Author Archives: GRTR! HQ

Gig review: CROPREDY, 8-10 August 2013

Posted on September 8, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

34 years ago, an English electric folk band played what was intended to be there final show in a field in Cropredy village, Oxfordshire. However, as the saying goes, ‘best laid plans’, a reunion tour was announced shortly after and … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 10CC, Alice Cooper, Ciara Algar, Cropredy, Dunwells, Fairport Convention, festival, folk, gig, Gregg Russell, Levellers, Martin Barre, Medieval Babes, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: THE RED PAINTINGS – The Revolution Is Never Coming

Posted on September 7, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

[Release date 30.09.13] If aliens were scanning earth’s frequencies then The Red Paintings’ The Revolution Is Never Coming could well be the summation. Quite what they’d make of it, I’m not sure. They’d either think humanity was ripe for harvesting, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Red Paintings, review, rock, The Revolution is Never Coming | Leave a comment

Quick plays: RUSTY SHACKLE, STEPHEN KELLOGG, THE DUNWELLS, ROD PICOTT

Posted on September 7, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Rusty Shackle – The Bones Rusty Shackle appear to have tripped over the ‘difficult second album’ stepping stone with the follow up to their 2012 debut album Wash Away These Nights which was a more varied offering than the ‘pedal … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged album, Blunderstone Rectory, Follow The Road, Get Up, Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail, Kevin Peroni, review, rock, Rod Picott, roots, Rusty Shackle, singer, songwriter, Stephen Kellogg, The Bones, The Dunwells, Wiretree | Leave a comment

Album review: TONY McLOUGHLIN – The Contender

Posted on September 7, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

He may look uncannily like Billy Connolly’s long lost brother, but opening with strains of Muhammad Ali getting ready to ‘rumble in the jungle’, Tony Mcloughlin’s fifth album The Contender is a glorious Telecaster-infused slab of Tom Petty/Springsteen inspired Americana. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Americana, review, rock, roots, singer, songwriter, The Contender, Tony McLoughlin | 2 Comments

Album review: TOUCHSTONE – Oceans Of Time

Posted on September 6, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Hear No Evil [Release date 07.10.13 ] Having signed a new deal with Hear No Evil/Cherry Red Records, Touchstone have adopted the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ principle with their fourth studio album and leading single ‘Flux’. Recorded … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged metal, Oceans Of Time, prog, progressive, review, Rob Cottingham, rock, Touchstone | Leave a comment

Album review: BLODWYN PIG – Pigthology

Posted on September 4, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Gonzo Multimedia [Release date 10.06.13] This release promises much – previously unheard recordings from influential blues rock band Blodwyn Pig led by original Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams. Unreleased material from this band (especially the formative years) must be as … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, BBC, Blodwyn Pig, blues, compilation, gig, Jack Lancaster, Jazz rock, John Peel, live, Mick Abrahams, Pigthology, radio, review, rock, session | Leave a comment

Gig review: CAMBRIDGE ROCK FESTIVAL, 1-4 August 2013

Posted on September 4, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Haggis Farm Polo Club, Cambridgeshire Back in 2004 the first Rockingbeerfest three day festival took place under the blackened skies and torrential rain, quite contrastingly here we are today celebrating the 10th anniversary in 31degree bright sunshine. Under the leadership … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 1-4 August 2013, Bonafide, Cambridge Rock Festival, Caravan, Deborah Bonham, festival, gig, Hazel O'Connor, Magnum, Praying Mantis, Quireboys, review, rock, The Animals | Leave a comment

Gig review: SOLFEST, Cumbria, 23-25 August 2013

Posted on September 1, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Solfest is a small festival with a big heart. It’s a celebration of music and community. Solfest feels like an enormous family reunion and perhaps even more so this year as it was Solfests 10th Anniversary. To celebrate the occasion … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 23-25 August 2013, Cumbria, festival, Flogging Molly, folk, Maximo Park, New Model Army, rock, Solfest, The Joy Formidable, The Undertones | Leave a comment

Album review: MAGGIE REILLY – Heaven Sent

Posted on August 29, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Red Berry Records [Release date 11.11.13] www.maggiereilly.co.uk Maggie Reilly frequently features in our singer-songwriter sequence on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio and , since 2009 when we interviewed her, she has become a firm favourite. Her solo albums are always worth … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Cado Belle, Celtic, Heaven Sent, Maggie Bell, Mike Oldfield, pop, review, singer, songwriter | 2 Comments

Album review: ROBERT PALMER – Reissues (1974-1985)

Posted on August 28, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Edsel Records [Release date 26.08.13] 2-CD reissues Robert Palmer came to the music buying public’s attention with Vinegar Joe in 1971 and for a time he formed a formidable singing partnership with Elkie Brooks. Palmer’s transformation to a suave, smart–suited, soul … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged bonus tracks, Clues, Double Fun, Island, Maybe It's Live, Pressure Drop, Pride, reissue, Riptide, Robert Palmer, Secrets, Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley, Some People Can Do What They Like | 1 Comment

Gig review: SOS Festival, Manchester, 20-21 July 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Now in it’s sixth year, SOS festival is a chance for Rocksector Records to showcase it’s impressive repertoire of rock and metal acts alongside other established and emerging artists. Tucked in a pocket of Radcliffe, within ten miles of the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 21-22 July 2013, Babylon Fire, Dave Evans, Eocene, festival, gig, Manchester, Massive Wagons, Radcliffe Centre, review, Rocksector Records, SOS Festival, Wizz Wizzard | Leave a comment

Album review: GORDON GILTRAP – Reissues

Posted on August 20, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Esoteric [Release date 29.07.13] Gordon Giltrap should be certified A National Treasure. He’s laboured tirelessly since the late-1960′s honing and preening his guitar style, dipping into various genres including prog, and generally maintaining the highest quality standards. These new reissues … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, classical, Fear Of The Dark, Gordon Giltrap, guitar, guitarist, John G Perry, Perilous Journey, reissue, review, rock, Simon Phillips, Visionary | Leave a comment

Album review: DEEP PURPLE – Slaves And Masters

Posted on August 15, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Hear No Evil Recordings [Release date 22.07.13] Slaves And Masters might be remembered as the album that split the Purple fans (and some critics) in the early-1990s, launched in an era that spawned albums such as Tyketto’s ‘Don’t Come Easy … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, bonus tracks, Deep Purple, Ian Paice, Joe Lynn Turner, Jon Lord, reissue, review, Ritchie Blackmore, rock, Roger Glover, Slaves And Masters | Leave a comment

Album review: MARTIN BARRE – Away With Words

Posted on August 14, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Edifying Records [Release date 30.09.13] Perhaps the most constant revolving door of rock is that of Jethro Tull, and all the more intriguing for the recent ‘loss’ of Martin Lancelot Barre. For several centuries, it seems, Ian Anderson’s right hand … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Away With Words, Dan Crisp, folk, guitar, guitarist, instrumental, Jethro Tull, Martin Barre, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: THE KEV WALKER BAND – Biding My Time

Posted on August 13, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

[Release date 09.09.13] A carpenter by trade, it’s been 30 years since Essex singer songwriter Kev Walker released his last album (The Dusk, 1983). Sadly, it was the loss of his wife to cancer that inspired Biding My Time – … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Biding My Time, Kev Walker Band, review, rock, soul | Leave a comment

Album review: TOMMY BOLIN – Whirlwind

Posted on August 11, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Cleopatra Records [Release date: 26.08.13] Guitarist Tommy Bolin has an interesting pre-Purple history and this 2-CD set is an excellent chronicle of the band he formed in 1972 after Zephyr and before James Gang. Energy, with a mix of rock … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Billy Cobham, Deep Purple, Energy, guitar, guitarist, James Gang, jazz fusion, review, rock, Tommy Bolin, Whirlwind | Leave a comment

Album review: EAST TOWN PIRATES – Seven Seas Of Sin

Posted on August 6, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

The look of this band, and the album cover, may not initially excite. Skulls and cross bones. Piratical tales. What’s new? Well nothing really but there is a certain infectious charm to this second album from East Anglia’s bunch of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Adam Art, album, East Town Pirates, folk, punk, review, rock, Seven Seas Of Sin, Tenpole Tudor, The Pogues | Leave a comment

Album review: EVILYN STRANGE – Mourning Phoebe

Posted on August 5, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

www.evilynstrange.co.uk [Release date 13.07.13] There is evidently some humour in this band and their publicity, describing themselves as part Beatles part Black Label Society. Philip and Al Strange (I assume brothers but let’s take nothing for granted here) are joined … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Evilyn Strange, Mourning Phoebe, review, rock | Leave a comment

Gig review: STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL – Ebbw Vale, 27 July 2013

Posted on August 3, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

High up in the hills, at Hafod-Y-Dafal farm in South Wales, the third annual Steelhouse Festival is now an established Rock and Metal weekender. Tickets were modestly priced at £65 all weekend or £40 a day, including adult and family … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 27 July 2013, anvil, Ebbw Vale, FM, gig, heavy metal, review, rock, Saxon, South Wales, Steelhouse Festival | Leave a comment

Single & EP reviews: COLOUR THE ATLAS, LISBEE STAINTON

Posted on August 1, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

COLOUR THE ATLAS Building Skyscrapers EP The new EP from Colour the Atlas, a young quartet from Swindon, is a corker. Following on from their eponymous debut EP, the band are writing and vocal partners Jess Hall (vocals) and Alex … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged Building Skyscrapers, Colour The Atlas, EP, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: BRANDY ZDAN – Lone Hunter

Posted on August 1, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Cavalier Recordings [Release date 09.09.13] The Canadian folk scene that is a hotbed of talent that will launch an ‘ABC of Canadian Music’ tour in October featuring Brandy Zdan (as in Zinedine), Po’ Girl Awna Teixeira, and Cara Luft … Continue reading →

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Gig review: THE LEVELLERS – Leamington Assembly, 28 June 2013

Posted on August 1, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

I have been covering shows at The Leamington Assembly for over 4 years and this was by far the wildest night I have witnessed, the music and the crowd did not drop pace for a second after show time on … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 28 June 2013, folk, gig, Leamington Assembly, review, rock, The Levellers | Leave a comment

Gig review: HEAVEN’S BASEMENT – Sound Control, Manchester, 12 July 2013

Posted on July 28, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

This must be the hottest ticket in town tonight as not only is it a sellout but it is also a scorcher in the venue, but even so the it’s over half full and the doors have only been open … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 12 July 2013, Buffalo Summer, gig, Heavens Basement, Manchester, review, rock, Skarlett Riot, Sound Control | Leave a comment

DVD Review: JACKSON BROWNE – I’ll Do Anything

Posted on July 22, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

ADA Global [Release date 01.07.13 ] Jackson Browne is something of an enigma and a legend in equal measure. A rock and roll hall of fame inductee and an acknowledged founder of the West Coast sound made global by the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS | Leave a comment

Gig review: SANTANA – LG Arena, Birmingham, 17 July 2013

Posted on July 18, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

There can be fewer pleasing combinations than the music of Santana on the hottest day of the year during an unexpected heatwave. With the rhythm section pumped up to the max, the always spiritual Carlos Santana would have us believe … Continue reading →