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Get Ready to ROCK! Best of 2008 | |
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2008 ... a year that we lost Jeff Healey, Richard Wright and Mitch Mitchell, we saw the return of AC/DC and Metallica, Status Quo celebrated 40 years, and the continuing Led Zep tour saga of "will they, won't they?" But was it a bumper year for our GRTR! reviewers ... and do you agree with their choices?
Album Reviews 2008: Recommended at a glance
Jason Ritchie
Top CDs (We
allow our Reviews Editor a choice of 10!) 1
JOURNEY Revelations (Frontiers) New vocalist via You Tube but what a voice and a strong set of
songs. Their best album since 'Raised On Radio'. The best Ayreon album to date and that's no mean feat!
John Mitchell fits the band like a glove and if you like Kino
or It Bites this is a must have. Dennis Ward proves he is a top notch
vocalist as well as producer - glorious melodic rock meets AOR. Their best album and not one duff track. Eleven piece folk meets brass band and this album keeps the
sing-a-long/sea shanty alive. Classic hard rock with killer tunes and some of the tasty
Hammond organ this side of a Deep Purple album. Immense as they say - keys galore, harmonies overload, enough
hooks to land a whale - melodic rock bliss. Another great 70's rock influenced band from Ireland and
Thunder fans in particular will love this band. Molly Hatchet, Lynyrd
Sknynrd - classic southern rock with a nod to Deep Purple. Top 5 Gigs
ASIA at Shepherd's Bush Empire New albums from AEROSMITH, DIO,
QUEENSRYCHE, THE ANSWER, GLYDER & CHEAP TRICK to name but a few!
David Randall
Top CDs
WHITESNAKE Good To Be Bad (SPV)
Top Gigs
1. WHITESNAKE/DEF LEPPARD (Liverpool Echo Arena) Look out for: New
EUROPE album due in the spring,
NATASCHA SOHL's fine album
'Dirty Little Word' should finally get a release. GRTR! Rising
Stars GLYDER should make
further headway in 2009...and hopefully EDEN'S CURSE will be touring
promoting their fantastic album 'The Second Coming'. And...ace
singer-songwriter JAMES GRANT is readying a new album too.
1 IAN PARKER The Official Bootleg Album
This is a warts and all live album where you can actually feel the dynamic of
the gig build as much as the connection between artist and audience.
In a world of over production, remixes, and patched up live albums, this is the
real deal.
And while 'Exotic Creatures' doesn't quite match the best moments of 'Young
Lovers' it does include Sparks' best single for years 'Good Morning' and also
includes the clever 'Lighten Up Morrissey' and the magnificent world play of
'This is the Renaissance'.
With an album crammed full of emotional honesty and brilliant playing, all
neatly wrapped up by Trout's new producer John Porter, this is easily his most
accomplished work. There's characteristic power shuffles, mellifluous grooves,
big tones solos and great songs. 57 years old and rocking Walter is still the
man!!
MICK HUCKNALL Tribute To Bobby
SRA004CDX (2008)
You may consider this a strange choice but in terms of blues eyed soul,
beautiful phrasing, killer arrangements and sheer interpretive brilliance this
album is hard to beat
BRIAN WILSON That Lucky Old Sun
Capitol 50999234830 26 (2008)
A magnificent return to form 'That Lucky Old Sun' is a marvellous piece of work
that further carries Brian Wilson along the road of rehabilitation following
several troubled decades.
Producer Van Dyke Parks contributes the narrative links and Brian has also found
an excellent writing foil in Scott Bennett. And while 'That Lucky Old Sun' isn't
quite up there with 'Smile' it is still a remarkable conceptual work for an
artist of 66 who has suffered more traumas than most.
Look no further than the tile track which is a classy biker anthem with a big
punchy chorus fuelled by some telling lead guitar work by guest guitarist Slash.
This is a superbly produced bio-doc about an incredible man. Les Paul turns out
to be as humble as he is a brilliant inventor, innovator, guitar maker and one
time Top 40 star. This is the beautifully told story of one of the greatest men
of your time who remains infused with undiminished life force.
Another complete surprise as Donovan stares straight into the camera and tells
you his life story, and what a story! All presented in a chronological context
with all the 60 hippy cultural antecedents including the influence of the Beat
Poets and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road' in particular.
Donovan readily immersed himself in his music, books, poetry, and philosophy.
Look beyond the trippy hippy clichés and you find a perceptive man with only the
merest hint of an ego towards the end of an exhaustive but riveting 3 hour film.
You want the blues, you want to tap into one of the sources, you want updated
contemporary crossover cool, Albert is your man!
SPARKS
What can you say about a band that has just produced three of their best albums
some 37 years into their career and then embarked on the massive goal of playing
their entire 20 album back catalogue leading into the premiere of their new
album, in little under a month?
MONTE MONTGOMERY
Much like those pivotal gigs back in the 70's when Little Feat and Lynyrd
Skynyrd played ground breaking UK debut gigs, Stanley Clarke opened a new world
for the bass and Stanley Jordan brought guitar tapping to a new level, Monte
Montgomery played the kind of show that suggests his powerful use of the
acoustic guitar marks him out as a rising star of the six string.
MICHAEL SCHENKER & Friends
The comeback that they all said wouldn't happen. Michael dug deep to make the
most of such out and out favourites as 'Too Hot to Handle' and 'Ready to Rock',
and further impressed with some lovely guitar flurries on 'Angel of Avalon' and
he added some crunching riffs on the instrumental 'Into the Arena'.
And as the gig gained an irrepressible momentum, Schenker seemed to loosen up
and responded to his adoring crowd with a raucous 'Doctor Doctor'
Billy is the one to watch in 2009; he's honed his craft with Southside Johnny,
jammed with Springsteen and worked with Gary US Bonds; He opened for Robin
Trower earlier this year in Atlantic City, and this gig proved to be as good as
we all hoped.
Fronting a powerhouse band, Walton is a consummate player, a veritable avalanche
of cascading notes, bags of tone colouration and a hatful of songs. The band
hails from Asbury Park, they have that joyous jersey drive, that unrelenting
push and all the talent in the world to mould it
CHRIS DUARTE
When they come to write the great book about guitar players there will surely be
a place for Chris Duarte. Surely there can be few other players on the planet
who can combine such startling energy levels with outrageous creativity and
notes to match. Not for nothing has this Georgia based Texas guitar slinger been
described as the 'John Coltrane of the guitar'. Simply awesome.
Firstly seeing as I have not got much out and out rock in my best of, let me
immediately redress the balance with a five star recommendation for out and out
rock band FOUR WHEEL DRIVE
Still in their teens the Twickenham four piece update the Bon Scott steam roller
rocking of early AC/DC, add Keith Richard like riffs and top it with some
Zeppelin influenced bluesy derived killer high octane rock. They blew the roof
off. Never was the phrase, 'For those about to rock' more apt!
Funky rock blues guitarist OLI BROWN is also only 19 years old and has already
enchanted Germany, Holland and Texas in the US. He is to be found on Ruf
records.
Another 19 year old is JAY TAMKIN a killer guitar player from Torquay who will
tour' 09 as support for Hawkwind. New Jersey's BILLY WALTON, meanwhile, is the
kind of good old fashioned powerhouse shit-kicking guitarist who will surely
prove popular on the live circuit.
THE CLOUD ROOM are a good bet for commercial success in the indie sphere, while
in Europe the band of the moment is the Finnish/French duo (plus UK drummer) THE
DO. A kind of electro funky poppy rock duo they have enjoyed success with the
single 'Weight on My Shoulder'.
Finally, watch out also for minuscule hey another duo from France who mix clever
and humorous minimalism with a Talking Heads style vibe.
Remember you read it first here!
Pete Whalley
Top CDs
- a corker, and undisputed best female fronted rock album of
the year. - a class act, back to her best, with one of
the strongest sets of her career.
- an accomplished affair, with a stripped back delivery and
heartfelt vocals. - Hull's finest - Dave Rotheray and
pals with the divine Sam Brown on vocals. - just edged by Anemo for female fronted rock album of the
year. But album cover of the year, for sure. - a retro ride with all the usual McEvoy hallmarks of great
songs, fantastic production and, of course, Eleanor's wonderful vocals. - a grower that provides a neat balance between new prog and
commercial accessibility. - debut album of the year combining commercial and rock
credibility. - shows the young pretenders that they've got a mountain to
climb. Timeless singer songwriter quality. - proves there's life in the old dog yet. Classic rock with a
jaw dropping production that will rip your speakers to shreds.
Stuart Hamilton
Top CDs
I didn't think it was a particularly good year, and spend most
of my time writing and broadcasting the blues. But the non-blues highlights
were:
They take mid seventies Hawkwind as a launchpad, then boogie down the
middle of the spacerock highway, synths a-fluttering, riffs a-riffing
(really), and an abundance of splendid titles like 'Sometimes Going
Too Far Is the Only Way to Go' and 'Make Yourself Heard For the Rest
of the World'. I honestly didn't
think Sir David had this in him, especially as I was no fan of the way
Doug Aldrich performed the old Whitesnake material live.
But, credit where credit's due, the band do what they're told
in unshowy fashion, and the second half of the record is as good as anything
from days gone by. Imagine a power chord going "dunga dunga
dunga dunga dunga" while a seventies soft porn actress dances next to
a lava lamp, and you might get close to the sounds that Blowback are
dealing in. It's hot, sweet, sticky and fuzzy, and is the sound I hear
in my head when all around is silent. When the
original version of this album came out I said it was exceptional
album that's required listening. Naturally, I was right, and if you
disagree with me, then there's the door, out, you're barred.
Disc 2 of the expanded reissue is a brand new peach of a live
album with the divine Simone Simons from Epica popping in to sing on 'The
Haunting', a great song now made better. The soap opera drags on, and I
don't know or care whether this is still available as Gaahl and King
tried to legally block the release. You won't grow old listening to
it, as it only lasts 31 minutes and it's definitely one for the fans
as they rattle through a bunch of old favourites. It's a riff frenzy
with the diabolical shrieks of Gaahl lording it over and above the
slightly deranged, raw and meaty sound. DVDs which took my fancy, despite the
fact that I'm watching every episode of Las Vegas, in sequence, so
there's little time left for telly viewing. As with all the
Soundstage shows, it's filmed well and has a great sound. The band
seemed well up for the theatre sized crowd. It's an excellent reminder
of a great band, and one that fans should snap up. Progsters Sylvan
use video projections and an excellent light show to visually flavour
the mood and the music. You also get studio footage, band interviews,
and the entire rendtion of 'Artificial Paradise' from the same show,
in amongst an hour and a halfs worth of bonus material. It's an
outstanding release from an outstanding band. The friends were Andrew Gold and Stephen Bishop, and I'd forgotten how
good Andrew Gold is. The main course sees the kings of seventies west
coast soft rock launching straight into 'Ventura Highway', and for the
next 25 minutes I was off into my happy place, as their still sweet
harmonies and glorious melodies swept me away. A year bedevilled by death and illness, I
didn't get out much, but three that stood out are below. Although I
will be seeing Hawkwind for the 300-and-something-th time shortly
after writing this. Joe Satriani/Paul Gilbert @ Glasgow
Royal Concert Hall Walter Trout/Oli Brown @ Picturehouse, Edinburgh
Top CDs
GENESIS - BOX SET 3, 1970-1975
MOTT THE HOOPLE - IN PERFORMANCE 1970-74 ROLLING STONES - SHINE A LIGHT MYSTERY JETS (OXFORD) MICK TAYLOR TOURING FEBRUARY
Joe Geesin
Top CDs
GIRLSCHOOL Legacy
DANNY JOE BROWN - Danny Joe
Brown (one of the best Southern Rock albums ever)
ELOY
QUARTZ - Against All Odds
IRON MAIDEN - Live After
Death
Atom Heart Mother - Ron
Geesin & David Gilmour / Mun Floyd
Interviewing Biff Byford - 3
times, and his recognition of my work
New Praying Mantis and Saxon
albums
Neil Daniels
Top CDs
MOTORHEAD Motorizer (SPV)
ALICE COOPER Along Came A Spider (SPV)
SCORPIONS Live At Wacken
GIRLSCHOOL & DIO - LONDON ASTORIA
New bands:
HEAVEN'S BASEMENT -
HOLY GHOST REVIVAL -
CHICKENFOOT
HEAVEN & HELL STUDIO ALBUM
Tours:
PRIEST FEAST TOUR
What can you say about
this one, highly anticipated and well worth the wait. Every track is
good.
TESLA Forever More
Another fine album from
the hard working and under-rated Tesla.
Another example of a
classic band recapturing the sound of albums gone by.
Great live versions and
re-workings of some of the band's best songs and a handful of covers
that influenced the band.
BUCKCHERRY Black Butterfly
A great follow up to 15 and finds the band at the top of their game.
GUNS N' ROSES Chinese
Democracy
Why not? Still growing on me
and still only days old, this is not going to be loved by all Gn'R
fans but a good album none the less.
MOTLEY CRUE Saints Of Los
Angeles
It could have been a disaster
in the making but in the end turned out to be another corker from the
veteran LA band.
Great album, well written
and rarely off my stereo since it arrived.
MANRAZE Surreal
This mini supergroup have
produced an album combining great songs with great musicianship, and
the songs are addictive like you wouldn't believe (see "Skin Crawl"
for a great example of this!!).
THE STORYS Town Beyond The
Trees
Great debut album from this
British band, well worth a look.
DENNIS WILSON Pacific Ocean
Blue (Legacy Edition)
This highly influential album
has long been out of print, now re-mastered and re-packaged to include
the songs recorded for a second album that never saw the light of day.
TESLA Cumin' Atcha Live! 2008
Great live recording of
the band on their recent tour- this DVD makes bands half their age
look slightly embarrassing.
ROLLING STONES Shine A Light
The legendary Scorcese and the equally legendary Stones- it could only
ever be a success.
HANOI ROCKS The Nottingham
Tapes
With the quality of a very
good bootleg, this DVD does seem dated- however, it is statement of
Hanoi Rocks at their chaotic best.
DEF LEPPARD/WHITESNAKE/Black
Stone Cherry (Wembley Arena)
Three great bands combining
to make this one of the hottest tickets of 2008.
ACE FREHLEY (Astoria)
A rare outing from the
ex-KISS guitarist and not a disappointing one either.
EXTREME (Astoria)
Great return from Extreme-
one of the tightest bands I have ever seen live.
Great show from the
legendary Finnish band. Unfortunately they are planning to call it a
day early next year.
A great gig considering
everyone in the venue was in no doubt that the band were on their way
out. At least they went out with a bang.
Alan Jones
THE PINEAPPLE THIEF Tightly Unwound
…And you thought the age of the classic prog rock album had gone. It hasn't, and
this album's majesterial swoop and intimate quiet interludes demonstrate it to
the max. Superb, just superb.
Thea raises the bar with every release and this is no exception. Classic
singer-songwriter material with a modern rock twist - and off-kilter lyrics that
can cut you to the bone.
A real surprise this one. Not easy to find, but well worth seeking out, this is
a marvellous 2CD set capturing one of America's best-kept secrets live across
two nights (hence the title).
Biting satire, comic moments and the occasional lump in the throat moment are
all held together with dazzling acoustic guitar work. How he's not as famous as
Dylan or Neil Young has to be one of the mysteries of the universe.
A blues-rock tour de force that will have even the most discerning guitar nut
contorting his face in time with the blistering fret work on display here.
Bonamassa is a dish best served live and this is a smorgasbord of finest live
cuts.
Chumbawamba have just got better and better since they ditched their anarcho-punk
diatribes of yore and this is surely their finest yet. They've kept all the
satire, bile and leftie politicking, but it's now set to a wonderful acoustic
vibe, which, I think, delivers the message even more strongly. My album of the
year!
For sheer professionalism, a great show, and massive, though understated, stage
presence, this live recording of Gilmour's gig at the Gdansk shipyards takes
some beating. Only the number of release formats slightly lets it down, with
commerciality (as is often the case with Pink Floyd) seemingly the driving
thrust. Still great stuff though.
Without doubt my finest of the year! Superbly filmed, superbly recorded and two
performances to die for make this compulsive viewing.
Recorded just before and just after the release of the classic 'Little
Earthquakes', I sat there totally transfixed watching a woman play a piano and
sing. The fact that she looks absolutely gorgeous as well didn't influence my
decision at all you understand...
An unexpected surprise to start with. Livewire promote themselves as the
country's premier AC/DC tribute band, and, do you know what, they were simply
amazing.
Egged on by a large and enthusiastic crowd, they put on a performance that just
rocked the place from beginning to end.
All you could hear from the crowd on the way out was "f*****g brilliant". Catch
them if you can, even if you're not keen on AC/DC. For a great rocking night
these boys are hard to beat!
One of the best guitar players on the planet and surely the last time we'd be
able to see him in such an intimate venue before the arenas get him.
Again propelled by a packed crowd, (I can't believe the local council is
thinking of closing this place) Bonamassa's guitar histrionics practically
stripped the paint off the walls.
His brand of rock and blues is surely everything a guitar fan could possibly
want - and then some. Half a point deducted though for the interminable on/off
nonsense of the encores which seemed to last almost as long as the show.
Knowing Buddy was now 72 years old, I'd maybe toned down my pre-gig level of
expectation, having last seen him about sixteen years ago. What WAS I thinking
of! With that trademark amped-to-the-max Stratocaster, Jesus, he just tore the
place apart.
He also has his other trademark of stopping in mid-guitar burst, talking for a
bit, playing a few notes quietly, then ramping it up again to tear the arse out
of another screaming blues riff.
Coupled with his now-legendary crowd walkabout and a band as tight as a gnat's
chuff behind him, this had to be my highlight of the year - and not just in
music!
Noel Buckley Top CDs
1.
DEF LEPPARD Songs from the Sparkle Lounge AC/DC Plug Me In Iron Maiden...Twickenham 1.Oasis
Darryl Reeves
METALLICA Death Magnetic
WITHIN TEMPTATION Black Symphony
IRON MAIDEN Twickenham
Top CDs
1.
AC/DC Black Ice Top DVDs 1. CLUTCH Full Fathom 5 1. PRODIGY Rainbow Warehouse Seeing ACDC in April is going
to totally kick my booty! Also hoping that Michael Jackson will do
that tour he promised too!
Top CDs
1. AC/DC Black Ice
1. AIRBOURNE - AMAZING
ONES TO WATCH IN 2009:
Interested to see what Slash does now and if Velvet Revolver get together a new lineup.
Andy Nathan
Top CDs
With youtube discovery Arnel Pineda on Steve Perry-esque vocals, Journey deliver
a classic album with their signature sound and a strong set of songs that rock
hard but also include two of their finest ever ballads
Stunning late 80's style melodic rock from Sweden- aggressive but catchy with
more hooks than a school cloakroom.
Heep's first album in a decade but their strongest for at least a quarter of a
century- epic songs with great lyrics and the trademark Hammond organ sound
returning.
4 SHADOWMAN Ghost In The Mirror
Classic blues-influenced British rock with Steve Overland's ever superb vocals
in his best album since FM days.
Leppard relax and rock out at the same time with a punchy collection of classic
anthems.
The sound of David Coverdale enjoying himself and guitarist Doug Aldrich
whipping up a storm with some very '1987' inspired riffs.
Perhaps the finest ever array of melodic rock bands gathered under one roof over
two days with the reformed White Sister and an exuberant Danger Danger just
taking the honours from Loud and Clear, Tyketto, Mitch Malloy, Firehouse and
many others.
Rare opportunity to see stadium rock icons do an intimate show showcasing new
stuff, greatest hits and best of all rarely played songs from their first two
albums.
Maiden take over my old home town with a barnstorming 1980's set and the whole
crowd goes mental.
A magical night as the original voice of Wishbone Ash recreates the whole of the
classic 'Argus' album.
The surreal but thrilling sound of a back to form Guitar Hero and his band
tearing through old MSG and UFO classics in a one room pub.
If you'd like to contribute, please submit your own review here.
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