AOR BOULEVARD RECORDS 2012
Its a real statement of intent, and possibly a foolhardy one, when you call your band after your chosen genre of music. However French guitarist and songwriter Frederic Slama has called on his contacts from ten years in California to make a series of well received albums, of which I must admit this is the first to cross my radar.
His networking skills match his musical talent with an array of the cream of West Coast session players with Steve Lukather, David foster, Michael Landau, Michael Thompson and Bill Champlin among the guests. But his main musical collaborator is Tommy Denander, who has the Midas touch when it comes to great sounding melodic rock, and who successfully ploughed a similar furrow with his Radioactive projects. The ten tracks- plus two instrumentals- feature no less than six lead singers including Brighton’s own Steve Newman whose Kimberly loses little by comparison with his stateside colleagues.
The instrumentation is lush, with guitar and keyboards and piano clearly coming out of the mix, and super smooth, precise vocals throughout. The openers Jenny at Midnight and Benedict Canyon (surely the only song to reference reading both Keats and Emerson!) are some of the best songs of their type this side of prime time 1980’s Toto or Chicago. The fare eventually gets a bit samey, with many of the singers interchangeable, but Philip Bardowell can lift even the most humdrum material and his Lou Gramm-esque delivery on Just One Kiss on Your Heart and You’re My Obsession are other highlights.
With music this quality, Slama’s future is as bright as the garish rainbow colours on the sleeve of this album.
****
Andy Nathan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
Next session: Sunday 19 January
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 on 1 December 2024.
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). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
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 again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024
In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections
Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections
