Craig Erickson – Modern Blues (CD)

Craig Erickson is a true groove master. He’s been true to the heavy, groovy blues rock since his debut “Roadhouse Stomp!” in 1992. It’s been a few years since his last physical album "Sky Train Galaxy", which was released in 2015. “Modern Blues” is really an example of what you read is what you get. Of course, “modern” can mean a lot of things. In this case it’s not about samples, machine generated grooves or auto tune abominations. It more the vibe. It’s blues and it’s rock and it doesn’t sound dated, which would qualify as “modern” in my book. The guitar is definitely in the forefront, and it’s Craig handling both guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals, only taking some help from drummer Jeff Sipe. I’ve always felt Craig has a pretty strong Robin Trower vibe to his vocals and playing, and it’s no different this time around. The vocals are pretty relaxed, yet rough, but no high pitch screaming, rather the missing link between James Dewar and Billy Gibbons. The guitar playing shines throughout the album and some songs that kinda stick out to me is the incredibly cool fuzzed out “Bring Love Back Again” with its funky vibe and brutal guitar licks and also the heavy, yet dynamic “Brokedown World” with its subtle but really beautiful Uni-Vibe Strat tone. I also can help to mention another song that sticks out a bit, which is “Wildfire”, which starts out a bit reminding of vintage southern rockers The Outlaws, but goes into a more funky direction. A really cool number with some intense and outstanding guitar solos with a cool fusion oriented vibe to them. Highly recommended!

Label: Fervor Records 

Country: USA

Year: 2023

Bryce Janey – Blue Moon Rising (CD)

This is Bryce’s thirteenth album (if I counted correctly) and it’s a cool, guitar-heavy blues rock affair. Bryce has a cool, raspy blues rock voice that fits the style perfectly. At times he reminds me a bit of mix between Michael Katon and Danny Joe Brown. His guitar playing is cool, bluesy, not overblown, but it does feel a little bit restrained at times, like he doesn’t want to wake up the neighbors. That’s actually my only (small) complaint about this album. The intensity of the lead guitar isn’t at par with the intensity of the rhythm guitars. Even if the songs sometimes are kinda slow and laid back, they are always gritty and (positively) nasty. There are also some really low down and dirty rockers, like the excellent “Blue Moon Rising”. There’s also a funky vibe that sneaks into songs like “Pain In My Heart” and “Lonesome Train”. If you’re into guitar-based blues rock with a southern touch “Blue Moon Rising” is well worth checking out!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard Records

Year: 2022

Country: USA

Super Vintage – Guardians Of Tradition (CD)

Greece’s most prolific rocker is at it again! Stavros delivers album after album with various projects and bands. Super Vintage hears him rock out in riff rock land. “Guardians Of Tradition” is his sixth album with Super Vintage. The album kicks off with the groovy sleazy blues rocker “Southern Ride”, which leaves off to the Blackfoot sounding “Indian Soul” with some nice classic southern rock guitar solos. “Hero” starts out soft and nice, but kicks in some heavy guitars and turns into a nice southern rock style semi-power-ballad. “Rolling Thunder” kicks it into gear and also features some cool slide guitar. A really nice and very dynamic song with lots of different layers. “Down Down” starts of kinda familiar with a slide guitar but moves into a different direction with some cool finger picking, to again move it up a notch and transform into a cool bluesy southern rock number, with some cool dirty slide and solo work from Stavros. “T For Tennessee” brings it into up-tempo mode and do get a vibe of vintage Blackfoot here as well. Think “Marauder” or “Tomcattin”. “Naked Truth” continues the hard and heavy rocker mode and this one really hits home with me. Powerful and sleazy! Without going into each of the remaining tracks continue in the same vein, except for “Rise And Fall” which is a bit too “country” for my taste. All in all, a kick ass album!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard Records

Year: 2022

Country: Greece

Gerfast – Legendary Grooves (CD)

Swedish blues rock guitarist Jan Gerfast has been around for quite a few years now. He released his first album “Rollin’ With The Blues” in 1992 and this is his 9th album (counting the “Electric Power Blues” compilation on Grooveyard Records). The new CD starts out kinda lazy with the track “Love” and picks it up a notch with the lyrically current funky song “No More”. “Shame On You” takes it down a bit again and “in “Running Out Of Time” we’re leaving the electric land and it’s all acoustic. Comparing “Legendary Grooves” to Gerfast’s early albums I notice two things which I’m not a huge fan of. The amount of distortion on the guitar has decreased and the vocal vibrato has increased. To be honest it has been a while since I heard a Gerfast album, and this is actually a little bit too lightweight for my taste. It’s by no means a bad album, just a bit too clean and slick for my taste. However, it does really pick up in the album closer “Psychedelic Blue” and I wish the rest of the material would’ve been more in this vein. 

Janne Stark

Label: Magic Music

Year: 2021

Country: Sweden

Journey – Freedom (CD/LP)

 

Already in the opening track “Together We Run” I start looking through the promo material to see if Journey have changed lead singer. Arnel doesn’t really sound like he used to! A bit raspier, a bit scarred, which I’ve never heard before. To be honest, I have no complaints about it at all! It gives a nice edge to his otherwise quite polished voice. The song itself is quite classic melodic hard rock. “Don’t Give Up On Us” (we haven’t!) sounds like they’ve borrowed a bit from themselves, but not too obvious and not too much. It however feels like his struggling a bit to get the vocals to cut through, and I’m missing the edge. “Still Believe In Love” is a different type of ballad, almost with a 10CC:ish vibe to it, while in “You Got The Best Of Me” they again put the pedal to the metal and Neal lets his guitar rip. A really nice one. The however take the tempo down again already in the next song, the bombastic and more traditional style Journey ballad, “Live To Love Again”. The power returns again in “The Way We Used To Be”, a really good rocker with a cool bluesy solo from Schon. Here Arnels voice is more in its right element. ”Come With Me” continues the rock streak and there are some pretty brutal riffs going on with a bit more attitude in the vocal department as well. Another kicker! Then we’re back in ballad land again. I wish they would maybe not go full on go-stop-go but throw in some more mid-tempo songs in-between to ease the ride a bit. “Let It Rain” starts with some almost Steve Vai style riffs from Schon and they again take it down into the heavy rock ditch (I like being there, I should add). “Holding On” keeps the tempo up and here I get a vibe of the first three (pre-Perry) albums. Another killer! I’m not 100 % into the production, though, which I feel is a bit messy at times. “All Day And All Night” is a prime example of the mid-tempo segment I mentioned before. “Don’t Go” is the first song yet where I feel – yeah, this is pure classic AOR. “United We Stand” takes us back to the “Trial By Fire” era while “Life Rolls On” starts off as a soft typical Journey balld but 1:40 into the song, Schon breaks loose and rocks out and the song changes style, which is cool! The 7+ minutes “Beautiful As You Are” offers many surprises. It starts off as a sensitive soft balld with acoustic guitar and strings and with Arnel singing softly, but an minute and a half into the song all Hell breaks loose and the tempo rises. New drummer Narada Michael Walden is busy as a bee in the last part of the song and almost turns it into a drum solo while Neal throws in some heavy guitar chords. It ends in the same soft manner as it started. 15 songs. To be honest, I feel it’s a little too much. 11-12 songs would have been a solid killer album. The production may be a matter of taste and doesn’t get top scores from me, but it’s not bad, just not to my full liking. The playing and the performances are definitely there, and yeah, the songs are, too!

Janne Stark

Yeah: 2022
Label: Frontiers
Country: USA

King’s X - Three Sides Of One (CD/LP)

 

King’s X has been one of my absolute favorite bands ever since I first heard “Gretchen Goes To Nebraska”. I shall however admit that there are a few albums I still haven’t fully taken to heart, “Please Come Home... Mr Bulbous” and “Manic Moonlight”, but I haven’t written them off. There have happened way more on the members’ side/solo projects than with this band who haven’t released a studio album since “XV” in 2008. They signed with the highly odd label Golden Robot a few years ago, but fortunately they switched over to the way more solid Inside Out. “Three Sides Of One” opens with “Let It Rain” which really kicks off the album with some heavy rock and even some hints of Led Zeppelin, plus a really cool backwards guitar solo from Ty. It kinda leans more towards Dug’s solo material, and it doesn’t have the big vocal harmonies, but a really good start! “Flood Pt 1” starts kinda strange, but soon kicks into gear with some really heavy riffs and staccato rhythms, but soon jumps into a soft verse with strings and really nice harmony vocals. I can’t say this reminds me of anything they have done before, but I must say I really like it. They are taking it down a few notches with “Nothing But The Truth”, which starts off with soft plucking guitars and this definitely reminds me of old school King’s X, especially the harmony vocals in the chorus, while the verse is almost a bit bluesy. Dug still has a voice that gives me goosebumps! After a fake ending, Ty rolls in with a classic, long, and fantastic solo. “Give It Up” pushes the tempo up and this is definitely King’s X in their prime. The first time I heard it I was totally thrown by the key change in the chorus and had to go back and check what they did. A really cool thing, indeed! They’ve also thrown in a bit of Wally Farkas Yoko imitation for good measure. A killer track indeed! “All God’s Children” starts off soft and nice with a twelve string guitar. A brutally heavy guitar riff rips it all up, but it returns to the soft verse with Ty on vocals. The chorus is based on the heavy riff, fat and simple but great. Harmony vocals – check! Interesting ending as well, where I had expected a long guitar solo there was just plucking guitars and bass runs. I do miss that solo, but I won’t complain. “Take The Time” is an acoustic ballad with a Beatlesque feel to it, sung by jerry. Next up is the rocker of the album, “Festival”. It almost touches on new wave with tongue in cheek lyrics about wanting to arrange a festival, but someone else must do the work. “Swipe Up” is another staccato riffster, a bit different and not the traditional King’s X format, but a really cool song. It sure does have some classic King’s X elements woven into the web. Next up is “Holidays”, also sung by jerry. A cool semi-heavy number, again with some Beatles vibes in the chorus and really nice harmony vocals. “Watcher” definitely has a “Dogman” vibe to it with the cool heavy groove and Ty’s vocal. The guitar sound has Ty’s classic Strat-type touch and he again delivers an outstanding solo. One of my favorites off the album! “She Called Me Home” does also sound like classic King’s X with drop-D tuning, Strat-style plucking and a big dose of nice harmonies. The album finishes with “Every Everywhere”, which sounds like a typical Dug tune. Kinda odd, but nice harmonies and a big chunk of nice melodies in the chorus. I really like the production of the album, which feels very analogue and dynamic. It does sound like real drums and tube amps. All in all, a great return I’ve been waiting a long time to hear! The X is back!

/Janne Stark

Year: 2022

Label: Inside Out

Jesse Jay Johnson – Man On A Mission (CD)

It’s been a few years since Jesse set the blues on fire. To show he is still on fire, he opens the new album with the smoking hot “Got To Burn”. “You got to burn if you want to shine” – and shines it does. A cool stomping blues rocker, indeed! “Livin’ On Rock ‘N Roll” kicks it into backbeat and lets out a classic blues rocker, while “Man On A Mission” starts off almost like Robin Trower’s “Day of The Eagle”, but only the intro riff. Powerful classic blues rock. In “Good As Gone” Jesse takes it down into a groove funky vibe, while “No Disguise” is a smooth blues ballad with Jesse’s outstanding guitar playing and soulful vocals. “Whatever You Want” kicks it back into gear with that perfect neck pick-up Strat grind and a funky touch. “One Day At A Time” brings out the guitar and slide and places the vibe on the porch, at least in the intro, while the verse brings us into full blues-rocking mode. “Tearin’ Down The Walls” adds a bit of organ to the mix, but the funky vibe is still the same. “Rock The Blues” is a cool, driving, shuffle rocker, while album closing track “Beyond The Horizon” kicks off with a smooth keyboard and a searing Strat solo and goes into a sound track for the open fields. A very good album, I must say!

Year: 2021

Country: USA

Label: Grooveyard Records

Link: www.grooveyardrecords.com

Jimmy Ryan - Astral Café (CD)

 

Guitarist extraordinaire, Jimmy Ryan, is finally following up his excellent “21st Century Riffology” CD of 2017. Jimmy is an outstanding player, mixing his blues oriented with classic rock in the vein of Wishbone Ash, which was the first thing I came to think of when listening to opening track “Starlord”. Killer melodic, instrumental, melodic guitar rock. “Shatterbrain” goes into a melodic, almost slightly fusion-oriented mode, with some brutal fuzz+UniVibe soloing. The cover of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” is a groovy heavy riff rocker, quite different from any other version I’ve heard. Jimmy’s rough-edged vocals fit this track like a glove. “Earthrise” is a smooth instrumental melodic number that takes us on to “Skydance”, which continues the melodic instrumental path, but with some cool almost progressive passages which gives the song a nice touch. “Black Ice” is a quirky riff piece, still melodic, but adding another new flavor to the album. Jimmy rips it open with a nice wah solo. “I’m Ready” brings in the heavy artillery and this one also has some fierce vocals from Jimmy. A kick ass heavy rocker, indeed! “Dulcinea” again brings us back into melodic guitar territory, while “Beserker” sure does what it says. That track has a raw, almost King’s X:ish vibe, but Jimmy’s smooth lead guitar lays in top like a smooth blanket. “Plectrumelectrum” kicks it into riff gear again and it does have a certain Zeppelin vibe to it. A cool track, indeed, with some pretty wild guitar harmonies. The short, but effective “Dreadhulk” takes us back into the detuned regions again, but soon picks up the pace and delivers some really cool harmony guitars. Drummer Dan Van Schindel makes good use of his toms in this one, as well as in the energetic vocal “Celestial Voice”, which made me think of Asia meets Wishbone Ash, with a pretty intense proggy mid-section and more kick ass soling from Jimmy. The album closes with “Quiet Flight”, which again is a quite descriptive title for a song. A smooth melodic guitar solo opens this more than 8 minute long number, which also takes a short walk into fusion-land. In all a brilliant guitar album for fans of bands like vintage Wishbone Ash. 

Year: 2021

Label: Ryanetics

Country: USA

Link: www.ryanetics.com

King Mountain - Kingdom Of Shadows (CD)

 

One of Greece’s hardest workin men is without a doubt Stavos Papadopulos. Guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, singer, producer, recording engineer, mastering engineer and song writer. His name can be found in relation to bands like Universal Hippies, Hard Driver, Freerock Saints, Super Vintage och Revolution Highway. King Mountain is another one and it rests on the sacred grounds of the hard rocking 70s, with the riff as a word of honor. Stavros is also without a doubt a master in this trade, which he proves again and again. On the album with singer Tania Kikidi, which was released at the same time as this he also delivered a big chunk of great riffs, so I guess his riff account is pretty big. Actually, this album and Tania’s album, aren’t that far apart musically. The biggest difference is in the vocal delivery department, where the vocals here are handled by Stavros himself. If I was to compare this to some contemporary bands, it would probably be The Dead Daisies or Black Country Communion. Hard rock with riffs up front and bluesy vocals to fit the mold. Stavros is a very capable singer who does a great job even if his guitar playing is a few notches better. I truly love his guitar playing, his groove oriented rhythm playing and the bluesy, bleeding solos. King Mountain – check them out!

/Janne Stark

Year: 2021

Label: Grooveyard Records

Artist: Stavros Papadopoulos

Title: Spirits On The Rise 

Year: 2020

Label: Grooveyard Records

Greek singer/guitarist/producer/mastering engineer Stavros Papadopoulos is one of the most active persons I know! He releases a never-ending stream of albums by bands like Universal Hippies, King Mountain, Freerock Saints, Super Vintage, Shadowplay Project and now also as solo artist. The common thread for all of Stavros’ bands and projects is the 70s. The riffs, the sound and the style bear clear marks of this glorious decade. So also his new solo album. If you’re into vintage Bad Company with a touch of southern rock, don’t waste any time – check out “Spirits On The Rise”. It’s bluesy, riff oriented with one helluva swagger. On this album, he’s accompanied by bass player John Christopoulos and drummer Chris Lagios, a super tight and steady dou who forms a steady ground for Stavros to strut his riffs on. Even if Stavros is a solid singer, he has added an outstanding instrumental track to the collection. His band Universal Hippes is all instrumental so this tracks lands quite close to those domains. He’s a really skillful guitarist with a technical yet bluesy and emotional style of playing, and even if his vocals may not reach to the same level (then he would be a reincarnation of Ray Gillen), he’s a highly capable singer. A very solid album, indeed!

Janne Stark

Dirty Dave Osti – Midnight Mojo Man (CD)

Dirty Dave Osti has four more CDs out on Grooveyard Records and they’ve all been pretty solid in my book. For some reason this one really hit home with me. Not sure what it is, but the riffs seem more solid and I like the groove a bit more. Stylewise, Dave, reminds me a bit of Michael Katon. Solid, heavy, guitar driven blues rock with both feet deep in the ground. “Be The Love” has a really cool 70s sounding classic riff that carries the song. The only thing that pissed me off was that Dave recorded an outstanding cover of “Walk Before You Run” by Savoy Brown. Why? Because I had planned to record it. Love that sone. But, since you did such a kick-ass version, you’re forgiven, Dave ;-). Another outstanding favorite track on this album is “Rebel Run”, a kick-ass riff rocker with some killer drumming. The instrumental “Spacewolf” sticks out a bit as well with its cool funky groove. All in all, a really solid album that should attract fans of classic, riff-oriented hard edged blues rock.

Janne Stark

Year: 2018

Country: USA

Label: Grooveyard Records

Eddings – Cornelius – All The Madness (CD)

The artwork didn’t really impress, I must say, and the name Eddings-Cornelius didn’t say much. Steve Eddings: vocals and Larry Cornelius: all instruments. What could this be? Well, opening track “Down We Go” kicked off in a very promising way with its up-tempo southern rock vibe. “Burnin’ My Bridges” keeps the southern vibe up and adds some cool slide guitar as well. My only complaint would be the programmed drums, which don’t sound that exciting. The production is overall quite “cheap”, but it does have a certain charm to it. “Tooth And Nail” mixes the southern vibe and some classic 70s hard rock and they sometime makes me think of 70s bands like Hydra and Earl Slick Band. Larry has some pretty cool guitar chops and Steve’s vocals fit the music very well. The album is pretty solid, but there are a couple of tracks that are way too pop/country for me, such as “Eileen” and “Make Me Fit”.

Janne Stark

Year: 2014

Label: Private

Country: USA