Author Archives: GRTR! HQ

News: Albums of the Month (April 2021 – June 2021)

Posted on July 11, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

SMITH KOTZEN (BMG) Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr Big, Winery Dogs) have pitted their combined guitaring and songwriting skills to fashion nine tracks of pure unadulterated hard rock heaven. ****1/2 Review by David Randall THE DUST … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS | Tagged albums, alt rock, April 2021, classic rock, hard rock, Ian McNabb, indie rock, June 2021, May 2021, metal, review, Smith Kotzen, symphonic metal, The Dust Coda, The John Williams Syndicate, Timo Tolkki's Avalon, Trucker Diablo | Leave a comment

Album review: DIM GRAY – Flown

Posted on July 3, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Grim Day Records [Release date 25.06.21] One band that came to mind when listening to Dim Gray’s debut album is Celtus. And the Norwegian “post prog” art rockers may well appeal to those who warmed to that now defunct band’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, art rock, Dim Gray, Flown, prog rock, progressive, review | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…CAMEL (Every album, every song) by Hamish Kuzminski

Posted on July 2, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 14.06.21] Camel are a band that certainly deserve both a concise overview and a continuing recognition of their collective greatness, and significant contribution to the world of prog. None other than Steve Rothery supplies the foreword, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Leave a comment

Album review: JOE JACKSON & TODD RUNDGREN feat. ETHEL – State Theater, New Jersey 2005 (CD/DVD)

Posted on June 25, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Purple Pyramind [Release date 18.06.21] Back in 2005 the pairing of Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren may have seemed rather incongruous. I remember thinking at the time that Rundgren had just released an excellent solo album ‘Liars’ and it would … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged album, CD, classic rock, concert, DVD, Ethel, interview, Joe Jackson, live, New Jersey 2005, pop, quartet, review, State Theater, strings, Todd Rundgren | Leave a comment

Book review: Decades – Curved Air in the 1970s by Laura Shenton

Posted on June 11, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 18.06.21] Author Laura Shenton makes no excuses for compiling a series of extracts from previously published work. This includes contemporaneous snippets from the likes of Disc & Music Echo to more recent cribs from Prog magazine. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Curved Air in the 1970s, Darryl Way, Decades, Francis Monkman, Laura Shenton, prog, Progressive Rock, review, Sonja Kristina | Leave a comment

Album review: MICK PAUL – Parallel Lives

Posted on June 4, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

[Release date 09.06.21] www.mickpaulbassist.com David Cross (ex-King Crimson) collaborator Mick Paul is a bassist/guitarist and ‘Parallel Lives’ is characterised by his bubbling bass and Sheila Maloney’s excellent keyboard textures and arrangements. Craig Bundell (Steven Wilson) lends his drums including on … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Craig Blundell, David Cross, David Jackson, fusion, Jazz rock, Mick Paul, Parallel Lives, prog, Progressive Rock, review | Leave a comment

Album review: LAURA MEADE – The Most Dangerous Woman In America

Posted on June 4, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Doone Records [Release date 21.05.21] www.laurameademusic.com Reviewing Laura Meade’s previous album – ‘Remedium’ - GRTR! scribe Pete Whalley’s enthusiasm was such that he was quoted in despatches in a full page print media advertisement. Vocalist in New York based prog … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classic rock, electronica, Izz, Laura Meade, prog, progressive, review, rock, The Most Dangerous Woman In America | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…Marc Bolan, Tyrannosaurus Rex and T.Rex (Every album, every song) by Peter Gallagher

Posted on June 3, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 11.06.21] By the time of his untimely death in 1977 Marc Bolan was still releasing singles, although the big hits of earlier this decade were behind him, he had his own successful TV show and more … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Every Album, Every Song, Marc Bolan, On Track, Peter Gallagher, review, Tyrannosaurus Rex and T.Rex | 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

Book review: On track…STEVE HACKETT (Every album, every song) – Geoffrey Feakes

Posted on May 19, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

On track...STEVE HACKETT - every album, every song by Geoffrey Feakes

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 30.05.21] The hallmark of a good rock read has to be when the reader genuinely learns something new about the subject matter. Geoffrey Feakes is evidently a real fan of Hackett’s work but once again there … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Every Song, Genesis, Geoffrey Feakes, guitar, guitarist, instrumental, On track...STEVE HACKETT - every album, prog, Progressive Rock, review, Solo | Leave a comment

Quick plays: PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE, UNTIL THE SUN, CIRCUS MIND

Posted on May 17, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

VARIOUS Still Wish You Were Here (Cleopatra Records) [Release date 28.05.21] Continuing the theme of “what do rock stars do in Lockdown?”, in this example Cleopatra’s A&R supremo John Lappen has opened his contact book. Unlike many of these offerings … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged album, blues rock, Circus Mind, classic rock, Drowning In Blue, Edgar Froese, Geoff Downes, GEOFF TATE, Ian Paice, Joe Satriani, Joy Machine, Pink Floyd, R&B, review, Rick Wakeman, soul rock, Steve Hackett, Still Wish You Were Here, Todd Rundgren, tribute, Until The Sun | Leave a comment

Quick plays: TUBULAR WORLD, ROBERT REED

Posted on May 4, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

TUBULAR WORLD Tubular Bells Tigermoth Records [Release date 14.12.20] You wonder. Is there any need for yet another version of ‘Tubular Bells’? I mean, the masterwork’s creator has fine dined off the back of it for nearly 50 years now, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged album, Cursus 123 430, instrumental, Les Penning, Mike Oldfield, Progressive Rock, review, Robert Reed, synthesiser, Tubular Bells, Tubular World | Leave a comment

Album review: RAY FENWICK – Playing Through The Changes Anthology 1964-2020

Posted on May 4, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

RAY FENWICK - Playling Through The Changes Anthology 1964-2020

Ray Fenwick chatted to Get Ready to ROCK! Radio about his career and the anthology. Lemon Records/Cherry Red [Release date 30.04.21] Perhaps not the first name to be checked in a conversation about music front runners, British composer/guitarist Fenwick is … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Radio interview | Tagged album, classic rock, Fancy, guitar, guitarist, Ian Gillan Band, interview, Playling Through The Changes Anthology 1964-2020, pop rock, Ray Fenwick, review, Spencer Davis Group | Leave a comment

Quick plays: BADFINGER, CACTUS

Posted on May 3, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

BADFINGER No Matter What Revisiting The Hits Cleopatra Records [Release date 02.04.21] Badfinger were one of our greatest pop rock bands with a criminally short life-span, not least due to the sad demise of the band’s two main movers and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged ALBERT LEE, album, Badfinger, blues rock, Cactus, Carmine Appice, hard rock, Ian Anderson, No Matter What Revisiting The Hits, pop rock, review, Rick Springfield, Rick Wakeman, Sonny Landreth, Terry Reid, Tightrope, Todd Rundgren | Leave a comment

Book review: Decades – Focus in the 1970s (Stephen Lambe)

Posted on April 26, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 30.04.21] At the outset I should declare an interest. As an inveterate Focus-watcher since the early 1970s, author of articles about the band for Record Collector magazine, liner notes, and the first book about Jan Akkerman … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Focus, Focus In The 1970s, Jan Akkerman, Mike Vernon, prog, Progressive Rock, review, Stephen Lambe, Thijs van Leer | Leave a comment

Album review: ELIANA CARGNELUTTI – Aur

Posted on April 26, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

www.elianacargnelutti.com [Release date 07.05.21] When we saw Eliana at Giants Of Rock in January 2020 we would never have guessed that in the space of a few weeks live music famine would ensue. She apparently had breezed in last minute … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Ana Popovic, Aur, blues rock, Eliana Cargnelutti, guitar, guitarist, R&B, review, rhythm & blues | Leave a comment

Album review: REFLECTION CLUB – Still Thick As A Brick

Posted on April 24, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Madvedge Records [Release date 03.03.21] How do you out-Tull Jethro Tull? Well you put together an album pastiche and call it Still Thick As A Brick. Package it up in a large format digi-book and add in the ubiquitous 5.1 … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Jethro Tull, Lutz Meinert, prog, Progressive Rock, Reflection Club, review, Still Thick As A Brick | Leave a comment

News: Albums of the Month (January 2021 – March 2021)

Posted on April 5, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Albums of the Month (January-March 2021)

THUNDER All the Right Noises (BMG) Thunder fans will love this album as it touches all the band’s key strengths – memorable songs, party rockers, ballads, lyrics to make you think and above all, well-crafted hard rock tunes. An Album … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS, NEWS | Tagged albums, Anneke van Giersbergen. Troy Redfern, AOR, Ben Randall, blues rock, February 2021, guitar, hard rock, instrumental, January 2021, March 2021, Progressive Rock, review, Scardust, singer songwriter, Thunder, Touch | Leave a comment

Quick plays: CARL VERHEYEN, THE MASTELOTTOS

Posted on April 2, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

CARL VERHEYEN Sundial (Cranktone Entertainment) [Release date 01.04.21] More laid back Lockdown noodlings, this time from a guitarist perhaps best known for his work with Supertramp. Verheyen’s idea was to create something varied and there were no constraints in terms … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged A Romantic's Guide to King Crimson, album, Carl Verheyen, chill-out, fusion, jazz, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, review, rock, Sundial, Supertramp, The Mastelottos, Too Much Happiness | Leave a comment

Album review: SMITH KOTZEN (Adrian Smith, Richie Kotzen)

Posted on March 29, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

BMG [Release date 26.03.21] What have rock stars been doing in Lockdown? Streaming, recycling back catalogue, a bit of gardening, maybe even new material. And some have joined forces with others. Strength in numbers, or something. Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Adrian Smith, album, blues rock, guitar, hard rock, Iron Maiden, melodic rock, Mr Big, Poison, review, Richie Kotzen, Smith Kotzen | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…LEVEL 42, AIMEE MANN (Every Album, Every Song)

Posted on March 26, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

On track...LEVEL 42 (Every Album, Every Song)

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 01.04.21] Level 42 were very much a band of the eighties – the decade of their greatest success – and submerged their early brand of jazz rock fusion in a highly accessible blend of pop funk. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged 'Til Tuesday, acoustic, Aimee Mann, book, Every Album, Every Song, folk, indie, jazz funk, jazz fusion, Level 42, Mark King, Mike Lindop, On Track, pop funk, review | Leave a comment

Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) April 2021 – June 2021

Posted on March 24, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Compiled by Jason Ritchie January – March 2021 July-September 2021 October-December 2021 April 2nd DAVID BOWIE ‘The Kit Kat Klub (Live In New York ’99)’ Parlophone CACTUS ‘Tightrope’ Cleopatra Records DR FEELGOOD ‘Greatest Hits’ EAGLES ‘The Millennium Concert’ (vinyl) BRYAN … Continue reading →

Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, NEWS, Re-issues/special editions, Video | Tagged 2021, album, AOR, April, Bluray, CD, classic rock, DVD, heavy rock, June, May, melodic rock, metal, New releases, progressive, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: CLIVE MITTEN – Suite Cryptique: Recomposing Twelfth Night 1978-1983

Posted on March 20, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Bumnote Records/Twelfth Night Records [Release date 02.04.21] I have to say the band Twelfth Night have completely passed me by. I’ve known vaguely their name but never really investigated their music, that is until the arrival of a new double-CD … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Clive Mitten, instrumental, orchestral, Progressive Rock, review, Suite Cryptique: Recomposing Twelfth Night 1978-1983, Twelfth Night | Leave a comment

Feature: Collectible Collections – FAMILY – Old Songs New Songs (The Definitive Box Set)

Posted on March 10, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Mystic MYSCD191 (2005) Don McKay and Martin Darvill at Mystic have done a great service to the name and legacy of Family and Roger Chapman. ‘Old Songs New Songs – The Definitive Box’ is their latest offering and, as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Collectible Collections, FEATURES | Tagged album, anthology, box set, Charlie Whitney, classic rock, collection, compilation, Family, music, Old Songs New Songs, prog, Progressive Rock, R&B, review, Roger Chapman | Leave a comment

Feature: Collectible Collections – CAMEL – Rainbow’s End An Anthology 1973-1985

Posted on March 10, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Universal/Decca 532 938-3 (2010) My biggest regret in terms of live music is failing to get my arse over to Liverpool to see Camel performing at the Lomax, a smallish venue, in October 2000*. It may well have been the … Continue reading →