Following their third release ‘Happy Ender’ in 2011, US roots rockers seemed set to call time on their career, with frontman Denny Smith moving on to other projects. Luckily, they had a change of heart and following a shift of line up, 2013’s ‘4’ was arguably the best of their career to date.
Tag Archives: rock
Queen 80s & Beyond poll results + video gallery
Real Gone’s first Queen poll, looking at the band’s 70s work, was a roaring success. Hot on its heels, we ran a second poll asking you to vote for your favourite songs from the second phase of their much-celebrated career. While similarly successful, the second poll showed how much love fans have for band’s singles – in this case, far more so than the album material.
There’s no denying the quality of Queen’s hits between 1980-1991. Aside from those from the “marmite” album ‘Hot Space’ (1982), the band achieved wall-to-wall greatness in the singles department during their stadium years; their singles still in regular radio rotation the world over. …And fans clearly still love them.
ANATHEMA – Fine Days 1999-2004
In the twenty-first century, Anathema have often been mentioned in the same breath as Opeth and Porcupine Tree due to their increased movement towards thoughtful progressive rock structures. It hasn’t always been that way, of course. Like Opeth, the band began life as a totally different musical beast, playing in a melodic death metal style. Shifting line-ups naturally resulted in shifting sounds, and by the time the band signed with the legendary Music For Nations label for their fifth album ‘Judgement’ in 1999, they’d settled on a rather tough but accessible blend of gothy and alternative rock.
DORIS BRENDEL & LEE DUNHAM – Upsidedown World
Doris Brendel first appeared on the music scene as a member of The Violet Hour, a pop-rock band who achieved cult success and will be best remembered as the support band on Marillion’s ‘Holidays In Eden’ tour back in 1991. Since those days, Brendel has worked on an extensive musical career, various solo projects covering many moods and styles, cultivating a cult audience along the way. Teaming up with multi-instrumentalist Lee Dunham for a second time, 2015’s ‘Upsidedown World’ is a mixed bag of treats, clearly designed for different ears to love different things within. It is, however, quite unlikely that most people will like it all.
Queen 70s poll results & video gallery
Over the past week, Real Gone has been running a poll covering Queen’s seventies output. We knew the idea would get people talking, since Queen are one of the few bands that could be considered a global phenomenon. We had no idea when it began whether the well known hits would dominate, or whether the long-standing fans would speak out for some of those lesser heard album cuts. [Full results here.]
Almost 1,300 votes were cast, and one thing is clear. People still absolutely adore ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It’s so entrenched within the Queen legacy, it’s become almost unavoidable. Although there’s a vast amount of great material recorded by the band between 1973-78, it was guaranteed a high placing, but it secured the top spot within hours and then held onto a fairly commanding lead. It’s easy to dismiss the song as overplayed, but if we are able to step aside from that fact for a moment, it’s still a fantastically crafted piece of music, unlike anything in rock music before, and – a couple of other Queen numbers aside – still stands out from so much since.