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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: CARDINAL BLACK – Sub 89, Reading, 15 November 2024
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Gig review: SUZI QUATRO – London Palladium, 13 November 2024
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Gig review: HRH XVII, Great Yarmouth, 7-9 November 2024
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Gig review: WHEN RIVERS MEET, CHANTEL MCGREGOR, XANDER AND THE PEACE PIRATES – Dingwalls, London, 7 November 2024
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Gig review: DEEP PURPLE – 02 Arena, London, 6 November 2024
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Gig review: ELLES BAILEY- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 2 November 2024
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Featured Album Reviews
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Single & EP Reviews
DVD Reviews
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Features
Tag Archives: AOR
Album review: HEAVY PETTIN – Best Of
Burnt Out Wreckords/Cherry Red Records (Release date 27/11/20) Heavy Pettin never quite made it to the inside of the glittering shop window of fame. Along with Scotland’s other great white melodic rock hopes, Strangeways, they had the talent, the ability, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, best of, Cherry Red Records, hard rock, Heavy Pettin', melodic hard rock, review
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Album review: HEARTWIND – Strangers
Escape Music [Release date 20.11.20] Heartwind formed around keyboard player Mikael Rosengren and guitarist Goran Engvall (who also played bass on the album). Since their debut release they have changed vocalists bringing in not one, but two vocalists – Nina … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Eclipse, Escape Music, hard rock, Heartwind, melodic rock, review, Strangers, W.E.T.
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Album review: ALIEN – Into the Future
AOR Heaven [Release Date 27.11.20] One of the original wave of Scandi AOR bands at the end of the eighties, Alien’s return with their original line up was one of the stories of the early 2010’s. They followed up two … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alien, AOR, Jim Jidhed, melodic rock, Tony Borg
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Album review: PRIDE OF LIONS – Lion Heart
Frontiers Records [Release Date 09.10.20] Approaching 70, maestro songwriter and Survivor founder member Jim Peterik is showing no signs of slowing down. After last year’s World Stage release with a star studded casts of guest vocalists, and co-writing much of … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Jim Peterik, melodic rock, Pride of Lions, Survivor, Toby Hitchcock
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Album review: STARDUST – Highway To Heartbreak
Frontiers [Release date 09.10.20] Debut album from (very) talented newcomers, Stardust. In the world inhabited by melodic rock fans, very good pastiches of Eighties’ AOR get the utmost respect. The era’s distinctively polished, precision calibrated, hook heavy hard rock is … Continue reading
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Tagged album, AOR, Frontiers, Highway To Heartbreak, melodic, melodic rock, review, Stardust
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Album review: BROTHER FIRETRIBE – Feel The Burn
Odyssey Music (Release Date 18.09.20) With the release of their first album back in 2006, Brother Firetribe (alongside the Poodles and WigWam) kick started the Scandinavian-led revival of melodic rock that is thriving to this day. Since then the only … Continue reading
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Tagged album, AOR, Brother Firetribe, melodic rock, Pekka Ansiu Heino, review
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News: Albums of the Month (July 2020 – September 2020)
MAGENTA Masters Of Illusion (Tiger Moth) It turns back the years without ever being ‘retro’ and I would suggest is comfortably the best Magenta album since Home. Masters Of Illusion – The Musical, anyone? ***** (Pete Whalley) WALTER TROUT Ordinary … Continue reading
Posted in Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS, NEWS
Tagged 20/20, albums of the month, AOR, Arctic Rain, August, blues, blues rock, classic rock, Deep Purple, hard rock, July, Kat Riggins, Legacy Pilots, Magenta, melodic rock, Progressive Rock, September, Walter Trout
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Album review: PERFECT PLAN- Time For A Miracle
Frontiers Records [Release Date 04.09.20] Perfect Plan’s self titled debut was one of the revelations of 2018, these seasoned Swedes emerging from nowhere with a high quality mix of hard rock and AOR. After keeping the pot boiling nicely with … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Kent Hilli, melodic rock, Perfect Plan
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) January 2021-March 2021
Compiled by Jason Ritchie January – March 2020 April – June 2020 July – September 2020 October – December 2020 April – June 2021 July-September 2021 October-December 2021 2021 January 1st THE BLACK KEYS ‘Brothers’ (10th anniversary edition) 8th Frozen … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, NEWS, Re-issues/special editions, Upcoming (Tours & Releases), Video
Tagged 2021, album, AOR, Bluray, CD, classic rock, DVD, February, heavy rock, January, March, melodic rock, metal, New releases, progressive, rock
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Album review: LANDFALL – The Turning Point
Frontiers [Release date 04.09.20] This is up and coming Brazilian band, Landfall’s first album with talented vocalist Gui Oliver. His high tenor has encouraged the label to compare him to Steve Perry, but his vocal timbre is often much closer … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Frontiers, Gui Oliver, Journey, Landfall, melodic rock, review, rock, Steve Perry, The Turning Point
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Album review: OVERLAND – Scandalous
Escape Music [Release date 18.09.20] FM vocalist Steve Overland returns with a new album, aided by Tommy Denander, along with Brian Anthony (bass, piano, Hammond) and drummer Brian Tichy (Foreigner, Whitesnake, Dead Daisies et al). The album’s contrasting styles can … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, FM, melodic rock, review, rock, Solo, soul, Steve Overland, Tommy Denander
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Album review: PAUL SABU – Heartbreak & Only Child
Rock Candy Records Remasters [Release date 07.08.20] From the moment he burst onto the disco music scene in the late seventies, the legend that is Paul Sabu has been inundated with accolades… “best this…”, “best that…”, but he never truly … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, AOR, Classic Albums, classic rock, Heartbreak, melodic rock, Only Child, Paul Sabu, review, Rock Candy
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Album review: FORTUNE- The Gun’s Still Smoking Live (CD/DVD)
Frontiers Records (Release Date 07.08.20) One of the most heart-warming and unexpected comebacks of the last few years has been that of cult eighties AOR sters Fortune. It’s fair to say their comeback in 2016 at Rockingham Festival stole the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS
Tagged album, AOR, Fortune. live album, Larry Greene, Mark Nilan, melodic rock, Richard Fortune, Ricky Rat
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Singles review: DREAMS OF AVALON – Under the Gun & Young Wild Hearts
Two teaser tracks released over the last month by Joachim (Astral Doors) Nordlund’s Melodic Rock band, Dreams Of Avalon. The full album “Beyond The Dream” is due for release at the end of August, by the Metalville label. It’s unadulterated … Continue reading
Album review: ARCTIC RAIN – The One
Frontiers [Release date 07.08.20] Arctic Rain’s music is gloriously reminiscent of the melodic rock genre’s more hypnotic moments. On most tracks, you can tell that they have been thumbing through a dog eared copy of the Eighties’ AOR Blueprint. Doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Arctic Rain, Frontiers, HEAT, melodic rock, review, rock, Survivor, The One, Treat
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Album review: LIONVILLE – Magic Is Alive
Frontiers Records [Release date 07.08.20] Fourth album from Lionville, an emphatically Westcoast Rock band. Each new release confirms that guitarist/songwriter Stefano Leonetti couldn’t have found a more suitable front man than Lars (Work Of Art) Safsund. What this celebrated vocalist … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Frontiers, Lars Sasfund, Lionville, Magic Is Alive, melodic rock, review, Stefano Leonetti, Work Of Art
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) October 2020 – December 2020
Compiled by Jason Ritchie January – March 2020 April – June 2020 July – September 2020 October 2nd AMARANTHE ‘Manifest’ Nuclear Blast BLACKFIELD ‘For The Music’ Parlophone Records BON JOVI ‘Bon Jovi 2020′ Island (postponed from May) BRUFORD ‘Rock Goes … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, NEWS, Upcoming (Tours & Releases)
Tagged 20/20, album, AOR, Bluray, CD, December, DVD, heavy rock, melodic rock, metal, New releases, November, October, progressive, rock
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Album review: SIMON SAYS – Spin This
Escape Music [Release date 14.08.20] Bit of a musical curio in Simon Says, a band who hail from Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada and were formed from the ashes of Spectrum and Rawx. ‘Spin This’ was originally released back in 1991, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, AOR, April Wine, Escape Music, melodic, Queen, Queen Flash, re-issue, review, rock, Simon Says, Spin This
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Album review: MARK SPIRO- 2+2=5: Best of + Rarities
Frontiers Records (Release Date 10.07.20) Mark Spiro is probably best known as one of those outside collaborators who in the late eighties and early nineties sprinkled their songwriting gold dust to give the added touches that turned potential singles into … Continue reading
Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) July 2020 – September 2020
Compiled by Jason Ritchie January – March 2020 April – June 2020 October – December 2020 July 1st DOMINATION BLACK ‘Judgement IV’ Pride & Joy Music THE QUIREBOYS ‘A Bit Of What You Fancy’ (re-recorded debut album) 3rd WEATHER REPORT … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, NEWS, Upcoming (Tours & Releases)
Tagged 20/20, album, AOR, August, Bluray, CD, DVD, heavy rock, July, melodic rock, metal, New releases, progressive, rock, September
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Album review: KANSAS – The Absence of Presence
Inside Out Records [Release Date 17.07.20] Kansas are an object lesson in regeneration and renewal for veteran bands. Having been around since 1974, many feared for their future when lead singer Steve Walsh retired in 2014, but continuing with a … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Kansas, Phil Ehart, Progressive Rock, Richard Williams, Ronnie Platt, Tom Brislin, Zak Rizvi
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Feature: Albums that time forgot – RANSOM – Trouble In Paradise
MTM (1997) As alternative sounds ruled the roost in the nineties, musical styles that had ruled the previous decade were out of fashion and none more so than the melodic rock/AOR scene which was driven completely underground. In pre-Facebook, YouTube … Continue reading
Posted in Albums that time forgot, ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged AOR, Don Cromwell, Eddie Money, melodic rock, Ransom, Tommy Girvin, Trouble In Paradise
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Album review: INTELLIGENT MUSIC PROJECT – Sorcery Inside/Life Motion
Intelligent Music [Release date 12.02.20, 24.12.18*] There must be something in the Bulgarian water. One time Uriah Heep vocalist John Lawton has also used that country’s musicians in recent years and actually appears on the first two ‘Intelligent’ releases. This … Continue reading
Album review: CPR (Crosby Pevar Raymond)
BMG [Release date 21.07.20] Guitarist, songwriter and vocalist David Crosby is quite a legend, all historic drug and alcohol issues aside, being a founder member of folk rock/country rock pioneers The Byrds, he has recorded with Crosby & Nash (former … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged albums, AOR, country, CPR, CSN, David Crosby, folk, James Raymond, Jeff Pevar, melodic, pop, re-issue, review, The Byrds
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Album review: LAURA BRANIGAN – Self Control
Cherry Red Records [Release date 05.06.20] In other circumstances, it would have been reported that Branigan’s untimely death in 2004, aged 52, brought a sparkling, hit filled career to a tragic end. But in fact, while that was true, she’d … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, AOR, Cherry Red Records, dance music, Laura Branigan, Leonard Cohen, melodic, MTV, pop, re-issue, review, Self Control
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