiatus that is … Continue reading

Album review : THE RUNAWAYS – Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin (5 CD boxset)

Runaways Neon Angels 150

Cherry Red [Release date : 29.09.23] An all female rock band is rare. A successful all female rock band is even rarer. US band, The Runaways, Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West and Jackie Fox, broke through the … Continue reading

Gig review: ROB TOGNONI – 100 Club, London, 26 September 2023

Rob Tognoni by Tom Brundage

Rob Tognoni typifies the spirit of old school rock and roll. It isn’t the fact that he and his band have just driven 16 hours from the Orkney Festival in the highlands of Scotland to the heart of London, or … Continue reading

EP review: CULANN – Songs of Saints & Reivers

CULANN - Songs of Saints & Reivers

Bandcamp [Release date 15.09.23] Ayrshire based Culann have been around since 2008, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2012, followed by their second album, ‘The Great Ecumene‘, in 2019. Now Cullan – who consist of PJ Kelly (Vocals, Guitar), Sean Kelly (Drums), … Continue reading

Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 19 September 2023

In the fast rising career of Brave Rival this was a significant milestone for the South Coast-based band. As part of their heavy touring schedule they had played support slots at the 100 Club before, but this was their first … Continue reading

Gig review: ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK – The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK- The Junction, Cambridge, 22 September 2023

Their sound may be the most American imaginable, but it seems Robert Jon and the Wreck have made Europe and the UK in particular their second home. At a time when many US acts are pulling out of European tours … Continue reading

Album review: GREGG WRIGHT – Big Dawg Barkin’

Gregg Wright - Big Dawg Barkin cover

Left Hook Music [Release date 01.12.22] It’s 45 years since Gregg Wright the self proclaimed ‘King of the rockin Blues’ cut his debut solo album back in Louisiana called ‘Khamsin’. Since then he’s established himself as an international rock blues … Continue reading

News: THUNDER are the latest entrants in The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness (October 2023)

The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness

Classic rockers Thunder are the latest entrants to “The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness” a year long promotion to tie in with rock website Get Ready to ROCK!’s 20th anniversary. During Get Ready to ROCK!’s lifetime the band has been put … Continue reading

Album review: 38 SPECIAL – Special Forces and Wild Eyed Southern Boys (Remasters)

38special-specialforces 150

Rock Candy Records [Release date: 08.09.23] In 2008, a major fire in Universal Studios’ Hollywood Warehouse devastated the company’s music archives. 38 Special were one of the bands to suffer a significant loss…and if nothing else, that gives these remasters … Continue reading

Album review: DIO – The Studio Albums 1996–2004

DIO - The Studio Albums 1996–2004

BMG [Release date 22.09.23] Ronnie James Dio’s eponymous band have quite a legacy, released a long string of solid and well received metal albums, from their formation in 1982 (following Dio’s departure from Black Sabbath) until his death in 2010. … Continue reading

Album review : SHAKE THAT THING ! The Blues In Britain 1963-73

shake that thing image 150

Cherry Red [Release date 22.09.23] Without the blues, there would be no rock’n’roll. That’s the history. This 73 track, 3 CD package is an extensive collection of recordings by British bands and solo artists, all heavily influenced by American Blues. … Continue reading

Gig review: THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Talbot Hotel, Oundle, 21 September 2023

THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA - Talbot Hotel, Oundle, 21 September 2023

Reputed to be haunted by the ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots, the upstairs room of this Northamptonshire hotel has its own magic, the delicate lighting and warmth more welcoming than unsettling. With their ethereal and involving soundscapes, The Blackheart … Continue reading

EP review: LITTLE LORE – Seven Stories part one

LITTLE LORE - Seven Stories part one

Bandcamp [Release date 22.09.23] Tricia Duffy, aka Little Lore, is back with a new EP, with the follow-up EP, ‘Seven Stories part two’, due out in February next year. A CD version, featuring all seven songs from both parts one and … Continue reading

Album review: UNCLE FRANK – Diablo

Uncle Frank - Diablo

Last Man Media [Release date 06.10.23] Uncle Frank were formed in 2003 by Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ drummer (and vocalist with Uncle Frank) Frank Benbini and guitarist Naim Cortazzi and ‘Diablo’ is the band’s fourth album. They are joined by Darryl … Continue reading

Album review : BONFIRE – MMMXXIII

bonfire mmmxxiii cover 150

AFM [Release date : 22.09.23] MMMXXIII is a suite of three albums re-recorded by German Rock giants, Bonfire. The band’s continued popularity and success through the decades confounds critics, of the genre at least, if not the band. That of … Continue reading

Album review: STEVE HACKETT – Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live In Brighton

STEVE HACKETT - Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live In Brighton

David Randall chatted to Steve Hackett in September 2023 as part of the GRTR!@20 promotion when Steve was the September “Grotto of Greatness” inductee.  This is an edited version of the radio show that will be broadcast in its entirety … Continue reading

Album review: RENAISSANCE – The Legacy Tour 2022

RENAISSANCE - The Legacy Tour 2022

Symphonic Rock Recordings [Release date 15.08.23] Back in 2015 we saw Renaissance performing at a small venue in North-West England, The Citadel, which remains something of a mecca for prog bands.  Since that time they have played several tours in … Continue reading

Gig review: MARTIN TURNER – 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

MARTIN TURNER- 100 Club, London, 16 September 2023

After a number of tours celebrating classic Wishbone Ash albums, founder member Martin Turner and band have now spent most of 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of ‘Live Dates’-  their first live album and the swansong for the first era … Continue reading

Gig review: STRAY – 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

STRAY- 100 Club, London, 14 September 2023

He may be – according to the title of his own memoirs –  a rock’n’roll survivor but Stray founder member Del Bromham has not lost his musical  creativity. The band have just released a very welcome first studio album in … Continue reading

Album review: ROBIN TROWER Featuring SARI SCHORR – Joyful Sky

Robin Trower - Joyful Sky

Pete Feenstra chatted to Robin Trower for his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.  First broadcast 30 June 2024. Provogue Records [Release date 27.10.23] The Robin Trower and Sari Schorr pairing looks great on paper, while in real time it’s … Continue reading

Gig review: GRAHAM NASH – Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

GRAHAM NASH- Theatre Royal, London, 11 September 2023

The sad loss of David Crosby earlier this year was a reminder that the number of stars from the first wave of classic rock still alive, or at least active, diminishes by the year. That in part was my motivation … Continue reading

Album review : RONNIE ROMERO – Too Many Lies Too Many Masters

ronnie romero too many 150

Frontiers [release date : 15.09.23] Ronnie Romero’s third “solo” album is delivered by a pretty cool hard rock trio rounded out by guitarist Jose Rubio and drummer, Andy C. The label make a point of telling us that this is … Continue reading