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Author Archives: brianmc
Album review : THE BLUES BROTHERS – The Lost Recordings (blue vinyl)
Z2Comics [Release date : 21.11.25] “From The Vaults Of John Belushi Comes 13 Unreleased Live Performances of THE BLUES BROTHERS” An apocryphal tale you might think, but apparently the tapes referenced were found by his late wife, Judy Belushi, in … Continue reading
Album review : CASSIDY PARIS – Bittersweet
Frontiers Music [Release date : 21.11.25] Bittersweet is Australian songbird, Cassidy Paris’s second long player on the Frontiers Music label, a follow up to the debut, New Sensation. Paris was “discovered” in her youth, and subsequently mentored, by Paul (Danger … Continue reading
Album review : SPIRIT – Sea Dream (4CD Expanded and Remastered boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 28.11.25] Californian band, Spirit, blossomed in the fertile fields of psychedelic rock. They came together in 1967, the year of “The Summer Of Love”, a year later they released their self titled debut. Its febrile … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged expanded, live, posthumous, Randy California, remastered, review, rock, Sea Dream, Spirit, studio
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Album review : CHEAP TRICK – All Washed Up
BMG [Release date 14.11.25] Cheap Trick’s best since Rockford. Some people thought it was all over, thus the tongue-in-cheek title. It’s no exaggeration to call this 40 minute album’s worth of expertly crafted songs a heavy hitting tour de force. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged All Washed Up, Cheap Trick, Daxx, melodic rock, review, Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersen
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Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Beware The Blade – Classic, Rare and Unreleased, 4 CD Boxset
Cherry Red [Release date : 21.11.25] A 4CD boxset of the best of Tokyo Blade’s 14 albums (and more). It’s not called a “Best Of”, but that’s what it is. CD1 : selections from Midnight Rendezvous (1984) and Night Of … Continue reading
Album review : HELL IN THE CLUB – The Joker In The Pack
Frontiers Music [Release date 7.11.25] The Hell In The Club line up comprised originally of ex-members of better named bands, like Elvenking (Dave Moras), Secret Sphere (Andrea Buratto) and Wrathchild (Andrea Piccardi). Of course the HITC band name is old … Continue reading
Album review : RONNIE ROMERO – Backbone
Frontiers Music [Release date 24.10.25] Over the last ten years, stints with pre-eminent rock artists like Schenker and Vandenberg, plus spells with Rainbow and Sunstorm have tended to overshadow Ronnie Romero’s solo stuff. When he released Raised on Radio (2022) … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Backbone, Frontiers Music, Jose Rubio, Rainbow, review, Ronnie Romero, Schenker, Sunstorm, Vandenberg
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Album review : DEFECTO – Echoes Of Isolation
Frontiers Music [Release date 31.10.25] Strongly encouraged by famed producer, Flemming (Rainbow/ Metallica/ Pretty Maids/ Blind Guardian) Rasmussen, Danish singer/ guitarist/ songwriter, Nicklas Sonne put Defecto together in 2011. Echoes of Isolation is their fourth studio album, and the band … Continue reading
Album review : SHIRAZ LANE – In Vertigo
Frontiers Music [Release date 24.10.25] Finnish rock band Shiraz Lane have been a going concern for ten years now. In Vertigo is their 6th album, with a smattering of EPs released in between. It’s described by the label as “an … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Alexander Kronlund, HEAT, In Vertigo, Max Martin, Per Aldaheim, Reckless Love, review, Santa Cruz, Shiraz Lane
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Album review : LEAH MARTIN-BROWN – Love & Other Crimes
Frontiers Music [Release date 24.10.25] Australian born, but now resident in Europe via the USA, amazingly gifted singer Leah Martin-Brown releases her debut album on Frontiers Music this month. She’s got a lot going for her before we hear a … Continue reading
Album review : WEST, BRUCE & LAING – Out In The Fields – The albums 1972-74
Esoteric [Release date : 31.10.25] Three searing samples of the red hot rock’n’roll that emanated from supergroup, West, Bruce & Laing. No surprise really. Their genesis lies in the live improvisations of Jack Bruce’s previous band, Cream, and the hard … Continue reading
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Tagged Corky Laing, Cream, Jack Bruce, Leslie West, Mountain, Out In The Fields, review, seventies, West Bruce & Laing
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Album review : WRATHCHILD AMERICA – Climbing the Walls / 3-D (2 CD remasters w/bonus tracks)
Cherry Red [Release date : 24.10.25] Back in 1984, founding member, vocalist and bass man, Brad Divens gave up a career in the straight world to “make it” with his Thrash Metal band, Wrathchild America. It was a high risk … Continue reading
Album review : ATOMIC ROOSTER – Circle The Sun
Cherry Red/Esoteric [Release date 10.10.25] 40 years between albums is pushing it a bit. But for Atomic Rooster, that’s where we are. The band’s last album, Headline News, was their seventh, released in 1983. Two generations ago, give or take. … Continue reading
Singles review : TREAT – ’1985′ and ‘Adam and Evil’
Frontiers Music [Release date : 26.09.25] Arena Rock experts and more, Treat recently released ‘Adam and Evil’ and ‘1985’ as teaser trailers for their forthcoming long player, The Wild Card, due out in November. The band’s high-sheen recording craft is … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged arena rock, Frontiers, melodic rock, review, singles, Treat, Wild Card
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Album review : RISEN ATLANTIS feat: FRANK BECK – Power To The Past
Frontiers Music [Release Date : 26.09.25] Singer, Frank Beck, touring sideman with Kai Hansen’s Gamma Ray for many years, now gets his solo opportunity. Risen Atlantis is the brainchild of Alessandro Del Vecchio, writer, producer, musician, commonly associated with Frontiers … Continue reading
Album review : MIKE TRAMP – The Songs Of White Lion Vol III
Frontiers Music [Release date : 19.09.25] Few musical artists get the chance to rerecord their old material. Still fewer improve upon the originals. Mike Tramp continues to claim – clearly very sincerely – that he is surprised to have got … Continue reading
Album review : PRIDE & JOY ANTHOLOGY – 10 Years Of Pride & Joy
Pride&Joy [Release date : 19.09.25] The Pride & Joy label is celebrating ten years active in the world of rock and metal. Founder and CEO Birgitt Schwanke has created a bijou music business that just grows and grows. The 10 … Continue reading
Album review : BEBOP DELUXE – The Albums 1976-78 (3 CD set)
Esoteric Music [Release date : 26.09.25] Nowadays, founder, guitarist, writer and driving force behind the band Be Bop Deluxe, Bill Nelson, is not for looking in the rear view mirror, so it’s good that Cherry Red offshoot, Esoteric is doing … Continue reading
Album review : THE BANGLES : Watching The Sky (4 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 26.09.25] The title of this Bangles’ boxset, Watching The Sky, is taken from their third (and at the time, assumed to be their last) album, titled Everything, released in 1988. CD1 : All Over The … Continue reading
Album review : FANNY – Rock’n'Roll Survivors (Remastered and Expanded 2 CD Edition)
Cherry Red [Release date 19.09.25] We reviewed Fanny’s first 4 studio albums (as a boxset) last year. Their fifth and last album, released in 1974, was called Rock’n’Roll Survivors. Aptly named. This new, 2 CD version has been expanded and … Continue reading
Album review : CARL BALDASSARRE – Deep Grooves
CB Music [Release date : 12.09.25] You have to admire Carl Baldassarre’s honesty for treating this self produced album as an academic exercise rather than a labour of love, although love of music of whatever stripe is clearly his motivation. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Carl Baldassarre, funk, Jacob Dupre, Kool and the Gang, Nick D’Virgilio, review, Sly Stone, soul, Stevie Wonder
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Album review : THE SWITCH – No Way Out
Frontiers [Release date 12.08.25] It’s in some way inspiring to hear a band embracing the past wholeheartedly. Pretty well everywhere you scratch the paint on No Way Out, you’ll find the 1980s underneath. The Switch was formed by identical twin … Continue reading
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Tagged Bobby John, Cruzh, Denis Butabi Borg, James Martin, melodic rock, Nitrate, review, The Switch, Tom Martin, Vega
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Album review : JOE MEEK – A Curious Mind (3 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date: 29.08.25] Anyone in anyway familiar with the story of legendary British Music producer, Joe Meek, will know that he cut his electronics’ teeth in the 1950s, operating and maintaining the complexities of the RAF’s radar equipment. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged A Curious Mind, Edgar Varese, Heinz, Joe Meek, John Leyton, Lord Sutch, Mike Berry, review, Space, Telstar, Tornadoes
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Album review : THE LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY – Ocean Drive 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (4 CD boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 29.08.25] A more than interesting remaster from pop soul duo, the Lighthouse Family. This 4 CD set comprises their debut album, the almost 2 million selling Ocean Drive, plus 3 CDs of remixes. More on … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged California, Lifted, Lighthouse Family, Newcastle, Ocean Drive, Paul Tucker, Pop soul, review, Tunde Baiyewu
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Album review : UNEN – Forever Winter
Frontiers Music [Release date : 29.08.25] Broadly speaking, in English, the Finnish word “Unen” means “We stand united”. No surprise really. Arriving at a definitive line-up has taken time, and you could almost hear a joint sigh of relief from … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Evanescence, Finnish, Frontiers Music, melodic metal, review, Stina Girs, symphonic rock, Unen
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