BEGGARS & THIEVES – We Are The Broken Hearted

One of a number of excellent melodic hard rock bands who had
the misfortune to release and promote their debut albums just as the tide was
beginning to turn in favour of grunge, Beggars and Thieves re-emerged from obscurity
with a performance which was one of the pleasant surprises of Firefest 2010,
and building on that revival of interest, have now recorded their first album
in well over a decade.

A health warning is in order, that this is not overtly commercial
melodic rock, with effort put into less obvious soundscapes and textures. While the crystal precision of Louie
Merlino’s vocal tones invite comparisons with bands like Diving for Pearls or
Tall Stories, I detected something Jimmy Page inspired in guitarist Ronnie Mancuso’s sounds, whether
with some 12 string guitar passages or an Eastern feel in places. Another
influence from outside the melodic rock mainstream is U2, particularly with
some choppy guitar sounds on Innocence and Midnight Blue, which are two of the
more straight ahead rockers on offer.

Despite a stirring opener in We Come Undone, at times the
first part of the album loses focus in places, but the second half has the
stronger hooks, beginning with Seven Seconds, while on Stranded and the slow
number Wash Away with its gospel-influenced chorus, Louie sounds a tad like modern
day Jon Bon Jovi .

Unlike many albums in this genre which are pure instant
fixes, this is a quality piece of work which you need to cultivate and tender,
but will be worth the effort.

Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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 16 November 2025.

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 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

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 live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.