IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens. Although the band have never enjoyed major commercial success and had several line up changes, IQ have built up a loyal following over the years and are still active as of 2016. In 2011, IQ performed a series of concerts in the UK and Europe celebrating their 30th anniversary.
Writing on the Wall's only album was theatrical heavy blues-psychedelic-rock that, despite its power and menace, was too obviously derivative of better and more original artists to qualify as a notable work. The organ-guitar blends owe much to the Doors, Procol Harum, and Traffic, though the attitude is somehow more sour and ominous than any of those groups. The vocals are sometimes pretty blatant in their homages to Arthur Brown, particularly when Linnie Paterson climbs to a histrionic scream; Jim Morrison, Gary Brooker, and Stevie Winwood obviously left their imprints on him too. Throw in some of the portentous drama from the narrations to the Elektra astrological concept album The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (particularly on "Aries") as well…
Combining the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's third and fourth albums, The Impossible Dream and Tomorrow Belongs To Me, offers perhaps the archetypal vision of Alex Harvey, as his long-nurtured alter-ego, the comic book hero Vambo, finally burst out of imagination to take on a life of his own on stages across the world. Yet what would become the group's most successful albums also stand as their patchiest.
Out of all the heavy metal bands that appeared on the Billboard charts during the 1980s, one that appeared destined to lead the pack was Y&T. After all, they'd been honing their sound since the '70s, had built a large cult following, and with each successive album had several new anthems for teenaged males to pump their fists in the air to…
Recorded across two shows with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2018.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are one of the earliest, most commercially successful, and enduring synth pop groups. Inspired most by the advancements of Kraftwerk and striving at one point "to be ABBA and Stockhausen," they've continually drawn from early electronic music as they've alternately disregarded, mutated, or embraced the conventions of the three-minute pop song. Outside their native England, OMD are known primarily for "Maid of Orleans" and the Pretty in Pink soundtrack smash "If You Leave," yet they scored 18 additional charting U.K. singles in the '80s alone. These hits supported inventive albums such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980), Architecture & Morality (1981), and commercial suicide-turned-cult classic Dazzle Ships (1983)…
Electric on the Eel is a live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It contains three complete concerts on six CDs. The shows were recorded on August 29, 1987, June 10, 1989, and August 10, 1991 at French's Camp in Piercy, California, near the Eel River. The album was released on March 15, 2019. The three performances were promoted by Bill Graham and Wavy Gravy as benefit concerts for the nearby Hog Farm commune. They featured the mid-1980s to early-1990s lineup of the Jerry Garcia Band – Jerry Garcia on guitar and vocals, Melvin Seals on keyboards, John Kahn on bass, David Kemper on drums, and Gloria Jones and Jaclyn LaBranch on vocals.
Recorded live at the New Daisy Theater with Bland's regular working road band, this captures him in fine form, bringing together old favorites with some other numbers for a heady blend. When called for, the old Joe Scott heavy horn-laden arrangements are summoned up on tunes like "St. James Infirmary," "Farther on Up the Road," "That's the Way Love Is," "I Pity the Fool," and "I'll Take Care of You" with consummate ease. But even more telling is how effortlessly and seamlessly material like Buddy Ace's "Love of Mine," "Members Only," "Soon as the Weather Breaks," and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time" meshes with the old standbys. A lengthy slow blues medley brings guest appearances from Johnnie Taylor and Bobby Rush on "Stormy Monday," but the real star here is Bland himself. He's in good voice and good humor, and this makes a fine addition to his stack of latter-day recordings.
The highly anticipated Live At The Forum album by The Teskey Brothers will now be officially released on all services on Friday, 15 May – including on limited-edition double blue vinyl, CD & all digital services. The live album was recorded to analogue tape during the band’s sold-out four night stand at the beloved Melbourne venue last November.