Wig Wam is a glam/sleaze rock band that formed in 2001 in Halden, Norway and built up quite a reputation in their homeland and further afield with their high energy, hard hitting glam metal that was delivered with style, class and always with fun in mind. The band even built up something of a Eurovision..
AL STEWART – 24 CARROTS (Esoteric)
By 1980, Al Stewart had experienced his greatest sales to date with the albums Year Of The Cat and Time Passages, having moved from his folkier beginnings into a somewhat more mainstream rock direction - albeit always with something of an off-kilter edge, as his old folk wordplay and songwriting construction would regularly twist otherwise..
Labyrinth – Welcome To The Absurd Circus (Frontiers Music)
Formed in 1991, Labyrinth is an Italian power/progressive metal band that consistently delivers the goods and really should be much, much bigger than they are. If you are a fan already then you know what to expect and this album will already be eagerly anticipated but if the name is new to you them I..
Grande Royale – Carry On (The Sign Records)
I reviewed Grande Royale's last release a year ago, almost to the day. That album Take It Easy had a distinctly southern rock flavour to it, being packed with great tuneful chunks of classic but contemporary southern rock, juicy riffs, great lead licks, melodic vocals and thundering bass lines, with plenty of variety along the..
HUMBLE PIE – The Atlanta Years (SFM)
This rather interesting two-disc set has, in fact been released before, albeit with slightly different tracklisting and completely different packaging, some fifteen years ago. It wasn't exactly a high profile release, however, and in all likelihood escaped the notice of all but a few die-hards, so it's well worth having it available again. What we..
Transatlantic – The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (InsideOut)
They make Tales From Topographic Oceans look like a 45 rpm single... It's fair to say that Transatlantic are not exactly renowned for subtlety or brevity. The much-lauded supergroup doesn't do anything small, consistently crafting immense prog epics that seem loftier with each new release. Now, twenty-something years into their existence, they are taking 'epic'..
Rhinoceros – The Elektra Albums 1968-1970 (Esoteric)
This release is a great insight into one of those bands in the late 60s that genuinely underachieved despite producing music that was as good as most of the bigger bands around them at the time. Let’s start with a quick question: how many bands can you list with an animal as part of their..
Curved Air – The Albums 1970-1973 (Esoteric)
Meticulous attention to detail... what a beauty. Without wishing to sound like a broken record (or even acknowledging that pun), I have to again recognize Esoteric's admirable dedication and meticulous attention to detail with their tireless reissue campaign over the years. Dusting off ancient back catalogues of countless bands and artists and propelling them back..
Project Alacazar – Lost in Centralia (Guitar One Records)
I remember reviewing the Project Alcazar album Reason For A Decade which came out around 2006 but I seem to think the album didn't make it to my former publication, The Classic Rock Society until around 2008 and I recall it being a rather splendid classics inspired guitar driven instrumental work with some pretty impressive..
Generation Steel – The Eagle Will Rise (Pure Steel Records)
Generation Steel is a new band that was formed in 2019 by ex-Dead Man's Hand and ex-Bullet Train guitarist, the absolutely wonderfully named, Jack The Riffer. It's quite strange that this is the first time I have heard the name and I simply cannot believe that it is a name I have never even considered..