Steve Hackett releases Genesis Revisited Live: Seconds Out & More album in CD/Blu-Ray and DVD format today 2nd September. Vinyl formats will follow on 25th November.
Seconds Out was Genesis second live album, released in October of 1977, and and it was the last album to feature Steve Hackett, as he left the band while the album was being readied for release.
Steve Hackett and his band comprise Roger King, Rob Townsend, Jonas Reingold, Nad Sylvan & Craig Blundell, and they were joined by Amanda Lehmann as special guest on the night.
In September and October 2022, Steve Hackett & band will present their ‘Foxtrot at Fifty’ 25-date tour in the UK. Full list of dates below. To buy tickets go to HackettSongs.com
The album’s highlight was the 23-minute epic Supper’s Ready which remains a concert favorite and featured on Hackett’s recent Second’s Out tour.“’Supper’s Ready’ was a sojourn, an odyssey and something that goes down very, very well with audiences now.” Hackett adds.“As part of ‘Second’s Out’ I’ve been playing the whole of that again, it really has stood the test of time.
“We were a young, struggling band at that time. By the time we were doing ‘Foxtrot’, the band was becoming more ambitious. ‘Foxtrot’ is a must for fans of the early Genesis work. Fifty years ago? It doesn’t feel like those ideas are fifty years old because it was-genre defining, rather than following trends. It still sounds current, now.”
For fans of ’80s hard rock comes this official release of Sally Steele’s recordings from 1988 and 89. Alone in Love (1988-1989) features six tracks of guitar driven rock that sounds like it could’ve done well had it come out back in the day. Call it ‘hair metal’ or whatever, but there’s some good stuff with rockers like the title track that kicks things off here, as well as “Too Bad (It Had To Be You), and the keyboard infused “Leave My Heart Alone”. There’s also the power ballad “The Only One”. Any of these songs would’ve fit nicely on radio in the ’80s.
Sally Steele would go on to great success starting and publishing Vegas Rocks! Magazine, as well as VegasRocksTV.com
*for more info check out the press release and links below…
Vintage ‘80s Metal Recordings From Video Vixen SALLY STEELE Finally See Worldwide Release!
Los Angeles, CA – With her teased-up blonde hair and supermodel looks, it’s no surprise that Sally Steele found herself cast in music videos by the likes of Loverboy, Eric Carmen, Bruce Willis and others. But her true passion was always in music creation and so, in 1986, she put a band together and started performing shows in the musical mecca of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.
Soon she crossed paths with mega producer Paul Sabu (Heart, John Waite, Glass Tiger and more) who helped Steele bring two of her songs to life, “Too Bad (It Had To Be You” and “Leave My Heart Alone.” A music video was filmed for the latter and premiered on MTV’s Basement Tapes show in 1988.
After some personnel changes, Steele’s band soldiered on with more songs and recordings. They became regulars at The Coconut Teaser, FM Station, Madame Wong’s and The Whisky. However, as the music scene began to change in the early ‘90s Steele decided it was best to hang up her guitar – but she never lost her true passion. As Steele puts it “It was back when the Seattle grunge scene had replaced the music I loved from the ‘80s and I was told my music was ‘too commercial.’ But here we are today and I am so excited to finally get my material out to the world. I hope you enjoy my songs from the 1980s. And one thing that has never changed is – I still live and breathe rock n’ roll 24 hours a day!”
Canadian classic roots and blues rock band The Commoners release “Too Much”, the second single from the forthcoming album Find A Better Way on Friday August 26th. The single is available to buy and stream from https://lnk.fu.ga/thecommoners_toomuch. The “Too Much” music video can be streamed on You Tube .
The album is released on CD, limited edition vinyl and digital by Gypsy Soul Records on Friday 4th November and is available to pre-order from thecommoners.ca. and pre-save from https://lnk.to/TheCommonersFABW.
The band describe the Too Much single as follows – “Erupting with the growling vigour of an old Beaumont, Too Much drives The Commoners to the brink of surrendering their dreams for the comforts of home. A high horsepower performance peels out with rowdy riffs and lively organ in tow, delivering a relatable sentiment that never proves to be too much.”
Possessing a sound tapped from the oaken belly of a whiskey barrel, The Commoners are a four-piece Roots/Blues Rock band from Toronto, Canada.
Described as “a classic rock and roll affair,” the nine songs take the listener on a sonic voyage through the lives of the band, from the dusty back roads of rural Ontario to the bright lights of the big city. Offering their own blend of rock and roll, southern blues, and roots music, the Toronto-based four-piece band are known for their high-energy riffs, soulful vocals, and rich harmonies. The result is an authentic Southern-style rock experience.
The group was cobbled together over the course of a decade, adapting through numerous obstacles to form the unit as it exists today: Chris Medhurst (vocals/guitar), Ben Spiller (bass), Ross Hayes Citrullo (lead guitar), and Adam Cannon (drums). Often joined by their friend, organist Miles Evans-Branagh, The Commoners unite under a shared dream: to write, perform, and share music that is an authentic nod to the greats who paved the way before them.
“The new album authentically embodies the rock and roll, soul, and blues rock experience,” says the band’s lead singer, Chris Medhurst. “That’s something we really wanted to bring back. That’s the roots. That’s what we listen to.”
“The Black Crowes are a considerable influence for us,” says Medhurst. “Derek Trucks, Marcus King, Led Zeppelin, and The Allman Brothers Band, too. These are the bands that we wear on our sleeves as we aspire to create our own music and sound.”
Find A Better Way is an album that demands attention from the first note. The opening lines “If I scream at the top of my lungs, and stamp my feet, ’til the floor comes undone,” immediately inform that a wild ride lies ahead. The album was recorded and produced at RHC Music in Toronto by the band’s guitarist Ross Hayes Citrullo. Ross collaborated with executive producer Renan Yildizdogan to strike the perfect balance of new and old recording treatments. The goal was to create something that felt new and original, yet still familiar to their target classic roots rock and blues rock audience.
“The vision from the beginning was to marry old and new southern rock together in a way that was unique to the band’s Canadian roots,” explains Citrullo. “By adding the soul and rock elements of the Black Crowes, and the southern blues rock undertones of the Allman Brothers to a production style akin to Blackberry Smoke and Rival Sons, I think we developed an authentic sound that compares sonically to some of our favorite records across all of those music genres.”
The album’s lyrical themes drill into the essence of humanity: love, regret, ambition, and fear. Circling the forever challenge of doubt vs. desire, The Commoners place themselves into the shoes of the everyman. The result? Nine tracks that function as a comfort and companion through all of life’s trials and tribulations, with melodic solos, soaring organ, and a punchy rhythm section to drive the messages home.
Drummer Adam Cannon says – “Music, like so much in life, is about the exchange of energy.” and The Commoners make more than a fair trade. Striving to present an impactful, memorable, and downright exhilarating live experience that accurately represents their recorded works, the band carries the listener over spirited choruses and group chants, before returning them back to earth in need of a shot of something smooth. You can expect to leave fully satisfied, sweat drenched, and heart racing, a good time guaranteed—just what we all need.
The Commoners enlisted a handful of Toronto’s finest musicians to help bring their record to life. On the title track Find A Better Way, the band brought on keyboardist Jeff Heisholt (The Trews) to lay down an iconic organ track. For the rest of the album, keyboardist Miles Evans-Branagh performed organ, piano, and Rhodes.
To accompany Ben and Adam on backup vocals, The Commoners called upon three of Canada’s top backup singers. Tash Lorayne and Shezelle Weekes (The Arkells), and Chantal Williams joined in to arrange vocal parts and enliven the mix with their vivacious voices resulting in a spine-tingling performance.
The Commoners also invited local legend Michael Eckert to lend his pedal steel talents on I Won’t and Alive. Adding the final cherry on top, renowned multi-instrumentalist Ben Healey treated Deadlines to a guitar solo worthy of the world’s greatest stadiums. Though these songs were all written by The Commoners, the contributions of these amazing guest musicians make the album something special.
“Every time we brought an outside player into the studio, they would offer their own unique instincts and interpretations of each song. This helped the album grow into a collaborative art piece that continues to surprise us with every listen.”
A rock anthem to its core, the title track, “Find A Better Way” carries a message that encapsulates the entirety of the record. With growing uncertainties, society faces challenges previously unseen, leaving the collective in a perpetual state of questioning, with doubt directed towards governments, public leaders, and our neighbors. From the aftermath of COVID-19, the increasing mental health crisis in North America, war crimes in Ukraine, and the explosion of social movements and protests, one thought unites us all—we need to find a better way to co-exist on this planet. Find A Better Way takes an inward look at confronting our tumultuous past and accepting personal accountabilities to uncover the strength needed to seek a solution.
“Find a Better Way” is the only track on the record to mixed outside of Canada. The band worked with legend Producer/Mixer Kevin Shirley (the Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa, Led Zeppelin) at Caveman Studios in Sydney, Australia. Kevin’s mix helped set the perfect tone for the album, which Ross Hayes Citrullo was then able to follow for the rest of the record. Kevin’s involvement set The Commoners on the right path with this epic title track.
Mastering was also an important consideration for the band and their label. For this stage, the team sent their record all the way to Nashville, Tennessee toPete Lyman (Tedeschi Trucks, Blackberry Smoke, Chris Stapleton, Rival Sons) at Infrasonic Sound. Pete’s specialty for mastering southern rock made the mixes come alive, making them sonically competitive to the band’s influences.
As a collective, we find ourselves emerging into a changed society, with uncertainty looming and shadowing the future. In their upcoming release The Commoners remind us that music has a unique ability to heal, a medicine of extraordinary merit, and balm for the soul during dark times. Every major movement in history gave rise to change makers, and The Commoners are taking their stand, here to lead and inspire us all to Find a Better Way.
TRACK LIST:
FIND A BETTER WAY FILL MY CUP MORE THAN MISTAKES TOO MUCH NATURLLY I WON’T DEADLINES HANGIN’ ON AGAIN ALIVE
Chris Medhurst – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar Ross Hayes Citrullo – Lead Guitar Ben Spiller – Bass, Vocals, Piano (5, 9) Adam Cannon – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Miles Evans-Branagh – Organ, Rhodes, Piano | Jeff Heisholt – Organ (1) Michael Ekhart – Pedal Steel (6, 9) | Ben Healey – Lead Guitar (7) Chantal Williams, Shezelle Weekes, Tash Lorayne – Backing Vocals
All songs written by The Commoners Produced by Ross Hayes Citrullo and The Commoners Executive Producer – Renan Yildizdogan Recorded at RHC Music, Toronto ON
Album Photography by Lindsay White Album Design by Emily Goguen
THE COMMONERS 2022 Tour Dates:
12/08/22 Toronto-Canada @ The Horseshoe Tavern 23/09/22 London-Canada @ Eastsides 12/10/22 Norderstedt-Germany @ Music Star 13/10/22 Hoganas-Sweden @ Garage Bar TBC 14/10/22 Varberg-Sweden @ Maja’s 15/10/22 Avesta-Sweden @ Kulturgaraget 16/10/22 Stockholm TBC 18/10/22 Malmo-Sweden @ Folk & Rock 19&20/10/22 Hamburg-Germany @ Cowboy und Indianer TBC 21/10/22 Asendorf-Germany @ Break Out 22/10/22 Singwitz-Germany @ Kesselhaus 23/10/22 Burglengenfeld-Germany @ RockStürbl 24/10/22 Bratislava-Slovakia @ Muzeum Ochbodu 26/10/22 Bremen-Germany @ Meisenfrei 27/10/22 Köln-Germany TBC 28/10/22 Rimsting-Germany TBC 29/10/22 Fiesch-Switzerland @ Inch Bar 30/10/22 Switzerland TBC 31/10/22 Solothurn-Switzerland TBC 03/11/22 Barcelona-Spain @ Sala Textil 04/11/22 Castellon-Spain @ Sala Because 05/11/22 Orihuela-Spain @ La Gramola 06/11/22 Valladollid-Spain @ Puerta Caeli 07/11/22 Leon-Spain @ Babylon 08/11/22 Ourense-Spain @ Cafe Auriense 10/11/22 A Coruna-Spain @ Sala Mardi Gras 11/11/22 Cangas-Spain @ Salason 12/11/22 Valles-Spain @ Bocanegra 13/11/22 Vitoria-Spain @ Urban Rock 15/11/22 Chambery-France @ Brin de Zinc 16/11/22 Besançon-France @ Bar De L’U 17/11/22 Metz-France TBC 18/11/22 Krefeld-Germany @ Kulturrampe 19/11/22 Ostend-Belgium TBC
Golden Earring’s 25th and final full length studio album was 2012’s Tits ‘N Ass. The album contained 14 tracks, and is one of their more underrated albums with rocking cuts like “Identical”, “Little Time Bomb”, “Dope Runner”, and “Avenue Of Broken Dreams”, as well as a few ballads, notably “What Do I Now About Love”. With many of the band’s releases Tits ‘N Ass was not released in North America.
Tits ‘N Ass stands out visually, with the artwork of artist Claudia Hek. From The Netherlands, Claudia Hek is best known for her pin-up art and tattoo designs, described ‘as a mix of comic, old school and realism in a retro jacket.’ Her cover-art for Golden Earring is her best known – but not the only album cover to feature her work.
In this short interview, Claudia tells the story behind her creating the cover for Tits ‘N Ass, as well as more about her artwork, influences, other album covers and more. The album Tits ‘N Ass is being reissued in October on limited 180-gram translucent red colored vinyl (Music On Vinyl).
Your art was used for the cover of Golden Earring’s Tits n Ass album. Was the art already done and selected by the band or was it created specifically for the album? How did that come about?
It was created specifically for the album. I got a call from the record company if I wanted to create the album art for the band. Apparently Barry Hay who loves pin-ups and tattoo art got in touch with my work and really liked it.
Can you tell me a bit about that drawing – does it have it’s title or character name?
The title for the album was Tits and Ass and they told me they wanted a pin-up that showed tits and ass and that was what I created.
How was this created and what inspired that particular piece, with the airplane, etc… ? And were you happy with ended up appearing (on record)
The photo of the background was created by somebody else. I only made the illustration and I think another graphic designer put it all together. I was curious to see if my work would look good on a photograph but it came out great.
Being from the Netherlands, how familiar were you with Golden Earring? (much of a fan of their music?)
I like them. I’m not a huge fan but most of their hit songs I really like. And through the illustration I got to meet Barry and see them live two times which was great! I also read the book Hay and loved that too. Barry is a really nice guy!
What sort of music do you listen to (or purchase) – -any favorite bands or musical artists?
I listen to all kinds of music but mainly rock n’ roll. I am a big fan of the Rolling Stones, I love country, southern rock, 60’s beat, rockabilly, soul and old blues but also listen to classical music and reggae. Basically everything besides techno or electronic music.
Has your art been used on many other album covers? Can you give me a few names or details[?]
Yes, I made a few record covers, for ‘the Boogie Chillers’, a great Dutch garage band from Groningen, ‘the Anaconda’s’, a surf band from Amsterdam, ‘Tio Gringo’, a hillbilly band also from Holland, and a few 45 covers, for ‘E.T Explore Me’, a Dutch garage punk band, ‘the Doodle-Li-Bop’s’, a garage band from Switzerland, and the ‘Transatlantic Bunnies’. a pop band from the Netherlands with members from the US and Canada.
I also did a lot of poster art and logo’s and t-shirt designs for bands when I was still active in the music scene as a drummer, but not so much anymore.
What sort of influenced your own art – the style that and characters in your work?
I’ve always been hugely influenced by pin-up art from the 40’s and 50’s and comic art. Bettie Page has always been a great inspiration and artists like Bill Ward and Eric Stanton are two of my favorites.
Can you tell me a few details of your (new) book? And is there prints of your art pieces (Such as Tits n Ass) available at your website?
My book gives an overview of my work from the last 10 years and also contains a short personal story. It’s very versatile, it contains not only my pin-ups work but also my graphic work, my poems, tattoo designs, animals, kinky stuff, spiritual stuff, realistic pencil- and pen drawings and some comic drawings.
And besides all that it also contains about ten short stories / testimonials that other people wrote. It’s more personal than my first book which came out ten years ago and only contained images.
Both my new book and prints of my art (including the illustration I made for the Golden Earring) are all available through the webshop on my website: www.claudiahek.com
LOST ON PLANET ARTIFICE: Rock musician John Sloman writes rock- memoir-cum-survival-manual for 21st Century.
John Sloman – singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist , has released his book Lost On Planet Artifice, which is his own story.
“Over the years, family members and close friends have suggested I write a book about my time in music. My response has always been the same: “I’d write it, but who would read it?”
Having been in such bands as Lone Star, Uriah Heep, and Gary Moore, Sloman would be hosed over on a number of occasions (such as the story of his 1989 solo album!), and grew to dislike the music business. In the 2000s he began recording a number of solo albums, mainly all on his own. His latest is Two Rivers. Both that album And Lost On Planet Artifice can be purchased on Amazon. (Kindle edition for under $5 Canadian!).
The first review on the book states – “Reading John Sloman’s book was a revelation in the sense that here’s a man who has been shafted and betrayed by the powers that be and it is outrageous that few in the ‘business’ give a damn. His prose is very well constructed and his stories are, in places, hilarious. It certainly makes a change reading this work from all the usual drivel of so many rock stars writing about life on planet ‘Orifice’. Well done to this brave Welshman.” (Derek Pringle).
I am looking forward to this, and highly recommend, whether you’re just a Heep fan or not – you check it out.
Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by vocalist, guitarist & producer John Mitchell, are set to release their fifth studio album ‘A Model Life’ on August 26th, 2022. With just a few days till release, a video for the album’s third single ‘Digital God Machine’ has been launched.
John comments: “It’s the internet age people! And with every computer connected to it comes a free opinion. For some reason, the world of progressive rock fandom bears down on the timid musician struggling to make his way with the weight of said opinion. Said fandom LIKES and values it’s own opinion with much aplomb and shares it with alarming regularity from the bravery of great distance and safety. Thus is born the ‘Digital God Machine’.”
Kings of Mercia, the new group formed by acclaimed rock/metal guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning, Arch/Matheos) and powerhouse rock vocalist Steve Overland (FM) have announced the release of their self-titled debut album on September 23rd, 2022 via Metal Blade Records. Accompanying the duo on the upcoming album are Matheos’ Fates Warning bandmate Joey Vera on bass, and legendary drummer Simon Philips.
Kings of Mercia are now pleased to share the new single “Liberate Me”.
Steve Overland says this about the track: “’Liberate me’ is another great example of what the Kings of Mercia album represents, a high energy, hard rock song about someone who has lived life selfishly and done many wrongs, but as the years take their toll, they begin to regret their past and want to make things right. Once again, it shows off the great individual talents in the band with great performances by all.”
TRACKLIST: 1.Wrecking Ball 3:54 2.Humankind 4:13 3.Sweet Revenge 4:38 4.Set the World on Fire 4:16 5.Too Far Gone 6:07 6.Liberate Me 4:18 7.Nowhere Man 4:20 8.Everyday Angels 3:59 9.Is It Right? 4:03 10.Your Life 6:07
Best known as the founding guitarist for Fates Warning, but with countless other projects under his belt – including Arch / Matheos and most recently Tuesday The Sky – Jim Matheos is incapable of stifling his creativity. In early 2021, he started working on the songs that would become Kings Of Mercia’s self-titled debut album, bringing his distinct style yet doing something a little different. “I started writing without any real idea of what direction I wanted to go in or what I was going to do with the material. The first few songs came together quickly and were a bit more straightforward than I’m used to, and I really liked that idea, kind of going back to my early heavy/hard rock roots.” Not having any pre-conceived ideas of what the record should or would end up sounding like, at least early on, certainly helped, “as did the fact that it’s our first record, so there was nothing to measure it against or expectations to live up to, even if only in my own head.”
Churning out songs, Matheos’ next concern was to find the musicians who would help him realize the material, and his first priority was a vocalist. It was his friend Jeff Wagner who suggested FM’s Steve Overland, and another friend, rock journalist Dave Ling, who put them in touch with each other. “Jim had asked Dave for my contact details, we talked about his idea for mixing the two styles, his heavier background, with my melodic/bluesier direction,” says Overland. “We decided to try a collaboration on one song and see how it worked, we came up with the track “Humankind”, and we both loved it.”. Having already settled on this hard rock direction, it was only once Matheos got the first couple of songs back from Overland that it became all the way clear of the shape the record would take, with the vocalist sending over his parts every few weeks, everything gradually coming together.
Behind the kit for the record is the legendary Simon Phillips (ex-Toto, Derek Sherinian), one of Matheos’ favorite drummers. “I decided to contact him on a whim, not really expecting that he’d be available or interested in this project. But, to my surprise, he liked the music and was able to fit some recording into his schedule. It’s an honor to share a credit with him and I couldn’t be happier with what he added to the record.” Rounding out the group is bassist Joey Vera – Matheos’ Fates Warning bandmate – who brings his trademark style and professionalism to the table. “My old friend and co-worker Joey Vera was a natural choice for bass. Not only did I know he would deliver performance-wise, but it was nice to have a familiar face among the new personalities.” With these players involved it was an easy, stress-free process throughout, making music for the love of it, and coming up with something that sounds familiar yet new, expanding the repertoire of all involved. This means songs like the half-acoustic ballad, half-swaggering “Too Far Gone” or the beautiful “Everyday Angels”, and the soaring “Wrecking Ball”, which opens the record on a high note, all brought to life in dynamic style. Jim Matheos – Guitars Steve Overland – Vocals Joey Vera – Bass Simon Phillips – Drums
When the Intelligent Music Project started, the first albums featured the late John Lawton on them, and they were fantastic. As each album has come along new singers and players have come along as well. My initial interest in the band was John, as I was a fan of what he had did throughout his career. Thus, I kinda didn’t totally keep up with each subsequent release. But the latest (and 3rd) with Ronnie Romero (Blackmore’s Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Lords of Black…) I am nicely reminded that I.M.P. is about well written and produced tunes, regardless who’s exactly in it; this is really good from start to finish. I was not sold on the singer as part of Rainbow, but here Romero is more involved that just doing someone else’s material or a band with a set style. With Unconditioned (released July 27), Romero takes on something new and different, less ‘metal’, and really makes this his own thing. Also on here is Nazareth’s Carl Sentance and legendary drummer Simon Phillips. Plenty of great rock tracks, from the cool riff of “Intention”, “Wait For The Night”, and the more aor-ish “And Stars Never Fall” (dig the drum/slide intro). And as with I.M.P, there’s a good variety of tracks, and use of acoustic guitars, piano, harmonies, etc.. , so you get interesting and excellent songs like “Soulmate”, “Madness”, “New Hero”, and “Sunshine Boulevard” (great heavy solo). I see this is Romero’s 3rd album with the project, so I’ve got some back-tracking to do. Contains 14 tracks, so a bit long (10 tracks is long enough for me for almost any album). But a solid collection of songs.
*For more info check out the press release and links below
Superstar Rock Band Intelligent Music Project To Release 7th Album “Unconditioned” Feat. Members of TOTO, Rainbow & Nazareth
Featuring Simon Phillips (TOTO, Mike Oldfield, Pete Townshend), Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG), Carl Sentance (Nazareth)
The superstar rock band Intelligent Music Project will release its seventh studio album entitled “Unconditioned” in July – just two months after their biggest adventure, called Eurovision Song Contest.
The legendary Simon Phillips (TOTO, Protocol) returns as percussionist and musical co-producer of the new album, while the lead vocalist on this release will again be one of the most popular names in rock music today: Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG). This will be Romero’s third album with Intelligent Music Project, and for the first time the group has expanded its compositional approach: two of the songs and their arrangements are entirely the work of Ronnie, Biser Ivanov and Ivo Stefanov. For the first time on “Unconditioned,” the band’s lead singer shows off his skills as a lyricist, having penned the words to those two songs. All the other songs and lyrics are once again the creation of Intelligent Music Project’s founder and producer, Dr. Milen Vrabevski.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of the band’s first album, “The Power Of Mind,” the seventh album follows its format and also begins and ends with instrumental tracks written by Dr. Milen Vrabevski in collaboration with Biser Ivanov and Ivo Stefanov.
“‘Unconditioned’ is an album dedicated to unconditional love as a deciding factor in normalizing our modern life. This love has to be focused above all on our children, because they are the future, while we are the ones who need to show them the way and teach them to make bold decisions and to live for the people around them. Only with more such people will the world become a better place” – Dr. Vrabevski about the new album
One hit track from “Unconditioned” is “Intention” – the song the band played as Bulgaria’s representative to Eurovision 2022 in Torino. Besides the Eurovision version, the album will also include the original, longer take, which sticks to Intelligent Music Project’s signature melodic progressive style, as well as a backing track version.
“Intention” was the first single from Intelligent Music Project’s seventh album. At the moment, the song has more than two and a half million views/listens on both YouTube and Spotify. The song raises the question of every individual’s personal, internal battle with outdated models of belief and behavior that hold them back. Starting from the title itself, the author underscores the simple fact that it is never too late to start down the right path – the path of your own personal growth, of dignified existence and of life with a mission. The song calls us to turn away from our ego, selfishness and a consumerist attitude on life and instead to live for the people around us.
“Finding the right path, however, often turns into a battle with one’s self, so you need a serious intention to truly make a change!” – Dr. Milen Vrabevski, the author of the music and lyrics of “Intention” notes.
The album’s second single, “New Hero,” came out in early May. The song was accompanied by a striking video that recreated a military atmosphere, where, in sync with the idea behind the album, the main characters were children. In the video’s narrative, it is precisely the children who turn out to be the brave heroes who bring about change.
“Effective action in the present, despite difficulties, is the key to progress. It is crucial for us to know that pretty words get us nowhere. It is easy to stand silently and do what you’re told. The harder but only effective thing is for a person to have their own opinion, their own method of resisting injustice, even if this means they often find themselves alone and misunderstood,” Dr. Vrabevski explains.
In addition to Simon Phillips and Ronnie Romero, the album also includes Carl Sentance (Nazareth), Biser Ivanov on guitar, Ivo Stefanov on keyboards, Slavin Slavchev, Lina Nicole, and Borislav Mudolov-Kosatkata on backing vocals; Dimitar Sirakov on bass; Samuel Eftimov on piano
Guitarist Peter Hesslein of legendary German band Lucifer’s Friend has finished a new collection of instrumental tracks for his Night Drive 3 album, to be released on October 14.
Night Drive 3 features 16 tracks, and will be the last in this solo trilogy.
Following the reformation of Lucifer’s Friend in 2015, a live album and 2 new studio albums, Peter released his first solo album titled Night Drive in 2020 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lucifer’s Friend, followed by Night Drive 2 in ’21. Sadly, Lucifer’s Friend singer John Lawton passed away on June 29 of last year, putting an end to the band, with a compilation titled The Last Stand being issued later in the year.
Night Drive 3 features singer Mike Starrs (who replaced Lawton in Lucifer’s Friend in the late ’70s), who ‘guests’ on the album’s last track. Starrs has recently recorded an album with the band Crossover. I am looking forward to hearing his voice on Night Drive 3, and ‘hope’ their may be more to come.
Track Listing:
1 This Way Home 2 Sunset Drive 3 At A Crossroads 4 Driving All Night 5 Going South 6 In The Fast Lane 7 Road of Dreams 8 On The Horizon 9 A Few More Hours 10 No Backseat Driver 11 A Warm Day’s Night 12 Faster Than a Slug 13 Exit Number 9 14 Sunrise Pit Stop 15 A Gnat In My Life 16 Chapters Of My Life
UK blues rocker Troy Redfern, hailed as “the king of slide guitar” recently released “Gasoline” — the second single from Troy Redfern’s forthcoming album The Wings Of Salvation. As mentioned, the slide guitar summer anthem was officially released Friday August 19th. The upbeat heavy cut comes across as a cool, positive summertime rocker, with a catchy chorus, and filled with Redfern’s trademark slide work.
“With Gasoline I wanted to write a positive, uplifting, good-time rock ’n’ roll tune,” says Troy. “Right now, we’re bombarded with a lot of negative news in the media. Lyrically, I wanted to put something out there that was the opposite to that. The groove of this tune is in 7/8, which isn’t a typical rock ’n’ roll rhythm, but I really love the flow and feel of riffing in this time signature, especially playing slide using the National resonator in a low tuning. The combination sounds huge.”
photo – Adam Kennedy
The single features Dave Marks on bass guitar and Paul Stewart (The Feeling) on drums. “Gasoline” follows the excellent hard hitting anthemic “Come On” single (see below). Both tracks sound like they will be great live numbers. Redfern has amassed a large discography of recordings since 2015’s Back Door Hoodoo, including 6 albums recorded over the past couple of years of lockdown, and notably the critically acclaimed The Fire Cosmic! So, plenty of classic slide guitar driven rock to get into.
Fans can pre-save the “Gasoline” single (released Friday August 19th) from this link – https://bit.ly/3Pofyuc.
Wings Of Salvation features 10 tracks, and will be released September 23rd. Available for pre-order on CD & Vinyl (as well as digital) at – www.troyredfern.com/shop.
Troy is special guest on DARE’s UK tour in October (12 shows).
Outsider Rock 