Rockers Unit

'Echolocation' is the astonishing debut album from Mendoza Hoff Revels, a formidable new unit led by Ava Mendoza & Devin Hoff and featuring James Brandon Lewis & Ches Smith.

Damage Case - The Anthology is a unique career overview from the one of the legends of rock - Grammy Award winner, one time Hendrix roadie, gravity defying rock icon and of course Motörhead frontman, Ian Fraser Kilminster, or the mighty LEMMY to his legions of fans. Kicking off in the 60s with The Rockin' Vickers and Sam Gopal and culminating in his collaboration with Dave Grohl on the Probot project in 2004, this 2CD anthology of course includes the inevitable "Silver Machine" marking Lemmy's time with Hawkwind and a pick of Motörhead tracks - "Damage Case", "Iron Horse", and more. Also included are Lemmy's less well known collaborations with other artists including The Ramones ("R.A.M.O.N.E.S"), The Damned ("Ballroom Blitz"), Wendy O'Williams of the Plasmatics ("Stand By Your Man") and of course Girlschool and the UK top 5 hit ("Please Don't Touch").

Brian Setzer deserves his due for continually shuffling the stylistic deck. Renowned for the greased-up rockabilly of his breakthrough band, the Stray Cats, Setzer went on to roots-rock solo albums and, in the 1990s, his popular big-band swing outfit, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. All the while, he managed to keep things fresh and varied, while remaining true to the nostalgic, hopped-up rock & roll at the center of all his projects. Though NITRO BURNIN' FUNNY DADDY doesn't break new ground for Setzer, it represents the range of his experiments under one cover. And, as the roaring guitars on "Don't Trust a Woman (In a Black Cadillac)" suggest, the album rocks without reservation.

It was a brave soul that first ate an oyster, or nailed a shoe on to a horse. Similarly, trying to predict what The Wildhearts would do on their first album in 10 years, 2019’s Renaissance Men, would take some courage. The only certain thing about this uniquely creative but oft-troubled band is its ability to confound. In the event, the quartet’s comeback was an earth-shifter that echoed in its amplitude the band’s 1993 debut. Continuing that rebirth, their latest mirrors both the heavily hooked songwriting of second full-length P.H.U.Q, their most commercially successful album, and the once limited edition Fishing For Luckies, an EP revered for its absolute disregard for convention.

In the spring of 1982, English rockers Roxy Music's farewell album Avalon was released. The album was the band's only studio album they would record for Warner Bros. here in the States and the first since original drummer Paul Thompson left. He was replaced by studio ace Andy Newmark. The three remaining original members(vocalist Bryan Ferry, guitarist Phil Manzanera and woodwind expert Andy Mackay) crafted together a masterpiece. The album was produced by the band and Rhett Davies and engineered by Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams, The Rolling Stones, etc.). The single More Than This is an absolutely gorgeous start to Roxy Music's version of Abbey Road. This was the song that sent me looking for this album after watching VH1 Classic a few weeks ago. I have had the new SACD version since late April and I listen to this album constantly. The Space Between follows and is not that awful Dave Matthews song but is the ultimate break up song. The title cut is one of the best ballads I ever heard and the female backing vocalist is superb at the end and Bryan's crooning is superb. India is a great instrumental and was used as the entrance music during the Avalon tour. While My Heart is Still Beating is a great song as well. To Turn You On is excellent and features Paul Carrack on keyboards. The closing Tara is a beautiful coda to end this album which was the band's biggest seller in the US as it is their only Gold and Platinum album in the States. The CD sounds superb thanks to Bob Ludwig's painstaking remaster of this classic. Bob Clearmountain and original co-producer Rhett Davies give us this great 5.1 remix of Avalon which makes you feel like the band is actually playing in front of you. Also, the remastering that Bob Ludwig did on this Hybrid SACD demolished the previous edition by a longshot! Highly recommended! – Terrence J Reardon