Monthly Archives: June 2023

News: DIO, MARC HUDSON, LINDISFARNE (July 2023)

Posted on June 30, 2023 by jason

Bad Touch - GIANTS OF ROCK, Butlins, Minehead, 25-27 January 2019

Angra have signed with Atomic Fire Records who release their new album ‘Cycles Of Pain’ on November 3. Any Given Sin release their latest album ‘War Within’ via Mascot Records on August 4. Asking Alexandria have confirmed the release date … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Anniversary 2003-2023, Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP | Tagged albums, blues, classic rock, Dio, Dragonfroce, folk, gigs, Lindisfarne, Marc Hudson, metal, news, prog rock, Re-issues/special editions, RIP, tour dates | Leave a comment

Rising Stars interview: JESSICA LYNN

Posted on June 29, 2023 by jason

Jessica Lynn has been described by American Songwriter as “country arena rock”, and her 7-show UK tour will take place this July. Stateside, Jessica Lynn is famed for the spectacle and quality of her live shows and stagecraft — not to mention her TV … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions, Interviews/Rising Stars | Tagged country, country pop, gigs, interview, Jessica Lynn, pop, Richard Marx, Rising Stars, rock, soul, tour dates | Leave a comment

Album review: GAMMA – What’s Gone Is Gone (The Complete Elektra Recordings))

Posted on June 28, 2023 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date: 30.06.23] CD1: GAMMA 1 (1979) CD2: GAMMA 2 (1980) CD3: GAMMA 3 (1982) The first 3 CDs from Ronnie Montrose’s band, Gamma, come nicely packaged this month, with each one including a couple of bonus tracks, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Alan Fitzgerald, albums, boxset, Davey Pattison, Denny Carmassi, Hagar, hard rock, Heart, Night Ranger, review, Ronnie Montrose, Van Halen | Leave a comment

Album review: THE JOHN WILLIAMS SYNDICATE – Into The Light

Posted on June 27, 2023 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to John Williams for his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio playing tracks from the new album. First broadcast 2 July 2023. Wulfrun Records [Release date 23.07.23] When a gamekeeper turns poacher, or in this case … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Blondy, Claudia Brucken, ELO, Elvis Costello, interview, Into The Light, John Moore, John Williams, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Nicki Leighton-Thomas, Petula Clark, producer, radio, review, singer, Slicko DiCaprio, songwriter, The John Williams Syndicate | Leave a comment

Album review : FRIJID PINK – The Deram Recordings 1970-1971 (2 CDs)

Posted on June 27, 2023 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 30.06.23] A two CD package, comprising Detroit band, Frijid Pink’s first two albums. Sometimes the movies crossover into popular music. One quote that rings true and often crops up is William Goldman’s “nobody knows anything”. Frequently, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Blues/Rock, Cream, Detroit, hard rock, Led Zeppelin, psychedelic, review, The Animals, William Goldman | Leave a comment

Album review: LUKE MORLEY – Songs From The Blue Room

Posted on June 26, 2023 by andynathan

Conquest Records [Release date 23.06.23] With new Thunder activity on hold for a while as Danny Bowes continues his long road to recovery, the time is right for the band’s lead guitarist and chief songwriter Luke Morley to release his … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Luke Morley, pop rock, singer songwriter, Songs From the Blue Room, Thunder | Leave a comment

Album review: KEELEY – Floating Above Everything Else

Posted on June 26, 2023 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 30.06.23] To some, music is a drug, constantly searching for that new high that will set the pulses racing and synapses firing. In a world of identikit artists all vying for airplay and sales, it’s a thing of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alan Maguire, album, alt pop, Floating Above Everything Else, Keeley, Keeley Moss, pop. melodic, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: SOUNDSCAPISM INC. – Staring Down On Incandescent Cities

Posted on June 25, 2023 by jason

EtherealSoundWorks [Release date 20.07.23] Fifth album by Soundscapism Inc., the musical project created by Bruno A, who handles the production and the majority of the instruments on the album, along with composing all the music and writing the lyrics (save for … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, ambient, electronica, experimental, progressive, review, rock, Soundscapism Inc, Staring Down On Incandescent Cities | Leave a comment

Gig review: MIDNITE CITY – The Black Heart, Camden, London, 17 June 2023

Posted on June 25, 2023 by andynathan

Touring their freshly released fourth album ‘In at the Deep End’, I was delighted that Midnite City’s schedule included a relatively rare London date at the Black Heart. Perhaps as a result of long running festivals at places like Wigan … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Dave Winkler, gig, glam rock, Josh 'Tabbie' Williams, melodic rock, Midnite City, Miles Meakin, Rob Wylde, Ryan Briggs, Shawn Charvette, Star Circus | Leave a comment

Album review : BIG COUNTRY – Driving To Damascus (Deluxe 4CD boxset)

Posted on June 24, 2023 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date: 30.6.23] The late great Stuart Adamson and his band, Big Country, made an indelible musical mark on UK popular culture before the man’s untimely demise. The history is well documented. The nineties was a hugely fertile … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Big Country, boxset, Driving To Damascus, Nashville, Ray Davies, review, Stuart Adamson, the nineties, USA | Leave a comment

Album review: LEAH WAYBRIGHT – Dreamed

Posted on June 22, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

Invasion Merch [Release date 17.07.23] One of the great things about GRTR! as we reflect on our twenty year lifespan is the eclectic nature of our brief. We don’t ever feel compelled to review the latest Jethro Tull or Yes … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, Dreamed, Gary Blu, Happy The Man, instrumental, jazz, Leah Waybright, Mark Wood, review, Rick Kennell, Stanley Whitaker | Leave a comment

Album review: MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) – In The Rain Shadow

Posted on June 22, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

www.markvickness.com [Release date 17.05.23] “Sit back, pour a glass of your favourite tipple, and let this album wash over you.” That’s what I wrote about ‘Interconnected’ in 2020 making it one of my “best ofs” that year. And it could … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, fusion, jazz, Mark Vickness Interconnected, MVI, new age, review | Leave a comment

Album review : ROBIN GEORGE – Ace In My Hand (2CD)

Posted on June 21, 2023 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 23.06.23] What can you say about Robin George that hasn’t already been said? He seems to have been circling under rock’n’roll’s radar forever, ready to land, but never making that last critical step. Considering that the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 2 CDs, Ace In My Hand, album, Dave Holland, Def Leppard, melodic rock, Pete Goalby, Pete Wright, review, Robin George, seventies, Terry Rowley, Thin Lizzy, Trapeze, Uriah Heep | Leave a comment

Gig review: BLOODYWOOD – The Mash House, Edinburgh – 12th June 2023

Posted on June 21, 2023 by david.wilson

My phone pinged and the text read ‘Hi pal, do you fancy going to see Bloodywood in Edinburgh’. I must admit my first reaction was ‘who?’, but the answer was ‘yup, let#s rock!’. So, it was a night out in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 12th June 2023, Alice Guala, Blake Cornwall, Bloodywood, Download Festival, Edinburgh, gig, India, Jayant Bhadula, Karan Katiyar, Lake Malice, live, metal, New Delhi, Rakshak, Raoul Kerr, rap, rock, The Mash House | Leave a comment

Album review: MIDNITE CITY – In At The Deep End

Posted on June 20, 2023 by andynathan

Pride and Joy Music [Releaae date 23.06.23] This is an impressive fourth release in under six years from Midnite City, confirming them as one of the most enduring of the select band of UK melodic rock acts. It doesn’t mess … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, glam rock, In At The Deep End, melodic rock, Midnite City, Rob Wylde | Leave a comment

News: MARILLION enter The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness in July 2023

Posted on June 20, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

The latest inductees to “The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness” are prog rockers Marillion. A major retrospective tracing Marillion’s progress in the millennium will be published on 1 July by rock website Get Ready to ROCK! and throughout the month Get … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Anniversary 2003-2023, ALL POSTS, NEWS | Tagged feature, Grotto of Greatness, Ian Mosley, Marillion, Mark Kelly, Pete Trewavas, prog, Progressive Rock, retrospective, Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery | Leave a comment

Album review: V/A – We’re An American Band – US Hard Rock Scene 1967-73 (3 CD Boxset)

Posted on June 16, 2023 by brianmc

Cherry Red Records [release date: 23.06.23] This 4 hour, 3 CD, 62 track package ends with Grand Funk’s ‘We’re An American Band’ (1973). A game changing challenge to the music establishment of the time. A band of the people, a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Leave a comment

Album review: JAN JAMES – Time Bomb

Posted on June 16, 2023 by jason

www.janjames.com [Release date b28.07.23] Jan James 2020 release ‘Justify’ was a decent set of blues & soul numbers and now we have her latest release, again recorded and written with her partner Craig Calvert (who also plays guitar and bass … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, blues rock, Craig Calvert, Jan James, Motown, review, rock, rock 'n' roll, soul, Time Bomb | Leave a comment

Singles review: JOSH TAERK, SUZI QUATRO, ALICE COOPER, DEGREED

Posted on June 16, 2023 by jason

JOSH TAERK Hold On Virginia AMG/Sony Music Josh is well known to readers of this site, and indeed listeners of GRTR! Radio, as his monthly live sessions with his family have been a treat since 2020. Now we have a new … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged Alice Cooper, Coney Hatch, country, Degreed, Josh Taerk, KT Tunstall, new music, pop, pop rock, review, rock, singles, Suzi Quatro | Leave a comment

Backstage Heroes: DARREN JOHNSON

Posted on June 15, 2023 by jason

Author and reviewer Darren Johnson has three published books to date, with ‘Slade in the 1970s’ recently published by SonicBond Publishing. Here we find out more about his introduction to rock music, why he loves glam rock in particular, all … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Backstage Heroes | Tagged author, Backstage Hero, book, classic rock, Darren Johnson, glam rock, GRTR!, interview, Jim Lea, Jimmy Page, Noddy Holder, rock, Slade in the 1970s, Suzi Quatro, Sweet | Leave a comment

Album review: PRIDE OF LIONS – Dream Higher

Posted on June 14, 2023 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 16.06.23] Seventh studio album from Pride Of Lions. The “Survivor” name has been purged from all official publicity associated with Peterik for legal reasons, but anyone who is at all interested in the genre well knows Peterik’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged .38 Special, Jim Peterik, Lynyrd Skynyrd, melodic rock, review, Rocky, Survivor, Toby Hitchcock | Leave a comment

Album review : STARDUST – Kingdom Of Illusion

Posted on June 12, 2023 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date: 16.06.23] Hungarian band, Stardust kick off their album with ‘War’ as the opening track. Given current events, there was always someone who’d climb on the bandwagon. Lets move on. There’s a welcome familiarity to Stardust’s melodic rock, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Cinderella, Eclipse, HEAT, Hungary, Kingdom Of Illusion, melodic rock, review, Stardust, WET | Leave a comment

Gig review: KIRA MAC – The Garage, Highbury, London, 4 June 2023

Posted on June 12, 2023 by andynathan

Kira Mac are a band on a rapid rise. They only started gigging a year ago but a buzz quickly started building, to the extent that this UK tour included what I thought was an ambitious London booking at The … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Alex Novakovic, Arran Day, Bret Barnes, gig, Joe Worrall, John Hartwell, Kira Mac, New Wave of Classic Rock, These Wicked Rivers | Leave a comment

Gig review: IAN MOSS – 100 Club, London, 3 June 2023

Posted on June 11, 2023 by andynathan

Cold Chisel are the musical equivalent of Victoria Bitter or TimTams – a legendary part of Australian life and culture, but rarely seen outside the mother country. While singer Jimmy Barnes, of whom I am a confirmed fan, has toured … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Australia, Clayton Doley, Cold Chisel, Ewan MacFarlane, gig, Ian Moss, Juanita Tippins, Zoe Hauptmann | Leave a comment

Album review: GARDNER JAMES – No Strings

Posted on June 11, 2023 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 09.06.23] Gardner James is Justin James, who has worked with Staind and Tyketto. And Janet Gardner, who was of course vocalist with Vixen. Their history is well documented online. A pithy rock band riff can be just … Continue reading →