For those of you who are fans of Nazareth, this may not be the album for you. This is not a bad album, but, it doesn’t quite sound like the Nazareth of old. The music is really good, as are the vocals, but, there is something different about this Nazareth. This is a more modern approach to Nazareth & with this album, there is a more modern approach to Nazareth. Again, good music, writing & a different sound. This band has a lot rock in their veins. Give them a listen. Let me know what you think. I give this 4 out of 5 Music guru stars.
I’m still amazed that a man, who was a drummer for a punk band writes so many great pop songs, with good lyrics, great musicianship & harmonies. Richard is a multi instrumentalist as he plays drums, vocals, guitars, bass, piano, organ, vibrophone & a bunch of percussion instruments. This album is really good. Better than the past few. I really enjoyed this one. In addition to Richard X. Heyman, he had some help from Nancy Leigh on bass & harmony vocals, Probyn Gregory on trumpet, trombone, & french horn, Julia Kent on cello, and Chris Jenkins on viola. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. Listen to this!!!
This album didn’t work for me at all. If you’re a fan of fast paced hard music with a lead singer who growls at you, this one would be for you. There is a lot of distortion on the guitar. The drums are pounding. Again, this one is not for me. If that sounds like something that you may like, give it a listen. For me, I can only give it 2 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
With a title with “Graces Came With Malice”, I would expect a much harder sound than what I had heard. What I had heard was a good band with good melodies & a sound that made me really like what I had heard. Since this band formed in 2002, this would be their 20th anniversary. Good guitar licks a floating on this 9 album in their catalogue. Marvel is The King (John Steen) on guitar & vocals, The Vicar on drums, and, The Burgher on bass. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
As the album starts, it just sort of drifts on & on & on. As the album goes on, the songs start to form a cohesiveness, that gets better. This is not a great album. It is not a bad album. This is a brand new album made in 2022, but, sometimes sounds like the 1960’s or early 1970’s. For a 3 man band, not bad. For me, I give it 3.5 Music Guru stars. The production may be part of the reason for that.
The first thing that I thought of, when I first listened to this album, which started off with female vocals, by Michele Guaitoli (Temperance, Visions of Atlantis) was that the singer’s vocals resembled progressive rocker Lana Lane, with Lana’s range. Within a very short time, that changed, as the heavy set guitars started strutting their stuff along with heavy keyboards on top of that. The music went from a slow pace into a very intense fast pace. Very unexpected. Very nice! The fast pace does not let up, until the last song “The Story Comes To An End”. This song is still fast paced, just a tad slower & more melodic than the rest. This album DID take me by surprise. Give this one a try & let me know what you think. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
A wonderful progressive rock album that should be heard. There are moments of bands like Lana Lane, Toto & others. The men behind this are Daniel Flores and are taken from the songs of Henrik Hedstrom. There is some great keyboard work, some great guitar work & some really smooth vocals. If you’re a fan of the bands above, you should give this album a try. You will not be disappointed. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
I’ve been listening to YES since the YES ALBUM in 1971. I’ve also seen many YES concerts since then as well. This concert was much better than quite a few that I’ve seen in the past few years. Steve Howe being the leader of this version of YES, at least, it did appear. The set list was fantastic & included many older songs & 2 new songs from The Quest, their newest album. The song list was “Turn Of The Century” (Alan White Tribute), “On The Silent Wings Of Freedom”, “Yours Is No Disgrace”, “No Experience Necessary, No Experience Needed”, then Steve Howe took the stage solo and played “To Be Over”, the band came back to play “Wonderous Stories”, then 2 new songs from The Quest, which were “The Ice Bridge” & “Dare To Know”, then to finish off this set was “Heart Of The Sunrise”, which to me, was the highlight of the show. The second set opened up with the album “Close To The Edge” with the title track, then, “And You And I” & “Siberian Khatru”. I knew that the encore would be “Roundabout”, but then they also played “Starship Trooper”. This was a great concert & I highly recommend that you see this show. The band is STEVE HOWE on guitars & many stringed instruments, JON DAVISON, who does sound very much like Jon Anderson. He also plays guitar & percussion. GEOFF DOWNES was on keyboards, BILLY SHERWOOD did a fantastic job on bass, almost channeling the spirit of CHRIS SQUIRE, and JAY SCHELLEN on drums. Again, a great show & highly recommended & the Keswick Theater is one of my favorite places to see a concert. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
For those of you who like their music fast & hard, this is the album for you. The music is tight, the vocals are good. I am not one of those who likes this type of music, but, this album did not bother me. I would probably say because the vocals were strong & very melodic. I prefer the music to be a bit more melodic as well, but, I digress. I did not dislike this album. I just didn’t love it. If you like your music fast & energetic for driving or working out, etc. You will like this more than me. I can only give this 3 out of 5 Music Guru stars. The cover is great.
A fine album from these swedish rockers who came from the 1980’s. 2022 comes along and so does this brand new album full of some fun music with great guitar riffs, good vocals & much more. As you listen along, you may find yourself singing along. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.
music guru radio 