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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
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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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Tag Archives: instrumental
Album review: ART GRIFFIN’S SOUND CHASER – The Seven Ages Of Starlight
Artsounds Music [Release date 08.04.22] A self-confessed sucker for a bit of jazz rock/fusion, I couldn’t really resist the latest offering from Canadian bassist Art Griffin. Ably assisted by his band including violinist Victoria Veh and Saga drummer Steve Negus, … Continue reading
Album review: JOE SATRIANI – The Elephants Of Mars
earMUSIC [Release date 08.04.22] A new Satch album. Energy levels high. Check. Weird titles. Check. Stellar guitar. Check. Shades on. Check. In fact guitar nerds are being spoilt, because this album comes hot on the heels of Steve Vai’s latest … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, The Best of 2022
Tagged album, classic rock, guitar, guitarist, instrumental, Joe Satriani, review, sci fi, The Elephants Of Mars
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Album review: HELD BY TREES – Solace
Tweed Jacket Music [Release date 22.04.22] The opening piece on this instrumental album sounds like an outtake from Inspector Morse c.1988. It was one of the great TV detective series, punctuated by Barrington Pheloung’s superb orchestrations. I digress, perhaps the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Held By Trees, instrumental, review, Robbie McIntosh, Solace, Talk Talk, Tim Renwick
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Quick plays: PAUL TASKER, BLACK LAKES, D’ERCOLE
PAUL TASKER Tierra Quemada Yellowroom Records [Release date 01.04.22] Paul Tasker is now releasing his second instrumental album, best known for being co-songwriter with Doghouse Roses and a previous member of the Willard Grant Conspiracy. The album’s title translates to … Continue reading
Album review: PETER KNIGHT & JOHN SPIERS – Both In A Tune
Website [Release date 11.02.22] Peter Knight defines a progressive musician as he always seeks to further his music, be it traditional tunes given a new arrangement, or his own compositions. Famous of course as a member of Steeleye Span until … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Bellowhead, Both In A Tune, folk, Gigspanner, instrumental, John Spiers, Peter Knight, progressive, review, Steeleye Span
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Album review: CLIVE MITTEN – Tales From A Misspent Youth Vol.1
Bumnote Records [Release date 28.01.22] www.twelfthnight.info Do we really need more cover versions? Do we really need to hear another take on ‘Tubular Bells’? There seems to be a trend, maybe as rock gets old, to revisit and occasionally reinterpret … Continue reading
Album review: STEVE VAI – Inviolate
Favored Nations/Mascot Label Group [Release date 28.01.22 - vinyl 18.03.22] With over 40 years in the music industry, Steve Vai should need no introduction, he is a virtuoso guitarist, composer and producer, considered by many as one of the greatest … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, fusion, guitarist, instrumental, INVIOLATE, progressive, review, rock, Steve Vai
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Album review: iVARDENSPHERE – Ragemaker
Metropolis Records [Release date 04.02.22] Albums like this one are why, after nearly twenty years reviewing for GRTR!, my love of discovering and hearing new music shows no signs of waning. Not for everyone this one, as industrial-tribalist iVardenspehere weaves … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, atmospheric, electronics, instrumental, iVARDENSPHERE, progressive, Ragemaker, review, soundtrack
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Album review: DAVID CROSS & ANDREW KEELING – October Is Marigold
Noisy Records [Release date 03.12.21] David Cross releases fine instrumental music via his own Noisy Records imprint. Cross was with King Crimson in the 1970s whilst Keeling has scored new versions of the band’s repertoire. You’d expect that their music … Continue reading
Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to Christmas (rock) Music
Christmas comes but once a year, and with it the usual mixed bag of toons. But not for us the familiar stylings of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ or ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. We like to dig deep, a bit like … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Call Collect, FEATURES
Tagged Alan Davey, album, carols, Christmas, feature, Hawkestrel, Hawkwind, instrumental, Jethro Tull, playlist, review, Rick Wakeman, Thea Gilmore, Thijs van Leer, Xmas
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Album review: ESKINA – We Were The Moon
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
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Quick plays: BREMER McCOY, L.SHANKAR, PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE, FREEDOM TO ROAM
BREMER McCOY Natten Luaka Bop [Release date 29.10.21] We all need some chill-out music, perhaps the more so as we enter the festive season. A perfect antidote (and respite from socks, Scotch and smellies) could be found in the hands … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Animals Reimagined; A Tribute to Pink Floyd, Bremer McCoy, chill-out, Christmas From India, classic rock, folk, Freedom To Roam, instrumental, L.Shankar, Natten, prog, progressive, review, The Rhythms Of Migration, world music
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EP review: AMY THATCHER – Let What’s In, Out
Website [Release date 05.11.21] Amy Thatcher is a professional accordionist based in the North East of England. She has built up a reputation as one of the UK’s leading folk accordionists, both as a performer and composer, working with fellow … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged accordion, album, Amy Thatcher, EP, folk, instrumental, Let What’s In Out, review
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Album review: ORGAN FAIRCHILD – Brewed In Buffalo
Organ Fairchild Records [Release date 15.09.21] Here at GRTR! Towers we are privileged to receive any number of albums from aspiring or jobbing musicians, some obviously hitting the mark more than others. Occasionally a real gem emerges and in Organ … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Brewed In Buffalo, funk, instrumental, jazz fusion, Organ Fairchild, review, soul jazz
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Album review: AVAWAVES – Chrysalis (Anna Phoebe/Aisling Brouwer)
One Little Independent Records [Release date 08.10.21] The return of Anna Phoebe!! She contributed a track to our Rising Stars sampler in 2007. She has performed with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. She was special guest of Jethro Tull (2009) and gave Ian … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Aisling Brouwer, album, ambient, Anna Phoebe, Avawaves, chill-out, Chrysalis, instrumental, piano, review, violin
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Album review: RACHEL FLOWERS – Bigger On The Inside
www.rachelflowersmusic.com [Release date 01.10.21] For an artist influenced by Coltrane and Zappa you may think that Rachel Flowers’ music will be a bit abstract, quirky and at times inaccessible. But, Rachel was mentored by Herbie Hancock and infuenced by the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Bigger On The Inside, instrumental, jazz fusion, Jazz rock, Rachel Flowers, review
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Album review: GUS G – Quantum Leap
AFM Records [Release date 08.10.21] When I interviewed Gus G back stage in Manchester in 2012 all the talk was how he had fared with Ozzy. He contributed to the album ‘Scream’ (2010) and there were high hopes of a … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Firewind, guitar, guitarist, Gus G, instrumental, metal, Quantum Leap, review
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Album review: MIKE BROOKFIELD – Hey Kiddo!
Pete Feenstra chatted to Mike Brookfield for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio in June 2021. First broadcast 27 June 2021. Golden Rule Records [Release date 09.07.21] Mike Brookfield’s catchphrase is: “keep it burnin”. And he certainly does that on ‘Hey … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged album, Buddy Holly, Dick Dale, Dire Straits, Duane Eddy, guitar, Hey Kiddo!, instrumental, Jet Harris, Jimmy Page, Link Ray, Lonnie Mack, Los Straitjackets, Mark Knopfler, Mike Brookfield, Peter Eades, review, surf music, Tarantino, The Shadows, The Ventures
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Album review: ROB KORAL – Wild Hearts
Pete Feenstra chatted to Rob Koral for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio playing tracks from the album ‘Wild Hearts’. First broadcast 13 June 2021. RKUK [Release date 28.05.21] Rob Koral’s ‘Wild Hearts’ is an exhilarating instrumental album comprising guitar, Hammond … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Blue Commotion, Carlos Santana, drums, Focus, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, guitar, Hammond, instrumental, interview, Jeremy Stacey, John McLaughlin, King Crimson, Larry Carlton, Pat Metheny, Paul Kossoff, Paul Stacey, Pete Whittaker, Ralph Towner, review, Rob Koral, Wild Hearts
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Book review: On track…STEVE HACKETT (Every album, every song) – Geoffrey Feakes
Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 30.05.21] The hallmark of a good rock read has to be when the reader genuinely learns something new about the subject matter. Geoffrey Feakes is evidently a real fan of Hackett’s work but once again there … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS
Tagged book, Every Song, Genesis, Geoffrey Feakes, guitar, guitarist, instrumental, On track...STEVE HACKETT - every album, prog, Progressive Rock, review, Solo
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Album review: GNOSS – The Light of the Moon
www.gnossmusic.com [Release date 07.05.21] Gnoss originally formed as a duo in 2015 at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, consisting of Aidan Moodie (vocals, guitar) and Graham Rorie (fiddle, mandolin), before being joined by Connor Sinclair (flute, whistles) and Craig Baxter … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, folk, Gnoss, instrumental, review, The Light of the Moon
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Quick plays: TUBULAR WORLD, ROBERT REED
TUBULAR WORLD Tubular Bells Tigermoth Records [Release date 14.12.20] You wonder. Is there any need for yet another version of ‘Tubular Bells’? I mean, the masterwork’s creator has fine dined off the back of it for nearly 50 years now, … Continue reading
News: Albums of the Month (January 2021 – March 2021)
THUNDER All the Right Noises (BMG) Thunder fans will love this album as it touches all the band’s key strengths – memorable songs, party rockers, ballads, lyrics to make you think and above all, well-crafted hard rock tunes. An Album … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS, NEWS
Tagged albums, Anneke van Giersbergen. Troy Redfern, AOR, Ben Randall, blues rock, February 2021, guitar, hard rock, instrumental, January 2021, March 2021, Progressive Rock, review, Scardust, singer songwriter, Thunder, Touch
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Album review: THUDWAIL – Ignition
Self release [Release date 30.10.20] ‘Ignition’ is a reflective, ambient, acoustic album full of subtle moods, textures and grooves that drip with feel. It’s acoustic guitar driven music with a meditative and contemplative feel that is predicated on intricate dynamics, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, ambient music, Andy Summers, Danny Tongeman, David Sylvian, didgeridoo, Eberhart Weber, EBow, ECM records, Eno, guitar, instrumental, John Abercrombie, Jonas Hellborg, Martin Finlayson, Paul Cruikshank-Inns, Ralph Towner, Robert Fripp, Shawn Lane, Thudwail, Will Pike
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Album review: CLIVE MITTEN – Suite Cryptique: Recomposing Twelfth Night 1978-1983
Bumnote Records/Twelfth Night Records [Release date 02.04.21] I have to say the band Twelfth Night have completely passed me by. I’ve known vaguely their name but never really investigated their music, that is until the arrival of a new double-CD … Continue reading
