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Tag Archives: melodic rock
Album review: VEGA – Anarchy and Unity

Frontiers Records (Release date 17.09.21) Vega’s seventh album ‘Anarchy and Unity’ breaks their cycle of a new release every two years, coming less than 18 months after ‘Grit Your Teeth’. That not entirely successful predecessor took the UK melodic rockers … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Billy Taylor, Marcus Thurston, melodic rock, Nick Workman, Pete Newdeck, Vega
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Album review: DANNY DANZI – Tribulations

Escape Music [Release date 24.09.21] Danny Danzi is back with his third album (hardly prolific as his debut was released back in 1999!). His 2003 album ‘Danziland’ still gets regular plays by this reviewer. This album has been ten years … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions
Tagged album, Danny Danzi, Escape Music, hard rock, interview, melodic rock, review, rock, Tribulations
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Album review: INGLORIOUS- Heroine

Frontiers Records (Release Date 10.09.21) In the seventies it was not uncommon for bands to release two albums a year but it is virtually unheard of these days. So I was surprised when I learned that a little over six … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Covers, Inglorious, melodic rock, Nathan James
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Feature: Albums that time forgot…THE STORM (Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Steve Smith)

Interscope/Atlantic 1991 The Storm is very much a case of “what we did in our down time”. With Journey on hiatus in the late eighties Neal Schon formed Bad English then Hardline (debut album Double Eclipse in 1992) whilst Journey … Continue reading
Posted in Albums that time forgot, ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged album, AOR, feature, Gregg Rolie, Josh Ramos, Journey, Kevin Chalfant, melodic rock, review, Ross Valory, Steve Smith, the Storm
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Album review: NEWMAN – Into The Monsters’ Playground

AOR Heaven (Release date 10.09.21) For a remarkable near quarter of a century Steve Newman has turned out a series of finely crafted albums. He never remotely hinted at the big time, but as compensation his name enjoys almost universal … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, melodic rock, NEWMAN, Steve Newman
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Album review: PETER H NILSSON – Sign Of Myself

AOR Heaven [Release date 10.09.21] Peter H Nilsson’s debut ‘Little American Dream’ was a very enjoyable AOR/ West Coast listen and still played regularly by this reviewer. The good news is that this follow-up album sees Nilsson still teamed up … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Chris Biano, melodic rock, Peter H Nilsson, review, Sign Of Myself, singer songwriter
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Album review: BLOOD RED SAINTS- Undisputed

Frontiers Records (Release Date 06.08.21) Blood Red Saints’ fourth album sees them come full circle, not only with a return to Frontiers Records, but to the style of their impressive debut album before exploring a more guitar dominated and modern … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Blood Red Saints, Lee Revill, melodic rock, Pete Godfrey
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Album review: NIGHT RANGER- ATBPO

Frontiers Records (Release Date 06.08.21) Night Ranger’s first album in four years, the title ‘And the Band Played On’ is a nod to the challenges of making music during the pandemic, though to reduce the album title to its less … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Brad Gillis, Erik Levy, Jack Blades, Kelly Keagy, Kerri Kelli, melodic rock, Night Ranger
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Gig review: COLLATERAL – The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 19 August 2021

Back at the start of 2020, I began what I hoped would be a big gigging year with Collateral at a packed Cavern. It was also promising to be a breakthrough year for the Kent rockers whose first full-length album … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Angelo Tristan, Collateral, gig, melodic rock, Rob Fenning, Todd Winger
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Album review: CRUZH – Tropical Thunder

Frontiers [Release date 06.08.21] Cruzh is back with a new vocalist, Alex Waghorn, in a belated follow-up to 2016’s self-titled debut. Waghorn joined Cruzh in 2019 when the band released an acoustic version of ‘Aim For The Head’. Now, Waghorn, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alex Waghorn, AOR, Cruzh, Def Leppard, Frontiers, hard rock, melodic rock, review
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Album review: TOBY HITCHCOCK- Changes

Frontiers Records (Release Date 09.07.21) Less than a year after the latest Pride of Lions album and only two after his ‘Reckoning’ release, powerhouse singer Toby Hitchcock is back in fairly short order with his third solo album. After using … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alessandro Del Vecchio, AOR, melodic rock, Pride of Lions, Toby Hitchcock
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Album review: RIAN – Twenty Three

Frontiers [Release date 16.07.21] Here’s a genuine contender. Rian, a Swedish melodic rock band formed by singer/writer, Richard Andermyer. On their second album now, and first for Frontiers. It’s produced by the hugely talented musician, Daniel Flores. He gives the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Blue Tears, Brother Firetribe, Eclipse, Frontiers, Gotthard, Harem Scarem, melodic rock, review, Rian, Twenty-Three, Work Of Art
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Album review: DENNIS DE YOUNG – 26 East, Volume 2

Frontiers Records (Release date 11.06.21) This is an album I’ve been looking forward to for 12 months since the release of Volume 1. That represented the former Styx singer’s return to his melodic rock roots in far better fashion than … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Dennis De Young, Jim Peterik, melodic rock, pomp rock, Styx
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Album review: CROWNE – Kings In The North

Frontiers [Release date 18.06.21] Crowne is (another) gathering of Scandinavian melodic hard rockers from various bands comprising of vocalist Alexander Strandell (Art Nation), guitar, keyboards & producer Jona Tee (H.E.A.T), bassist John Levén (Europe) and drummer Christian Lundqvist (The Poodles), … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Art Nation, Crowne, Europe, hard rock, HEAT, Kings In The North, melodic rock, review
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Album review: ONE DESIRE – One Night Only- Live in Helsinki (CD/DVD)

Frontiers Records (Release Date 11.06.21) In normal times, it might seem vainglorious for a band to issue a live CD and DVD just two albums into their career. However, in these strange times it is easy to empathise with One … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS
Tagged album, AOR, live album, melodic rock, One Desire
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Album review: NITRATE – Renegade

AOR Heaven [Release date 30.07.21] Nitrate are back with album number three and it is all change in the line-up. Nick Hogg remains joined by a new vocalist, Art Nation’s Alexander Strandell, Alessandro Del Vecchio (keys, backing vocals) and lead … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 80's rock, album, Alessandro Del Vecchio, AOR, Def Leppard, melodic rock, Nitrate, review, Starship, Vega
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Album review: TOTO – With A Little Help From My Friends

The Players Club/Mascot Label Group (Release Date 25.06.21) Last November Toto broadcast a live stream from California, which in the absence of concerts was the only way to introduce to the wider world their new line up in which Steve … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Joseph Williams, live album, melodic rock, review, Steve Lukather, Toto
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Album review: KENT HILLI – The Rumble

Frontiers [Release date 18.06.21] After two albums fronting A Perfect Plan, Kent Hilli has gone solo (helped by wunderkind, Michael Palace, who has arranged and produced), with The Rumble, on which he has written the bulk of the material. Unsurprisingly, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged A Perfect Plan, album, AOR, Crown Of Thorns, eighties, Foreigner, Frontiers, Giant, Kent Hilli, melodic rock, Michael Palace, review, Survivor, the Storm
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Album review: BILLY SQUIER – Emotions In Motion/Signs Of Life

BGO Records Two albums from Billy Squier’s classic 80’s period get a neat double CD re-issue. Not only of interest to fans of his work and 80’s US melodic rock, but also Queen fans as these two albums both feature … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), Reissues
Tagged album, Billy Squier, classic rock, Emotions In Motion, Jim Steinman, Mack, melodic rock, Queen, review, rock, Signs Of Life
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Gig review: JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 20 May 2021

If 2020 was a desert for live music, the road out of lockdown in 2021 has been an even longer and gloomier slog. Down in South West London, Cavern owner Noel Nevin has been fighting the good fight to stay … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged blues rock, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, The Cavern
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Book review: On track…ASIA (Every album, every song) by Peter Braidis

Sonicbond Publishing [Release date 14.05.21] Asia were formed in 1981, one of the enduring melodic rock “supergroups” of that decade and one of the most successful. Many readers will only remember the “classic” original line-up (and debut album) but this … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS
Tagged album, Asia, book, Carl Palmer, Every Album, Every Song, Geoff Downes, John Payne, John Weeton, melodic rock, On Track, Peter Braidis, Progressive Rock, review, Steve Howe
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