Rock Ice

Steve Hackett is best known as the guitarist with Genesis during their best years as both a progressive and commercial band, across ten albums of their history.

Sandwiched between 1984's Top 20 hit Breaking Hearts and 1986's commercial disaster Leather Jackets, 1985's Ice on Fire is a forgotten Elton John effort. While it is hardly a masterpiece – it isn't even up to the standard of such '80s efforts as Too Low for Zero – it's still an enjoyable record, living proof of the power of professionalism…

Going back and listening again to Tony Joe White's prodigious output from his early years, one is amazed at the depth of his talent as a guitarist, a singer and as a songwriter. After a series of albums that explored his love of deep Southern Blues, TJW took a warmer, more acoustic turn with Home Made Icecream. A lot of this is the back porch music he clearly loves - and here he is surrounded by fine session men who, if I recall from my old vinyl copy, include a drummer who wouldn't play until he'd read the lyrics…which as Tony Joe noted: "Is all right by me." The album flows beautifully, kicking off with a little rocker - Saturday Night in Oak Grove Louisiana (Tony Joe always had a thing about vehicles - little details like fender skirts - and here its the fibreglass mufflers on his pickup truck) and featuring among other things a gorgeous, lightly picked acoustic guitar and harp instrumental: the title track of the album. There's a ballad - Ol Mother Earth - but the standout is the last track which blows in like a cold breeze off a lake. "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You" is among his best ever examples of songwriting, singing and guitar playing.

RRO, the worlds greatest symphonic rock show, is a legacy rock Super Group that features some of the finest musicians in rock history! The new RRO record “In Times Of Olde” features performances by artists from legendary rock bands like AC/DC, YES, Heart, Guns N’ Roses, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake & Foreigner, including 2 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees! Renaissance Rock Orchestra’s music combines elements of classic rock, progressive metal and symphonic influences into a highly energetic and beautiful blend of powerful, spellbinding rock majesty.

In 1967 and 1968, Ice were a much-touted but slightly mysterious recording band, constantly on the radio (including the famous John Peel Show with Jimi Hendrix and Traffic) but seldom seen on television and never live. 'Walk On The Water' was the controversial track (disguised as 'Walk Under Water' for radio purposes) that was intended to be their second single and was eventually sidelined in favour of 'Ice Man'. Record Collector lists their two singles 'Anniversary (Of Love)' from 1967 and 'Ice Man' from 1968 in their Rare Record Guide and apart from the singles and their 'B' sides all of the tracks featured on this CD have never before been released. Lynton Naiff, Grant Serpell, Mo Foster and Linda Hoyle all later joined up as Affinity but that as they say is another story. This CD represents the group's entire recorded output of the cult 60’s rock group Ice.

Hiatt turned to veteran country producer Norbert Putnam here, but the result still rocked hard, with the occasional soul touch (notably those obnoxious thumb-struck basslines that are so prevalent in '80s music). Highlights here are "The Usual," later covered by Bob Dylan, and "She Said the Same Things to Me." There is also an odd duet with Elvis Costello on the old Spinners hit "Living a Little, Laughing a Little" (try and tell them apart)….

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. Born on October 25, 1950, in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England, he began his musical career in the band Smokie. Originally founded in 1965, the band changed its name several times before ultimately deciding upon Smokie in the mid-'70s. Comprised of Alan Silson (lead guitar, vocals), Terry Uttley (bass, vocals), and Pete Spencer (drums), in addition to Norman (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Smokie made their album debut in 1975 with Pass It Around.