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Album review: TIGER MOTH TALES – A Visit To Trading Boundaries
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Album review: BEYOND THE BLACK – Break The Silence
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News: Albums of the Month (October-December 2025)
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Album review: MIDNITE CITY- Bite The Bullet
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Album review: CHARLOTTE SMITH & DAVID CLIFTON – The Tree In The Wood
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Album review: JUDIE TZUKE – Now Or Never
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Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: PUNCHDRUNK SAINTS – Fairycroft House, Saffron Walden, December 27 2025
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Gig review: STEVE OVERLAND AND JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Weir, Brentford, Middlesex, 9 December 2025
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Gig review: JOHN OTWAY – Face Bar, Reading, Thursday 11 December 2025
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Gig review: CURVED AIR – The Sub Rooms, Stroud, 20 November 2025
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Tag Archives: review
Album review: LAURENCE JONES – Take Me High
Ruf [Release date 22.07.16] It’s often said that an artist’s second album can be a problematical one. And while Laurence Jones has barely paused for breath to even consider a sophomore slump, he suddenly find himself cutting his fourth album in … Continue reading
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Tagged album, blues, blues rock, guitar, guitarist, Laurence Jones, Mike Vernon, Paul Jones, Phil Wlison, review, rock, Roger Inniss, Take Me High
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Album review: ALLIGATOR RECORDS – 45th Anniversary Collection
Alligator [Release date 10.06.16] With a back catalogue of 300 albums and a roster that spans generations, Alligator Records has every right to make a claim to being the premier independent blues label of our time. The ‘Alligator 45th Anniversary … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 45th Anniversary Collection, Albert Collins, album, Alligator Records, Anders Osborne, Ann Rabson, Bruce Iglauer, Elvin Bishop, Hound Dog Taylor, J.J. Grey, James Cotton, James Solberg, Jarekus Singleton, Joe Louis Walker, Johnnie Johnson, Johnny Winter, Kentucky Headhunters, Koko Taylor, Lil' Ed, Luther Allison, Marcia Ball, Mavis Staples, Michael Burks, Moreland & Arbuckle, Neil Young, review, Rick Estrin, Selwyn Birchwood, Shemekia Copeland, Son Seals, The Holmes Brothers, Toronzo Cannon
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Quick plays: BREAD OVER BOMBS, GONE DEAD TRAIN, THE MIRROR TRAP
BREAD OVER BOMBS www.breadoverbombs.org Interesting backstory to this band from Los Angeles in that they put the profits of the band’s music into providing food for food banks. They have to date provided over 10,000 meals for people via the … Continue reading
Gig review: RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW – Genting Arena, Birmingham, 25 June 2016
For us rock fans of a certain age – perhaps from early forties to sixty-ish – Ritchie Blackmore sits in the pantheon of rock royalty. As guitarist and songwriter in both Deep Purple and his own band Rainbow, he pushed … Continue reading
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Tagged Candice Night, classic rock, Deep Purple, gig, heavy rock, Jens Johansson, Rainbow, review, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie Romero
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Album review: PUNKY MEADOWS – Fallen Angel
Escape Music [Release date 20.05.16] I will admit from the start I have never really been a big fan of 70′s pomp rockers Angel. I have tried many times to get into their music as I love pomp rock, but … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Angel, AOR, Escape Music, Fallen Angel, melodic, Punky Meadows, review, rock
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Album review: APOCALYPTICA – Plays Metallica By Four Cellos (20th Anniversary Edition)
Odyssey Music Network [Release date 22.07.16] Metallica played by a string quartet? Keen-eared readers will know that this isn’t such a wayward proposition. Back in 1999 Hetfield’s Heroes recorded a live album with the San Francisco Symphony demonstrating the tunes … Continue reading
Gig review: STONE FREE FESTIVAL Day 2 – O2 Arena, London, 19 June 2016
While the first day of the debut Stone Free festival had an eclectic mix of bands, the second was far more coherent with the theme of progressive rock both in the main arena and the Indigo. Combined with an older … Continue reading
Gig review: LUKE ELLIOT – Aces and Eights, London, 21 June 2016
Small underground bar and an intimate atmosphere with subdued lighting, candles and gilt lined mirrors – bit like being in a Sherlock Holmes story. The upstairs is a pizza/bar fashioned on 1950′s rock ‘n’ roll era. All in all an … Continue reading
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Tagged Aces and Eights, Dressed For The Occassion, gig, Luke Elliot, review, singer, songwriter
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EP Review: THE SPINS – Colours
Plug & Play Recordings [Release date 25.06.16] A French/English/Estonian pop/rock group? Whatever next? Based in France, but with members geographically separated, there’s no clue as just how much of an active ‘group’ they are, but the The Spins are a … Continue reading
Quick plays: DANA IMMANUEL, EVE SELIS
DANA IMMANUEL & THE STOLEN BAND Come With Me [Release date 05.08.16] A curious release, coming reasonably hot on the heels of banjo-toting, whiskey-drinking north London based singer-songwriter Dana Immanuel’s last album Dotted Lines which attracted a 4 star GRTR! … Continue reading
Gig review: STONE FREE FESTIVAL Day 1 – 02 Arena, London, 18 June 2016
Once upon a time, gigs took place indoors, or in football stadiums for the very largest acts, and festivals in a muddy field. While rock festival demographics have gradually got older, the havoc wreaked by the vagaries of the English … Continue reading
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Tagged Alice Cooper, Apocalyptica, Blackberry Smoke, blues rock, festival, gig, glam, Jackaman, Jared James Nichols, Michael Monroe, review, rock, southern rock, Stone Free, The Darkness, THERAPY?
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Album review: EVELINE’S DUST – The Painkeeper
[Release date 11.03.16] Italian prog anyone? Inspired by the usual suspects – King Crimson, Genesis, et al, and current exponents like Steven Wilson, Eveline’s Dust – a four piece Pisa, Tuscany – have produced a rather fine follow up to … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Eveline's Dust, Italian, prog, progressive, review, rock, The Painkeeper
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Quick plays: deVIENCE, LOVE AND A .38
deVIENCE – S/T Broken Road Records If you’ve been writing reviews for a while every now and then you stumble across a debut album that slips into your record collection and stays there for years, and the self-titled debut effort … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged album, blues, DeVience, Gio Spano, Hiva Oa, Love and A .38, Nomads, review, rock, southern
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Album review: ZUCCHERO – Black Cat
Polydor/Universal [Release date 29.04.16] Zucchero may not be that well known in the UK, although I remember his sterling version of Las Palabras de Amor’ at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert back in 1992. This album has already topped his … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Black Cat, blues, Bono, Brendan O'Brien, Italian, Mark Knopfler, pop, review, rock, T Bone Burnett, U2, Zucchero
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Album review: SCORPION CHILD – Acid Roulette
Nuclear Blast [Release date 10.06.16] Save Save Second album by Scorpion Child, a five piece hailing from the US consisting of Aryn Jonathan Black (vocals), Christopher Jay Cowart (guitar), Jon “Charn” Rice (drums), Alec “Caballero” Padron (bass) and Aaron John … Continue reading
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Tagged Acid Roulette, album, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, review, riffs, rock, Rush, Scorpion Child, Stoner
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Gig review: DAN REED NETWORK – 100 Club, London, 15 June 2016
First time I have been inside the legendary 100 Club on Oxford Street, which has been home to many jazz and blues musical legends, a fact the numerous framed photos of past performers there reinforces. An unusual set-up with the … Continue reading
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Tagged 100 Club, Dan Reed, Dan Reed Network, funk, gig, London, review, rock
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Album review: MOJO PREACHERS – Confessions
www.mojopreachers.com Okay, I’ll admit I was one of those who thought the only good thing that came out of Norwich was the A11 but hold up….seems like if you stumble into any Norfolk bar of an evening these days, you’ll … Continue reading
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Tagged album, blues, Confessions, Mojo Preachers, review, rock
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Album review: IRON SAVIOR – Titancraft
AFM Records [Release date 20.05.16] Iron Savior’s ninth studio release “Titancraft” features more of the same from the German power metal band…namely science fiction inspired Teutonic metal a la Primal Fear/Helloween. Main-man Piet Sielck (vocals, guitar) is back again and … Continue reading
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Tagged AFM, album, IRON SAVIOR, Jan-Sören Eckert, Joachim Küstner, Piet Sielck, power metal, review, Thomas Nack, Titancraft
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Gig review: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND – Wembley Stadium, 5 June 2016
If ’Born To Run’ established his legend, it was the broad sweep of his ambitious double album ‘The River’ way back in 1980 that propelled Bruce Springsteen into the mainstream, at least here in the UK where as a teenager … Continue reading
Album review: MARTIN TURNER – Reissues
Cherry Red [Release date 08.04.16] Martin Turner albums are like buses. There’s nothing, and then along come several. That’s no problem as the one-time Wishbone Ash bassist always maintains a high quality quotient and they are worth the wait even … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, Argus, Life Begins, Martin Turner, New Live Dates, prog, progressive, review, rock, Ted Turner, Wishbone Ash
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Gig review: DAN PATLANSKY – Jazz Café, London, 9 June 2016
South Africa may not be known as a hot bed of blues rock talent, but in Dan Patlansky they have a serious prospect. Patlansky has raised his profile with recent successful tours opening up for Joe Satriani and King King. … Continue reading
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Tagged 9 June 2016, blues rock, Dan Patlansky, gig, Introvertigo, Jazz Cafe, live, review
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Album review: DARE – Sacred Ground
Legend Records [Release date 15.07.16] Dare return with their first all new album since 2009′s ‘Arc Of The Dawn’ – although we did have ‘Calm Before The Storm 2′ in 2012 which was a re-recording/revamp of the 1998 album of … Continue reading
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Tagged album, AOR, Celtic, Dare, Darren Wharton, melodic, review, rock, Sacred Ground, Thin Lizzy, Vinnie Burns
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Album review: RICH ROBINSON – Flux
Eagle Rock Entertainment [Release date 24.06.16] Following on from his recent re-issue campaign comes the release of ‘Flux’- the 4th solo studio album from former Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson, and in my mind, his best solo effort to date. … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Black Crowes, blues, Flux, review, Rich Robinson, rock
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Gig review: BERNIE MARSDEN – The Horn, St Albans, 8 June 2016
The back room of a Hertfordshire pub, which is also one of the South-East’s longest running music venues, was the unlikely setting for a one off date with guitarist Bernie Marsden, shaking off his jetlag from a trip to the … Continue reading
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Tagged 8 June 2016, Bernie Marsden, blues, blues rock, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, review, St Albans, The Horn, Whitesnake
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Gig review: FOREIGNER – London Palladium, 7 June 2016
John Parr had been due to open up for Foreigner at this prestigious gig, but had to cancel and Deborah Bonham stepped up at short notice. The younger sister of the infamous Led Zep sticksman has a powerful set of … Continue reading
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Tagged 7 June 2016, concert, Foreigner, gig, Jeff Pilson, Kelly Hansen, live, London Palladium, Mick Jones, review
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