Prog Rock Film never previously aired

See attached film which will be of interest to followers of Prog Rock. Filmed in 2002 by David Robin, he interviews Neal Morse, Steve Hackett, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, Simon Phillips, Roine Stolt, and many many more that you would expect from this genre of music. Essential viewing

http://www.vimeo.com/21318405

Top 50 Albums of Mine (in no particular order!) except maybe the first 10!!

1. Rainbow - Rising
2. Rainbow - Long Live Rock n Roll
3. Deep Purple - In Rock
4. Deep Purple - Burn
5. Dio - Holy Diver
6. Autograph - Sign In Please
7. Tyketto - Dont Come Easy
8. Alter Bridge - Blackbird
9. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
10. Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo Im Burning Star IV - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
11. Valentine - st
12. Van Halen - st
13. Only Child - st
14. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
15. Aviator - st
16. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
17. FM - Indiscreet
18. Foreigner -4
19. Journey - Escape
20. Giant - Last of the Runaways
21. Def Leppard - Hysteria
22. ACDC - Back In Black
23. Diving For Pearls - st
24. King Kobra - Ready To Strike
25. Kings X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
26. Icon - Night of the Crime
27. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
28. Tesla - Mechanical Resonance
29. Shinedown - The Sound Of Madness
30. Riverdogs - st
31. Rush - Moving Pictures
32. Scorpions - Love At First Sting
33. David Lee Roth - Eat Em And Smile
34. Romeos Daughter - st
35. Whitesnake - 1987
36. Tradia - Trade Winds
37. Damn Yankees - st
38. Jimmy Barnes - Freight Train Heart
39. Dream Theater - Images and Words
40. Strangeways - Native Sons
41. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
42. Shadowking - st
43. Saraya - st
44. Dokken - Under Lock and Key
45. Hellsongs - Hymns in the Key of 666
46. Kamelot - The Black Halo
47. Opeth - Damnation
48. Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood
49. Prophet - Cycle Of The Moon
50. Thunder - Backstreet Symphony

So feel free to criticise, attack, enjoy or make suggestions (no doubt Ive forgotten a fair few of my faves)

David Garrett - Rock Symphonies

'Baroque and Roll'

Ever heard of David Garrett? Neither had I until this week. Unless you’re a daytime telly watcher (Daybreak or This Morning, or even the final of Dancing On Ice), I suspect he has housewives all over the UK trembling at the knees, and possibly other places I can’t mention here! I personally blame Amazon. I was looking for some cd’s, and then later that day I received an ‘Amazon Recommends...’ email. I checked the bloke up, looked cool enough, and then checked out the track listing and his own website. Not quite a one man Apocalyptica, or should that be Apocalyptic-i.

Unfortunately he’s been described as the David Beckham of the classical world. Seeing as he is a Guinness 2010 World Record Holder for the fastest playing of a violin, he is the Chris Impelliteri of all things violin. For those wanting to know, it was an amazing 13 notes a second.

Apart from gracing the covers of Vogue, appearing on Armani catwalks, a former GQ man of the year, the face of Audi, and an ambassador for Sony and Montblanc, he is one extremely talented bloke. He upped and left his German home aged 17 to learn at the renowned NY Julliard School of Music, ended up $25k in debt as his parents refused to support him. I bet they have warmed to him now.

Cover songs are one thing, but to do the same with a crossover album, that’s a complete new ball game. ‘Rock Symphonies’ brings together DG’s two main passions, classical and RAWK! Recorded with the City OF Prague Orchestra, ‘Rock Symphonies’ is a tribute to Garrett’s favourite bands and composers – Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and some more modern masters in Page (Led Zep) , Cobain (Nirvana), Hetfield (Metallica) and McCartney.  But despite Garrett’s reservations about ‘crossover’ music, probably Classical to Rock is one of the easier ones to succeed. Let’s face it many a guitarist counts the likes of Bach, Beethoven etc as major influences. Quite a few Rock/Metal institutions have gone out on the road and succeeded with a full blown orchestra in tow  - Metallica, Scorpions, Rainbow, to name just three.  Go back 200 years and the likes of Hammett, Blackmore and Schenker would be Classical greats and their music cited as influences in the 21^st Century.

Its great for Garrett and for the rock community is that he is plugging the likes of ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ which would never ever be considered by a patron of his music otherwise. He has also cleverly picked songs which make the crossover effortlessly, but in saying that Rock Music is a natural successor to the classical genre. Kashmir, for example is just dying to be made into a classical piece

It’s one thing to play fast, but another to play with technique and feeling. Thankfully Garrett is not just eyeliner and highlights. He is on extremely talented dude, and then some. Where Apolalyptica was once purely cellos, Garrett sets his stall out immediately on Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ with backing from the City of Prague Orchestra, talented guitarists Marcus Wolf and Franck Van Der Heijden (also Garretts Conductor), drummer Jeff Lipstein, and bassist Jeff Allen. Along for the ride on ‘Walk This Way’ is the über- talented Aussie Orianthi (who deserves to be huge in her own right), and sheds like only she can, and is great interplay between the two virtuosos.  Intertwined with the rock covers are some beefed up classical pieces – ‘The 5^th’ currently used on a Cadbury’s Fingers ad, and is a piece that I would expect the likes of Within Temptation to pomp up. Garret plays a nice twist on ‘Vivaldi vs. Vertigo’. Although I’m not U2’s biggest fan (or a fan of them at all come to think of it) both tunes fit well with each other confirming yet again the classical / rock balance is one and the same.

And on it goes. It is consistently good from start to end, even if he does finish with Quo’s ‘Rockin All Over The World’.

As an added bonus the album comes with a live concert from his home country with an orchestra of many, and an audience of thousands. You then see just how good Garrett really is. Right from the off, from the first piece of Kashmir, where he casually walks through the crowd to the stage, he holds every member of the audience in the palm of his hand – you can see that Garrett really is a special talent indeed.

Some metal fans may think it’s a bit twee, but let’s face it Garrett won’t mind one little bit, if it means bringing home the bacon in huge amounts, and gaining worldwide recognition along the way. He is bringing rock and metal to an otherwise unsuspecting audience and they are loving every minuet (see what I did there!) of it. That in itself is a great thing

Next time I want to see him paying homage to some home grown rock from the likes of the might Scorpions and Rammstein. Then I will be one happy bunny indeed

92/100

Big Life - ST

BIG LIFE is a new project featuring the talents of the UK's melodic rock genius, Steve Newman (NEWMAN) and ex PRAYING MANTIS frontman, Mark Thompson-Smith.

Steve Newman’s reputation in the Melodic Rock circuit is impressive - with eight immense NEWMAN albums released in the last decade, the latest being the highly acclaimed “The Art Of Balance”. Add to this his work on other albums with artists such as ATLANTIC, STEVE OVERLAND, EDEN, AOR PROJECT, FROZEN RAIN, FAR CRY, GRAND ILLUSION and PHENOMENA as both performer and engineer/producer.

Mark Thompson-Smith re-emerges from the shadows after a lengthy period out of the limelight to more than demonstrate that time has not dulled his impressive vocal powers. Best known as the singer with Praying Mantis in the early 90's and as guest vocalist in The Sweet in 2005, he has also featured as frontman for various 80's UK bands such as IDOL RICH, TOUCHE and  FLIGHT 19.

The early 90's also saw Mark working in America with Mike Walsh (DEPARTURE) and legendary keyboardist Dave Rosenthal (RAINBOW/RED DAWN/BILLY JOEL), spending two exciting years performing and recording the later released and now much sought after solo album, “A Far Cry From New Jersey”.

Returning to the UK in 1993, as the grunge band tsunami swept away the US melodic rock scene, Mark joined PRAYING MANTIS recording the impressive “Only The Children Cry” EP and completed a successful tour of Japan before leaving the band in 1994. The guys are joined by Rob McEwen, the outstanding drumming talent on the last three NEWMAN albums

I’m not au fait with Thompson-Smith’s previous output I must admit, but, after the first few lines of opener ‘Dying Day’ I was completely won over with his melodic tone and the whole vibe  of ‘DD’reminds me of Prophet’s wonderous ‘Cycle of the Moon – which for me is high praise indeed. ‘Close To You ‘ starts with this classic 8os Keyboard and combined guitar intro and has a chorus that most musicians would give their left nut to come up with a polished style like this. ‘Better Man’ continues in this rich vein, a hook laden modern belter.

‘Calling’ opens up with this great ‘Eastern/Asian’ intro which flits throughout the whole song. Again Newman sets up a classic bridge/chorus for Thompson-Smith to shine. ‘I’ll Still Be Here’ is their first foray into mid-tempo ballad land, again with an instantly ingrained tune. ‘Feel Alive picks up the pace, before the classy ‘Deep Water’ with soulful outro soloing from Newman. ‘Leavers’ mixes it up a little, with its acoustic opening and rocking the next. ‘Taking Me Down’ reverts back to the great Newman sound and instantly catchable chorus. Final track, ‘Nothing Without You’ rounds off proceedings nicely, a stripped and toned down number with just Thompson-Smith, an acoustic guitar and the odd drum fill. The album has an bonus track in ‘Special Relationship’, a headbanger and foot tapper from the old school of rock

Just one listen of ‘Big Life’ is enough to get into your head. Most of the songs have huge melodic riffs, melting soloing, and instantly catchy choruses. Newman has the recipe for cooking up great melodic rock numbers, and in Thompson-Smith has found the perfect foil for his blend of music.

Newman has been fairly prolific over the years, and with Thompson-Smith appearing from the wilderness of rock, Big Life I hope will be aptly named as this album deserves to be huge for the pair of them

With certain publications releasing AOR offshoots, GLEE representations of Journey and other classic melodic rock songs, reformations coming thick and fast,  AOR is in the best shape it’s been for a number of years. What with recent albums from UK based bands such as Moritz, Vega, and now Big Life, the Brits are taking it to their US counterparts and showing them how its done. Thirty-love to us Brits, lets see what the likes of Journey can respond with

9.5/10

Benedictum - Dominion

Like clouds forming on the horizon, the impending storm and thunder of USA Metal band Benedictum once again loom before us with the release of their 3rd album “Dominion”.

Surging forward as they are driven by the powerful momentum of front woman Veronica Freeman - whose unique (if you call sounding more like a bloke for most songs unique)  and powerful style has been called one of the truly most extraordinary voices in Metal - and the guitar pyrotechnics of writer and guitarist Pete Wells, the time has come for the world to be on notice. Benedictum is again upon us.

Formed in 2005 and quickly noticed by Dio guitarist Craig Goldy, the wheels were soon set in motion for their great debut album ‘Uncreation’. Their driving music and energetic shows allowed Benedictum to grace the stage of many festivals including Wacken, Gods of Metal, HRH and a tour with DORO, with whom Freeman can now be talked about in the same breath as! Only Freeman has the much better voice.

Benedictum are off on a new and exciting musical episode as they have signed a contract with Frontiers Records. Building upon their great foundation Benedictum has recruited Grammy Award winning producer Ryan Greene (Megadeth, 5, MXPX, NOFX) and are firing on all cylinders. With members Chris Shrum now on bass, Mike Pannone on drums and Tony Diaz on keyboards the new music promises to continue to expand the horizon for Benedictum and is sure to please current fans as well. Adding to the already explosive sound of Dominion are guest appearances by Jeff Pilson, Craig Goldy and none other than Rudy Sarzo on the fist pumping track Bang.

One thing is for certain, Pete Wells prays purely at the altar of British metal, namely the likes of guitar Gods such as Iommi, The 2 Priest dudes, and Murray n Smith!

Opening track ‘Dominion’ literally explodes into action, a blend of Dio, Dirksneider, and Rock(I couldn’t come up with another D beginning surname!). Power metal to blow away the strongest of cobwebs, this is an album definitely required to play loud to piss of the neighbours. The first few lines of ‘Seer’ and ‘Dark Heart’ allows you to listen to what Freemans natural (and quite cool) singing voice is, before her guttural trademark wail kicks in once again. ‘At The Gates’ shows Benedictum at their lightest, and ‘Prodigal Son’ has both feet planted in the RJD book of metal. ‘Epsilon’ follows in the same vein as ‘Valkyrie Rising’ and ‘Seasons Of Tragedy’ as their now staple EPIC number for each album.

The last two albums have seen Benedictum cover songs by Dio-era Sabbath, and Accept. The trend for covers continues with a brave attempt to cover Rush's '2112' epic ‘Overture/The Temples Of Syrinx’. As a huge Rush fan, covering 'TTOS' is never going to be pretty for me as I’m so used to Lee’s tone and pitch. Freeman has a good stab at it, but she’d be better covering Dio or Quiet Riot. I’m not won over by this version, but it’s not a deal clincher as far as the rest of the album goes thankfully.

Freeman and Wells will no doubt pick up all the plaudits, but the others all play their parts very well and deserve to be recognised. Benedictum are a band definitely on the rise. Dominion is their finest yet, and Benedictum will be around for some time yet. Drop the cover versions and become your own band. It’s time to let other bands cover your songs. There’s hardly a bloke alive who can touch Freemans vocal stylings. So, other women wannabee Rock Goddesses, pack it in now, you’ve got no chance. Veronica Freeman is a Metal Minx

Power Metal at its best!

9/10

Eden's Curse - Trinity

Multinational Melodic Metallers EDEN`S CURSE return with their brand new studio album “Trinity”, their first since the critically acclaimed 2008 release “The Second Coming”. Aptly titled, ‘’Trinity’’ the third album in the group, is the best yet from Eden’s Curse and possibly is as good an album as you’re likely to hear all year. No doubt album #4 will be subtlety titled ‘Quadraphonic’ or something equally similar

Produced once again by the bands long term engineer Dennis Ward (Krokus, Angra, Allen & Lande, Pink Cream 69), “Trinity” picks up where “The Second Coming” left off, but with a certain added oomph! Packed with all their traditional trademarks, “Trinity” is arguably the most powerful sounding EDEN`S CURSE record to date. From Thorsten Koehne’s wall of razor sharp guitars, to Messrs Logue and Newdeck’s pounding rhythm section, Dennis Ward’s sublime production has allowed these songs to explode from the speakers in a sonic assault wrapped around the instantly recognisable sound of Michael Eden’s powerful yet crystalline vocals.

“Trinity” also marks the bands recorded debut with new keyboard player Alessandro Del Vecchio (Glenn Hughes / Ian Paice / Edge Of Forever / Moonstone Project) whose contemporary approach to the keyboards harks at hints of Kamelot thanks to the huge orchestral passages throughout, yet never detracts from the signature EDEN`S CURSE sound. As has become accustomed with each EDEN`S CURSE release the band have once again recruited some outstanding guest vocalists to collaborate alongside, and this time they have truly outdone themselves.

Duetting with Eden on the epic Melodic Metal anthem “No Holy Man” is none other than Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie, who also contributes backing vocals on the whole album. Elsewhere Andi Deris of Helloween duets on the bruising “Black Widow” which is the band´s heaviest track to date, somehow managing to marry power and melody perfectly.

The opening intro ‘Trinitas Sanctus’ gives the feel of a concept album. Those expecting a ‘Mindcrime’ needn’t bother. Concept it aint, but powerful melodic rock it certainly is. ‘Trinity’ sets the stall out for what is to follow, Eden’s higher registered and Marmite trademarked vocal stylings (certainly a voice that does not match his look), but gives Eden’s Curse a very distinctive sound. ‘Saints of Tomorrow’ is akin to a Firewind groove, great playing, cool harmonies, and good chorus. Pulling James LaBrie for ‘No Holy Man’ is a bit of a coup. Some may remember him for his melodic pre DT role in Winters Rose, and proves again he can sing comfortable in a range of styles – even the video has a NADS feel to it.

‘Can’t Fool The Devil’ is one of the faster tracks on offer, edging more towards metal than their usual melodic-ness. Andi Deris’ duet on ‘Black Widow’ proves to be one of the fastest and heaviest songs, and works well with both vocalists.

The band also closes the album with a recorded tribute to one of their idols, the late Ronnie James Dio, with their rendition of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children”. I look forward to cover versions, but Eden tackling Dio is not the best of bets. True to the original, but passable as a cover

“Trinity” is a classy affair that sees EDEN`S CURSE once again take steps forward and cements their place alongside many of their contemporaries in today´s European Melodic Metal scene. After two successful and extremely well received albums, now “Trinity” shows EDEN`S CURSE even more improved and powerful than ever before.

For me the key to the whole album is the brilliance of guitarist Thorsten Koehne, whose playing ranges from subtle to killer, and is the shining star of ‘Trinity’ without a shadow of a doubt. More Whitesnake than Queensryche, EC have an album in Trinity of which they can be truly proud. It won’t necessarily bring in shitloads of new fans, but those already bought into the band will not be disappointed

2011 is proving to be a great year    9.2/10

Moritz - Undivided

Well fellow melodic lovers, do I have a saccharin coated nugget of a band for you. Hopefully some of you will remember Moritz from a few years ago. Formed in 1986 in London, UK, the band consisted of guitar player and main song writer Greg Hart, bassist Ian Edwards, keyboardist Andy Stewart, guitarist Mike Nolan, vocalist Pete Scallan, but now have new drummer Mick Neaves

Split in 1988 and Ian, Greg & Andy became the core of AOR band If Only while Peter went onto join Samson. The band returned in 2008 after the long awaited City Streets finally gained a release via the Harmony Factory label. The album consisted of the sought after so called Shadows of a Dream EP and some unreleased recordings. It received critical acclaim, prompting the guys to get back together. The band has reformed with the (almost) original line-up, and now MORITZ ARE BACK! Recording for the first time since 1988 with their eagerly anticipated album UNDIVIDED.  Check out the band now and the guys haven’t aged well from the poodle haired mullets of their pics from their debut 20-odd yrs ago. But don’t let the pics put you off as the quality of the songs on offer is pretty damn excellent.

From the opening bars of the Boston-esque and 70s sounding ‘Power Of The Music’ to the utterly catchy title track, Moritz have perfected the long lost art of 80s AOR that many have forgotten. Radio friendly ballads come thick and fast in the form of ‘Should’ve Been Gone’ (reminds me of Phil Christians Big Mouth - another AOR classic), and ‘Cant’ Stop The Angels’. There is also the Laurence Archer penned ‘Can’t Get Away’ which was apparently sung by Phil Lynott originally, which I struggle to get my head around, on hearing Scallan’s version

Yes I know it was released in 2010, but music of this legendary quality deserves its day in the spotlight and I’m trying to make sure AOR releases like this, don’t get the opportunity to fade into the sunset like so many of their contemporaries have in the 21st century. Moritz have proven with Undivided that in this modern technological arena, you don’t need to harp back to the 80s and,  

a) spend half a million pounds recording an album over 2 years, and 

b) waste your time employing a Beau Hill, Neil Kernon or a John Kalodner to come up with the goods. 

The only down side is that, if this was the 80s, Undivided would be heralded as one of the best AOR/melodic rock albums of all time, as it would have undoubtedly sold by the shitload, and today would be a multi platinum selling album, spoken in the same breath as ‘1987’, or ‘Slippery When Wet’. However this is 2011 and AOR, even though this genre is in a major resurgence, the music is still pretty much dead on its arse despite the genres best efforts. But albums like this can change the tone. Moritz did four fifths of fuck all in the 80s when their mega talented EP was released, but now, they deserve all the plaudits that this will undoubtedly bring them. UNDIVIDED is an absolutely superb piece of melodic rock and stands tall against some of the classic albums of yesteryear, even if some of the production values are a little dated in sound. This gives it more of a 80s sound than was probably planned. Despite that smidge of a gripe, UNDIVIDED is utterly aor-tastic!

9.5/10