Tag Archives: West Coast

Album review: CHAMPLIN WILLIAMS FRIESTEDT – 2

Posted on May 5, 2020 by andynathan

Black Lodge [Release Date 15.05.20] In that genre of the softest and smoothest AOR given the shorthand ‘West coast’, CWF are something of a superstar collaboration. Former Chicago singer and keyboard player Bill Champlin and Joseph Williams, singer with Toto … Continue reading →

Album review: BUCK AND EVANS – Write A Better Day

Posted on November 9, 2019 by petefeenstra

Departure Records [Release date 15.11.19] Buck And Evans have called themselves a rock and soul band, but they also embrace a palpable West coast feel, especially so on Sally Ann Evans more introspective moments which recall Christine McVie. Then there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, blues, Bob Richards, Buck And Evans, Chris Buck, Christine McVie, Dominic Hill, Fleetwood Mac, funk, guitar, Lindsey Buckingham, psychedelia, review, rock, Sally Ann Evans, Stevie Nicks, vocal, West Coast, Write A Better Day | Leave a comment

Album review: KING OF HEARTS

Posted on November 6, 2019 by jason

MelodicRock Records [Release date 22.11.19] King Of Hearts are another band making a comeback many years after their first shot at musical stardom back in the late 80s. However, their label at the time didn’t release their debut album which … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, AOR, Bruce Gaitsch, Chicago, CJ Vanston, Eagles, King Of Hearts, melodic rock, review, Timothy B. Schmit, Tommy Funderburk, Toto, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL THOMPSON BAND – Love & Beyond

Posted on May 28, 2019 by andynathan

Frontiers [Release Date 26.04.19] Michael Thompson is one of the most respected session guitarists in rock – alongside Steve Lukather and Bruce Gaitsch he is probably the go-to man, particularly for the so-called West Coast sound where soft rock and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged AOR, Guy Allison, Larry Antonino, Larry King, Mark Spiro, melodic rock, Michael Thompson, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: PETER H. NILSSON – Little American Dream

Posted on February 18, 2019 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 29.03.19] Swedish guitar player Peter H. Nilsson has been in the music business for many years in different bands in and extensive touring in his native Sweden. He hooked-up with singer Chris Biano (a Nashville based … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, AOR, guitarist, Little American Dream, melodic rock, Peter H Nilsson, review, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: LETHBRIDGE OWEN – Mind Over Matter

Posted on November 18, 2018 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to Kelly Lethbridge and Jimmy Owen for his Feature show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio with tracks from the album ‘Mind Over Matter’ Self Release [Release date: digital 23.11.18 and CD 07.12.18] Lethbridge Owen are about … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, Eric Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, folk, guitar, harmonies, interview, Jimmy Owen, Kelly Lethbridge, Lethbridge Owen, Lindsey Buckingham, Mind Over Matter, radio, review, rock, Sonny Landreth, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: SPIRIT – It Shall Be (The Ode & Epic Recordings 1968-1972)

Posted on April 5, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

Esoteric [Release date: 16.03.18] Life is not fair. Were it to be, this 60′s US outfit would be up there along with the much-feted likes of fellow West Coast time-liners, Love. Yes, ‘Forever Changes’ is a wonderful album; in this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Reissues | Tagged album, blues, classic rock, Ed Cassidy, fusion, It Shall Be (The Ode & Epic Recordings 1968-1972), Jay Ferguson, Mark Andes, psychedelic, Randy California, review, Spirit, West Coast | Leave a comment

Quick plays: PENDULUM OF FORTUNE, TOMI MALM, THE ESKIES

Posted on November 21, 2017 by jason

PENDULUM OF FORTUNE Searching For The God Inside [Release date 08.12.17] Pendulum Of Fortune are based around former Eloy drummer Bodo Schopf, who is joined by Pink Cream 69/Almanac vocalist David Readman, guitarist Vladimir Shevyakov and bass player Franky R (who … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Quick Plays | Tagged album, And Don't Spare The Horses, AOR, Dennis Ward, hard rock, Headstrong, melodic, Pendulum Of Fortune, Pink Cream 69, review, rock, Searching For The God Inside, soul, The Eskies, Tomi Malm, Walkin' On Air, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: MECCA – III

Posted on September 22, 2016 by jason

MelodicRock Records [Release date 14.10.16] It seems ages since the last Mecca album came out, ‘Undeniable’, although in fact it came out in 2011 and not that long in some bands eyes. However, this third album has been recorded over … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, AOR, David Hungate, III, Joe Vana, Mecca, melodic, MelodicRock Records, review, rock, Shannon Forrest, Toto, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: CULVER KINGZ – This Time

Posted on July 14, 2016 by jason

Escape Music [Release date 24.06.16] Culver Kingz maybe a new name, however the ideas for the musical pairing started back in 1983 when Michael Thompson and Billy Trudel planned a band called Slang. Sadly this never came to fruition and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, AOR, Billy Trudel, Culver Kingz, melodic, Michael Thompson, R&B, review, rock, soul, This Time, Toto, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: CHAMPLIN, WILLIAMS, FRIESTEDT – CWF

Posted on October 18, 2015 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 26.10.15] CWF is a West Coast AOR supergroup teaming up Toto’s Joseph Williams with former Chicago vocalist Bill Champlin and guitarist/producer Peter Friestedt. The trio have released a live DVD already and Williams & Friestedt released … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, AOR, Bill Champlin, Champlin, Chicago, CWF, Friestedt, Joseph Williams, melodic rock, Peter Friestedt, review, Toto, West Coast, Williams | Leave a comment

Gig review: CROSBY STILLS AND NASH, Brighton Centre, 19 September 2015

Posted on September 28, 2015 by andynathan

Crosby Stills and Nash are both pioneers and survivors. They can be regarded as forefathers of the whole West Coast scene and the voice of the late sixties American counterculture, and though their initial burst of creativity was brief before … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Crosby Stills and Nash, David Crosby, folk rock, gig, Graham Nash, review, Shane Fontayne, soft rock, Stephen Stills, West Coast | Leave a comment

Album review: RADIOACTIVE – F4ur

Posted on April 9, 2015 by jason

Escape Music www.escape-music.com [Release date 17.04.15] This is indeed as the title suggests album number four from Radioactive, the first in nearly ten years. Radioactive is the brainchild of guitarist/songwriter Tommy Denander and on each album to date he has … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts | Tagged album, Bobby Kimball, F4ur, FERGIE FREDERIKSEN, James Christian, Jeff Paris, Jimi Jamison, Mike Slamer, RADIOACTIVE, review, Robin Beck, Survivor, Tommy Denander, Toto, West Coast | Leave a comment

Quick plays: BEND SINISTER, GANDALF’S FIST, DAVID BRONSON, THE KORGIS

Posted on November 9, 2014 by jason

BEND SINISTER Animals FU:Music [Released 11.03.14] Canadian four piece whose album has been out since earlier this year and they create a massive wall of sound. Case in point being the eight minute epic opener ‘Best Of You’ that has … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Quick Plays | Tagged A Forest Of Fey, album, Angel Air, Animals, Bend Sinister, David Bronson, Gandalf's Fist, Jackson Browne, pop rock, prog rock, Queen, review, The Korgis, West Coast | Comments Off

Album review: JAY FERGUSON – Reissues

Posted on December 8, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Edsel Records [Release date 02.12.13] 2-CD From a personal point of view, these three albums from the late-seventies are perhaps best recalled from their place in the racks of many a vinyl seller at record fairs. I don’t really remember … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Reissues | Tagged album, All Alone In the End Zone, AOR, Eagles, Jay Ferguson, Jo Jo Gunne, Joe Walsh, Real Life Ain't This Way, reissue, review, rock, Spirit, Thunder Island, West Coast | Leave a comment

Gig review: THE MAGIC BAND – Under The Bridge, London, 16 March 2013

Posted on March 20, 2013 by petefeenstra

There can be fewer stranger tales than the cult like relationship between the late Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. His totalitarian grip on the line-up that recorded the groundbreaking ‘Trout Mask Replica’ album has spawned numerous articles, documentaries and … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS | Tagged blues, Captain Beefheart, Craig Bunch, Denny Walley, Eric Clerks, Frank Zappa, John "Drumbo'"French, Mark “Rockette Morton” Boston, Ornette Coleman, rock, The Magic Band, Trout Mask Replica, West Coast | Leave a comment

TORBEN SCHMIDT – Long Short Story

Posted on November 12, 2012 by jason

Blimey here is a blast from the past as Torben Schmidt used to front Danish melodic/pomp rockers Skagarack, who even played the Reading festival back in the late 80’s. The band split in the mid-90’s and nothing much has been … Continue reading →