Author Archives: GRTR! HQ

Album review: ERJA LYYTINEN – Waiting For The Daylight

Posted on January 11, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

Tuohi Records [Release date 07.10.22] Recent Erja Lyytinen albums have seen the Finnish guitarist mixing up the genres and moving away from the more defined blues/blues rock that characterised earlier offerings. Whether this is a natural development or a realisation … Continue reading →

Feature: GRTR!@20 – The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – THE DARKNESS (January 2023)

Posted on January 1, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

The band that put the fun back into rock… Photo: Darren Griffiths Launching our anniversary series in January 2023, a band whose rise we followed from 2003 when they released their debut album ‘Permission To Land’. A year later the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness | Tagged album, classic rock, festival, gig, glam rock, hard rock, interview, Justin Hawkins, review, The Darkness | Leave a comment

News: Get Ready to ROCK! announces first band in the Grotto of Greatness (December 2022)

Posted on December 18, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Rock website Get Ready to ROCK! has announced the first band to be inducted in its “GRTR! Grotto of Greatness”. The website’s version of the “Hall of Fame” is part of its 20th anniversary celebrations in 2023. A different artist/band … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Anniversary 2003-2023, ALL POSTS, NEWS | Tagged classic rock, Grotto of Greatness, Hall of Fame, Justin Hawkins, The Darkness | Leave a comment

News: Albums of the Month (October – December 2022)

Posted on December 8, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

DYNAZTY Final Advent (AFM Records) What it does is incrementally fine tune the sound that’s now established as their MO. Their epic, keyboard driven symphonic/melodic metal just bursts with energy and invention, pushing them streets ahead of every other band … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS | Tagged albums, ALTER BRIDGE, Austin Gold, classic rock, December 2022, Dynazty, Generation Radio, Gun, hard rock, heavy rock, melodic rock, November 2022, October 2022, Progressive Rock, review, Threshold | Leave a comment

News: The Best of 2022 – Get Ready to ROCK! reviewers choose their Top Albums of the Year

Posted on December 4, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Marillion made several lists for their album releases and UK tour in 2022 Finally, in 2022, there was something like a return to normality for live music, although more latterly the economic crisis impacted on punters’ disposable income and therefore … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, NEWS | Tagged 2022, albums, best of, blues rock, breakthrough acts, classic rock, live acts, progressive, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Progressive Rock – Primer

Posted on November 29, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

There has been a resurgence of interest in prog in the millennium. Alan Jones chronicles some of the artists and bands who continue to fly the flag for the genre. Warning: Steven Wilson looms large … Back in the day, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged Marillion, prog, Progressive Rock, review, RIVERSIDE, Steve Hackett, Steven Wilson, summary | Leave a comment

Album review: LEE AARON – Elevate

Posted on November 26, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Metalville [Release date 25.11.22] We’ve been impressed with the last few offerings from Canadian songstress (and one-time Metal Queen) Lee Aaron. Over the past few years she’s been reasserting her role in female fronted hard rock. after going through a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Elevate, hard rock, Lee Aaron, review | Leave a comment

Feature: Box sets for life, not just for Christmas – LOVE, EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, MARILLION (2022)

Posted on November 23, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Love - Expressions Tell Everything (Box set)

We had it first with CDs in the 1980s and 90s, more recently with resurgent vinyl. The big record labels want us to rebuy our past! And in many cases there are re-releases of re-releases. Why, oh why, can’t they … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Collectible Collections, FEATURES, Reissues | Tagged album, Arthur Lee, box sets, Emerson, Harry Chapin, Lake & Palmer, Love, Marillion, Progressive Rock, review, singer songwriter, singles | Leave a comment

Book review: (Sonicbond Summary) – TOOL, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, PINK FLOYD, VAN MORRISON, DONOVAN, BRIAN ENO (November 2022)

Posted on November 23, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication dates: July-November 2022] Here’s our now traditional end of year round up for Sonicbond titles which again in 2022 have come thick and fast. The usual caveats apply: very rarely based on primary sources but mostly reverential … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Brian Eno, Captain Beefheart, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Donovan, Pink Floyd, Rancid, review, Sonicbond, Tears For Fears, The Human League, Tool, Van Morrison | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Metal – Primer

Posted on November 21, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

During the period 2003-2023 metal had morphed into various guises. Brian McGowan tries to keep up with it and surveys the period… Heavy Metal is a musical phenomenon that continues to gain in strength and popularity, worldwide. It has the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged 2003-2023, Avenged Sevenfold, Blind Guardian, Edguy, Helloween, history, metal, power metal, Rammstein | Leave a comment

Album review: JOHN NORUM – Gone To Stay

Posted on November 16, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

GAIN [Release date 28.10.22] In the absence of a Europe album (last sighted 2017) we have at least a new album from the band’s guitarist. Norum’s last solo outing in 2010 was called ‘Play Yard Blues’. But as I said … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Europe, Gone To Stay, guitar, guitarist, hard rock, heavy rock, John Norum, review | Leave a comment

Gig review: HARD ROCK HELL (HRH XV), Great Yarmouth, 3-5 November 2022

Posted on November 14, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

HARD ROCK HELL XV, Great Yarmouth, 3-6 November 2022

With many regular attendees – and there are many – this was the first HRH with an international line up since Covid 19 struck it’s blow to both music and travel industries. It’s refreshing to see that overseas bands are … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 – The Rising Stars Revisited – The Album

Posted on November 9, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

In 2007 Get Ready to ROCK! produced a CD showcasing 16 upcoming artists who had featured in early album and gig reviews. The album was sold at the fledgling Cambridge Rock Festival that summer when we promoted a “Rising Stars” … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Rising Stars Revisited | Tagged 25 Yard Screamer, Anna Phoebe, Cambridge Rock Festival, Chasing The Monsoon, Chris Singleton, Delta, feature, Glyder, GRTR!, GRTR!@20, Lewis Clay, Mermaid Kiss, NATASCHA SOHL, Public Symphony, Puck, Rieser, Sacred Heart, Stormzone, the Heal, The Rising Stars Revisited - The Album, UXL, where are they now? | Leave a comment

Album review: BLACK SABBATH – Heaven And Hell/Mob Rules (2022 reissues)

Posted on November 7, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

BMG [Release date 25.11.22] When we last reviewed these albums (in 2010) they were also reissues with bonus tracks. And in May that year Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer ahead of a major headlining gig lined … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, reissue, review, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi | Leave a comment

Album review: AUSTIN GOLD – Those City Lights

Posted on November 5, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

TMR Rock Records [Release date 04.11.22] It’s an interesting fact that many bands start out as blues rockers and then morph into something more classic rock/mainstream. King King, Laurence Jones and even Joanne Shaw Taylor come to mind. This is … Continue reading →

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

Album review: VOODOO RAMBLE – Can’t Write A Pop Song (When You’ve Got The Blues)

Posted on November 3, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Thoroughbred Music [Release date 10.22] In our reflections on two decades of rock it is a truism that out there are some wonderful bands and musicians who, for whatever reason, never hit critical mass. This is usually down to a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues rock, Boris Zamba, Can't Write A Pop Song (When You've Got The Blues), classic rock, hard rock, Pete Feenstra, review, Voodoo Ramble | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Eclectic – Primer

Posted on October 31, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Over two decades Get Ready to ROCK! has demonstrated that it is a broad church and not just featuring the usual classic rock and metal. The website content reflects the very wide tastes of the review team and so folk, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged 2003-2023, anniversary, Bellowhead, Eclectic, folk, indie, Josh Taerk, Ninebarrow, pop, primer, SPARKS, summary, THE DOWLING POOLE | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Singer Songwriter – Primer

Posted on October 31, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Singer-songwriter editor Pete Whalley gives his considered view on 20 years of the genre with the emphasis on female performers … Long considered a ‘folk’ rooted domain, the boundaries of the singer songwriter genre have blurred over the GRTR! decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged 2003-2023, anniversary, classic rock, Eleanor McEvoy, Hannah Aldridge, Judie Tzuke, Missy Higgins, primer, singer, songwriter, summary, Thea Gilmore, Tina Dico | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Melodic Rock – Primer

Posted on October 31, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Melodic Rock Editor Andy Nathan witnesses the melodic revival… When GRTR! started in late-2002 traditional melodic rock and AOR was still in something of a prolonged hangover from the years of grunge which swept away the genre, and indeed much … Continue reading →

Posted in FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged anniversary, AOR, Def Leppard, Europe, Firefest, FM, Foreigner, H.E.A.T., Journey, melodic hard rock, melodic rock, primer, summary, Whitesnake | Leave a comment

Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Still Rocking – Primer

Posted on October 31, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Who remembers MySpace? By 2010 social media had taken over as the main online marketing tool for bands. Managing Editor David Randall surveys two decades of rock which brought great opportunity but also riven by world recession and pandemic… By … Continue reading →

Posted in FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer | Tagged 2003-2023, anniversary, history, rock music, summary, survey | Leave a comment

Album review: VINNIE MOORE – Double Exposure

Posted on October 29, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

David Randall chatted to Vinnie Moore about his career with tracks from his solo albums. First broadcast on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on 4 December 2022. Mind’s Eye Music [Release date 08.11.22] We were mightily impressed with Vinnie Moore’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged album, blues rock, classic rock, Double Exposure, guitar, hard rock, instrumental, review, UFO, Vinnie Moore | Leave a comment

Album review: THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Celebration

Posted on October 22, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Cleopatra Records [Release date 28.10.22] The question has to be asked. Do we really need another take on the classic ‘Tubular Bells’? It has to be one of the most re-worked pieces not least by Mike Oldfield himself. Well, it … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Ella Shaw, instrumental, London Contemporary Voices Choir, Mike Oldfield, orchestral, review, rock, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Celebration | Leave a comment

Album review: 25 YARD SCREAMER – Nemesis

Posted on October 22, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

White Knight Records [Release date 07.10.22] Welsh trio 25 Yard Screamer, now it seems a duo, captured our attention in 2007 with their magnum opus ‘Cassandra”. That year they appeared on our Rising Stars stage at Cambridge Rock. Since that … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 25 Yard Screamer, album, Nemesis, prog, Progressive Rock, review | Leave a comment

Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) 2023

Posted on October 14, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Steel Bars - A Tribute to Michael Bolton

Compiled by Jason Ritchie January – June 2023 To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on the keyboard. The “F” stands for “Find,” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, NEWS, Re-issues/special editions, Upcoming (Tours & Releases) | Tagged 2023, album, blues rock, Bluray, CD, classic rock, DVD, hard rock, heavy rock, melodic rock, metal, New releases, Progressive Rock, reissue, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2023)

Posted on October 14, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Blackberry Smoke, O2 Islington Academy, London, 28 February 2014

Compiled by Jason Ritchie Please check with venue and/or relevant website(s) to confirm availability. Updated 22/12/2023 UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2023) To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, … Continue reading →

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