I am becoming increasingly aware that I sound like a broken record when talking about Joe Bonamassa. The reason is not just that his studio output is excellent and getting better with each passing year, or even that his live shows are so consistently superb, but also that he seems to have the gift of..
Sweet – Isolation Boulevard
The genre we call Classic Rock has earned its name by virtue of two main characteristics, namely, its quality and its age. With the benefit of hindsight, we can look back over the decades and focus on recordings that seemed to capture the zeitgeist and epitomise the music of their time. Often it seems that,..
Arielle
I have to admit to being a little surprised. In her opening salvo, the first track on the new album Analog Girl In A Digital World, Arielle rails against the world’s headlong rush into technology. She yearns for the old days, before the internet, when kids amused themselves with slingshots and puzzles and if they..
Arielle – Analog Girl In A Digital World
Any musician with a yearning for old-school methodology has to walk a fine line nowadays. Modern technology makes recording and producing so much easier, as well as giving better results in many cases. Nevertheless, when recording this, her ninth album, Arielle aimed for a sound that was specifically anchored in the late ‘70s and early..
Andy Scott (Sweet)
I used to be 'Neil Young,' but I love digital these days! What a difference a year-and-a-bit can make. When we last encountered veteran glam-rockers Sweet on these pages in December 2019, they were in the midst of a UK tour and discussing the possibility of releasing their first album of new material after a..
Ted and Majella – Divine Timing (Turneround Music)
Guitarist Ted Turner will be best known to classic rock aficionados as a founder member of Wishbone Ash - he played with the band for their first four albums, leaving in 1974 to pursue other goals, one of which was a world journey of self-discovery. Ted rejoined Wishbone Ash in 1987 and remained until the..
Joanna Connor – 4801 South Indiana Avenue (KTBA Records)
Her first album was released in 1990, and she has been a presence on the Chicago blues scene for even longer. But how many Brits are familiar with Joanna Connor’s work? She has been lighting up the internet with this new album, 4801 South Indiana Avenue, and it’s about time. Even now, she may have..
Joanna Connor, Chicago Blues Guitarist – the interview
Oh yeah, the early two thousands, when we played for tens of people! It’s always a bit embarrassing when a new guitarist suddenly registers on your bluesometer, and you have the sneaking suspicion you should have known them all along. Having been into the blues for over 40 years, from Clapton, The Bluesbreakers, Peter Green,..
Fraternity (featuring Bon Scott) – Seasons Of Change – The Complete Recordings 1970-1974 (Cherry Red)
Fraternity are best remembered in the UK as the band Bon Scott fronted after leaving 1960s band The Valentines, and before joining AC/DC. Which is all very well, but it doesn’t do Fraternity anything like justice. For one thing, they were nothing like AC/DC in sound or content, being much more melodically ambitious, and also,..
Oh! You Pretty Things: Glam Queens And Street Urchins (1970-76) (Cherry Red)
Prolific label Cherry Red Records are currently outdoing themselves with their output of classic and rare vintage boxed sets – search for the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Pub-Rock, Back Street Crawler and Fraternity reviews on this website for starters. This latest 3-CD boxed set, complete with 40-page booklet insert, strives to document the..