Sons Of Liberty - The Detail Is In The Devil (Album Review)

February 24, 2024 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Southern Rock

Sons Of Liberty are a bunch of old-school rockers who, somewhat surprisingly, hail from Bristol in the UK but are steeped in the harder-edged Southern rock rooted in the Southern states of the USA that came to prominence in the late 70s. The quintet made their recording debut in 2018 with a brace of EPs, ‘...Shinola’ followed by ‘Aged in Oak’. 'The Detail Is In The Devil' is their third full-length release and first with new singer Russ Grimmett.

Status Quo –Official Archive Series Vol.1 (Album Review)

August 01, 2023 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Rock

Status Quo might not instantly spring to mind as an artist you would expect to embark on a series of archive releases, but if Vol.1 – Live In Amsterdam is any guide to the quality of this new undertaking, fans are in for a treat. The band has joined the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young in delving deep into the vaults to unearth, spruce up, and release a live show recorded on October 19th 2010, at the Heineken Hall in Amsterdam for a limited numbered edition CD and LP release. This makes perfect sense; Status Quo live, there are few better, so what more do you need to know?

Fred Abbott and The Wild Unknown - Shining Under The Soot (Album Review)

July 07, 2023 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Classic Rock, Country Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Fred Abbott may be better known to you as the guitarist from the much-loved and hard-to-pigeonhole band Noah & The Whale. A popular live draw, their refreshing, inventive approach to songwriting and record-making set them apart from the crowd but ultimately the band split in 2015, with four albums to their name. Abbott’s solo debut, Serious Poke, appeared shortly after, sporting a more straightforward, guitar-centred sound. Eight years later - and having gained broad experience as a session musician and producer in between - Abbott has returned with Shining Under The Soot, a mature and beautifully crafted follow-up, brimming with energy and heart.

Arjen Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution - Golden Age Of Music (Album Review)

May 20, 2023 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Melodic Rock, Progressive Rock

When you think of progressive rock/metal concept albums, one name springs instantly to mind, Arjen Lucassen. It could have all been so different for Lucassen, as his 1993 solo album, released under the Anthony moniker, ‘Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy’ was met with indifference by the record-buying public (finding a copy thirty years later will be a long and expensive search). Seemingly undaunted and already a hard rock veteran after stints in Bodine and Vengeance, Lucassen pushed on regardless, his determination resulting in a slew of projects that played a crucial role in revitalising the progressive rock/metal scene via releases under the Ayreon, Ambeon, Guilt Machine and Star One banners while still finding time for guest appearances and contributions to albums by leading lights of the scene such as Within Temptation and Avantasia. For this project, Lucassen has put his little black book of names to one side (Lucassen has enlisted many performers on his star-studded albums, especially singers) and settled on a band project, it’s still essentially a concept record in the Lucassen tradition, but he looks to be out to have a little fun, and the results are glorious.

Richard Marx - Songwriter (Album Review)

September 30, 2022 by David Vousden in 80s, Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Country, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

From his self-titled, triple platinum-selling debut album in 1987 to ‘Limitless’ in 2020, Richard Marx has had an unerring knack for a melody (not to mention a pretty wonderful voice). Marx's songwriting skills have enabled him to stay relevant throughout his nearly forty-year career. His sound has evolved over time, with the punchy guitars of the late 80s replaced by a smoother, more R&B/pop sound tailored to radio and streaming services. Along the way, his song craft has been in high demand, co-writing and/or contributing songs to a startling array of artists from Kenny Rogers to Keith Urban via NSYNC, Luther Vandross and Vixen. An impressive CV, but where does that chameleon-like ability to pen hit songs come from? How does he do it? Hopefully, ‘Songwriter’ might give us a bit of a clue as we take a journey through twenty tracks encompassing four genres; pop, rock, country and ballads.

Status Quo - Riffs 2CD Deluxe (Album Review)

September 29, 2022 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Rock

In 2003 fresh from the success of ‘Heavy Traffic’, which found a rejuvenated Quo recovering somewhat from a run of uninspired releases, things were seemingly on an upward curve. So, what do they do? They release another covers album…honestly guys, really? There’s been a trend in recent years, which isn’t particularly welcome, of bands rerecording their own songs or putting out cover albums of their “favourite” songs (usually the same “favourite” songs of every other band on the planet). The Quo did both on one album!

Status Quo - Heavy Traffic 3CD Deluxe (Album Review)

September 26, 2022 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Rock

I’ll always have a soft spot for Status Quo. Admittedly this is based on a hazy memory of a March 1981 show on the ‘Never Too Late tour. In those days, the Quo were a British institution as the classic line-up of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan were revered by fans and could be relied upon for no-nonsense hard rock of the highest order. It wasn’t overly complicated, but they had the songs; it was loud, it was sweaty, and that was good enough for me. Unfortunately, my love of all things Quo was brief as post ’82 Quo were a mere shadow of their former selves and had a string of pretty terrible records to prove it.

Silent Running - Follow The Light (Album Review)

July 21, 2022 by David Vousden in 80s, Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Pop

Silent Running is a name that might be familiar to readers with a long memory. The Northern Irish rockers released their debut record ‘Shades Of Liberty’ on EMI in 1984 before moving to Atlantic for two further albums. The guys maintained a busy touring schedule that included shows with Talk Talk, Simple Minds, John Foxx and Robert Palmer and even appeared on The Tube (an iconic TV show that was incredibly influential at the time). Unfortunately, major success eluded them and the band called it a day in 1989. It looked like the Silent Running story was over, but after a thirty-year hiatus, the guys thought it might be fun to play a few songs at a band member’s wife’s birthday party. The birthday party would lead to a sold-out show at Belfast’s Voodoo, and now Silent Running are back with a fourth album, ‘Follow The Light’ to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the band.

Envy Of None - Envy Of None (Album Review)

April 06, 2022 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Progressive Rock, Rock

As a founding member of legendary Canadian rockers Rush, Alex Lifeson sold millions of records and embarked on numerous world tours with bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart. The trio played huge venues to a level of fan adoration that many of their contemporaries could only imagine. The only time I was lucky enough to catch the band was on their ‘Roll The Bones’ tour at London’s Wembley Arena. That night convinced me how special they could be, even if I wasn’t always totally convinced by their varied musical output. Rush played their last shows as a band in 2015, and with the sad passing of Neil Peart in 2020, the Rush story came to an understandable, albeit sad conclusion. This brings us to the question of what do you do when you have been there, done it and bought the t-shirt (and probably a very nice house)?

John Illsley - VIII (Album Review)

March 04, 2022 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

For many, John Illsley will always be the imposing figure standing next to Mark Knopfler as Dire Straits left the London pub circuit behind and achieved worldwide domination via their fifth album ‘Brothers In Arms'. The band almost singlehandedly convinced every household they needed a shiny little 5” silver disc to replace all those old and antiquated black slabs of 12" vinyl. Approximately 30 million of us did just that (which, in 2022, is pretty ironic considering the perceived cool factor of LPs these days). Alongside Mark Knopfler, John Illsley was the only other band member to do a full tour of duty with Dire Straits on their almost twenty-year run before the band slowly faded away in the early 1990s. John’s solo career actually began during his time in Dire Straits with the ‘Never Told A Soul’ LP in 1984. John has continued to release albums on a semi-regular basis, with VIII being, unsurprisingly, his eighth studio album.

David Crosby - For Free (Album Review)

July 22, 2021 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

A mere month before his 80th birthday David Crosby returns with a new record ‘For Free’ and continues a career renaissance that would have been, at the very least, unlikely just a few short years ago. The famed singer and songwriter is undoubtedly one of the greats. His role as a founding member of two of the seminal groups of the late 60s (The Byrds/Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) and his contribution and influence on what became known as the Laurel Canyon sound confirms Crosby’s status. Unfortunately, Crosby’s career has been dogged by personal tragedy, ill health, substance abuse and a seemingly unmatched ability to annoy the hell out of people, most notably his fellow band members. With the release of ‘Lighthouse’ in 2016 Crosby was back making great music in the studio and touring with like-minded musicians who understood Crosby’s musical legacy and were intent on adding to it. The genesis of this resurgence can be traced back to Crosby’s work in CPR a trio he formed with his son James Raymond and Jeff Pevar. It was Raymond who produced Crosby’s first solo album in twenty years (2014’s ‘Croz’) and now helms ‘For Free’.

Creye - II (Album Review)

March 16, 2021 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Rock

Originally formed by guitarist Andreas Gullstrand back in 2015 Swedish melodic rockers Creye are back with (I’m gonna take a wild guess here) their second album. Since the release of their well-received debut in 2018, the band have gained a new singer in August Rauer and spent the majority of 2019 on the road honing their sound. The result is an impressive release that marries muscle with melody harking back to the likes of fellow Swedes Europe and Bad Habit while adding more than a hint of pop nous. RGM featured Creye late last year in our popular Hard Place feature and we thought a proper look at their latest album was well overdue.

Downes Braide Association (DBA) - Halcyon Hymns (Album Review)

February 04, 2021 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, DVD, Melodic Rock, Pop, Progressive Rock, Rock

Downes Braide Association aka DBA originally started as a collaborative studio project in 2012 between Christopher Braide a Brit working in the USA writing and producing music for film scores, advertising campaigns and with a host of rock and pop artists (Sia, Lana Del Rey, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, Britney Spears, Marc Almond) and keyboardist Geoffrey Downes of YES, Buggles and Asia fame. Eight years later and the duo had three albums under their belt while tentative forays into live performance in 2018 (resulting in a live record) and again in 2020 had proved successful. After the live shows in early 2020, Braide found himself in a bit of a funk when Marc Almond called and suggested he look at the possibility of a new DBA record to get the creative juices flowing. Braide delved into some musical ideas from Downes and inspiration struck immediately. Compositional ideas and snatches of melody quickly began to take shape and resulted is Halcyon Hymns, a record that perfectly captures feelings and memories of a time and a place when everything seemed so much simpler.

Lucero - When You Found Me (Album Review)

January 29, 2021 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alt-Country, Alternative Rock, Americana, Classic Rock

My belated introduction to Lucero was via their 2018 release ‘Among The Ghosts’ which proved to be one of the very best releases of that year. The tone was dark, the sound widescreen and the songs dragged you in and held on tight. I was lucky enough to catch Lucero at the Black Deer Festival in 2019 where on a bright sunny afternoon deep in the English countryside their songs proved equally effective as they would in a sweaty club. It was a powerful, gritty performance that reinforced my opinion that Lucero is at the top of their game. For the follow up to ‘Ghosts’ frontman Ben Nichols has expanded on the third-person, character-driven approach that had crept into his writing for ‘Ghosts’. Nichols mixes up family-driven tales of love and redemption firmly rooted in reality with interesting diversions into campfire tales and folklore. The other innovation to the Lucero sound finds Rick Steff employing a host of vintage synth sounds to bolster his usual organ/piano armoury. The resulting album could well turn out to be one of the best records of their career.

Cats In Space - Atlantis (Album Review)

December 01, 2020 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Rock

UK rock sextet Cats In Space are back - in the biggest of ways - with their fourth studio album, Atlantis. Songwriter and guitarist Greg Hart promises that compared to previous outings, this LP “has more symphony” (a delightfully Spinal Tappian claim, making reference to the orchestrations by renowned arranger Mike Moran). While it remains a mystery as to whether or not it was recorded in Dobly, Atlantis is certainly the band’s most grandiose statement to date, as the band persist in indulging all the musical excesses of classic seventies rock (think Queen, think ELO), with no acknowledgement of the four full decades that have since passed. Of course, this sort of enterprise is the purest of love affairs and each of these songs has been crafted with the utmost care. Every guitar break, synth wig-out and quadruple-tracked vocal is era-perfect; this is the majesty of Rock, writ large.

The Explorers Club - S.T. / To Sing And Be Born Again (Album Review)

October 22, 2020 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Pop

As the modern world seemingly goes from bad to worse, wouldn’t it be fantastic to fire up the DeLorean and disappear to some other time and place? I’m not naive enough to expect things to be all sweetness and light in my chosen destination, but a change is as good as a rest, or so they say. In the meantime - while I’m inventing my take on a flux capacitor - I’ll let The Explorers Club aka Jason Brewer magically transport me back to the classic pop sounds of the sixties/seventies via two albums that luxuriate in the sweet, summery sounds of yesteryear. Two albums that should put a smile on the face of those in need of a little pick me up as the nights draw in and, for many of us; hibernation is starting to look like a sensible option.

Louisiana's LeRoux - One Of Those Days (Album Review)

July 22, 2020 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Country Rock, Southern Rock

Louisiana’s LeRoux might be a new name to many, especially here in the UK, but the stalwart Southern rock act’s career began back in the late ‘70s inking a major label deal with Capitol Records and releasing three albums, but national success was to prove elusive. The band would switch to the RCA label for ‘Last Safe Place’ in 1982 and enjoyed a Top 20 hit ‘Nobody Said It Was Easy’ while the harder rockin’ ‘Addicted’ was also moderately successful. The LeRoux sound was firmly rooted in their native Louisiana (a roux is the Cajun gravy base used to make gumbo) and slowly evolved into a harder more classic rock sound, most notably on their 1983 album ‘So Fired Up’ after the departure of original singer/guitarist Jeff Pollard. The new line-up featured guitarist Jim Odom and ex Trillion - and future Toto vocalist - Fergie Frederiksen but despite the album including such classics as ‘Lifeline’, ‘Carrie’s Gone’ and the title track the band had seemingly reached the end of the line…

Nick D'Virgilio (NDV) - Invisible (Album Review)

June 25, 2020 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

In these days of short attention spans and instant gratification, there’s something very refreshing about sitting down with your favourite beverage, placing an album on/in the stereo and letting an artist take you on a musical journey. Nick D’Virgilio has been on a personal musical journey that began a few years before the release of his debut solo album back in 2001. Nick is probably best known for his time in Spock’s Beard where he started as the drummer and branched out into frontman duties. But this association barely scratches the surface of a varied and interesting CV; there’s an ongoing relationship with Big Big Train – and fifteen years working with Tears For Fears - while still finding time to record and/or perform with many of the best in the business including the late Kevin Gilbert, Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) and a five-year stint as drummer/singer/assistant bandleader with the Cirque Du Soleil organisation touring their Totem show. For ‘Invisible’ Nick D’Virgilio (NDV) pulls together elements from all of his various musical endeavours and throws in a left turn or two on an obvious labour of love that finds the singer/drummer/multi-instrumentalist at the top of his game.

Robert Francis + The End Times - Vol.1 (Album Review)

June 19, 2020 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Americana, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Unbound by genre, Robert Francis’ latest record is the unlikely betrothal of Tom Pettyish classic rock to 90s Radioheadia. Dalliances with Americana, Jazz and 60s psych leave their mark on this otherwise most stable of marriages within which Francis dissects - often ambivalently - the regret and restlessness of human relationships. There are those that are destructive, those that are desperate and those that have long since disintegrated and alongside, of course, there is the ever-changing relationship with the self.

Richard Marx - Limitless (Album Review)

March 26, 2020 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Country, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

When Richard Marx burst onto the scene with his self-titled debut album in 1987 he enjoyed almost unprecedented success. The album sold more than four million copies propelled by four hit singles which showed Marx was equally adept at penning a hard-rockin' tune as he was a ballad. ‘Repeat Offender’ followed in 1989 repeating (no pun intended) and even eclipsing the success of the debut from a sales point of view. Third album ‘Rush Street’ spawned probably Marx’s best-known song ‘Hazard’ which topped many international charts in 1992. His fourth album ‘Paid Vacation’ was again successful, but Marx’s star was beginning to fade and his sound was becoming increasingly more influenced by soul, R&B and pop which alienated many fans of those early records. Marx has continued to release albums sporadically since his commercial heyday and has become a songwriter in demand penning hits for artists as diverse as Keith Urban, Josh Groban, NSYNC and the wonderfully poignant ‘Dance With My Father’ with Luther Vandross.