All star prog tributes are hardly a new phenomenon. Robert Berry and Yes man Billy Sherwood have been contributing to such releases since the 90s and it’s often resulted in records made with love. Occasionally, they’ve included a few tracks that’ve become essential collection fillers. There’s a Pink Floyd tribute from the 90s called ‘The Moon Revisited’ that brings together a host of famous faces recreating the monolithic ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ from start to finish. Naturally, the record isn’t as good as the original – nobody ever claimed it would be – but a run of tracks during the second half make it a keeper. World Trade’s take on the instrumental ‘Any Colour You Like’ and Robert Berry’s ‘Brain Damage’, especially, showcase veteran talents able to turn their hands to almost anything with ease.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
DR CHRIS & THE REDEEMERS – Stone Cold Redemption
When a band places a bottle of Makers Mark rather prominently in one of their earliest promotional photos and advertises themselves as a blues band, chances are, you’ll get no big surprises when it comes to the kind of sounds they make. For Dr Chris & The Redeemers, the big twist comes from their location. This band comes well versed in the Texas blues, but deliver their rootsy grooves and Stevie Ray Vaughan inflected riffs straight from the heart of Adelaide. In terms of all round authenticity, though, they hit everything absolutely square on. Their debut album is a great release which doesn’t so much present itself like the sound of 2021, but a brilliant throwback to 1990.
SCATTERED HAMLET – Stereo Overthrow
Formed in 2010, Scattered Hamlet are a band who combine the old style southern rock riffs heaviness of stoner, and more than occasionally, are keen to attack with the force of Motorhead’s hard edged, mid-tempo tracks. Wavering between elements of Black Label Society and no nonsense rock ‘n’ roll, whilst often sounding like they could drop into ‘Killed By Death’ at any moment, you could certainly say that, in terms of a hard driving outfit, they’ve got most bases covered.
AFFINITY – Affinity
Back in those pre-internet years, it was often difficult to hear really rare albums. There were a whole world of psych, jazz rock and proto-hard rock LPs that were regularly mentioned in Record Collector magazine that seemed shrouded in mystery. Often issued on the Philips, Deram, Major Minor and Vertigo labels, discs by Head Machine, Elias Hulk, The Open Mind and Second Hand – all now available on CD – were almost the vinyl collector’s equivalent of the Holy Grail.
Another such disc, the one and only album by Affinity, was another highly praised gem from the dawn of the 70s that, at one time, seemed destined to languish in the hazy, distant past. In the mid 90s, a decent vinyl pressing could fetch £40-£50; hardly an impulse purchase, should you stumble across one. A CD repressing from Repertoire Records in 1993 finally meant the album became accessible to an audience who missed the band during their brief lifetime, but a lack of UK release meant this disc was almost as elusive. It wasn’t until 2002 that the Affinity LP was given a long overdue CD release on home turf, but that eagerly awaited edition on Angel Air Records was sourced from under par materials.
Blue Carpet Band present ‘B Movie Boogie’ and NSFW video
Featuring members of Demented Are Go!, Blue Carpet Band serve up some ferocious rockabilly noise on their new singe ‘B Movie Boogie’. With it’s accompanying video including suitably trashy b-movie elements (inspired by ‘Demons’ and ‘Evil Dead 2’) and performance footage from the band themselves, it’s a perfect snapshot into their horror themed world.