Billard Kings 2

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a band perfectly willing to wear their enthusiasm on their collective sleeve. After all, the project that brought Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson together and gave them their group name was a tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Willie P. Bennett, and they've never been hesitant to cover songwriters they look up to or bring in guest artists they admire…

Unlike many similar bands, the Vinyl Kings are at least upfront about what they're trying to accomplish. This seven-piece band is unapologetically obsessed with the pop music of the era roughly between 1963 and 1971, and their second album is a hodgepodge of lifts from the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and all the rest. (There's also a strong resemblance to classic-era Electric Light Orchestra in spots, mostly because Jeff Lynne himself was so enamored of the same pop music era.)

Unlike many similar bands, the Vinyl Kings are at least upfront about what they're trying to accomplish. This seven-piece band is unapologetically obsessed with the pop music of the era roughly between 1963 and 1971, and their second album is a hodgepodge of lifts from the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and all the rest. (There's also a strong resemblance to classic-era Electric Light Orchestra in spots, mostly because Jeff Lynne himself was so enamored of the same pop music era.)

Limited edition double CD featuring the album 'Can We Please Have Fun' and a second CD with 7 live recordings from the band's sold out gigs at Wrexham AFC's football ground 'The Racecourse'.

Dreams are an essential part of the musical world. Despite having been firmly involved in Sweden's highly fertile prog rock scene in the '70s, Roine Stolt (Kaipa, The Tangent, Transatlantic) was still harbouring dreams of maximum creative fulfilment when he arrived in the '90s, guitar in hand and a head full of sublime musical ideas. The end-result was a solo album, 'The Flower King', which struck such a resounding chord with a small but growing number of prog fans around the planet. It also proved to be one of a handful of albums that helped to kick-start and underpin a worldwide resurgence for adventurous, symphonic rock music that is still gaining momentum over two decades later. You can find the proof of what happened next within this lavish, generously proportioned box set containing the first half of The Flower Kings' extraordinary catalogue of immersive, immaculate studio albums…

The idea isn't bad, the result is rather convincing, and the added incentive is enough to make The Road Back Home a worthy addition to a Flower Kings fan's collection, but do read on, because you should know what you're getting. This two-CD set is a compilation album – a theme compilation album, in fact…

Limited edition double CD featuring the album 'Can We Please Have Fun' and a second CD with 7 live recordings from the band's sold out gigs at Wrexham AFC's football ground 'The Racecourse'.