rock/metal
Classic Album: Elton John – Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player
By the time of Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player, Elton John was one of the biggest musical stars on the planet, his writing partnership with Bernie Taupin being one of the most fertile on the early 70s. They were adaptable too, being able to run the gamut from simple pop, ballads and …
Not Forgotten: Supertramp – Breakfast in America
Breakfast in America is an album that simply shouldn’t have happened. Slightly smug, self satisfied prog-flecked radio-friendly rock by earnest men with beards should have been felled with the double blow of disco and punk, yet there Supertramp were in 1979, knee deep in gold records, releasing a string of hit singles that had conquered …
Album Review: Rolo Tomassi – Grievances
Released earlier this year Grievances is arguably the bands best collection of work yet. Rolo Tomassi are a band that don’t tend to shy away from experimentation blending a whole a multitude of styles with varying results. The issues with some of the groups previous material is that it wasn’t always the most accessible, not …
Not Forgotten: Roger Chapman – Chappo
Former Family man Roger Chapman didn’t exactly pick a prime time to start his solo career. Following his Family days, he formed a new band, Streetwalkers, who enjoyed modest success, but they didn’t experience the same level of success as Family had. By 1979 the Punk flame, although guttering, was at least still lit and …
Not Forgotten – Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Back in the day Tusk was one of the most anticipated albums ever released. Rumours had launched Fleetwood Mac to the eye-watering heights of rock music’s mega-league, despite the increasingly strained relationships between the five band members, and expectation for its follow up had reached fever pitch. Behind the scenes at Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham …
Album Review: The Zombies – Still Got That Hunger
The Zombies new album, ‘Still Got That Hunger’ is after repeated listenings, hard not to like. For a band formed in 1961, they still tour a hell of a lot, so no-one can argue with its title. It’s in places semi-autobiographical, nostalgic and as technically proficient as one would expect, from a band responsible for …
A buyers’ guide to Queen
It’s often said that it’s always the quiet ones that you have to watch. Apparently no one ever told Freddie Mercury this, as for the best part of two decades he preened and strutted across the music industry as frontman of Queen, connecting with live audiences in a way that no one in rock music …
Not Forgotten – Deep Purple – Machine Head
The sixth studio album of their career, and the third by their much celebrated Mk2 line up, Deep Purple were very much in the ascendant when they set out to record Machine Head. While there had certainly been distractions in the form of a major line up change and Jon Lord’s much celebrated Concerto for …
Album Review: Deafheaven – New Bermuda
Never in my life did I ever think I’d like a so-called “black metal” band. Up until a few years ago I didn’t know what black metal really was. The black metal genre was something I looked at from a distance and thought better to indulge in it. I got the Gothic stuff. The sludge-y, …
News: Black Stone Cherry Announce New Album & Sign To New Label
Kentucky based hard rockers Black Stone Cherry have announced their signing to new label, The Mascot Label Group and yesterday (7th Oct) the band entered the studio to start recording their new album. Their previous album, Magic Mountain, released last year hit the top 5 in the UK charts upon release. However with this new forthcoming album, …