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FRANK MARINO

A NEW ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Live on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert 1975

GTFM Rock Show Preview

“Caldicot Castle Classic Rock Weekend“

“This week, we preview this weekends Caldicot Castle ‘Classic Rock Weekend’ featuring the Australian Pink Floyd, Man, Magnum, Bad Company, Rattlesnake Remedy and Get Vegas. We’ll hear from some of the bands, play their music, get information about the weekend and we’ll have tickets to give away. New music, plus the usual rock history and rock news from the web.”

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email DJ Andy Fox via rockshow@gtfm.co.uk

Listen live in the Pontypridd, South Wales area on 107.9 FM

or on the Internet by pointing your media player at

http://qtss.lrc.glam.ac.uk:8000/gtfmmp3

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Join in the GTFM Sub-Forum at

The Classic Rock Newswire Forum

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The GTFM ROCK SHOW with ANDY FOX

22.00 to 24.00 every Wednesday

Status Quo – Rockin The Castle

Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr Tydfil – 26th July 2008

After all the recent discussion here of singer’s who’s voices aren’t what they were it was amusing on Saturday to witness rock veterans Status Quo just “doing it”, and every bit as well as they’ve ever done. Indeed I go as far to say that their performance here at the first of what is hoped to be an annual festival was probably the best I’ve seen from them in over 20 years of experiencing Quo live.  However it had been a surprising nine years since I last saw them play and I must admit to some concerns that for these types of event, rather than their regular arena gigs, they’d wheel out a surprise free “caberet” set.  Fortunately the concerns proved largely unfounded.

Superb weather and a well laid out festival area in the grounds of the Castle helped make the occasion, whilst a second stage hosting a number of local bands playing both covers and original material welcomed early arrivals. Along Came Man and Killing For Company continued the Welsh band line-up as the main stage opened, but it wasn’t until the superbly enjoyable hillbilly novelty act Hayseed Dixie took to the stage that the crowd really started to get going.  Packing a huge number of songs into their hour long set they seemed the perfect festival act; entertaining, amusing and considerably different to the headliners.  Who else can play “Ace Of Spades” in the same set as “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” and get away with it?

Status Quo are our masters of this kind of setting though.  I’d guess four thousand or so people ranging from kids (my 11 year old immensely enjoyed this, his first concert), die hard’s and casual fans who know “the hits” and to my mind rather than the feared predictability, they got the set list spot on.  “Burning Bridges” and “In The Army Now” whilst not personal favourites by any means, kept many happy. The usual suspects of “Rockin’ All Over The World”, “Whatever You Want” and opener “Caroline” were greeted like old friends and more than a few surprises included “The Oriental”, current album opening track “Beginning Of The End” and older inclusions like “Hold You Back” (boy was I happy to hear this one again!) and “Don’t Drive My Car” (and this one come to think of it!!).  Early albums “Piledriver” and “Hello” were healthily represented too keep the old-guard more than happy.

In all honesty I can’t imagine anyone went away from Merthyr disappointed with this performance.  After forty years Rossi and Parfitt could perhaps be excused some reduction in mobility but there was little evidence of them slowing down. They appeared enthused, on form and as entertaining as ever. It certainly won’t be as big a gap to the next time I see Quo in concert.

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BL

Photographs courtesy of Dave Hunter

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Queensryche’s Geoff Tate – Interview Download

Time for an exclusive interview from the GTFM Rock Show once again, as ANDY FOX meets up with Queensryche driving force GEOFF TATE for a lengthy chat during the band’s recent UK tour.

Wowing audiences up and down the country (although sadly not in South Wales) Queensryche have been performing their hit album “Operation:Mindcrime” and its sequel, the cunningly entitled “Operation:Mindcrime II” in their entirity along with a full theatrical show.  During this interview Tate talks at length about the tour, the plans for a new Queensryche album and also his plans for an acting career…

DOWNLOAD THE INTERVIEW HERE

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And to whet the appetite while the interview downloads here is the video to the classic “Eyes Of A Stranger“…

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BL

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Classic Rock Weekend Press Release

The GTFM Rockshow is proud to be involved with this years ‘Classic Rock Weekend’

at Caldicot Castle

Friday 1^st – Sunday 3^rd August Weekend ticket £42.00

The Australian Pink Floyd Show  with support from Man

compere Andy Fox, GTFM Rockshow

Friday 1st August 5.00pm Tickets £25.00 (+ £1.50 booking fee)

Magnum Supported By: Bad Company, Rattlesnake Remedy & Get Vegas, compere Andy Fox, GTFM Rockshow

Sat 2nd August 5:00pm

Tickets £17.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee)

Unsigned Hero’s – Charity Event

Sunday 3rd August 2008 12 noon Admission £3.00 available on gate only

A day of local unsigned bands helping to raise funds for ‘prostrate cancer research.

Camping available on site £6 per night, per tent. Camper van etc. Pitches available via phone, £10 per night. Free parking. Contact Hannah’s music, Chepstow on 0129101291 627122, email sales@hannahsmusic.co.uk or Visit http://www.hmp-gigs.com/events.html for details.

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BLACKFOOT

TOO HARD TO HANDLE

Live in concert 1982

GTFM Rock Show Preview

“Queensryche, Quo and a bit of blues-rock“

“This week’s Rock Show features an interview with Geoff Tate from Queensryche who recently toured the UK with their epic ‘Operation Mindcrime’ stage show. We preview Status Quo’s show at Cyfartha Castle, Merthyr Tydfil this weekend, with Quo goodies to give away, and spotlight the new album from blues rock guitarist Walter Trout plus new music from Sebastian Bach, Rose Hill Drive and Black Stone Cherry, plus the usual rock history and rock news from the web.”

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email DJ Andy Fox via rockshow@gtfm.co.uk

Listen live in the Pontypridd, South Wales area on 107.9 FM

or on the Internet by pointing your media player at

http://qtss.lrc.glam.ac.uk:8000/gtfmmp3

——

Join in the GTFM Sub-Forum at

The Classic Rock Newswire Forum

——

The GTFM ROCK SHOW with ANDY FOX

22.00 to 24.00 every Wednesday

Rainbow – Live In Germany 1976

Details : 2001, 2CD, Spitfire/Connoisseur

Much debate during recent GTFM Rock Show broadcasts on the merits of Ritchie Blackmore’s current musical project has lead me personally back to the classic period of early Rainbow and specifically to this album which I think first surfaced back in the early 90s.

A set that collects together the (alleged) best performances from Rainbow’s 1976 German tour it captures the band just two albums in, although opening their concerts with the rip-roaring “Kill The King” from the then forthcoming “Long Live Rock ‘n Roll” release.  Unburdened by the limitations of vinyl this two disc set therefore avoids the kind of editing that marred the official live document of the ‘classic’ Ronnie James Dio fronted line-up “On Stage”, a set recorded on the same ‘76 tour but mostly on the Japanese dates. Consequently the listener is treated to a similar songs but specifically more Blackmore in all his self-important glory tinkering away at times seemingly absorbed in his own world, blazing away at others with the kind of intensity few guitarists can create and indeed make interesting when listened to in the home many years later.  Some sixty minutes of live music on vinyl gets stretched to nearly one hundred minutes in compact disc format.

“Mistreated“, a song originally recorded on Deep Purple’s “Burn” album is elongated to the sixteen minute mark and challenges co-writer David Coverdale’s own live version on Whitesnake’s “Live In The Heart Of The City” or Purple’s own live stab at it on “Live In London”.  The often gentle, although at one point quite explosive “Catch The Rainbow” too nearly touches fifteen minutes resulting in just four tracks, a marvellous rendition of “Sixteen Century Greensleeves” being the other, filling the first disc.

The second disc of this collection is particularly special.  “Man On The Silver Mountain” finally emerges from a sequence of guitarist lead jams, the first of which seems to briefly hint at the solo from “Smoke On The Water” for a second as Blackmore indulges.  A short bluesy section towards the end of the song is none too shabby either.  The wonderful “Stargazer” clocks in at a mammoth seventeen minutes thanks in part to the spotlight hitting keyboard player Tony Carey for a superbly grandiose intro.  Never for a second does the track get boring though.  Truly a classic, you hear this song and realise it’s truly a travesty that radio chooses to recognise later, more AOR oriented versions of Rainbow for modern day airplay.  From the same Cologne date comes the lengthy, multi-sectioned piece based around the band’s interpretation of The Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad” which allows amongst other things drummer Cozy Powell to bask in the spotlight for a while.  Finally a Blackmore dominated “Do You Close Your Eyes” from the bands pinnacle “Rising” brings to an end a fine collection that although long and indulgent is chock full of intensity and raw energy.

It appears that each of the concerts from which these selections were drawn have now had their own full releases.  I’ve not yet amassed the funds to check each concert out therefore I’m unaware if any date individually matches the quality compiled here.  Until I get around to purchasing and hearing each of those recordings this, not “On Stage” and certainly not the latter Rainbow-era mostly live set “Final Vinyl” will be my choice when wanting to hear this celebrated era of the band in concert.

Highlight: Stargazer

Score: 4/5

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An edited clip of “Stargazer” performed live in 1976 with occasional interview segments…

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BL

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Motley Crue GTFM Interview Download

Some gremlins in the works this week I think.  I’ll be honest, I only listened to the first hour of the Rock Show this week, leaving the computer recording the second half of the show which included the Motley Crue interview.  Unfortunately, when I sat down earlier today to edit the file for sharing it appears instead of the early part of the interview I somehow ended up with a bit of Rolling Stones, something I didn’t recognise and oh no… Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight”!

Don’t quite know what happened but I managed to salvage about 7 minutes of the interview and despite it being somewhat truncated I’m offering it up here as it will surely appeal to a few Crue fans.

Anyway, the conversation begins with the band discussing how they go about selecting the set list for a new tour, before moving onto talking about the new “Cruefest”. It’s just a 1.5mb download so it shouldn’t take long to grab.  Download it from this link.

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BL

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Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Thunder live in Cardiff

Cardiff International Arena, 14th July 2008

The Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Thunder show rolled into Cardiff last Monday delivering a somewhat surprising sell-out show at Wales’ largest indoor concert venue.  Something like 7,500 people jammed into the CIA and tickets changing hands outside for at least twice their face value.

Thunder seem permanently destined to be British rock’s perennial “third band on a big bill”.  They’ve filled that slot at Donington, on the Monsters Of Rock arena tour a few years back and now on this late 80s throwback evening.  Somewhat predictable but as usual entertaining they drew heavily from their début album “Backstreet Symphony” of course, opening with their best known song “Dirty Love” and playing two other numbers from that disc in a six song set.  Certainly well received they seemed delighted to be back on a big stage with Danny Bowes of course a highly entertaining if unconventional frontman, skipping onto stage at the beginning and leading more audience participation moments than your average Bruce Forsyth fronted TV game show.  One thought I had though with Bowes in particularly impressive voice was surely an opening band with a singer who’s ability is not quite what it once was would have been much more appropriate given what followed!

Set list : Dirty Love / River Of Pain / Low Life In High Places / Gimme Some Lovin’ / The Devil Made Me Do It / I Think I Love You More Than Rock ‘n’ Roll

Whitesnake were perhaps unsurprisingly the pick of the evening for me, and judging by the increased space available at floor level when the headline band were on were also the reason why this bill sold out; it was certainly noticeable that there was a little more space once they’d done.  The new album was well represented with no less than four tracks, including a stirring opening stab through “Best Years” and while more metallicised versions of the likes of “Fool For Your Loving” may not sit as well as the original, something like “A Fool In Love” from the recent album achieved a much greater notability live.

Coverdale remains a hugely entertaining frontman.  All winks and kisses to the ladies in the front rows, he continues to command the stage but these days with more than a touch of added “ham”. Seemingly aware that his voice doesn’t quite possess the range it once did it is noticeable that the band take on increased singing duties.  That aside, there is less of the screaming that marred some of the live shows of the 90s and on welcome acoustic run through’s of “The Deeper The Love” and most favourably an albeit truncated version of the classic “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” everything was just superb.

The ever popular four hit singles from “1987″ were hugely greeted of course, a thunderous “Still Of The Night” the final song from a band that deserved an encore but because of the limitations of the three band bill, were seemingly unable to deliver one.

Set List : Best Years / Fool For Your Loving / Can You Hear The Wind Blow / Love Ain’t No Stranger / Lay Down Your Love / The Deeper The Love / Is This Love / Guitar Solo / A Fool In Love / Ain’t Gonna Cry No More / Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City / Give Me All Your Love / Here I Go Again / Still Of The Night

Def Leppard were the headliners on this tour, no matter what the publicity may tell you; of that I have no doubt now.  The electronic backdrop which for Whitesnake could only display some heavily pixelated logos suddenly sprang into perfect clarity for the Sheffield band making for some stunning visuals in conjunction with two huge video screens that flanked the stage.  Unfortunately a band that once were accused of using backing tapes so good were their live harmonies, sounded decidedly ropy at times on this occasion.

Now its fair to say that a 2008 Def Leppard setlist won’t bear much resemblance to one I’d choose, only the excellent “Bringing On The Heartbreak” representing the two early albums by the formative band that I enjoy so much.  However, I’m not one of those “Hysteria” detractors considering it a perfect example of late 80s melodic rock, and there is little denying that songs like “Animal”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Armageddon It” were amongst the best received numbers on the night.  In contrast to the Whitesnake set, Def Leppard play just two from their new album although neither “Nine Lives” or “C’mon C’mon” really ignited the crowd.  Indeed soundwise it was somewhat bizarrely their cover of David Essex song “Rock On” that sounded best of the songs from the earlier part of the set. Or maybe that was just relief after said song emerged at the end of a tedious bass solo.

Joe Elliott’s vocal limitations were especially exposed on the surprising inclusion of “When Love And Hate Collide”.  An acoustic “Two Steps Behind” was better though and a near impromptu version of “Freebird” was amusing, especially when Phil Collen stopped Elliott embarking on what could have been a 15 minute indulgent labour of love!  Main set closing number, a majestic “Rock Of Ages”, was a welcome reminder of the best years of the band but the continued inclusion of fodder like the awful “Make Love Like A Man” and a presumed encore of “Let’s Get Rocked” (I was off home after “Rock Of Ages” to ensure I missed this one!) mean that although quite enjoyable its unlikely I’d go to see Def Leppard in concert again unless the support acts are of a similar calibre to this evening’s line-up.

On the whole a decent evening but other perhaps than Whitesnake’s set, one unlikely to make any “all time” or “annual” favourite lists I think.

Set List : Rocket / C’mon C’mon / Animal / Nine Lives / Make Love Like A Man / When Love And Hate Collide / Bass Solo / Rock On / Two Steps Behind / Bringin’ On The Heartbreak / Hysteria / Armageddon It / Photograph / Pour Some Sugar On Me / Rock Of Ages  (encore guess – Let’s Get Rocked??)

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BL

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