-
Upcoming Gigs & Albums
-
Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2025
-
Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2026
-
Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
-
Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
-
Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
-
Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
-
Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
-
Latest Album Reviews
-
Album review: SPOCK’S BEARD – The Archaeoptimist
-
Album review: ROSS HARDING – The Blood and the Blues
-
Album review: PETE KOSANOVICH – Beauty Within You
-
Album review : ROB MORATTI – Sovereign
-
Album review : BRAZEN ABBOT – Live And Learn and Guilty As Sin (CD reissues)
-
Album review : GRAHAM BONNET – Lost In Hollywood Again (Live)
-
Latest Gig Reviews
-
Gig review: STEVE OVERLAND AND JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Weir, Brentford, Middlesex, 9 December 2025
-
Gig review: JOHN OTWAY – Face Bar, Reading, Thursday 11 December 2025
-
Gig review: CURVED AIR – The Sub Rooms, Stroud, 20 November 2025
-
Gig review: MARTIN BARRE & FRIENDS – Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, 18 November 2025
-
GRTR! Greats
Featured Album Reviews
Features
Interviews
Single & EP Reviews
DVD Reviews
Book Reviews
News
Tag Archives: album
Album review: THE UNITY – Pride
Steamhammer/SPV [release date: 13.03.20] As Euro power metal projects go, this third studio album from The Unity passes muster with flying colours. If a mesh of tight production and bombastic musical posturing is your thing, then step in line. And … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Gamma Ray, melodic metal, power metal, Pride, review, The Unity
Leave a comment
Quick plays: GENTLEMEN’S ACADEMY, NELS ANDREWS
NELS ANDREWS Pigeon And The Crow Probably the most interesting thing about this fourth studio endeavour by Californian singer songwriter Nels Andrews is that it was recorded at Whispering Pines Studio in LA which was originally built for Sam Cooke … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged acoustic, album, folk, Gentlemen's Academy, Joy, Nels Andrews, Pigeon And The Crow, review, rock, singer, songwriter
Leave a comment
Album review: EILEEN ROSE – Muscle Shoals
Holy Wreckords [Release date 17.04,20] Looking back, I had my last encounter with Eileen Rose with the release of her third solo album, Come The Storm, a record I had down as a strong contender for my 2005 album of … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Americana, country, Eileen Rose, Muscle Shoals, Nashville, review, roots
Leave a comment
Album review: MAYA RAE – Can You See Me?
Black Hen Music [Release date 24.04.20] It’s perhaps not the smartest PR move in the book to compare the debut album (of sorts) – by an artist not yet 18 – to timeless classics such as Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, Can You See Me?, Maya Rae, review, rock, roots, singer, songwriter
Leave a comment
Album review: SIERRA HULL – 25 Trips
Rounder [Release date 27.03.20] Sierra Hull has built her reputation as a world class mandolin player, becoming the first woman to be voted Mandolin Player of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in 2016, after a near-decade … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 25 Trips, album, Americana, bluegrass, country, mandolin, review, Rounder Records, Sierra Hull
Leave a comment
Album review: THE MOOD GROOVE – Some Left, Some Stayed
Indie [Release date 29.02.20] The Mood Groove, formed by JK Northrup and Ed Balldinger, released their debut album back in 2018 as an outlet to create and record music that stretched their collective imaginations and to invite listeners to something … Continue reading
Album review: HAREM SCAREM – Change The World
Frontiers [Release date 06.03.20] It’s not unreasonable to claim that Harem Scarem spearheaded the Melodic Rock movement’s rejuvenation in the mid nineties. 1993′s “Mood Swings”, the band’s second album, gave thousands of fans a liferaft to cling onto when the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Change The World, hard rock, Harem Scarem, Harry Hess, melodic rock, Pete Lesperance, review
Leave a comment
Album review: BLUE OYSTER CULT – Agents Of Fortune, 40th Anniversary
Frontiers [Release date 06.03.20] CD/DVD As any fan knows, the key to a band’s longevity is an enduring ability to write great songs. That and the talent to leave more out than they put in. Once they get into the … Continue reading
Album review: SERIOUS BLACK – Suite 226
AFM Records [Release date 31.01.20] “Suite 226” is seriously good Serious Black. The band have taken a lot of flak over the variable quality of their last couple of albums. Which isn’t surprising, knowing that the band’s refusal to conform … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AFM Records, album, melodic metal, metal, review, rock opera, Serious Black, Suite 226, Urban breed
Leave a comment
Album review: SHAKRA – Mad World
AFM Records [Release date 28.02.20] “Mad World” is Shakra’s 12th studio album, and it’s a lot like the previous 11. That’s a relief. Thomas Muster’s and Thom Blunier’s economic riffs continue to drive the music, and along with prodigal son, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AC/DC, AFM Records, album, hard rock, KROKUS, Mad World, review, rock, Shakra
Leave a comment
Album review: DAVID CROSS & PETER BANKS – Crossover
Noisy Records [Release date 17.01.20] David Cross will be best known for his time with King Crimson in the 1970s. His more recent solo works and collaborations (with the likes of one-time Van Der Graaf sax player David Jackson and … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, ambient, Billy Sherwood, Crossover, David Cross, fusion, Geoff Downes, instrumental, King Crimson, Peter Banks, review, Tony Kaye, Yes
Leave a comment
Album review: NEWMAN – Ignition
AOR Heaven [Release date 27.03.20] Steve Newman formed the band Newman way back in 1997, with the last Newman album ‘Aerial’ released in 2017. Since then he’s been busy writing songs with the likes of Toby Hitchcock, joined the band … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, AOR Heaven, hard rock, Ignition, melodic rock, NEWMAN, review, Steve Newman, Toby Hitchcock
Leave a comment
Album review: SEVEN SPIRES – Emerald Seas
Frontiers [Release date 28.02.20] If only all concept albums were like this one…bittersweet melodic metal anthems liberally laced with apocalyptic metal tragedy. It’s such an accomplished piece of music that it belies the fact it is only the US band … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Emerald Seas, Frontiers, metal, prog metal, review, RHAPSODY OF FIRE, Sascha Paeth, Seven Spires, symphonic metal
Leave a comment
Album review: GRAHAM GOULDMAN – Modesty Forbids
David Randall chatted to Graham Gouldman in the first hour of his weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 5 April 2020. Lojinx [Release date 20.03.20] Graham Gouldman is a real trooper. In recent years he has … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged 10CC, album, Graham Gouldman, interview, Modesty Forbids, pop, review, Ringo Starr, rock, singer, songwriter
Leave a comment
Album review: SNAKE OIL & HARMONY – Hurricane Riders
Zero One Entertainment [Release date 28.02.20] Five years ago, Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) and Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network) decided to combine their talents in to form a live acoustic touring act called Snake Oil & Harmony. Since then they have … Continue reading
Album review: WAITING FOR MONDAY – S/T
Frontiers [Release date 14.02.20] Few bands are less famous than their producer. Walter Ino, 6 years with Survivor, touring keyboard player with The Babys, and currently holding down lead guitarist spot with The Eagles of Death Metal, produced this self … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, debut, DENNIS DeYOUNG, Jeff Scott Soto, melodic rock, review, Waiting For Monday, Walter Ino
Leave a comment
Album review: ARCHON ANGEL – Fallen
Frontiers [Release date 14.02.20] Archon Angel is a new project born from a meeting between producer/guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) and former Savatage and Circle II Circle vocalist Zak Stevens during the making of Timo Tolkki’s Avalon’s Return To Eden … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Archon Angel, Circle II Circle, Fallen, metal, progressive metal, review, Savatage, Zak Stevens
Leave a comment
Album review: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – F8
Better Noise Records [Release date – 28.02.20] This is album number 8 from Five Finger Death Punch and it’s one that marks a number of firsts for the band. It is the first album to feature new drummer Charlie Engen, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, CD, Charlie Engen, Chric Kael, F8, Five Finger Death Punch, Inside Out, Ivan Moody, Jason Hook, metal, review, rock, Zoltan Bathory
Leave a comment
Album review: BLACKWATER CONSPIRACY – Two Tails & The Dirty Truth Of Love & Revolution
Bulletproof 20/20 Records [Release date 14.02.20] This is the second album from County Tyrone southern tinged rockers Blackwater Conspiracy following on from their 2017 debut ‘Shootin’ The Breeze’ and it is a bit of a cracker. The band master … Continue reading
Album review: WKW (WATSON, KERCHEVAL, WATSON) – Men Of Steel
WKW Music [Release date - Out Now] WKW is a collaboration between the two Big Country mainstays, Bruce and Jamie Watson, and Thomas Kercheval. Kercheval is an Emmy winning documentary editor, independent musician and longtime Big Country fan. He ran … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Big Country, Bruce Watson, CD, Jamie Watson, Kerchevel, Men Of Steel, review, Robert Burns, Stuart Adamson, The Skids, Watson, WKW
Leave a comment
Album review: STATUS QUO – Rock Till You Drop & Thirsty Work
UMC [Release date 06.03.20] “Rock Till You Drop” was something of a love/hate album for the band. Rossi loved it, Parfitt hated it. It was a look back in the band’s rear view mirror. It was never uncomfortably reverential, but … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, boogie, classic rock, Francis Rossi, pop rock, re-issue, review, Rick Parfitt, rock, Rock Til You Drop, Status Quo, Thirsty Work
Leave a comment
Album review: RICHARD THOMPSON – Live At Rock City, Nottingham 86
Angel Air/Store For Music [Release date 13.03.20] An archive live performance from Richard Thompson from 1986 where he has backed by a veritable array of top notch folk musicians including Clive Gregson & Christine Collister (who were forging a successful … Continue reading
Album review: STATUS QUO – Perfect Remedy
UMC [Release date 06.03.20] Albums nineteen, twenty and twenty one. How many bands can say that? Each one now reissued, and expanded to within an inch of its life. With added liner notes and pics. “Perfect Remedy” (1989), “Rock Till … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, boogie, classic rock, Francis Rossi, Perfect Remedy, re-issue, review, Rick Parfitt, rock, rock 'n' roll, Status Quo
Leave a comment
Album review: DATURA4 – West Coast Highway Cosmic
Naturalsounds Records [Release date 17.04.20] Feels like only five minutes since Datura4 anointed us with their blessed brand of down-under boogie and yet here they are already with their fourth album release, “West Coast Highway Cosmic”. As consistent as white … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, blues, blues rock, boogie, Datura4, Dom Mariani, review, rock, UFO, West Coast Highway Cosmic
Leave a comment
Album review: ABSOLVA – Side By Side
Rocksector Records [Release date 18.10.19] Absolva formed from the ashes of Fury (UK) in 2012, featuring Chris Appleton (vocals, guitar), Luke Appleton (guitar, vocals), Martin McNee (drums) and bassist Karl Schramm, who joined the band in 2014. The band also … Continue reading
