Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

Album review: MIDNITE CITY – Itch You Can’t Scratch

Posted on June 1, 2021 by jason

Roulette Media [Release date 11.06.21] Since bursting out onto the scene in 2017, Midnite City have been steadily building up a loyal following, helped by two well received albums and being a band that doesn’t mind getting on the road … Continue reading →

Album review: ALIAS8 – Digital Sound Cinema

Posted on June 1, 2021 by jason

Facebook [Release date 18.06.21] There was a real bloom of interest in ‘chill-out’ music a number of years ago and countless compilations came out, all guaranteeing to soothe your senses. Of course, what could have been classed in the same … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Alias8, ambient, Brian Eno, chillout, Digital Sound Cinema, melodic, Phil Wale, review, the Willows | Leave a comment

Album review: FRANKIE MILLER – Once In A Blue Moon, High Life and The Rock (remasters with bonus tracks)

Posted on June 1, 2021 by brianmc

Rock Candy Records [release date 7.05.21] Glasgow singer/songwriter/actor, Frankie Miller always seemed to have more success when other people sang the stuff he had written. And no matter the critical acclaim his own releases enjoyed, reviews always seemed to end … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Allen Toussaint, Andy Fraser, Bob Dylan, bonus tracks, Dave Robinson, Frankie Miller, Free, Glasgow, High Life, Once In A Blue Moon, remasters, review, Robert Palmer, The Rock, Willie Dixon | Leave a comment

Album review: RPWL: God Has Failed – Live And Personal

Posted on May 28, 2021 by alanjones

Gentle Art Of Music [Release date: 30.04.21] RPWL started life way back as a Pink Floyd tribute band, and, rather like Marillion and their relentless (and wrong) “Genesis Clones” soubriquet, struggled early on to free themselves of the PF comparisons. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile) | Tagged God Has Failed - Live And Personal, Kalle Wallner, Progressive Rock, review, RPWL, Yogi Lang | Leave a comment

Album review: GHOSTS OF MEN – Exhale

Posted on May 28, 2021 by brianmc

Regent Street Records [Release date 21.05.21] No psychodrama queens, Ghosts of Men are as comfortable as any rock band can be in writing about mental health. It’s hardly a selling point, but on this their second album, they undercut the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Black Keys, Exhale, Ghosts Of Men, Mental Health, review, White Stripes | Leave a comment

Album review: KAI STRAUSS – In My Prime

Posted on May 28, 2021 by petefeenstra

Continental Record Services [Release date 20.11.20] Kai Straus’s aptly titled album ‘I’m In My Prime’ sees him updating traditional blues styles from Chicago to the West Coast, while confirming his own impressive elements of tone, taste and feel. Strauss is … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Albert Collins, Albert King, album, Alex Lex, BB King, blues, Doug Jay, Freddie King, guitar, In My Prime, Johnny Copeland, Kai Strauss, Kevin Duvernay, Memo Gonzales, Nick Gravenites, Otis Grand, Paul Jobson, review Mike Bloomfield, Rick Estrin, Sax Gordon, Thomas Feldmann, Tommie Harris | Leave a comment

Album review: D.I. – Greatest Hits A-Z

Posted on May 27, 2021 by jason

Cleopatra Records [Release date 29.01.21] Orange County’s own punk legends D.I. have been around since the ‘80’s and these days only frontman Casey Royer remains from the original line-up. Now the band’s current incarnation have re-recorded some of their biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, best of, Casey Royer, D.I. Greatest Hits A-Z, punk, punk pop, review | Leave a comment

Album review: TRANSATLANTIC – The Absolute Universe

Posted on May 26, 2021 by alanjones

Inside Out [Release date: 05.02.21] Supergroups – don’t you just love them? Remember, back in the day, when England used to play various sporting matches against “The Rest Of The World”? England always won because they all knew each other’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile) | Tagged Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Marillion, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Pete Trewavas, Progressive Rock, review, Roine Stolt, Spock's Beard, The Absolute Universe, Transatlantic, Winery Dogs | Leave a comment

Album review: QUINN SULLIVAN – Wide Awake

Posted on May 26, 2021 by jason

Provogue Records [Release date 04.06.21] The 21-year-old Massachusetts singer-songwriter Quinn Sullivan has been touring the world since he was 11-years-old! Appearing at venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, jazz, melodic, pop, Quinn Sullivan, review, rock guitarist, soul, Wide Awake | Leave a comment

Album review: DOWN BY LAW – Lonely Town

Posted on May 26, 2021 by jason

Cleopatra Records [Release date 26.02.21] Veteran punk band Down By Law have returned with their 12th album “Lonely Town”, and it is a welcome return. Frontman and founding member Dave Smalley has led the band through line-up changes, international tours … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Cleopatra Records, Dave Smalley, Down By Law, Lonely Town, punk, review, Ricky Warwick, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: BLOODBOUND – Creatures Of The Dark Realm

Posted on May 26, 2021 by brianmc

AFM Records [release date: 28.05.21] When Bloodbound’s principal songwriters, Fredrik Bergh and Tomas Olsson rerouted their musical artistry from the AOR of Street Talk to the land of Power Metal, they brought the underlying principles of hooky melodic rock with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged AFM Records, album, Bloodbound, Fredrik Bergh, Game Of Thrones, power metal, review, Street Talk, symphonic metal | Leave a comment

Album review: BILLY F GIBBONS – Hardware

Posted on May 26, 2021 by petefeenstra

Concord [Release date 04.06.21] Billy F Gibbons new album ‘Hardware’ is a return to his rock-a-boogie template, but with a contemplative feel born of the band’s isolated recording environment in the Mojave desert. There’s always something consistently familiar about Billy … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Augie Meyers, Austin Hanks, Billy F. Gibbons, blues, boogie, guitar album, Joe Hardy, Latino, Matt Sorum, review, rock, ZZ Top | Leave a comment

Album review: VARIOUS ARTISTS – Beyond The Pale Horizon, The British Progressive Sounds of 1972 (3 CD Boxset)

Posted on May 25, 2021 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 28.05.21] Respected music critics have often expressed the opinion that Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry never wrote a better set of lyrics than he did for ‘Virginia Plain’, the band’s first hit single. Medium.com’s Phil Adams described … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 1972, Argent, Beyond The Pale Horizon, boxset, British Progressive Pop, ELO, Hawkwind, Mott the Hoople, review, Roxy Music, Van Der Graff Generator, Yes | Leave a comment

Album review: MARK SPIRO- Traveling Cowboys

Posted on May 24, 2021 by andynathan

Frontiers Records (Release Date 07.05.21) Best known as a writer for Cheap Trick, Giant, Bad English and others, Mark Spiro’s career has significantly picked up after a dormant few years. Less than a year after the ’2+2= 5‘ triple anthology … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Julian Lennon, Mark Spiro, melodic rock, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: KIK TRACEE – No Rules and Field Trip (2 CDs)

Posted on May 24, 2021 by brianmc

Bad Reputation [release date 14.05.21] Kik Tracee were one of the fallen in 1992′s Grunge assault on the Sunset Strip/Glam/Bandana/Sleaze (delete as appropriate) Rock’n’roll supremacy. A young band, clearly “inspired” by Guns’n’Roses, you can hear they had something to offer, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bad Reputation, Dana Strum, expanded version, Filed Trip, glam rock, Guns'n'Roses, Kik Tracee, No Rules, Poison, review, Slaughter | Leave a comment

Album review: LOU GRAMM – Questions And Answers (3CD Atlantic Years Anthology, 1987-89)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 28.05.21] As with most rock bands, the singer and guitarist driving force is a dynamic that ultimately shudders to a halt, at least on a temporary basis: Steven Tyler/ Joe Perry. Mick Jagger/ Keith Richards. Robert … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, anthology, AOR, Dann Huff, Foreigner, Giant, Lou Gramm, melodic rock, Mick Jones, Nils Lofgren, Peter Wolf, Question And Answer, review | Leave a comment

Album review: VINCE DICOLA – Only Time Will Tell

Posted on May 22, 2021 by jason

Escape Music [Release date 11.06.21] Vince DiCola is a musician / songwriter from Pennsylvania and relocated to LA in 1981 to advance his career. In the early to mid-eighties Vince was involved in some well-known film scores such as ‘Staying … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Bobby Kimball, Chicago, Escape Music, Kansas, melodic rock, Only Time Will Tell, prog rock, review, Steve Walsh, Toto, Vince DiCola | Leave a comment

Album review: IAGO BANET – Iago Banet

Posted on May 22, 2021 by petefeenstra

Razor Edge Records [Release date 07.11.2o] Anglo-Spanish guitarist Iago Banet has all the right credentials for an acoustic guitarist. He’s Galician born (in the North West of Spain) and is equally at home on acoustic and electric guitar, though this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, blues, Carlos Núñez, Chet Atkins, Colorcolour, country, Deep Blue Sea, folk, Galicia, guitar, Iago Banet, JFK Blue, Merle Travis, review, The Boo-Hoos, The Chieftains, Tommy Emmanuel, Van Morrison | Leave a comment

Album review: SUNBOMB – Evil And Divine

Posted on May 22, 2021 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 15.05.21] An outsider may see Sunbomb as the completion of Michael Sweet’s journey to the darkside. A restlessly talented musician finally freeing himself from the strictures of Christian Rock, crossing into the world of the Sunset Strip’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Doom Metal, Evil & Divine, Frontiers, LA Guns, melodic metal, Michael Sweet, review, Stryper, Sunbomb, Tracii Guns | Leave a comment

Album review: THE JOHN WILLIAMS SYNDICATE – Out Of Darkness

Posted on May 21, 2021 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to John Williams for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 30 May 2021. Wulfrun Records [Release date 06.04.21] ‘Out Of Darkness’ is an exercise in aesthetics. Everything from the name of his Wulfrun label which connects … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged Al Cooper, album, Amber Prothero, Ben Walker, Bob Dylan, Charlie Williams, Chris Blackwell, Claudia Brucken, George Harrison, George Martin, Iain Matthews, interview, Isabella Coulstock, James Hallawell, James Warren, Jane Burgess, John Offenbach, John Williams, Micky Most, Nick Drake, Out Of Darkness, Paul Visser, Pet Shop Boys, Petula Clark, Philip Marshall, pop, Quantum Jump, radio, review, rock, Slicko Di Caprio, Stackridge, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Connells, The John Williams Syndicate, The Searchers, Tim Hobart, Tony Hatch | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL FURY – Affairs In Babylon

Posted on May 20, 2021 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 28.05.21] Michael Fury are a band, as opposed to a solo artist, having formed in 1979 by vocalist/guitarist Myles Hunter (Avalon), bassist Martyn Jones and guitarist Rob Kennedy. They played a fair few gigs in their … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Affairs In Babylon, album, AOR, AOR Heaven, melodic rock, Refugee, reissue, review | Leave a comment

Album review: SONIC HAVEN – Vagabond

Posted on May 20, 2021 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date 07.05.21] Sonic Haven is Herbie Langhan’s band. He of Firewind, Avantasia and others fame. He’s produced it, Sacha Paeth has mixed it and old Radiant chum, Carsen Stepanowicz plays guitar. So, with three vastly experienced artists … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album review, AVANTASIA, Firewind, Frontiers, heavy metal, Herbie Langhan, power metal, Sacha Paeth, Sonic Haven, Teutonic Metal, Vagabond | Leave a comment

Album review: SAVE THE WORLD – Two

Posted on May 19, 2021 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 07.05.21] Save The World is chief songwriter Dan Tracey (guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion) and Robert Wright (bass, vocals, keyboards, drums, guitars, strings, percussion and producer). Dan Tracey currently plays guitar and sings in the Alan Parsons … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Brad Delp, Frontiers, melodic rock, progressive, review, rock, Save The World, Two | 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

Album review: BLACK SABBATH – Sabotage (Super Deluxe Edition)

Posted on May 16, 2021 by jason

BMG [Release date 11.06.21] Following finely in the footsteps of the recent Paranoid and Volume 4 reissues, Black Sabbath’s 6th album Sabotage gets the full expansion works. And what a wonderful package it is. And much like its predecessors, … Continue reading →