Monthly Archives: May 2021

Album review: RPWL: God Has Failed – Live And Personal

Posted on May 28, 2021 by alanjones

Gentle Art Of Music [Release date: 30.04.21] RPWL started life way back as a Pink Floyd tribute band, and, rather like Marillion and their relentless (and wrong) “Genesis Clones” soubriquet, struggled early on to free themselves of the PF comparisons. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile) | Tagged God Has Failed - Live And Personal, Kalle Wallner, Progressive Rock, review, RPWL, Yogi Lang | Leave a comment

Album review: GHOSTS OF MEN – Exhale

Posted on May 28, 2021 by brianmc

Regent Street Records [Release date 21.05.21] No psychodrama queens, Ghosts of Men are as comfortable as any rock band can be in writing about mental health. It’s hardly a selling point, but on this their second album, they undercut the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Black Keys, Exhale, Ghosts Of Men, Mental Health, review, White Stripes | Leave a comment

News: CARAVAN, DONNIE IRIS, DOWNLOAD (June 2021)

Posted on May 28, 2021 by jason

FIREWIND - Manchester Academy, 16 February 2017

Asking Alexandria have signed with Better Noise Music and have already started work on new music. Barenaked Ladies release their latest album ’Detour de Force’ on July 16. The Beach Boys will release a new five-CD box set, ‘Feel Flows — The … Continue reading →

Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, Re-issues/special editions, RIP | Tagged blues, Caravan, classic rock, Donnie Iris, Download, folk, gigs, metal, New releases, news, pop, punk, rock, Rock Candy, tours | Leave a comment

Album review: KAI STRAUSS – In My Prime

Posted on May 28, 2021 by petefeenstra

Continental Record Services [Release date 20.11.20] Kai Straus’s aptly titled album ‘I’m In My Prime’ sees him updating traditional blues styles from Chicago to the West Coast, while confirming his own impressive elements of tone, taste and feel. Strauss is … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Albert Collins, Albert King, album, Alex Lex, BB King, blues, Doug Jay, Freddie King, guitar, In My Prime, Johnny Copeland, Kai Strauss, Kevin Duvernay, Memo Gonzales, Nick Gravenites, Otis Grand, Paul Jobson, review Mike Bloomfield, Rick Estrin, Sax Gordon, Thomas Feldmann, Tommie Harris | Leave a comment

Gig review: JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 20 May 2021

Posted on May 27, 2021 by andynathan

If 2020 was a desert for live music, the road out of lockdown in 2021 has been an even longer and gloomier slog. Down in South West London, Cavern owner Noel Nevin has been fighting the good fight to stay … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged blues rock, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, The Cavern | Leave a comment

Album review: D.I. – Greatest Hits A-Z

Posted on May 27, 2021 by jason

Cleopatra Records [Release date 29.01.21] Orange County’s own punk legends D.I. have been around since the ‘80’s and these days only frontman Casey Royer remains from the original line-up. Now the band’s current incarnation have re-recorded some of their biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, best of, Casey Royer, D.I. Greatest Hits A-Z, punk, punk pop, review | Leave a comment

Album review: TRANSATLANTIC – The Absolute Universe

Posted on May 26, 2021 by alanjones

Inside Out [Release date: 05.02.21] Supergroups – don’t you just love them? Remember, back in the day, when England used to play various sporting matches against “The Rest Of The World”? England always won because they all knew each other’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile) | Tagged Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Marillion, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Pete Trewavas, Progressive Rock, review, Roine Stolt, Spock's Beard, The Absolute Universe, Transatlantic, Winery Dogs | Leave a comment

Album review: QUINN SULLIVAN – Wide Awake

Posted on May 26, 2021 by jason

Provogue Records [Release date 04.06.21] The 21-year-old Massachusetts singer-songwriter Quinn Sullivan has been touring the world since he was 11-years-old! Appearing at venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, jazz, melodic, pop, Quinn Sullivan, review, rock guitarist, soul, Wide Awake | Leave a comment

Album review: DOWN BY LAW – Lonely Town

Posted on May 26, 2021 by jason

Cleopatra Records [Release date 26.02.21] Veteran punk band Down By Law have returned with their 12th album “Lonely Town”, and it is a welcome return. Frontman and founding member Dave Smalley has led the band through line-up changes, international tours … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Cleopatra Records, Dave Smalley, Down By Law, Lonely Town, punk, review, Ricky Warwick, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: BLOODBOUND – Creatures Of The Dark Realm

Posted on May 26, 2021 by brianmc

AFM Records [release date: 28.05.21] When Bloodbound’s principal songwriters, Fredrik Bergh and Tomas Olsson rerouted their musical artistry from the AOR of Street Talk to the land of Power Metal, they brought the underlying principles of hooky melodic rock with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged AFM Records, album, Bloodbound, Fredrik Bergh, Game Of Thrones, power metal, review, Street Talk, symphonic metal | Leave a comment

Album review: BILLY F GIBBONS – Hardware

Posted on May 26, 2021 by petefeenstra

Concord [Release date 04.06.21] Billy F Gibbons new album ‘Hardware’ is a return to his rock-a-boogie template, but with a contemplative feel born of the band’s isolated recording environment in the Mojave desert. There’s always something consistently familiar about Billy … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Augie Meyers, Austin Hanks, Billy F. Gibbons, blues, boogie, guitar album, Joe Hardy, Latino, Matt Sorum, review, rock, ZZ Top | Leave a comment

Album review: VARIOUS ARTISTS – Beyond The Pale Horizon, The British Progressive Sounds of 1972 (3 CD Boxset)

Posted on May 25, 2021 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 28.05.21] Respected music critics have often expressed the opinion that Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry never wrote a better set of lyrics than he did for ‘Virginia Plain’, the band’s first hit single. Medium.com’s Phil Adams described … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 1972, Argent, Beyond The Pale Horizon, boxset, British Progressive Pop, ELO, Hawkwind, Mott the Hoople, review, Roxy Music, Van Der Graff Generator, Yes | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…ASIA (Every album, every song) by Peter Braidis

Posted on May 25, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Release date 14.05.21] Asia were formed in 1981, one of the enduring melodic rock “supergroups” of that decade and one of the most successful. Many readers will only remember the “classic” original line-up (and debut album) but this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged album, Asia, book, Carl Palmer, Every Album, Every Song, Geoff Downes, John Payne, John Weeton, melodic rock, On Track, Peter Braidis, Progressive Rock, review, Steve Howe | Leave a comment

Singles: NIGHT RANGER, PATRICK HEMER, VOODOO BLUE,

Posted on May 25, 2021 by jason

NIGHT RANGER Breakout (Frontiers) A taster from the band’s 12th studio album, ‘ATBPO’ (And the Bands Played On), due out on August 6. It is a typical, upbeat rocker from Night Ranger with guitars to the fore and the band … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged alternative, Americana, country, folk, grunge, Hearts Apart, John Carroll Kirby, Just A Ride, melodic rock, metal, Night Ranger, Patrick Hemer, pop, review, rock, singles, Udo Dirkschneider, Voodoo Blue | Leave a comment

Book review: IGGY & THE STOOGES: On Stage 1967-1974 by Per Nilsen

Posted on May 25, 2021 by jason

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 14.05.21] Iggy Pop is almost a household name, here in the UK he has appeared in various television commercials over the last few years and none more than the last year or so. Whilst Iggy & … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged alternative, book, garage rock, Iggy & The Stooges On Stage 1967-1974, Iggy Pop, Per Nilsen, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: MARK SPIRO- Traveling Cowboys

Posted on May 24, 2021 by andynathan

Frontiers Records (Release Date 07.05.21) Best known as a writer for Cheap Trick, Giant, Bad English and others, Mark Spiro’s career has significantly picked up after a dormant few years. Less than a year after the ’2+2= 5‘ triple anthology … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Julian Lennon, Mark Spiro, melodic rock, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: KIK TRACEE – No Rules and Field Trip (2 CDs)

Posted on May 24, 2021 by brianmc

Bad Reputation [release date 14.05.21] Kik Tracee were one of the fallen in 1992′s Grunge assault on the Sunset Strip/Glam/Bandana/Sleaze (delete as appropriate) Rock’n’roll supremacy. A young band, clearly “inspired” by Guns’n’Roses, you can hear they had something to offer, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bad Reputation, Dana Strum, expanded version, Filed Trip, glam rock, Guns'n'Roses, Kik Tracee, No Rules, Poison, review, Slaughter | Leave a comment

Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – Dirty Rockers, Dudley, Saturday 22 May 2021

Posted on May 23, 2021 by jason

I actually can’t quite believe that I am writing a gig review – a real live gig review, not a livestream, live music with an audience, in a rock venue, it’s been way too long. The anticipation of this gig … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Dirty Rockers, Dudley, gig, hard rock, modern rock, review, rock, Saturday 23 May 2021, the Darker My Horizon | Leave a comment

Album review: LOU GRAMM – Questions And Answers (3CD Atlantic Years Anthology, 1987-89)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 28.05.21] As with most rock bands, the singer and guitarist driving force is a dynamic that ultimately shudders to a halt, at least on a temporary basis: Steven Tyler/ Joe Perry. Mick Jagger/ Keith Richards. Robert … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, anthology, AOR, Dann Huff, Foreigner, Giant, Lou Gramm, melodic rock, Mick Jones, Nils Lofgren, Peter Wolf, Question And Answer, review | Leave a comment

Album review: VINCE DICOLA – Only Time Will Tell

Posted on May 22, 2021 by jason

Escape Music [Release date 11.06.21] Vince DiCola is a musician / songwriter from Pennsylvania and relocated to LA in 1981 to advance his career. In the early to mid-eighties Vince was involved in some well-known film scores such as ‘Staying … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Bobby Kimball, Chicago, Escape Music, Kansas, melodic rock, Only Time Will Tell, prog rock, review, Steve Walsh, Toto, Vince DiCola | Leave a comment

Album review: IAGO BANET – Iago Banet

Posted on May 22, 2021 by petefeenstra

Razor Edge Records [Release date 07.11.2o] Anglo-Spanish guitarist Iago Banet has all the right credentials for an acoustic guitarist. He’s Galician born (in the North West of Spain) and is equally at home on acoustic and electric guitar, though this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, blues, Carlos Núñez, Chet Atkins, Colorcolour, country, Deep Blue Sea, folk, Galicia, guitar, Iago Banet, JFK Blue, Merle Travis, review, The Boo-Hoos, The Chieftains, Tommy Emmanuel, Van Morrison | Leave a comment

Album review: SUNBOMB – Evil And Divine

Posted on May 22, 2021 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 15.05.21] An outsider may see Sunbomb as the completion of Michael Sweet’s journey to the darkside. A restlessly talented musician finally freeing himself from the strictures of Christian Rock, crossing into the world of the Sunset Strip’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Doom Metal, Evil & Divine, Frontiers, LA Guns, melodic metal, Michael Sweet, review, Stryper, Sunbomb, Tracii Guns | Leave a comment

Album review: THE JOHN WILLIAMS SYNDICATE – Out Of Darkness

Posted on May 21, 2021 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to John Williams for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 30 May 2021. Wulfrun Records [Release date 06.04.21] ‘Out Of Darkness’ is an exercise in aesthetics. Everything from the name of his Wulfrun label which connects … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged Al Cooper, album, Amber Prothero, Ben Walker, Bob Dylan, Charlie Williams, Chris Blackwell, Claudia Brucken, George Harrison, George Martin, Iain Matthews, interview, Isabella Coulstock, James Hallawell, James Warren, Jane Burgess, John Offenbach, John Williams, Micky Most, Nick Drake, Out Of Darkness, Paul Visser, Pet Shop Boys, Petula Clark, Philip Marshall, pop, Quantum Jump, radio, review, rock, Slicko Di Caprio, Stackridge, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Connells, The John Williams Syndicate, The Searchers, Tim Hobart, Tony Hatch | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL FURY – Affairs In Babylon

Posted on May 20, 2021 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 28.05.21] Michael Fury are a band, as opposed to a solo artist, having formed in 1979 by vocalist/guitarist Myles Hunter (Avalon), bassist Martyn Jones and guitarist Rob Kennedy. They played a fair few gigs in their … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Affairs In Babylon, album, AOR, AOR Heaven, melodic rock, Refugee, reissue, review | Leave a comment

Album review: SONIC HAVEN – Vagabond

Posted on May 20, 2021 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date 07.05.21] Sonic Haven is Herbie Langhan’s band. He of Firewind, Avantasia and others fame. He’s produced it, Sacha Paeth has mixed it and old Radiant chum, Carsen Stepanowicz plays guitar. So, with three vastly experienced artists … Continue reading →