Tag Archives: melodic rock

Album review: PETER GOALBY – I Will Come Runnin’

PETER GOALBY – I Will Come Runnin’

Cherry Red Records [Release date 06.05.22] Like buses, you wait ages for a Peter Goalby album, then two come along in quick succession. On this album, like last year’s ‘Easy With The Heartaches‘, it features songs originally recorded in the … Continue reading

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Album review: CROSSING RUBICON – Perfect Storm

CROSSING RUBICON - Perfect Storm

Frontiers [Release date: 08.07.22] Crossing Rubicon is a marriage made in the world of post Grunge AOR. That world might look and sound just like it did in the eighties, only much smaller, but there’s a greater expectation now especially … Continue reading

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Quick plays: LIPS TURN BLUE, O’KANE & BLOCK, CTP

Lips Turn Blue

LIPS TURN BLUE MIG Music [Release date 04.05.22] Lips Turn Blue feature Don Mancuso (a former member of Black Sheep which featured Lou Gramm who guests on this album), keyboardist Eric Bieber, bassist Mike Mullane, drummer Roy Stein and vocalist … Continue reading

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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) January 2022 – June 2022

BITE THE BULLET - End of the Line

Compiled by Jason Ritchie October-December 2021 July 2022 – December 2022 To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on the keyboard. The “F” stands … Continue reading

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Gig review: DAUGHTRY – Islington Assembly Hall, London – 13 June 2022

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Though not as big as in the USA, former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry and his eponymous band have gradually built a following in the UK, to the extent that previous London shows had been at the Roundhouse and Hammersmith … Continue reading

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Album review: LONERIDER – Sundown

LONERIDER-Sundown

Escape Music (Release Date 20.05.22) The concept of a quiet life sees alien to peerless singer Steve Overland who must have one of the prolific recording schedules of any artist. Barely two months after releasing ‘Thirteen’ with his main band … Continue reading

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Album review: CATS IN SPACE – Kickstart The Sun

CATS IN SPACE - Kickstart The Sun

Harmony Factory [Release date 29.07.22] www.catsinspace.co.uk For the past few years, Cats in Space have been one of my favourite ‘new’ bands, offering something very different to the norm. These seasoned musicians have created a lavishly arranged sound inspired by … Continue reading

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Gig review: TEMPT – The Black Heart, London, 31 May 2022

TEMPT- The Black Heart, London, 31 May 2022

One question I ponder occasionally is ‘whatever happened to Tempt’?  Back in the mid 2010s the young New Yorkers received rave reviews in Classic Rock magazine and its AOR offshoot as the future of melodic hard rock. They even received … Continue reading

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Gig review: BRYAN ADAMS – Royal Albert Hall, London, 9-11 May 2022

BRYAN ADAMS- Royal Albert Hall, London, 9-11 May 2022

Of all those gigs I’d already booked when the pandemic started, it was the trio of Bryan Adams shows at the Royal Albert Hall, playing an album in its entirety each night, that I’d most looked forward to seeing and … Continue reading

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Album review: STRANGEWAYS – Complete Recordings Volume 1, 1985-1994

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Cherry Red/HNE [Release date: 27.05.22] The clamour for reissues of the first 3 Strangeways albums rose to fever pitch in the late 90s, as AOR made an attempt to get back on its feet. All 3 had been received with … Continue reading

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Album review : SKILLS – Different Worlds

skills_cover-1

Frontiers Music [Release date: 13.05.22] Skills … “Supergroups” often deflate our expectations pretty quickly. Good to to be able to say that this bunch of seasoned professionals – Brad (Night Ranger) Gillis, David (Giant) Huff, Billy (Mr Big) Sheehan plus … Continue reading

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Gig review: CRAZY LIXX – Islington Academy, London, 6 May 2022

P1240219 - Copy

For some 15 years now, Swedes Crazy Lixx have been flying the flag for the American style glam rock they were too young to remember in its late eighties heyday. This is no knowing irony, and you can sense the … Continue reading

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Album review: JEFF SCOTT SOTO – Complicated

JEFF SCOTT SOTO - Complicated

Frontiers [Release date 06.05.22] Like his last solo album, 2020′s ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’, Jeff Scott Soto has teamed up with Frontiers ‘go to’ songwriter/musician Alessandro Del Vecchio. Del Vecchio also adds keys, bass and backing vocals, being joined … Continue reading

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Album review: THE BIG DEAL – First Bite

the big deal

Frontiers Music [Release date: 06.05.22] The Big Deal is a Serbian Melodic Rock band, an offshoot of highly successful Progrockers, Alogia. Husband and wife team, Srdjan and Nevena Brankovic are the band’s centrepoint, handling guitar, production, songwriting and vocals. Nevena … Continue reading

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Album review: LOVERBOY – Wildside (Remaster)

loverboy wildside

Rock Candy Records [release date: 25.03.22] Loverboy’s fifth studio album, again produced by the maestro, Bruce Fairbairn (RIP), has been remastered and reissued recently by Rock Candy Records. When Fairbairn, Bob Rock and Mike Fraser are handling production, engineering and … Continue reading

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Album review: TERRA NOVA – Ring That Bell

TERRA NOVA – Ring That Bell

Lion Music [Release date 27.05.22] Terra Nova have been around since 1992, so it is fitting that thirty years after forming they are back with their first new album since 2018’s ‘Raise Your Voice’. Their 1997 offering ‘Livin’ It Up’ … Continue reading

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Album review: FORTUNE- Level Ground

FORTUNE- Level Ground

Frontiers Records (Release Date 08.04.22) After it took 24 years to follow up their self-titled debut album and cult AOR classic, Fortune’s third album follows after a relatively brief three year interval. However while 2019’s ‘Fortune II’ included a number … Continue reading

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Album review: MICK WHITE – Something’s Got To Give

MICK WHITE - Something's Got To Give

Enghardt Media/The Metal Society [29.04.22] Now here’s a blast from the past. I first encountered vocalist Mick White in the late 80s when he was working with Paul Samson, and later when he fronted First Strike (that Just Another Night album … Continue reading

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Album review: FORGET-ME-NOT featuring Jane Gould – S/T

Forget- Me-Not

AOR Boulevard Records (Release date 15.04.22) Former Iconic Eye singer Jane Gould has assembled some impressive collaborations for her Forget-Me- Not project with the help of some key movers and shakers in the melodic rock world. Songwriters include the likes … Continue reading

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Single review: THE PETAL FALLS – Somebody to Love Me

THE PETAL FALLS – Somebody to Love Me

Website [Release date 29.04.22] It’s no secret that I am a fan of this band since reviewing the band’s debut album, ‘Workin All Night, Workin All Day’ released during lockdown, and the follow up album last September, “All These Years” … Continue reading

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Album review: RONNIE ROMERO – Raised On Radio

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Frontiers [Release date: 15.04.22] Ronnie Romero’s taken an opportunity that not many singers get. Given the chance to record an album of covers, he’s deep dived into his favourite back catalogues and emerged with some unsung classics in his hands. … Continue reading

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Album review: FIRST SIGNAL – Closer To The Edge

first signal closer

Frontiers [Release date 08.04.22] First Signal started life as a collaboration between Harry (Harem Scarem) Hess and Denis (Pink Cream 69) Ward. Two big names in the melodic rock genre. This is the third album since without Ward. Daniel Flores … Continue reading

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Album review: TREAT – The Endgame

treat-the-endgame

Frontiers [Release date: 08.04.22] Here’s Treat again. The Endgame, produced by the talented Peter Mansson, is the band’s fourth album since their rebirth in 2006. In the world of second and third generation melodic rock, only Harem Scarem, Leverage and … Continue reading

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Gig review: FM- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 7 April 2022

FM- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 7 April 2022

They release albums at regular intervals but touring has always been FM’s lifeblood. They dipped their toe back in the live environment with selected shows last year,  but this twice postponed London show was part of a tour to promote … Continue reading

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Album review: TNT – Tell No Tales and Intuition (Remasters)

tnt-intuition-sleeve-

Rock Candy Records [Release date: 25.03.22] In 1984 TNT were a tight, solid rock band, populated by gifted musicians, all looking for a sound that would define them. They had just broken through with second album, Knights Of The New … Continue reading

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