Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster (Remastered and Expanded)

When The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown came to an end in 1969, two members of the final lineup, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer, decided to form a new band and Atomic Rooster was born.  Rounded out by Nick Graham on bass, they recorded their debut album before both Graham and Palmer left the band.  Over the ensuing years and a multitude of member changes (including expanding to a four-piece at one point), they released five albums, with Crane the only consistent member, before calling it a day in 1975.  Fast forward to 1980 when Crane and John Du Cann, who had been in the band on guitar and vocals from 1970 to 1971, decided to give the band another go with session musician Preston Heyman, who left the band after recording the album.  The resulting release was the self-titled Atomic Rooster (not to be confused with their debut Atomic Roooster), which has now been remastered and reissued in this new edition that also includes eleven bonus tracks, and a second disc recorded live at the Marquee Club in 1980.   

While their last two releases before the breakup had more of a soul influence, this album found them shifting back in a hard rock and prog direction, taking influences from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that was hot at the time, along with some elements of punk (Du Cann's vocals were notably different here with more of a punk snarl). The album starts strongly with "They Took Control Of You", which opens with screeching guitars and is a powerful, all-out rocker that's musically very reminiscent of Deep Purple (especially thanks to Crane's organ work), but with a touch of punk.  "She's My Woman" and "He Did It Again" are a couple of muscular rockers, the latter of which has more emphasis on the organ, giving it a bit more of a prog element with hints of Argent. While not totally punk, "Where's The Show?" really shows their punkier side.  At almost seven minutes, "In The Shadows" is a very organ driven track that is dark and a little evil sounding and in more of a prog direction.  The punk influence shows up once again on "Do You know Who's Looking For You," a track that is more aggressive but still with plenty of keys.  "Don't Lose Your Mind" has more of a classic rock sound that is reminiscent of the band's early days.  Instrumental "Watch Out!" is a solid prog instrumental that at times brings to mind Yes, although it's a bit faster at times.   ”I Can’t Stand It” is a fun rocker with a punky attitude that’s kind of upbeat with sprightly keys giving it a bit of a bounce, and closer “Lost In Space” is another more prog influenced track.  Rounding out the first disc are eleven bonus tracks starting off with “Throw Your Life Away” (originally released as a b-side), a high energy track that really showcases Du Cann’s guitar work and has more of his old school vocals, and “Broken Windows,” an unreleased, hard-driving rocker that was possibly initially recorded as a b-side.  Next up are four demos of songs that ended up on the album and four more that were recorded for a potential follow-up album before Du Cann left the band again.  They include the muscular rock of “End Of The Day” (released a year later as a single by a different incarnation of the band) and “Play It Again,” and the bluesy, soulful “Hold It Through The Night.”  The final bonus track is the short instrumental “Moonrise”, that is just listed as “last recording 1981.”

As was mentioned earlier, after the album was recorded, Heyman left the band and was replaced for a very short time by Ginger Baker followed by the return of Paul Hammond.  At this point the band was back to the lineup that recorded their sophomore album Death Walks Behind You.  This is who played in 1980 at The Marquee in London, which is documented here on disc two.  It was originally recorded on cassette on a single onstage microphone, so it definitely has that bootleg feel, but considering how it was recorded, it sounds extremely good and really puts you right in the middle of the action.  The band sounds really tight and the performance is strong, which is even more impressive since they hadn't been back together that long.  Along with four songs from the Atomic Rooster album, there are five from Death Walks Behind You along with "Devil's Answer," which had been released as a single back in 1971. These earlier cuts tend to be a little heavier than they were originally, putting them more in line with the rest of the set.  This disc is a great addition to this release that shows where the band was at that time.     

(Esoteric Recordings)

Elephant - III

For the past four years, with two albums and an EP under their belt, Rotterdam’s Elephant (Frank Schalkwijk, Michael Broekhuizen, Bas Vosselman and Kaj van Driel) have been the band I’ve returned to more than any other.  Like its predecessor, album number three (simply titled III) has everything that makes them sound like Elephant, but also finds them experimenting, which keeps things fresh and ever evolving.  While lyrically it’s a bit darker than most of their previous songs, the sunshine pop of opening cut (and first single) “For A Friend,” with its lazy groove and hooky chorus, brings to mind their earlier work.  When it was released as their second single, “20 K” took me completely by surprise.  You can still hear elements of their sound, but with its electro hip-hop beat, vocoder and noisier guitars, they have created an absolutely hypnotic track that’s unlike anything they’ve released before.  “You Wanted The Same” is melancholy dream pop with fantastic vocal interplay between Frank and labelmate Sofie Winterson.  She also appears on their unexpected cover of Blink 182’s “Always,” which finds them taking the core of the original with its upbeat bounce and making it all their own.  At just over six minutes, “Trust Me I Feel It Too” is a cool, laid-back cut that will have you gently swaying back and forth and has some really interesting guitar work that at times gives it a disoriented, almost dizzying, effect and also has a a long instrumental ending with some subtle “Joe Meek-like” space sounds.  Juxtaposed with darker lyrics, the stunning “Tried To Sleep” is a largely acoustic cut that puts a modern-day spin on the West Coast singer / songwriter sounds of the seventies and also has some really nice jazzy guitar work in the middle.  “Memories” again brings to mind their earlier work with a touch of alt country that really comes through in the guitar work.  The mesmerizing “Real Love” has some strong shoegaze elements, while “When You’re Down,” featuring Dewolff’s Pablo Van de Poel, who has also produced all their releases, is a simple, stripped-down tune with more great guitar work.  The experimentation is at the forefront once more with closing track “For A Friend Pt 2,” an ethereal instrumental soundscape enhanced by the sounds of a crackling fire.  Not to beat a dead horse, but as has been the case the case with their prior releases, III is easily one of my favorite albums of the year. 

(Excelsior Recordings / Elephant)

Madball - True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years

Back in the mid-eighties, when future Madball frontman Freddy Crucien was just a kid, he would get onstage with his brother, legendary Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret, and perform some lead vocals.  Fast forward a few years to 1988 and Madball became a full-fledged band with Cricien on vocals and Miret on bass along with fellow Agnostic Front members Vinnie Stigma on guitar and Will Shepler on drums.  They released a couple of EP's in 1988 and 1992 (second guitarist, and another former AF member Matt Henderson joined between EP's), and then in 1994 they signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, who released their first three albums.  Now, with the release of True To The Game - The Roadrunner Years, those releases have been combined into an outstanding box set.

Set If Off kicks the box set off, and features Jorge ‘Hoya Roc’ Guerra on bass, replacing Miret who had left the band at this point.  With it being their full-length debut and featuring so many former Agnostic Front members, that band is more of an influence here than on future releases.  Tracks like “Lockdown,” “Never Had It,” “Face To Face” and “Across Your Face” are hard-hitting and angry, but almost always have a slower moment to take a breath.  There is also a sign of what was to come on future albums on tracks like “It’s Time” and “Down By Law,” (the video for this song got a lot of attention on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball), which have a bit of a groove.  Interestingly, the album ends with their aggressive cover of Agnostic Front’s “Friend Or Foe.”

Between their debut and album number two, Demonstrating My Style, Vinnie left the band.  This album found them embracing the groove element even more, which is evident from the get-go with the opening title track, along with cuts like “Pride (Times Are Changing)” and “5-O".  “Godfather” is another interesting shift with instrumental breaks that are almost hardcore hip hop.  They once again close this album with an Agnostic Front cover, “Your Fall”, which is actually a hidden bonus track.  

Look My Way was the band’s final album on Roadrunner.  They continued as a four-piece, but John Lafata had replaced Shepler on drums.  Quite a few of the songs here, like the title track, “Waste Of Time” and “Cut Off,” are slower, but still lose nothing in the intensity department.  Having said that there are plenty of powerful fast-paced cuts like “Moment Of Truth” and “All I Can Take.”  Songs like “Fools Die” and “Lesson Of Life” also delve a little more into the metal side of things. Another track of note is “Our Family”, a reworking of “Nuestra Familia” from the previous album, that is their first song sung in Spanish.  True To The Game does a great job of consolidating this chapter of the Madball story, which still continues to this day, although with Cricien as the only remaining member from this era.  Also included is a great booklet with in-depth interviews with Cricien, Henderson and Shepler, as well as video director Drew Stone and Howie Abrams, the A&R person that signed them to Roadrunner.     

(Dissonance Productions)

Gentlemen Rogues - Half Empty, Half Fool / Children Of The Revolution single  

With it's punchy, yet jangly, guitars, the energetic, hook-heavy power pop gem "Half Empty, Half Fool," from Austin’s Gentlemen Rogues is a hook-heavy, power pop gem that would fit right in with Bob Mould in his Sugar days.  The track is taken from last year's full-length release Surface Noise and is the a-side of their new single released on vinyl to coincide with their Midwest tour.  The opaque pink 7” is limited to 100 copies that will only be available at shows on that tour while supplies last (the digital version is available on Bandcamp).  The flipside is a fantastic cover of the T-Rex classic “Children Of The Revolution," that  maintains the glam core of the original, but with a heavier, more muscular sound, that keeps it fresh.  

(Gentlemen Rogues - Bandcamp)

Quireboys - Hey You! The Parlaphone Years 1989-1993

In the mid to late eighties, while bands like Guns N Roses, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat and more were emerging from the LA rock scene, The Quireboys were among the bands coming out of a similar scene in London.  Hey You! The Parlophone Years 1989-1993 documents the first phase of their career and contains their first two albums along with an expanded version of their 1990 live album Live Around the World and bonus tracks consisting of b-sides, live cuts and demos from that era.  

They released their debut A Bit Of What You Fancy… in 1990 and the influence of The Faces, and to a lesser degree The Rolling Stones, is evident throughout the majority of the album.  They also throw in a little glam at times, which helps set them apart.  While they have been quite successful in the UK, the promise of US success was there initially with the single “7 O’Clock” hitting fifteen on the US Mainstream Rock Charts, but unfortunately it never happened.  That single opens the album and has a bluesy bar room rock swagger with some great piano and does a great job of setting the tone for what’s to come.  “Man On The Loose” is up next and is similar with more of that bar room swagger.  It’s more reminiscent of The Rolling Stones with some strong guitar work and a slower section highlighted by some gospel backing vocals, which are also present on “Whippin’ Boy”, a slower, down and dirty blues track highlighted by a string section that gives it a haunting mood.  The anthemic “Sex Party” seems to always get the crowd going at the live shows, but to me it’s a little dated, sounding like bluesy hair metal.  Starting off acoustic before going electric, the country-tinged rock of “Sweet Mary Ann,” an album standout, takes a page straight out of the Rod Stewart handbook, as does “Roses & Rings,” a slower rootsy acoustic track with some fiddle (even the guitars on this one have a Rod Stewart vibe).  All the pieces really come together on “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” a slow, rootsy ballad (with some big dramatic ballad moments thanks to the string section) that sounds like it was made for the US charts, but for some reason only hit seventy-six.  While it’s a pretty straightforward anthemic rocker, “Hey You” has some great slide guitar that really sets it apart.  The Stones once again come to mind on “Misled,” a honky tonk rocker with more strong piano, while “Long Time Comin’” is a solid bluesy rocker, although a little nondescript.  “There She Goes Again” is quite different than anything else on the album with a bit of a Springsteen / Southside Johnny vibe, especially with the horns and the chorus.  The album closes fittingly with “Take Me Home”, a gritty rocker that walks the line between The Faces and The Stones.  Disc one also includes three bonus tracks with the bluesy rock of “Pretty Girls” and The Stones-like “How Do You Feel?” (both originally on the Japanese version of the album) and the original version of “Mayfair”, an earlier single that is a raw, down and dirty bluesy glam track.

 In late 1991 the band started working with producer Bob Rock on their sophomore effort.  Due to problems at their label and Rock's other commitments, the album had numerous delays which caused them to bring in Chris Kimsey to help with the production.  The end result, Bitter Sweet & Twisted was finally released in late 1993, and while it’s not as strong as its predecessor, there are plenty of great tracks to be found, with the opener “Tramps And Thieves” a perfect example.  The influence of The Faces definitely shows on the bluesy rock track, full of dirty slide guitar and rollicking bar room piano.  The high points continue with “White Trash Blues” with its shuffling blues swagger along with solid piano and horns, and “Can’t Park Here”, a hard driving rock cut with a strong old school blues undercurrent.  Up next are a couple of the weaker tracks in “King of New York,” an over-the-top ballad that is a little too generic and “hair metal”, and “Don’t Bite The Hand,” a rocker with a bit of a Stones vibe that just seems to be missing something.  “Last Time” is a rootsy, largely acoustic, ballad that finds Spike in full Rod Stewart mode and works much better than the earlier one.  A bit of a departure, “Debbie” is sleaze rock with a tongue in cheek swagger and plenty of horns.  Their cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie” is a really fun take on the song, keeping the spirit of the original while giving it The Quireboys treatment.  Next up is the slow burning, bluesy rock of “Ode To You (Baby Just Walk),” followed by “Hates To Please,” which is virtually pure straight ahead country rock complete with pedal steel.  Although the next track “My Saint Jude” is a somewhat generic rock track, the final three songs are among the album’s strongest.  “Take No Revenge” is slow, smoldering blues rock highlighted with some great organ, while Wild, Wild, Wild” is a strong rocker, once again reminiscent of The Faces, and closer “Ain’t Love Blind” is a little more on the pop side, making for a fun track with a hint of glam.  Three more bonus tracks, all originally released as b-sides, are included on disc two.  It’s no surprise “Pleasure And Pain” was relegated to a b-side.  It’s a somewhat soulful tune with a lot of horns that comes across like a band trying too hard for a hit and strangely sounds like late eighties, early nineties era Rod Stewart.  On the other hand, “Best Jobs” is loose, acoustic tune full of saloon piano that just sounds like them sitting around playing and having a good time and “Can’t Get Through” is classic, high energy Quireboys that could’ve replaced any number of songs on the album and made it better.  

For fans that like to dig a little deeper, disc three is a treasure trove with twenty demos from the sessions recorded during these first two albums.  First up are demos of eight tracks that ended up on the debut along with two of the b-sides found on disc one.  While many of them aren’t too far removed from the album cuts, several are notably different.  “I Don’t Love You Anymore” and “Hey You” are both a little slower and bit rougher around the edges, while “Roses & Rings,” and “Misled” are both faster.  With the exception of one track that ended up on Bitter Sweet & Twisted, the rest of the demos here are for songs that were never released.  “The Last Time” is that one song and in all honesty the demo, which is stripped down, is full of character and in my opinion the better version.  Some of the other highlights include the mysterious sounding “Ton Ton M’Acoute,” a slower, kind of slinky track, the bluesy, country of “You Can’t Hide From Your Heart” and the powerful “Save Me,” which shows a darker, heavier side to the band.  

Rounding out the box set is a live disc that is actually an expanded version of Live Album (Recorded Around The World) that was released between the two albums in 1990.  Since these tracks were recorded at a variety of shows the sound quality varies, but there aren’t any that are unlistenable, and for the most part they sound good.  As for the performances themselves, they are high energy and show a band at the top of their game, and the crowd participation is great.  In addition to tracks from those two albums there are great covers of Sam and Dave’s “Hold On I’m Coming” and The Rolling Stones’ “Heartbreaker.”  Hey You! The Parlophone Years 1989-1993 is a fantastic look back at the early years of the band and has plenty for new fans and old fans alike.  

(Lemon Recordings)

Rooskin x Beach for Tiger - Dopatine

Dopatine, the new EP from Essex’s Rooskin and London’s Beach for Tiger, is the perfect soundtrack for those laid-back summer nights.  It’s a mesmerizing melding of Rooskin’s psychedelic surf pop and Beach for Tiger’s psychedelic soul.  “Searchin’ For A Reason” opens the EP and draws you in with its waves of synths, hypnotic beats, laid-back groove and dreamy harmonies (there’s also an instrumental version of this track that closes the EP).  The easygoing, soulful “State Of Mind” has a loping surf beat and sounds like the perfect soundtrack for driving around at night with the top down.   The somewhat lazy and meandering “Forever This Way” is full of keyboard washes and more incredible harmonies, while the title track is a gorgeous instrumental soundscape that takes elements of the prior songs, but puts more emphasis on really nice textured guitar work.  Dopatine is an absolutely stunning set of tunes and hopefully is a collaboration we will be hearing more from.

(Rooskin - Facebook / Beach for Tiger)

  

Kevin Ayers & The Whole World - Shooting At The Moon (remastered LP)

Following his stint in Soft Machine, a band he helped found, Kevin Ayers went the solo route, and in order to tour following the release of his debut album, he formed the band The Whole World.  The band was comprised of Mike Oldfield, Lol Coxhill, Mick Fincher and David Bedford, and once the tour was over the band went into the studio, and along with guest appearances from Bridget St. John and Robert Wyatt, recorded his sophomore effort Shooting At The Moon.  That album is now the latest of his releases to be remastered from the original master tapes, cut at Abbey Road Studios and reissued on vinyl.  The album is highly acclaimed and is very adventurous and experimental, dabbling in things like free jazz, folk, prog and avant-garde (some more successful than others) in addition to the psychedelic and baroque pop that was prevalent on his debut.  Album opener “May I?," one of his better-known songs, brings to mind his debut, and is a gorgeous, incredibly infectious ballad highlighted by his rich baritone and Coxhill’s sax. “Rheinhardt & Geraldine / Colores Para Dolores” is an interesting cut that starts with two minutes of prog with the keys, sax and rumbling bass mingling together very prominently before shifting into a minute and a half of pure cacophony, sounding like someone twisting the radio dial back and forth through the channels.  It then shifts back to the prog, but with the guitar moving more to the forefront.  The raw, ragged garage rocker “Lunatics Lament” is unlike anything else on the album and features some great organ along with Oldfield absolutely tearing it up on guitar.  At over eight minutes, “Pisser Dans Un Violon” shows their experimental side, and is a noisy soundscape that really doesn’t do anything for me and is a track I will definitely skip in the future.  Heading in a completely different direction, “The Oyster and the Flying Fish” is a bouncy acoustic folk duet with Bridget St. John that makes for a really fun listen.  “Underwater” is another avant-garde instrumental that is fittingly titled but again is prime for the skip button.  Originally written several years earlier for Soft Machine, “Clarence In Wonderland” is a fun, kind of quirky and whimsical pop tune that at times reminds me of the more offbeat songs of Harry Nilsson.  Driven by a gentle bossa nova beat, “Red Green and You Blue” is a more laid-back jazzy tune.  Closing cut “Shooting At The Moon” opens with a heavy Sixties rock sound and then turns into an extended section that is still rock, but with elements of free jazz that gets a little too long and repetitive before it shifts back to more straight-ahead rock for the last thirty seconds.  The original artwork has also been restored for this release that is well worth adding to your vinyl collection. 

(Esoteric Recordings)

The Adventures - Once More With Feeling

In 1984, after originally working together in the punk / new wave band Tango Brigade (previously The Starjets), lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben formed The Adventures with Eileen Gribben (Pat’s wife), Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder.   With a few membership changes along the way, the next nine years found the Belfast band releasing four albums before breaking up in 1993.  These releases contained numerous UK hits, including “Broken Land” which reached number twenty there and ninety-five in the States, where it was their only song to hit the charts.  In the ensuing years they reformed a few times for live performances and now, over thirty years after their last album, they’ve released album number five, Once More With Feeling.  The band had contemplated making another album for a while, but when covid and the lock-downs came along, Pat spent more time in his home studio, and with all the free time, he was able to focus on songwriting.  He ended up writing all the songs himself, with the exception of “L.U.C.Y.”, which he interestingly co-wrote with Cathy Dennis during a session where they were attempting to write a song for S Club 7.  With Mark Tolman now on drums, all of the remaining instruments here were handled by Pat, with Terry and Eileen contributing all of the vocals (Tony Ayre, who was the only other member in the band on their last album, passed away in 2009),  They’ve done a great job here of capturing a lot of what made the band so special all those years ago, but also taking their sound into the modern era.   A lot of the album is also more upbeat than the earlier ones, something that is evident right out the gate with the infectious and bouncy pop of opening track “My Imaginary Girlfriend”, which has some great sprightly keyboards that at times are a little reminiscent of A-Ha.  “With The Cats” is up next and has an Eighties era MTV sound crossed with Beach Boys summertime pop.  Driven by some gorgeous acoustic guitar, “When The Sun Goes Down” is an enchanting, bouncy jaunt followed by another upbeat pop gem “Love Talk”.  The aforementioned “L.U.C.Y.” marks the first time Eileen Gribben has handled lead vocals on an Adventures album (she was the lead vocalist on "Currogh Of Kildare", a bonus track on a single in 1988), and is a delicate and absolutely gorgeous ballad recorded in memory of Pat and Eileen’s niece, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2021.  While still full of hooks, “Down By The Water” is a little darker and edgier like a poppier Neil Young with a little bit of The Beatles.  With the help of Conor and Paul McGuinness (2 extremely talented local singer / musicians from Belfast per the liner notes) on backing vocals, “Song For You” is a great acoustic tune that has a strong Simon and Garfunkel feel.  The upbeat pop of “I Still Dream Of You” adds a bit of a rootsy element to the mix, while “The Hanging Tree” is a fun tune with a rockabilly beat that definitely stands out from the rest of the album.  “To Whom It Concerns” is a stunning, sweeping Lennon-esque song that closes the album perfectly.  Once More With Feeling is a most welcome addition to The Adventures discography and highly recommended to fans of their earlier work as well as anyone that has never heard of them before.  Let’s hope this is a career resurgence and not a one off.

(Cherry Red Records)