Benjamin Folke Thomas - Copenhagen (Album Review)
Originally from Gothenburg but now based in London, Benjamin Folke Thomas has already made a name for himself on the folk scene; it is, after all, his actual middle name.
Read MoreTokyo Motor Fist - S.T. (Album Review)
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.
Read MoreScott H. Biram - The Bad Testament (Album Review)
‘The Bad Testament’…there it is. Right in front of your eyes in the title to his latest album Scott H. Biram lays it out for all to see. Biram is on a mission to tell it like it is, take no prisoners and bring his testament to the people. It won’t be an easy ride, people who can’t handle a little profanity better look away now, or wait for the ‘Clean’ version, but I very much doubt that’ll be coming along anytime soon as Biram doesn’t strike me as someone who likes to compromise.
Read MoreUnruly Child - Can't Go Home (Album Review)
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.
Read MoreBrigitte DeMeyer & Will Kimbrough - Mockingbird Soul (Album Review)
Brigitte DeMeyer & Will Kimbrough’s first collaborations began some 6 years ago (first on DeMeyer’s 2011 release, Rose of Jericho and Savannah Road in 2014), while continuing to forge successful solo careers themselves. Brigitte DeMeyer’s work has received very favourable reviews comparing her blues-folk-rock to early Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow with the gutsiness of Little Feat’s initial outings. She has opened for Bob Dylan and toured with John Mayall. Similarly, Will Kimbrough’s solo and band work has been championed by critics both sides of the Atlantic with vocal, lyrical and style comparisons to John Lennon, Billy Joel, George Harrison and Neil Flynn to mention just a few. He has toured and collaborated with the likes of Todd Snider and Emmylou Harris. DeMeyer and Kimbrough’s career path together has seen them hone their song-crafting skills, showcasing their talents across North America and Europe. Based in Nashville, this is their first album as an official duo and brings their love of, and influences from blues, gospel, early jazz and country music together; “the good stuff” as Kimbrough calls it. DeMeyer characterises their seamless blend as acoustic soul.
Read MoreVangelis - Delectus (Album Review / Box Set)
For those of us who only associate Greek composer Vangelis with his soundtrack music, most notably the Oscar winning ‘Chariots Of Fire’ (included here) and ‘Blade Runner’ then ‘Delectus’ is a bit of an eye opener. This thirteen CD box set brings together his recorded output for the Polydor and Vertigo labels over a twelve year period 1973-1985 and really does a great job of highlighting the range and diversity of the prolific composer.
Read MoreLinah Rocio - Warrior Talk (Album Review)
I first discovered Linah Rocio in the Summer of 2016 when she opened for fellow Aveline Records artist Ruth Theodore at the, always welcoming, Green Note in London’s Camden. Finding good music at Green Note is not exactly difficult as they seem to manage to find great acts every night of the week but I was especially taken with Linah’s short set and have been looking forward to her album.
Read MoreWhitney Rose - South Texas Suite (Album Review)
The latest release from Whitney Rose finds the Canadian native embracing all things Texas with a lovingly compiled short-but-sweet set of songs that beautifully capture the sound, feel and traditions of the Lone Star state.
Read MoreRoddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire - Swithering (Album Review)
If you were a successful BBC radio DJ with not one but two regular shows; if you assembled international tributes to Bob Dylan; if you worked as a musical director for film and you curated annual festival events like the Roaming Roots Revue then I'd have thought you might want a little rest from music on your days off. This is certainly not true of Roddy Hart who, on top of all of the above, has been touring and making music of his own since 2007.
Read MoreThe RGM Christmas Music Round-Up 2016
With the holiday season fast approaching the Red Guitar Music team thought it might be time to take a look at some of the seasonal music released this year. Now I will admit, grudgingly, to having a reputation for being a little bah humbug with regard to all things tinsel and fairy lights. Rumours that I make Ebenezer Scrooge look like Father Christmas are really only rumours (honest) so without further ado here is the Red Guitar Music Xmas round-up.
Read MoreFM - Indiscreet 30 (Album Review)
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.
Read MoreAnna Elizabeth Laube - Tree (Album Review)
The latest album from singer-songwriter Anna Elizabeth Laube is the enchanting ‘Tree’ a record that is about finding a home and laying down roots. The much travelled Laube, who was born in Iowa, raised in Wisconsin and is now resident in Seattle, must know this feeling of home can be as difficult to find as it is to categorize. It was this recent move to Seattle that would prove to be the unexpected inspiration for the new album while the environmental issues that are so important to Laube are again evident in her songs.
Read MoreGitta De Ridder - Feathers (Album Review)
If you like delicately crafted and quietly shimmering acoustic music then the debut LP from Gitta De Ridder is something you really ought to know about.
Read MoreGreg Cornell, Lynne Hanson, Cody Jinks reviews
With so much good music reaching us at Red Guitar Music these days we thought we'd add a few more in-brief style reviews for albums we feel are worthy of your attention from Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers, Cody Jinks and Lynne Hanson. As regular readers will know we have an eclectic approach here at RGM so you'll find a little folk an album of murders ballads and some old-school country for your perusal
Read MoreRay Wilson - Makes Me Think Of Home (Album Review)
Makes Me Think Of Home’ is the second album of 2016 from singer-songwriter Ray Wilson following the acoustic ‘Song For A Friend’ release and for some artists they’d be stretching themselves a bit thin. This is not an issue for Ray Wilson as the inspiration well is far from dry and ‘Home’ is another fine addition to his solo discography that brings together multiple influences from the worlds of pop, rock and prog.
Read MoreThe Looking - Lead Me To The Water (Album Review)
Very occasionally an album comes along that just instantly feels like an old friend. It feels like you’ve owned it for years and you’ll always find yourself going back to it when the mood takes you. The title track which opens the new album from The Looking did just that for me. I felt an instant connection; one of those moments when a piece of music suits you right down to the ground and you just know ‘Lead Me To The Water’ is going to be a great album.
Read MoreKansas - The Prelude Implicit (Album Review)
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.
Read MoreSeth Lakeman featuring Wildwood Kin - Ballads Of The Broken Few (Album Review)
Sometimes a project just has a way of coming together and the superb new album from Seth Lakeman is a case in point. When Seth met Wildwood Kin at a charity event he was struck by the ability of the trio (sisters Emillie and Beth Key and their cousin Meghann Loney) to effortlessly create harmonies. One roughly recorded demo on a mobile phone of Seth and the girls singing together enticed famed producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings Of Leon, Paul McCartney) to get involved and the result is a sublime combination of strident instrumentation and delicious vocal harmonies.
Read MoreIan Hunter & The Rant Band - Fingers Crossed (Album Review)
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.
Read MoreRuth Theodore - Cactacus (Album Review)
It’s been a decade since I first heard Ruth Theodore. I remember a tiny girl playing in a tiny bar in Kentish Town to a tiny crowd. Nonetheless, she made a big impression. It was rare, at that time, to find a female singer-songwriter who wasn’t all insipid waif and whimsy (thanks, Dido) and Ruth Theodore, although blessed with a beautiful voice, backed it up with amazingly accomplished guitar skills, songs of substance and huge onstage cojones. It felt like I’d stumbled upon Britain’s answer to Ani DiFranco, because, basically, I had. She’s been a mainstay of the London circuit ever since and, living on a narrowboat deep in the East End, she’s a genuine troubadour of the capital. I’m very heartened to discover that with her fourth album, Theodore has matured but lost none of her youthful bite. Listeners ought to beware, Cactacus is a record with spikes.
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