Album review: ALBANY DOWN – The Outer Reach

Pete Feenstra chats to Albany Down with tracks from the album ‘The Outer Reach’ (25:00) First broadcast 22 May 2016 on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.

www.albanydown.com [Release date 10.06.16]

Album number three from Albany Down who are Paul Muir (vocals), Paul Turley (guitars), Billy Dedman (bass) and Donna Peters (drums). They have been picking up some good reviews and have played a fair few gigs and festivals to date.

Opener ‘Feeding The Flame’ has a Led Zeppelin swagger about it, a good. solid rocker to start things off. Followed by the riff-tastic blues rocker ‘Do You Want Me Now’ and you think you have the measure of the band. Wrong! Next is the funk rock of ‘Supersonic Girl’ – complete with horns – which reminded me of Toploader and boy does it have a catchy chorus. A song that could see the band crossover from the blues rock crowd they appeal to in the main. A real, feel good, summer’s day song.

Paul Turley plays some superlative blues solos, none more so than on the plaintive ‘Home’, a song about wanting to get back to home comforts. Nice bit of Hammond playing on here too, although not sure who played it!

The in your face rock stomp of ‘Revolution’ and another possible single, ‘Look What You Have Done To Me’ (this song sees the horns back) again hit the spot after just a couple of plays. The gentle ballad ‘Sing Me To Sleep’ sees the album out in style. Again featuring tasty guitar playing and Paul Muir shows his mellower vocal side. Love the way the song fades out with just Muir’s vocal and an acoustic guitar.

With blues rock based bands/artists doing so well of late, Albany Down can easily hold their own in this increasingly crowded scene. Blues rock based for the main, with enough musical diversions to keep you wanting to come back for more. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

Upcoming gigs (2016):
May 31 100 Club London
Jun 03 The Lincoln Imp Scunthorpe
Jun 14 The Horn St Albans
Jun 17 The Stables Milton Keynes
Jun 18 Durham Blues Festival Durham
Jun 19 Cleethorpes Blues Rhythm & Rock Festival Cleethorpes
Jun 21 The Beaverwood Club Chislehurst
Jul 11 The Bullingdon Oxford
Jul 14 Yardbirds Rock Club Grimsby
Jul 15 The Leopard Doncaster
Aug 12 Whitehaven Rock and Blues Festival Cleator Moor
Aug 13 Hartlepool United Supporters Club Hartlepool

Oct 01 MUSICIANS AGAINST HOMELESSNESS – Kingston Upon Thames

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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)