Satin - It's About Time (Album Review)

November 22, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Every melodic rock fan with half a brain knows that there is no such thing as the perfect AOR album. From the late ‘70s through to the early ‘90s we were awash with perfect moments but, for the past two and a half decades, bands have matched the gems of that period with only very limited success. These days, making records is cheaper and faster; sonically sub-standard AOR albums arrive at an alarming rate and are all accompanied by unhelpful amounts of hype, so it’s no wonder that fans have become cynical about new releases. How refreshing it is, then, to come across an artist whose press makes no claim whatsoever and who has made an album that doesn’t sound as if it was cobbled together in a hurry. One-man freaky genius (he plays, sings, produces and mixes everything) Tom Satin quietly released his debut in 2014 and now the follow-up, It’s About Time, has arrived seemingly out of thin air. While it’s not perfect, I’d say it’s about as close as anyone has got in a very long time.

Josh Taerk - Stages EP (Album Review)

November 16, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Country, Country Rock, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter

Toronto native Josh Taerk (pronounced Turk) is a new name to me but, with heavy-hitting support on his bio from E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and John Oates of Hall & Oates fame, my guess was his new ‘Stages’ EP would be well worth checking out. I’m pleased to report this assumption would prove to be correct as ‘Stages’ is a little gem.

Riverdogs - California (Album Review)

July 06, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Melodic hard rock has had its time. There’s no denying that it still lives and, to some degree, thrives but its glory days are long, long gone. Its current state isn’t helped by fast-buck-making labels and a certain sort of purist fan that simply won’t allow any of these artists to move away from a hackneyed, formulaic sound. So, new releases from bands that have been plying their trade for thirty years more often fill me with a sense of sorrow than a sense of joy. Not so with the latest Riverdogs album, California. This is a record that might just be too good for the classic rock fraternity to properly deserve.

Little Steven - Soulfire (Album Review)

June 06, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Blues, Soul

Steven Van Zandt aka Little Steven aka Miami Steve recently apologised for the gap of nearly twenty years since his last solo release. To be honest this refreshing approach is welcome, but unnecessary, as Steve had hardly been spending his days sipping cocktails, while counting his money, on some far flung beach. In the intervening years Van Zandt has successfully worked as an actor, first catching the attention of the masses in The Sopranos and followed that with the fish-out-of-water gangster tale Lilyhammer. He also found time to turn his hand to radio as a DJ / program director (Underground Garage / Outlaw Country) and launch his own record label (Wicked Cool Records). Then there is the little matter of his day job with the E Street Band. Does this man ever sleep?

Torgeir Waldemar - No Offending Borders (Album Review)

March 20, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alt-Country, Classic Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Norwegian singer-songwriter Torgeir Waldemar released his debut album in 2014 to widespread acclaim, and a Norwegian Grammy Award nomination, for a record that had a marked 70’s Laurel Canyon influence. At first glance, the tall and bearded Waldemar looks like he should be fronting a Black Metal act with an indecipherable logo, luckily images are often deceptive, and Waldemar is more folky troubadour than extreme metal screamer as his debut disc proved. Three years on and ‘No Offending Borders’ finds Waldemar intent on expanding on his musical palette.

Tokyo Motor Fist - S.T. (Album Review)

February 24, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Tokyo Motor Fist is a melodic hard rock project fronted by the dream-team of vocalist Ted Poley and guitarist Steve Brown. Bass and drums come in the form of veterans Greg Smith (Rainbow) and Chuck Burgi (Red Dawn) respectively. I would normally be very wary of this sort of career vehicle but the blistering riff and infectious singalong chorus of the opening track are enough to make me think that this time, maybe - just maybe - I might be on to a bit of a winner.

Unruly Child - Can't Go Home (Album Review)

February 21, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

Unruly Child released their debut in 1992 and, although not a commercial success at the time, it has since been held up as a melodic rock masterpiece. An inspired coupling of ex-World Trade members and vocalist Mark Free (formerly of AOR legends Signal), Unruly Child retained the loosely-held prog leanings of the former band but added the hit-worthy rock bombast of the latter. Free’s muscular vocal delivery in particular helped the band have greater appeal across the rock sub-genres and the debut has subsequently aged far better than many of its contemporaries. The album wasn’t without its faults but it remains one of the more interesting and inventive records under the hair-rock umbrella: it had big guitars, hooks, lashings of keyboards and stacked vocals but - more important than all that - it was chock full of unusual ideas and musical ambition. None of this sounded geeky, meandering or noodly, it just sounded, - to me at least - like top class hard rock… from the future.

FM - Indiscreet 30 (Album Review)

November 10, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock, Rock

Indiscreet was originally released in 1986 and is one of the finest AOR albums you’ll find from a British band of the period. Unsurprisingly then, it has come to be something of a sacred classic among fans of the genre, making it extremely risky business for FM to decide to release a full re-recorded version to celebrate its thirtieth birthday.

Kansas - The Prelude Implicit (Album Review)

September 19, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock, Progressive Rock

Sixteen years since their last studio album is an awfully long time but for Kansas, who can chart their history back to 1970 and released their debut album in 1974, it just feels like a small part of the overall plan. With a quite staggering 30,000,000+ album sales worldwide Kansas are one of the biggest acts of the classic rock era but for all such acts, Journey instantly spring to mind, longevity is a double edged sword as the sands of time can catch up with a band, members leave for a variety of reasons and the musical landscape is forever changing. Kansas have kept themselves busy as they still play around a hundred shows a year and recent releases have included a feature length documentary ‘Miracles Out Of Nowhere’ that charts their long career. Founder members Richard Williams (guitar) and drummer Phil Ehart don’t look to be retiring anytime soon and on the strength of ‘The Prelude Implicit’ it looks like the band are about to embark on an impressive new chapter in their illustrious career.

Ian Hunter & The Rant Band - Fingers Crossed (Album Review)

September 07, 2016 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

Ian Hunter can trace his career back to the late 1950’s but has demonstrated absolutely no signs of slowing down his touring schedule (UK tour dates are booked for November) and even less signs of a drop in quality with ‘Fingers Crossed’ his first album since ‘When I’m President’ received great reviews in 2012. Opener ‘That’s When The Trouble Starts’ is a rollicking, ramshackle barroom brawl of a tune that shows that Hunter is in no mood to retire to a life of watching daytime TV in his slippers just yet and for that fans of quality tunesmiths can be very grateful.

Terra Lightfoot - Every Time My Mind Runs Wild (Album Review)

August 18, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Hamilton, Ontario singer and guitarist Terra Lightfoot is clearly intent on making a statement with the release of ‘Every Time My Mind Runs Wild’ the subdued vibe of her debut album, released back in 2011, is but a distant memory. For her sophomore release a new band has been enlisted and producers Gus Van Go & Werner F, best known for their work with The Stills, are behind the desk. The result is a strident rock record that manages to successfully perform the delicate balancing act of maintaining Terra Lightfoot’s roots, soul and blues influences while adding a catchy pop sensibility.

The Cadillac Three - Bury Me In My Boots (Album Review)

August 04, 2016 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Country, Southern Rock, Album Reviews

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee The Cadillac Three are perhaps an unlikely act to be enjoying success this side of the pond. The trio employ a sound that appeals to Southern rockers and country fans alike but historically this has proved a hard sell in the UK. For TC3 this has not been an issue as they’ve been incredibly well received and built an increasingly ardent following with a run of impressive festival slots and headline shows at increasingly larger venues. The release of new long-player ‘Bury Me In My Boots’ and a UK tour, that will include a show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, is confirmation that the guys are on a roll. The band are here to have a good time, turn the music up and crack open the Tennessee Whiskey which kinda helps and definitely works for me.

Treat - Ghost Of Graceland (Album Review)

April 10, 2016 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

I consider myself reasonably well-versed in the biggest of the big-hair hard rock acts but Treat are a band that have simply passed me by, in spite of their thirty-year pedigree as well-respected Swedish melodic rockers. A career that has seen them constantly in the shadow of the success of Europe might go some way to explaining how it happened, but Ghost of Graceland makes me think I may have seriously missed out.

The Defiants - The Defiants (Album Review)

April 10, 2016 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

The Defiants are Bruno Ravel: Danger Danger’s bassist, songwriter and co-founding father; Rob Marcello: longtime Danger Danger guitarist and Paul Laine: onetime lead vocalist for a band called... Danger Danger. So it's no surprise that this looks, smells and tastes a lot like a Danger Danger album. Recent shows in the US confirm that Danger Danger fronted by Ted Poley is still very much a going concern, hence the new moniker for this side project.

Find Me - Dark Angel (Album Review)

November 30, 2015 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Melodic Rock, Classic Rock

This is the second release from Find Me, a project headed up by vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (of Blanc Faces) and Swedish drummer/producer Daniel Flores. The press release boasts that Find Me is ‘another AOR behemoth’ and that Dark Angel is a ‘delightful and massive melodic rock album chock full of mighty AOR anthems’. My heart sinks at the prospect of yet another mechanical album-by-numbers. A cursory listen to the bombastic debut ‘Wings Of Love’ does nothing but add to my fears. I yearn for just a bit of invention, a curveball, something a bit daring from the scene, but I already know that this will be AOR played dead straight. But because I’m such a fabulously even-handed chap and a firm believer in second chances, I do my best not to pre-judge and vow to give Dark Angel the fair hearing it deserves.

Kamchatka - Long Road Made Of Gold (Album Review)

July 30, 2015 by David Vousden in Blues, Classic Rock, Rock

Some albums are immediate while others take a little longer to work their way into your subconscious. Blues rockers Kamchatka fell into the later category as, on first listen, I enjoyed ‘Long Road Made Of Gold’ but it was in a pile of stuff (If you can have such a thing as a digital pile) that was competing for my attention. I’ve learnt over the years that the immediate album can burn out and fade away very quickly while the slow grower can stay with you for many years. This may well turn out to be the case as I find myself returning to the album on a regular basis, hence this belated review

All Day Sucker - Denim Days (Album Review)

June 04, 2015 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

As I type it’s a pretty typical day here in the UK. In other words it’s dark, dank and raining but luckily I have the All Day Sucker CD to brighten my mood and transport me to sunny California. This is a very fine record, a near perfect mix of classic pop, soul and funk with harmonies that would grace a Jellyfish or Beach Boys album.

Trixter - Human Era (Album Review)

May 26, 2015 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock, Rock

Back in the 90s, Trixter were very much the babies of the American hair metal scene. The bandmates came together in their teens and were signed to MCA well before their average age hit twenty. Their 1990 debut was hit-filled, smooth, radio-friendly hard rock and the 1992 follow-up Hear! maintained that sound, albeit with a dirtier edge. Stylistically, Human Era is more of the latter but fans will be pleased to know that it is a much more focussed effort than the somewhat scrappy New Audio Machine, their big comeback album from 2012.

Nelson - Peace Out (Album Review)

May 03, 2015 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

In 1990 Nelson released their debut album After The Rain. They were an international MTV sensation, scoring the number one hit ‘Can’t Live Without Your Love & Affection’ and a string of other worthy singles. For many rock fans (though few would admit it) the melodic lead guitar work, slick arrangements and trademark harmony lead vocals were completely irresistible. For a lot of others, Nelson symbolised everything that was wrong with the crowded hair metal scene. Pointy guitars, white teeth and dry ice-filled music videos had all had their day and the tide was to turn quickly against anyone even half as groomed as a band like Nelson.

Fuzzbee - Dreams And Other Living Things (Album Review)

February 20, 2015 by David Vousden in Blues, Classic Rock, Instrumental, Rock, Soul

One from a number of unexpected pleasant surprises that recently arrived at Red Guitar Music is the first solo album from Fuzzbee Morse a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, producer, raconteur and film/TV composer. Fuzzbee has worked with many of the best in the business including Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Bono, Pink, Ric Ocasek (The Cars) and Frank Zappa. I should add that his quite stunning band on this album features Jerry Marotta (Orleans / Peter Gabriel / Indigo Girls) on drums, Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel / King Crimson) on bass and David Sancious (Sting / Peter Gabriel / Bruce Springsteen) on keys. The sort of players that can afford to be very picky regarding the work they undertake.