Tag Archives: classical

Album review: RICK WAKEMAN – Return To The Red Planet

Posted on October 25, 2026 by jason

Madfish [Release date 16.10.26] Following 2020’s instrumental concept album The Red Planet, the keyboard wizard, for Yes man and raconteur returns to expand on this concept, this time with vocals. Rick Wakeman found fame initially with The Strawbs, and several … Continue reading →

Interview: Elevenses with…MALCOLM GALLOWAY

Posted on October 15, 2026 by jason

First in a new series of interviews with various musicians and those involved in and around the music business. First up, Malcolm Galloway of Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, solo artist and festival promoter. Before the questions, what is your brew … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions, Interviews/Rock Stars | Tagged classical, Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate, instrumental, interview, Malcolm Galloway, Mark Gatland, minimalist, Parallel Lives, prog rock, progressive, SF, Stare | Leave a comment

Album review : RENAISSANCE – Running Hard – The Albums 1974-76 (4 CDs)

Posted on May 28, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date: 30.05.25] This 4 CD Renaissance boxset comprises: CD1 : Turn Of The Cards (1974) CD2 : Scheherazade And Other Stories (1975) CD3 : Live At Carnegie Hall Part 1 (1976) CD3 : Live At Carnegie Hall … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Annie Haslam, box set, Brill Building, Carnegie Hall, Cherry Red, classical, John Tout, orchestral rock, progressive, Renaissance, review, Richard Gottehrer, rock, Scheherazade, Turn Of The Cards | Leave a comment

Album review: LEAH WAYBRIGHT – Dreamed

Posted on June 22, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

Invasion Merch [Release date 17.07.23] One of the great things about GRTR! as we reflect on our twenty year lifespan is the eclectic nature of our brief. We don’t ever feel compelled to review the latest Jethro Tull or Yes … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, Dreamed, Gary Blu, Happy The Man, instrumental, jazz, Leah Waybright, Mark Wood, review, Rick Kennell, Stanley Whitaker | Leave a comment

Album review: MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) – In The Rain Shadow

Posted on June 22, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

www.markvickness.com [Release date 17.05.23] “Sit back, pour a glass of your favourite tipple, and let this album wash over you.” That’s what I wrote about ‘Interconnected’ in 2020 making it one of my “best ofs” that year. And it could … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, fusion, jazz, Mark Vickness Interconnected, MVI, new age, review | Leave a comment

Album review: RAMSEY LEWIS – Legacy/ Ramsey/ Live At The Savoy/Chance Encounter (Remasters)

Posted on May 5, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

BGO Records www.bgo-records.com [Release date 30.03.18] In the fourth of our series of reviews summarising the Ramsey Lewis reissues (see links below) here are four late-1970s/early 1980s Ramsey Lewis albums on two CDs. Once again reproducing the original credits and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Chance Encounter, classical, Grover Washington Jr., jazz funk, Legacy, Live At The Savoy, Ramsey, Ramsey Lewis, reissue, review, soul jazz, Wayne Henderson | Leave a comment

Album review : ONE DESIRE – Live With The Shadow Orchestra

Posted on April 14, 2023 by brianmc

Frontiers [release date 21.04.23] Rising Finnish band, One Desire return with a live album. What is it with rock/ metal bands and orchestras? The ambition to match up the two has been realised regularly ever since most of us can … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, Deep Purple, live, Metallica, Nightwish, Procol Harum, review, Scorpions, Vassa orchestra Finland | Leave a comment

Album review: WILL POUND & JENN BUTTERWORTH – Volume 1

Posted on February 21, 2023 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 24.02.23] Two of the finest instrumentalists in traditional music combine to produce an album full of musical wonders. Jenn Butterworth won the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards Musician of the Year accolade while Will Pound has been … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, classical, folk, harmonica, instrumental, Jenn Butterworth, review, traditional music, Volume 1, Will Pound | Leave a comment

Album review: HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT’S ADEQUATE – The Confidence Trick

Posted on June 18, 2022 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 29.07.22] Here at GRTR! we are big fans of Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, enjoying what the band use to describe themselves as genre defying music. They have a prog rock basis but then wander off down … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate, instrumental, melodic, prog rock, progressive, review, The Confidence Trick | Leave a comment

Rising Stars: WAX ON WATER

Posted on November 25, 2021 by jason

Maya Damaris from Wax on Water answers GRTR! Q&A… Wax on Water -The Sting in the Raw – YouTube 1. Your new EP ‘The Drip -Part 1′ is out now – what has the reception been so far ? What … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rising Stars | Tagged alternative, classical, indie, interview, Maya Damaris, melodic, Rising Stars, Wax On Water | Leave a comment

Album review: ESKINA – We Were The Moon

Posted on November 18, 2021 by GRTR! HQ

Challenge Records [Release date 19.11.21] www.eskinamusic.com Has the music world gone all reflective? Or maybe it is just a coincidence that in the past few weeks we have received several releases that seem to chime with the times. Or maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, ambient, chill-out, classical, Eskina, instrumental, review, We Are The Moon | Leave a comment

Album review: STEVE HACKETT – Under A Mediterranean Sky

Posted on March 11, 2021 by alanjones

Inside Out [Release date: 22.01.21] Being the modest chap that he is, Steve Hackett would probably not describe himself as a virtuoso. However, in a career spanning getting on for fifty years from the early days of Genesis through his … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged classical, John Hackett, Progressive Rock, review, Rob Townsend, Roger King, Steve Hackett, Under A Mediterranean Sky | Leave a comment

Album review: MARK VICKNESS – Interconnected

Posted on November 9, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

www.markvickness.com [Release date 15.09.20] Mark Vickness is a classically trained guitarist but has also worked in jazz and fusion genres. He freely mixes world flavours with classical/acoustic/rock. On ‘Interconnected’ he is joined by some talented collaborators such as the Grammy … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, classical, fingerstyle, folk, guitar, guitarist, Interconnected, Mark Vickness, review | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…MIKE OLDFIELD (Every album, every song) – Ryan Yard

Posted on September 18, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 18.09.20] As Ryan Ward suggests in this survey of Mike Oldfield’s music, his calling card Tubular Bells – in 1973 – defined him and was never surpassed. He was only 20. Those of a certain age … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, classical, dance, Every Album, Every Song, guitar, instrumental, Mike Oldfield, music, On Track, prog, progressive, review, rock, Ryan Yard, Tubular Bells, world | Leave a comment

Album review: HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT’S ADEQUATE – Nostalgia For Infinity

Posted on March 24, 2020 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 06.05.20] Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are Malcolm Galloway and Mark Gatland along with Kathryn Thomas on flute and vocals on one song. The theme of the album is the frailty of civilisation, from a variety of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alastair Reynolds, album, Camel, classical, electronic, Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate, instrumental, melodic, metal, Nostalgia For Infinity, Pink Floyd, prog rock, progressive, review, sci fi | Leave a comment

Album review: GORDON GILTRAP – Woman

Posted on February 6, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Angel Air Records [Release date 28.02.20] The latest couple of Gordon Giltrap albums may appear slightly disingenuous to the hardcore fan and may even dupe the casual observer. Both Peace Will Fall and now Woman have been released without any … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, classical, compilation, folk, Gordon Giltrap, guitar, guitarist, review, Woman | Leave a comment

Album review: ATLANTAEUM FLOOD – One Day

Posted on October 29, 2019 by jason

Self-release www.schoolkidsrecords.com [Release date 11.11.19] Atlantæum Flood is an instrumental five-piece collective featuring former the Church and All About Eve member Marty Willson-Piper (electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass, shaker, EBow, bongos, bouzouki, classical guitar, snare), Olivia Willson-Piper (violins, cellolin, duduk), … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, All About Eve, ambient, Atlantæum Flood, classical, folk, instrumental, Marty Willson-Piper, One Day, progressive, review, Steve Knott, The Church | Leave a comment

Interview: BEN FEATHERSTONE

Posted on August 5, 2019 by jason

Ben Featherstone has just released his debut album ‘Prisoner to the Wind’, an album some ten years in the making. Ben tells us more about the recording and songs on the album, along with what inspired him to start playing music … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions | Tagged album, Ben Featherstone, classical, folk, interview, jazz, melodic, Prisoner To The Wind, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: IAMTHEMORNING – The Bell

Posted on July 28, 2019 by alanjones

K-scope (Release date: 02.08.19) One thing is for certain – you don’t listen to the music of iamthemorning for a laugh. Their exceptional 2016 album ‘Lighthouse’ which was based around the complexities of mental illness and which I described … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classical, folk, Gleb Kolyakin, Iamthemorning, Marjana Semkina, Progressive Rock, review, Russia, The Bell | Leave a comment

Album review: BEN FEATHERSTONE – Prisoner To The Wind

Posted on July 25, 2019 by jason

Website [Release date 23.08.19] Ben Featherstone has been working on this album over the past decade, mostly recorded in a 400 year old abandoned chapel on a disused cemetary in the middle of nowhere on mostly a 1950′s reel to … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Ben Featherstone, classical, folk, melodic, Nick Cave, Prisoner To The Wind, review, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER – The Anthology 1970-1998 (4-LP Box set)

Posted on May 16, 2019 by GRTR! HQ

We’re giving away a copy of the boxed set in June – check out our Competitions section! David Randall chatted to Carl Palmer for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio in June 2018. This hour special features a selection of ELP … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Anthology 1970-1998, box set, Carl Palmer, classic rock, classical, ELP, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Greg Lake, Keith Emerson, pomp, progressive, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: DEVIN TOWNSEND – Empath

Posted on March 21, 2019 by jason

Hevy Devy/Inside Out [Release date 29.03.19] Devin Townsend has rested his Project and with ‘Empath’ we have his first solo album since ‘Ziltoid’. Guests include regular contributor Anneke van Giersbergen, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Frank Zappa alumni Mike Keneally as music … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Anneke van Giersbergen, Casualties of Cool, Chad Kroeger, choral, classical, Devin Townsend, Empath, folk, melodic, metal, Nickelback, progressive, review, rock, Solo, Steve Vai, Strapping Young Lad, symphonic | Leave a comment

Album review: ELEANOR McEVOY – Forgotten Dreams

Posted on October 15, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

Chasing The Dragon Audiophile Recordings [Release date: 08.18] available at chasingthedragon.co.uk We’ve had Alone (2011) and its companion release Naked Music (2016) – albums that saw Irish singer songwriter Eleanor McEvoy retire to the sanctuary of a sleepy Norfolk studio … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, audiophile, Chasing The Dragon, classical, direct cut, Eleanor McEvoy, folk, Forgotten Dreams, hi-fi, review, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: TARJA – From Spirits And Ghosts (Score For A Dark Christmas)

Posted on November 30, 2017 by jason

earMUSIC [Release date 17.11.17] Former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen has been successfully building a solo career where she makes the music she wants to and that suits her vocal style/musical visions. It comes as no surprise then she has decided to record a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Christmas music, classical, From Spirits And Ghosts (Score For A Dark Christmas), gothic, melodic, Nightwish, Tarja, Tarja Turunen | Leave a comment

Album review: EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER – Reissues (Works Vol.1 & 2, Love Beach)

Posted on May 7, 2017 by jason

BMG [Release date 26.05/17] Formed in 1970, Emerson, Lake & Palmer were one of the first progressive rock supergroups, and certainly one of the most successful. Keyboard player, pianist and keen advocate of the Moog Keith Emerson had previously played with … Continue reading →