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).
It’s been well over a year since Nestor dropped their first video for their debut track “On The Run”. The video was a huge – an immediate success, with the retro and hilarious clip now at well over 400 thousand views! The band followed with videos for the tracks “1989” and “Tomorrow” (the latter featuring Samantha Fox). Eventually came the band’s awesome full length album, and numerous live dates in Europe, with the band’s own hometow “NestorFest” being their latest highlight. In this exchange singer Tobias Gustavsson details the band’s last year and what is to come. As a fan, I am looking forward to the band’s debut album getting a major re-release next month, as well as talk of a follow-up album coming in the (hopefully) no-so-distant future.
*Be sure to check out links at the end of this interview…
Kids In A Ghost Town has been quite a success so far. How has the whole success of the videos, the album, and recognition changed your life directions over the past year? And has it all exceeded any expectations when you put out the album?
Well it has made life a little more interesting for sure, haha! No but it has absolutely exceeded our expectations. I think we had an idea that the music would be received well when we started working on the songs and everything. But you never know when releasing music, so much has to do with timing, luck and other stuff. But the stars seem to have been perfectly aligned and we are totally overwhelmed by the reception we’ve had! We’re super happy, super humble and it’s been super fun!
As to how life has changed, it’s been kind of weird because we’re all grown up men with families, jobs, and ordinary lives. So in one sense things are kind of normal, during the weekdays. But then we have been out quite a lot on weekends lately, playing festivals all over and that’s a totally different beast! We get to be rockstars for a little while you know! But then it’s back to reality, fixing breakfast for kids, going to our regular workplaces and so on. It’s been kind of good to have this happen now, when we can handle all the things happening and keeping our feet on the ground. If this would have happened when we were young teenagers I don’t think we would have handled it as good – or appreciated it like we do now. It’s like we can really take it in and enjoy it now, if you know what I mean.
You guys have played a lot of shows , festivals, opening slots… I am sure there have been many, but are some of the biggest highlights for each of you? Can you mention any favorite bands [ie Kiss] that you have got to check out or meet? [any stories — You have got share stages with a few of my favorites like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Europe…. ] , biggest crowds, etc..
Opening for KISS was awesome for sure, they’re real childhood idols to all of us. We also got to meet them briefly backstage and take a picture. But that was about it, no small talk with Gene really you know, haha! But still very cool! Generally, honestly, we haven’t had the time to watch many other bands. We played the same festival as Europe for instance, but different days. So we missed out on that. But we have met a lot of nice people backstage and talked to a lot of cool people, both artists and others! A fun side note was that when we played Atlas Rock a sound engineer passed us after the gig and complemented the live sound. He told us that he’d better step up his game. So we asked who he was there with, and it was the sound guy for Uriah Heep! Haha, nice compliment! (PS, our sound guy Emil is truly the best btw!)
How much of the album is performed in the band’s live show? And is there any ‘new’ tracks or covers included on occasion?
Depending on how much stage time we have, we’ve played pretty much all the tracks from the album. The only one we haven’t aired live yet is We Are Not Ok, but that might change in the future, we’ll see. Just recently when we played our own hometown Falköping and what we called NESTOR FEST, we played the album tracks, and our new single Signed In Blood, AND the two additional tracks that will be included on the Deluxe Edition of our album that comes out at the end of September. One of those is a cover by the way, and a pretty unexpected choice too I would say! It’s an 80s track, but a big pop hit, but our version sort of! And we also did Gary Moore’s The Loner so our guitar player Jonny could shine a little extra too!
Nestor has signed to Napalm Records. How did that come about and what is the plan – including a 2nd album? [Has writing begun for a 2nd album or is there an estimated released date?]
There will be a 2nd album! Work on that has been started. But as I mentioned, Napalm will release our debut album Kids In A Ghost Town in a Deluxe Edition with 3 additional tracks. The signing with them was pretty undramatic. We had been holding off signing with a label because we were looking for the right partner. And the guys at Napalm seemed to get our thing so we made a deal to work with them, and yeah, the Deluxe version comes out late September. As for the next proper album, when it comes out and so on, nothing has been set yet, but it won’t be another 30 years at least, promise haha!
What might fans expect on a 2nd Nestor album? Anything you guys would like to try differently, cover, or do more of ?
I think that if you liked what we did on the first album, you will like the next one. It’s going to be all centered around the same era, with the 80s music as a stepping stone, sound wise. For us it all comes down to great songs and great melodies. That’s kind of what the 80s was a lot about. But at the same time, we will absolutely look for ways to push boundaries and what Nestor can be, you know. Hopefully it will be awesome, and it definitely won’t be boring!!!
Has there been offers to get on to some tours outside of Europe, such as the UK, Australia , or Canada and the US ? Any plans or wishes to get to certain territories you haven’t played yet? [Would be great to see the band, along with a number of other Swedish acts over here]
There have been some stuff, offers and suggestions, but these things take time in my experience (from being in the music industry for many years). You kind of have to bide your time and work each region or geographical area one step at a time. With that said, we would love to come over to North America for instance. But at the same time, we want to do it properly from the start, and not, you know, half-ass it. But hopefully we’ll see you soon!
Lastly, from Canada here, curious how familiar you guys are with Canadian bands and if you might have a few favorite Canadian bands and albums?
Oh, Canada! We kind of feel that you’re our northern sibling from another time zone, friendly, uncomplicated and just great people! There are a lot of awesome Canadian acts. Rush for sure is one that comes to mind first, I mean, who doesn’t love Rush! And Big Wreck, do they count as Canadian? They were awesome! And you can’t be an 80s admirer and not mention Saga, or Loverboy! And honestly, Nickelback gets a lot of bad rep, but man, Chad knows how to write songs, right? As for newer stuff, The Weekend has been doing some amazing things lately, also with a bit of 80s touch in a way, right? And best album? Tough one, but Reckless by Bryan Adams – Come on!
Links:
Live photos courtesy of Basse Hellgren, taken at Nestorfest . To see more check out – http://www.rockbladet.se
SPIROGYRA was another interesting British band from that golden period of the early ’70s. The band was folk, progressive, psychedelic…Lots of harmonies, soft vocals, acoustic guitars, pianos, synths, flutes, violins and various string instruments.., The band only released 2 singles back in the day, along with these 3 albums, and commercial success eluded them, but they have maintained many followers years later. Plenty of gems among these albums, such as “Cogwheels, Crutches And Cyanide”, “Time Will Tell”, “Dangerous Dave” (a single), “Don’t Let It Get You”, “The Sargent Says”, and “In The Western World”. Very easy going stuff, but lots of stories amongst the songs, and the sweet vocals of Barbara Gaskin, and the distinctive voice of (guitarist) Martin Cockerham. Disc 2 comes with 4 bonus tracks, all outtakes, the best being the upbeat “Melody Maker Man”. Disc 3 contains the bonus track “I Hear You’re Going Somewhere (Joe Really)” – the A side to the band’s 2nd single. The set comes with a 12 page colored booklet complete with photos, liner notes, and interviews telling the band’s story. Well worth picking up if you’re interested, especially considering how much the band’s original LPs go for on Discogs.
*For more info check out the press release, tracklisting, and links below…
• NEW 3CD CLAMSHELL BOXED SET OF THE THREE ALBUMS BY SPIROGYRA RELEASED BETWEEN 1971 AND 1973 • FEATURING THE ALBUMS ‘ST RADIGUNDS’, ‘OLD BOOT WINE’ AND ‘BELLS, BOOTS AND SHAMBLES’. WITH A FULLY ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET
Spirogyra was formed by duo Martin Cockerham and Mark Francis in Bolton in 1968, but the band expanded when Cockerham was a student in Canterbury at the end of 1969. The expanded line-up featured Cockerham (guitar, vocals), Barbara Gaskin (lead vocals), Steve Borrill (bass) and Julian Cusack (violin, keyboards) and secured a contract with B&C Records in 1970. The band’s impressive debut album, ‘St Radigunds’ was issued in 1971 and featured guest drummer Dave Mattacks and Tony Cox on VCS3 Synthesizer. In 1972 the band’s second album, ‘Old Boot Wine’, was released on the Pegasus label, a “progressive” imprint established by B&C. Prior to the recording of the album Mark Francis re- joined the group, and the sessions also saw contributions from guest musicians Dave Mattacks (drums), Julian Cusack (violin, keyboards), Rick Biddulph (mandolin), Alan Laing (cello). With the demise of the Pegasus label, Spirogyra recorded their third album for Polydor. By this time Spirogyra had become a core of Martin Cockerham (guitar, vocals) and Barbara Gaskin (lead vocals) with Steve Borrill (bass) and guest musicians Dave Mattacks (drums), Julian Cusack (violin, keyboards), Henry Lowther (trumpet), John Boyce (cello), Stan Sulzman (flute) and Steve Ashley (whistle). Despite achieving critical praise, Spirogyra failed to enjoy commercial success which ultimately led to their demise. The trio of albums the band recorded between 1971 and 1973 featured music of innovation and originality and are arguably beyond classification. They remain highly regarded and are sought after by collectors and aficionados of the Progressive era. This collection features four bonus tracks recorded during sessions for ‘Old Boot Wine’ and the 1973 single release I Hear You’re Going Somewhere (Joe Really).
Disc One: St Radigunds
The Future Won’t Be Long Island Magical Mary Captain’s Log At Home In The World Cogwheels, Crutches And Cyanide Time Will Tell We Were A Happy Crew Love Is A Funny Thing The Duke Of Beaufoot
Disc Two: Old Boot Wine
Dangerous Dave Van Allen’s Belt Runaway Grandad Wings Of Thunder World’s Eyes Don’t Let It Get You Disraeli’s Problem A Canterbury Tale Bonus tracks Counting The Cars Window Turn Again Lane Melody Maker Man
Disc Three: Bells, Boots And Shambles
The Furthest Point Old Boot Wine Parallel Lines Never Separate Spiggly An Everyday Consumption Song The Sergeant Says In The Western World 1) In the Western World 2) Jungle Lore 3) Coming Back 4) Western World (reprise) Bonus track I Hear You’re Going Somewhere (Joe Really) (A- side of single)
From Finland, Serpico (great name!) has released their 3rd full album – The Chosen Four (cool album cover by Rauli Mard) . A fun set of somewhat ’80s influenced hard rockers. Cool lead off track “Riverbanks” reminds me of early ’80s Kiss (especially that intro). Lots of ‘rock’ here, via anthems “Rock Your Brain”, “I Am A Rocker”, and “Holy Rocks Outta Body” (the latter featuring a nice Chuck Berry sounding inspired intro). All guitar driven rockers, No keyboards! Best cuts being “Midnight Cowboy” and the heavy power ballad “Dark Energy”.
*For more info check out the press bio below …
Finnish rockers Serpico released their latest album “The Chosen Four” this July 1st, via Rockshots Records. The album was produced by platinum-selling Finnish record producer Anssi Kippo (Children of Bodom, Hanna Pakarinen, Teräsbetoni).
“Warmth of full analog sound is the key word on this particular record. There are many things you have been missing out on in music and in the listening experience, I think. We hope fans will pay full attention to the album and go along with the music. I must say there is no way back from the world of analog recording once you step into it. This is the way we are going to do it from this moment on.” adds vocalist Vee Dour.
“People will definitely notice its high quality in songs, production, the sound & versatility if comparing to nowadays, dull sound world n’ song arrangements. Also, there’s a big difference when doing it all by full analog session, which we did. So, it’s gonna stand out pretty easily from the masses, I think. Although I hope so.” also adds drummer Jani Serpico.
Since Serpico‘s inception in 2005, they have released two full-lengths “Rose Tattoo” (2018), ‘Shallow Mistress” (2014), and an EP “Bad Commercial” (2011) along with touring all over Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and England. The band is genuine and unique Rock n’ Roll with big respect for the classic titans.
SERPICO is: Vee Dour – Lead Vocals / Snake – Lead guitars & backing vocals / Andy – Bass & backing vocals / Jani Serpico – Drums & backing vocals.
Tracklisting: 1. Riverbanks 2. Midnight Cowboy 3. Rock Your Brain 4. I Am A Rocker 5. Dark Energy 6. Silent Love 7. Smokin’ Hot Mama 8. Holy Rocks Outta Body 9. The Last Days Of Monopoly
The fifth album under the Lonely Robot name is to be released August 26th… I have to admit I wasn’t overly familiar with John Mitchell until his performances on Phil Lanzon’s (Uriah Heep) 2 excellent solo albums (If You Think I’m Crazy, 2017, and 48 Seconds, 2019). His vocals on Lanzon’s albums made me curious about his other work – such as It Bites and Arena. A Model Life is full of fine melodies and well crafted songs & productions from the opener “Recalibrating”, the softer ballad “Species In Transition” (with a cool guitar solo), the excellent title song, and “Rain Kings” (somewhat of a ballad, John reminds me of Peter Gabriel on occasion). But really, this album of 10 tracks has a lot going on, progressive, very modern / fresh sounding, great vocals, and it gets better with each listen, as there is so much going on with differences from song to song.
*for more info check out the press bio and links below…
A lone soldier on the frontlines of creativity, John Mitchell has been at the forefront of forward thinking and progressive rock for decades now. As a member of such revered prog ensembles as It Bites, Arena, Frost* and his own projects Kino and The Urbane, he has become a uniquely vital contributor to the modern scene, while his credentials as a producer for countless contemporary rock acts are unquestionable. But since 2015, John has been operating under name Lonely Robot: a solo project in all but name, it has enabled him to fully express his own musical vision, via some of the most vivid and fascinating music of his career to date.
Remarkably, Lonely Robot’s catalogue is already four albums deep. From 2015’s cosmic debut Please Come Home and its grandiose follow-up The Big Dream (2017), to the multifarious charms of 2019’s Under Stars and most recent full-length Feelings Are Good (2020), John has cemented his reputation as a prolific and inspirational songwriter. Two years on from his last release, the Lonely Robot is back in action again in 2022. The fifth album to bear the name, A Model Life is John Mitchell’s first communication to a post-pandemic world.
“The truth is, I only ever intended to make three albums and then stop,” he laughs. “Then we got to the end of the three albums and I had a discussion with the label about maybe not releasing the next one under the name Lonely Robot, but with true Germanic business sense, they said, ‘We have established the brand now!’ So then everyone’s wondering where the guy in the spacesuit has gone! But I don’t really care what it’s called, as long as I get to keep making music. The thing I find most freeing about Lonely Robot is that I can just sit there on my own, get on with it at my own pace and not wait around for other people!”
If the first four Lonely Robots offered wistful, sci-fi-tinged observations on the state of things, A Model Life is perhaps understandably infused with the anxieties and ominous omens of the real life, present day. As John explains, the new songs have a little more grit under their fingernails than any of their predecessors; even if the relentlessly inventive, melodic splurge of his songwriting remains soundly intact.
“A lot of shit has happened, and one quite traumatizing thing was that I split up with my girlfriend of 16 years and it hit me very hard,” he says. “Then quite a few people I know died, and that hit me very hard. I thought, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. What happened to the forever ever after, into the sunset? That’s where the title comes from, A Model Life. It’s about what people’s fantasies of what they would like their lives to be, rather than what they actually are. Endless positive affirmation on social media and everything looking pure and white and like an Enya video. So every song is about being pissed off about someone or other. There’s no robots or space or anything!”
An album that brims with frustration at the state of things, while tugging remorselessly at the heart strings, A Model Life is plainly the most honest and vulnerable Lonely Robot record to date. From opener Recalibrating, which muses on the aftermath of a broken relationship, and Digital God Machine – a sardonic tribute to keyboard warriors everywhere, to the boys-don’t-cry pathos of Rain Kings and the absurdly moving, adoption-themed Duty Of Care, these new songs provide a scattershot but profoundly emotional soundtrack to a restless and uncertain world.
“Recalibrating is about splitting up with somebody and the nail goes into your head and you realize that there is no second act for that relationship. Digital God Machine is about fucking morons in their bedrooms, typing hate at people like me for writing music and thinking they know better. Then there’s The Island Of Misfit Toys, which is about people that don’t have a sense of belonging. I like the analogy of knackered toys with eyes hanging out, for people who don’t fit in and are socially awkward… a bit like myself! I was thinking about an article I read about how Google go out of their way to employ people on the autistic spectrum, because they’re much better at figures and numbers. One day those people will take over the world!”
In musical terms, A Model Life marks a notable departure from the synth-fueled futurism of 2020’s Feelings Are Good. Songs like the darkly euphoric Starlit Stardust and the tense sprawl of Species In Transitions are full of punchy riffs and blazing solos, not to mention all the ingenious instrumentation and studio trickery that John Mitchell has made such an essential part of his music.
“I do think this record is different,” he notes. “There’s lots of weird sounds and soundscapes. I’m just trying to make odd sounds out of things. On Digital God Machine, that’s me beating the shit out of a cello through a distortion pedal. At the risk of sounding like Peter Gabriel, there’s a lot of ethnic elements like marimbas and things I haven’t used before. I was under a self-imposed solo ban for the last Frost* record, so I really went overboard and played too many guitar solos this time. The last album was all about synthesizers, but this one is all about getting back to what I think I probably do best, so it’s all about guitar playing again.”
Yet another career peak from one of modern prog’s most prolific polymaths, A Model Life hits harder than any previous Lonely Robot record, but with a warmth and wit that few can match. Meanwhile, with long-awaited tour dates tentatively etched into the horizon, John Mitchell declares himself ready and cautiously optimistic for whatever the future holds.
“There’s a tour in February and some dates in Europe. But if the various hoops we have to jump through haven’t been sorted by then, When we planned this tour it was three albums ago, so I don’t know what I’m doing anymore! [Laughs] I’m really proud of A Model Life, so I might focus on that. I’ve got no idea what I’m going to play because I’ve got far too many songs! I’m sure I’ll put my nose back to the grindstone soon and make another album too.”
Austin, Texas based doom-metal act SPIRIT ADRIFT release their 5th album – 20 Centuries Gone. The band started as a project by guitarist/songwriter Nathan Garrett over a decade ago. 20 Centuries Gone features 2 original tracks and 6 covers. The 2 new tracks lead off the disc, “Sorcerer’s Fate” is a good lead off rocker, with influences of Iron Maiden and Metallica, followed by “Mass Formation Psychosis”, which is a bit more dark, and a bit of more of a Sabbath or Black Label Society feel, but dig the guitar sound here. Of the others , I am not much of a fan of a few bands covered, but I do like the band’s take on Thin Lizzy’s “Waiting For An Alibi” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Poison Whiskey” – nicely done! The band’s own songs are the most interesting here, so interested in hearing more of the catalogue.
*for more info and see press release & tracklisting below…
Photo credit: Dave Creaney
SPIRIT ADRIFT expand their prolific catalogue with “20 Centuries Gone”, a collection of two new original songs and six cover songs that span the timeline of the band’s most foundational influences. Featuring artwork by Brian Mercer (Lamb of God, High on Fire, Mastodon), and mixed by Zeuss (Overkill, Crowbar, Municipal Waste), this release is a powerful journey through the past, present, and future of trad-metal’s most exciting new band.
Available on August 19th via Century Media, “20 Centuries Gone” sees SPIRIT ADRIFT put their trademark swagger on classics from Type O Negative, Pantera, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd..
SPIRIT ADRIFT mastermind Nate Garrett comments: “I always thought it would be a cool experience to record some songs by bands that are foundational to the DNA of SPIRIT ADRIFT. These choices are obvious and on the nose to me, but maybe unexpected to the fans. That made the whole thing a lot of fun. A band like Lynyrd Skynyrd might not be the first thing you think of when considering SPIRIT ADRIFT’s influences, so the task for me became figuring out how to honor these great songs, but in the distinct SPIRIT ADRIFT style. To make the whole thing even more special, I channeled these influences and wrote a couple of new songs to kick things off.”
Regarding the band’s own track “Sorcerer’s Fate”, Garret continues, “When I wrote this one, I was obsessing over the film director William Friedkin. I’ve been a fan of his since I saw ‘The Exorcist’ as a kid, but when I discovered the documentary ‘Leap of Faith’, it sparked a much deeper interest in the man and his process. I started watching as many of his interviews as I could find, and I read his autobiography which was just amazing. Friedkin’s life and art are inseparable. His human experience, search for higher truth, and borderline-psychotic level of obsession/perfectionism all coalesce into his artwork. I relate to that on a profound level. This song is about our search for purpose, and humanity’s struggle to understand ‘the mysteries of faith and fate.’ Musically, I would say it’s one of our heaviest and most straightforward songs. Inspired equally by New Orleans sludge, flipped-cap crossover, and Scandinavian metal, but with the distinct SPIRIT ADRIFT sound and approach.”
Track listing: 1. Sorcerer’s Fate 2. Mass Formation Psychosis 3. Everything Dies (Type O Negative) 4. Hollow (Pantera) 5. Escape (Metallica) 6. Waiting for an Alibi (Thin Lizzy) 7. Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings (ZZ Top) 8. Poison Whiskey (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
The band is currently on tour, check out their website for dates.
BABE RUTH was one of those unique British progressive bands, originally lead by guitarist / writer Alan Shacklock, and featuring the vocals of Jenny Haan. Alan was a member of The Juniors in the ’60s, along with Mick Taylor and the Glasscock brothers. After The Juniors, the band evolved in to The Hi Numbers and The Favourite Sons. Shacklock went on to work with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds before eventually forming Babe Ruth. Following the 3rd album Shacklock left (tho he contributed to Stealin’ Home). The band carried on with Bernie Marsden on guitar for 2 more albums, with the 5th and final album not including any original members! Bassist Dave Hewitt would go on to work with Whitford/St Holmes and Georgia Satellites, Haan recorded a solo single in ’79, while Shacklock went on to a lengthy career as a producer. The original band reformed decades later, even releasing a new album in 2009 (Que Pasa).
This 3 CD set features the band’s first 3 albums, on Harvest Records. The debut First Base is perhaps the band’s most easily recognizable, with the Roger Dean artwork, and classic like heavy rockin’ “Wells Fargo”, as well as their best known cut “The Mexican”, and favorites “Black Dog”, the ballad “The Runaways”, and a cover of Frank Zappa’s “King Kong”. *A few bonus tracks on this one, notably the pop-rock single “Ain’t That Livin'”.
The band followed that up with the album Amar Caballero, and it is quite different than the debut, as the band takes on more influences of soul, r & b, and Spanish music. There’s plenty of strings, flutes, congas, trumpets, sax…. Not overly rockin’, but a pretty interesting album. The cover (created by Hypnosis) features a photo of horses out in the desert (Poco anyone?). This disc features favorites “Gimme Some Leg” (which features a couple of heavy solos from Shacklock), and the funky “Doctor Love”. *Includes the bonus track “If Heaven’s On Beauty’s Side”, which was released as a single in ’74, and it’s the only real hard rock’ track here.
The band’s 3rd album was self-titled, featuring a slightly more interesting cover of bandmembers dressed as characters from another era. And this one is back on track, and the band’s hardest rockin’ with heavy hitters like “Dancer” and “Somebody’s Nobody” – which kicked off this album, as well as “Jack O’ Lantern”, and ‘ “Sad But Rich”. A couple of excellent covers included on this album – Curtis Mayfield’s “We People Darker Than Blue” the theme to “A Fistful Of Dollars” (by Italian composer Ennio Morricone), and Booker T Jones’ “Private Number” (which featured Shacklock sharing lead vocals) was issued as a single (single edit here as ‘bonus’ track). The heavy ballad “The Duchess Of Orleans” was the other single from this album. This last of the trio is the best of the era IMO, and it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a huge charting success for the band. Oh well….but you can check ’em out in this package!
*For more info, check out the press & bio info below…
• NEW 3CD CLAMSHELL BOXED SET OF THE ALBUMS AND SINGLES BY THE BAND BABE RUTH RECORDED FOR THE HARVEST LABEL BETWEEN 1972 AND 1975 • FEATURING THE ALBUMS ‘FIRST BASE’, ‘AMAR CABALLERO’ AND ‘BABE RUTH’. • NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL HARVEST MASTER TAPES WITH AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET FEATURING AN ESSAY
Babe Ruth was formed Iin Hatfield in 1970 by guitarist Alan Shacklock and featured vocalist Janita “Jenny” Haan, bassist Dave Hewitt and drummer Jeff Allen. Their unique brand of soulful Progressive Rock soon gained many admirers and in 1972 they signed a contract with EMI Records’ Progressive imprint, Harvest. By this time Jeff Allen had departed and Dick Powell joined on drums. The band’s line-up was also expanded by the arrival of keyboard player Dave Punshon. Babe Ruth stood out from many of their labelmates, partly due to Haan’s vocals and through the band’s ability to generate a soulful edge to their music. Their debut album, ‘First Base’ was issued in 1972 and featured the classic tracks ‘Wells Fargo’ and ‘The Mexican’ (later covered by Jellybean Benitez in 1984), which gained considerable air play in Canada (where the album gained Gold Disc status) and the USA, but the record inexplicably failed to match this success in the UK. The arrival of Chris Holmes on keyboards and new drummer Ed Spevock in 1974 saw them follow their debut with ‘Amar Caballero’, before the band’s final album for Harvest in 1975, the eponymous ‘Babe Ruth’ which was a hit in the USA and Canada and featured the band’s memorable cover of the theme from the film A Fistful Of Dollars and the Curtis Mayfield composition ‘We People Darker Than Blue’. Soon after the album’s release Alan Shacklock departed the band (to be replaced by Bernie Marsden) and Babe Ruth moved labels to Capitol Records.
Tracklisting:
Wells Fargo The Runaways King Kong Black Dog The Mexican (Interpolating Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu) Joker Bonus tracks Wells Fargo (single version) Theme from A Few Dollars More (B-side of single) Ain’t That Livin’ (A-side of single) We Are Holding On (B-side of single)
Lady Broken Cloud Gimmie Some Leg Baby Pride Cool Jerk We Are Holding On Doctor Love Amar Caballero a) El Caballero de la Reina Isabella b) Hombre de la Guitarra c) El Testament De ‘Amelia Bonus track If Heaven’s On Beauty’s Side (A-side of single)
Dancer Somebody’s Nobody A Fistful Of Dollars We People Darker Than Blue Jack O’Lantern Private Number Turquoise Sad But Rich The Duchess of Orleans Bonus track Private Number (single version
Sweden’s LUGNET have recorded 3 albums; including their brand new album – Tales From The Great Beyond, which will be released on August 26. Over the past few years the band went through a few changes, and their new album will appeal to classic hard rock and metal fans, with heavy influences of Rainbow, Sabbath, and a few ’80s metal acts. (*Check out my review in a previous post) . In this new interview bandmembers – (Johan Fahlberg, Lennart “Z” Zethzon, Matti Norlin, Fredrik Jansson-Punkka, and Micke Linder) answer my questions pertaining to the band’s previous work, influences, and most importantly about their excellent new disc Tales From The Great Beyond.
*Check out more on the band at the links below….
How was reaction to the band’s previous 2 albums, and what did you want to do [perhaps] differently on the new album?
Lennart Zethzon: Overall the reaction has been very good for the first two albums. What we might have lacked a bit is in the production part. For the third album we decided to focus more on the recording and mixing. We also wanted to record with the whole band at the same time to get a live feeling. For the first two albums we only recorded Drums and Bass at the same time.
Where did the band’s name come from – what is the meaning behind it?
Jansson Punkka: There is a small area close to where we had our first rehearsal space called Lugnet. Our old guitarist Bonden suggested it and it stuck. It means calm in Swedish. Oh the irony…
Can you guys tell me about the band’s last few years since 2019’s Nightwalker album — what’s changed in the band? And was the new album conceived and written during the pandemic?
Jansson Punkka: When the pandemic hit we were lucky enough not to have that much booked so we spent a year writing and arranging songs instead. We also got a new guitar player called Micke Linder that joined us in 2019.
The title Tales From The Great Beyond might suggest some sort of concept of stories [storyline]. Why the album title? and is there any themes or concept to this new album?
Jansson Punkka: No not really, the title just came to me one day, thought it sounded nice and majestic and fitting for the music. Could be the title of an old novel.
There is definitely a ’70s hard rock feel / sound to this album. Was there any sorta deliberate approach to make it sound a bit old school?
Jansson Punkka: We have always sounded like this so it wasn’t like we planned it. In fact I would say that we might be leaning a bit towards the early 80’s on some of the songs. Lennart Zethzon: In the mixing and mastering we decided to not press it to hard and let it be more dynamic.
Can you give me a bit of story behind a few of the songs, like Pale Design, Black Sails, Another World, ..? [and any others]
Johan Fahlberg: I guess all of them are about the search for a better place, a better you. Trying to find the inner peace in your self. A life long struggle. I know, it’s a little bit dark but there’s sunshine too, hahaha…Pale Design is about a nightmare, but also a dream of a better world and a better life. Black Sails is a feeling of being not normal, being an outsider. A feeling of people looking at you with disgust. Only thing you want is to live your life and be who you are without judgment. Another World is a story of how hard you try to stand your ground and believing in the truth. The struggle to navigate through what’s real and what’s fake, and everyone that believes they have all the right answers.
There is lots of great heavy guitar playing on this album [riffs, solos, etc…] Can you guys talk a bit about guitar influences and sounds you wanted and how the guitar parts were worked out in the studio?
Mike: For me sound-wise for this band it’s very simple; just my early 70’s sounding Fender Strat’ into a 1971 Marshall Superlead on about 8; that combined with Matti’s a bit more saturated guitar tone I think creates a well balanced, quite heavy humbucker/single coil rhythm guitar sound on this album, with good clarity for the clean parts. Guitar players that I look up to and have listened to a lot over the years and probably been a bit influenced by: Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Morse, Billy Gibbons…
Matti: I wanted the guitar to sound like a mix of AC/DC and early Black Sabbath. Loud. We worked out the parts in our rehearsal studio.
Carl Westholm plays the keyboards on some of the album tracks [?] Was he just recording with the band as a ‘guest’ or might he be performing with the band live?
Lennart Zethzon: Carl was just recording as a guest but who knows, maybe he will guest with us live sometime as well.
Can someone explain the meaning of the final track “Tåsjö Kyrkmarsch”? It’s quite a piece, and a nice ending to the album. Where did the musical idea and idea to use it at the end come from?
Matti Norlin: Tåsjö is a village close to where I grew up, and the place where the church is located in that area. I came up with the tune around year 2000, and wrote it down for church organ in 2016 to be played at my father’s funeral in that church (where I also made the recording for our album).
What have been some of the bandmembers biggest and favorite shows in recent years? [certain festivals or opening slots for anyone in particular?] And what major shows have you got coming up that you guys are looking forward to?
It must be Sweden Rock Festival 2018. We played at the same time as Ozzy entered the main stage. One could think that it would give us a reduced audience, but we managed to get around 4000 people choosing Lugnet instead of Ozzy. We got a great review in Sweden Rock Magazine, 8/10 and Ozzy got a 7/10 :))
Can you tell me a bit about the album’s artwork – who created it and how much input and who’s went in to it?
Jansson Punkka: Vance Kelly did the artwork, he did our first album as well. Such an amazing artist. We sent him the songs and let him do his thing and it turned out great. It’s one of those covers that you could look at forever and still find new things. Make sure to buy the vinyl version if you want to see the whole artwork.
Hard Rock and metal seems to be alive and well in Sweden. Can you comment on the scene there and some of your favorite [or recommended] fellow Swedish acts ?
Jansson Punkka: There is a band called Stew that we had the pleasure of doing a couple of gigs this year. Really nice guys and a great band as well.
Can each of you guys give me a short list of a few favorite players, singers, etc… as well as a Top 10 of favorite albums from your youth?
Jansson Punkka: Favorite drummer of all times would be Bill Ward, if we’re talking about new drummers Eloy Casagrande is something out of this world. Favorite albums: The first 8 Sabbath-Albums, Born Again and “En ny tid är här with November.
Matti Norlin: In this style of music I list as follows: Guitarists: Angus Young, Ace Frehley Albums: Master of reality, Rising, Powerage, Who Do We think we are, Kiss Alive, Iron Maiden, Restless And Wild, Are You Experienced, Sweet FA and Melissa.
Johan Fahlberg Singers: Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Ian Gillan, Ray Gillen Albums: Destroyer, Van Halen, A Dangerous Meeting, Let There Be Rock, Defenders Of The Faith, Restless And Wild, Masters Of Reality, Heaven And Hell, Desolation Boulevard, Never Mind The Bollocks.
Lennart Zethzon: In this style of music: Bass players: Jack Bruce, Geezer Butler, Roger Glover and Neil Murray Albums: Destroyer, Kiss Alive II, The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, Mob Rules, Mahogany Rush IV, Made in Japan, Rising, Live In the Heart of the City, Strung Up, Foghat Live.
Mike: A few of my favorite rock oriented electric guitar players of all time would be Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Gilbert, Eric Clapton, Mark Knophler, Eddie Van Halen…there’s so many… Favorite albums: Machine Head, In Rock, Burn, Voulez Vous, Dark Side Of The Moon, Led Zeppelin IV, Down To Earth, Tyr, Paper Money, Eliminator
Newly expanded and 45th anniversary edition of the first Golden Earring Live album. Remastered from the original IBC Studios master tapes. Featuring 5 bonus tracks, including 3 previously unreleased recordings from the concert in Brugge in March 1977, Including a 30-page booklet with a new essay, memorabilia, and photos Founded in 1961 by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, Dutch rock band Golden Earring (or Golden Earrings, until 1969) started off as a beatband, experimented as a psychedelic quartet and finally became a heavy rock group. Their ninth album Moontan (1973) hit the international album charts and is the band’s most successful album in the United States, being the only Golden Earring album to be certified Gold by the RIAA, alongside the classic single “Radar Love”, that reached #10 on the Cash Box Top 100 and #13 in Billboard in the United States.
Live is the band’s first live (double) album released in 1977. With it’s long, spun-out versions of classic Golden Earring songs, this record is vastly different from other live registrations by the band. It’s also one of only three albums featuring guitarist Eelco Gelling as a band member, adding a new dimension to the band’s sound. Furthermore, this album emphasizes Golden Earring’s strong rhythm section on swinging songs like “Mad Love’s Comin’” and “Radar Love”. Live celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2022 and has been being remastered for the first time from the original IBC Studios master tapes. It includes three bonus tracks recorded during the concert in March 1977 in Brugge and the double A-sided single “Radar Love/Just Like Vince Taylor” which was issued to promote the album and features edit versions of the respectable album tracks. In addition, a DVD entitled Golden Earring Live features four tracks filmed at the IJsselhallen in Zwolle on 28th August 1977, which were broadcasted on Dutch television four weeks later. This footage has been restored and remastered from the original 16 mm film reels. The 2LP edition of Live (remastered & expanded) has been released by Music On Vinyl on 10th June 2022. This 2CD+DVD edition of Live is the second volume in a special series of remastered & expanded albums by Golden Earring, overseen by Red Bullet catalogue and band archivist Woute Bessels.
TRACKLISTING 2CD: Original album version remastered plus bonus tracks CD1-
Candy’s Going Bad 5.06 She Flies On Strange Wings 8.09 Mad Love’s Comin’ 9.49 Eight Miles High 10.06 Vanilla Queen 11.42 To The Hilt 6.40 Fightin’ Windmills 8.50 Con Man 9.20
CD 2
Radar Love 11.16 / Just Like Vince Taylor 6.24 BONUS TRACKS: Fightin’ Windmills (Brugge 1977) 7.50 / Eight Miles High (Brugge 1977) 9.13 / I Need Love (Brugge 1977) 6.45 / Radar Love (single version) 4.46 / Just Like Vince Taylor (single version) 4.00
DVD: Golden Earring Live
Mad Love’s Comin’ / Leather / Radar Love / Just Like Vince Taylor
Live (remastered & expanded) was released by Red Bullet Productions on 29th July 2022 and is available through all renowned worldwide music dealers and online shops
Outsider Rock 