Ever since their arrival on the melodic rock scene in the 90s, Ten have always been synonymous with making “big” sounds. With its combination of huge vocals, even bigger guitar sounds and a genuine sense of grandeur, their self titled debut quickly asserted itself as one of the classics of the era, and the musical marriage between Gary Hughes (vocals) and ex-Dare guitarist Vinny Burns proved to be an ambitious, yet very natural union. Their third album, ‘The Robe’ , a concept album centring around Egyptian mythology, set the bar even higher in terms of ambition, and for a time, it seemed like a recording the band would never top. Nevertheless, they trucked on, and their ever fluctuating line-up (which at one point included Kent based talent Chris Francis filling Vinny’s huge musical shoes) continued to record distinctive, bombastic albums that thrilled fans across Europe.
Tag Archives: rock
DUCK & COVER – Attention Economy EP
With its mix of classic hard rock and an almost bar-room trash aesthetic, Duck & Cover’s 2018 release ‘Rob Them Blind’ was fuelled by a superb confidence. Driven by the kind of high octane riffs that would have suited both Duff McKagan and the early years of Soul Asylum alike, its eight songs delivered highly in terms of toughness and retro cool. It wasn’t widely noticed by the world at large – despite the Rum Bar Records label doing their best via a free download of the excellent ‘Live It Up’ – but it gained praise from almost everyone who happened to stumble upon it at the time. The three song EP ‘Two Shots’ followed in 2020 and, if anything, was even better thanks to an even stronger sense of urgency supplied by more of a melodic punk feel. Between them, these two DIY releases really suggested that, despite their home city of Boston being almost overrun by great bands, Duck & Cover had something special.BIG BIG TRAIN – Welcome To The Planet
For even the greatest bands, there’s rarely such a thing as overnight success. This was certainly true for British prog band, Big Big Train. They spent the second half of the 90s and the early noughties recording independent albums that clicked with a small core of people, but remained largely hidden from the prog world at large. Works like ‘Goodbye To The Age of Steam’ and ‘Gathering Speed’ set out a rich musical stall that showed a love of Anthony Philips, and despite changes in line-up and sound, their music retained a very pastoral, very English heart that inspired all who heard it. Despite cult adoration, genuine success often seemed elusive; it wasn’t really until the release of their sixth proper album, 2009’s ‘The Underfall Yard’, that the band started to gain the kind of attention they’d long deserved.
FASTER PUSSYCAT – Babylon: The Elektra Years 1987-1992
Before the arrival of grunge, the US was awash with sleazy bands sporting huge hairstyles and huge attitudes. Guns N’ Roses would go on to achieve world domination, and MTV made huge stars out of many others, including Ratt, Motley Crue and Poison. For every band that hit the big time, of course, there were many that didn’t achieve quite the same levels of success. Kik Tracee, Tuff, and Jetboy were bands that very much fell into this category, along with LA’s Faster Pussycat, but even these “also rans” gained more than their fifteen minutes of fame at the height of the music television boom.
Watch: Meat Loaf – Live At Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT 1991
In terms of rock stars, Meat Loaf was unique. A larger than life character whose best music took in elements of hard rock, light opera, pop and prog to create a musical theatre that became the soundtrack for a generation of fans in the late 70s and beyond. So much of Meat’s greatness was enhanced by his collaborators, of course, and when working with Jim Steinman, members of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Roy Bittan of Springsteen’s E Street Band on the world dominating ‘Bat Out of Hell’ album, he was a genuine force of nature.