When releasing new music, many bands try for originality or to do something different from their previous album, but this was rarely an issue for Motörhead, who’d hit on a formula which worked, was liked by their fanbase and gave them a solid identity. They very rarely strayed far from what gave them their name, which led to the inevitable jibes of “every album sounds the same,” but since when was it so wrong for a band to play to its strengths?

Despite the disquiet about sound quality, Orgasmatron is as solid and uncompromising as the great man himself ever was, with fine performances from all concerned. It’s also the first album to feature the four-piece Motörhead line-up… Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel and Pete Gill, though Pete is now the only one still with us. The album glistens with quality and was probably by some distance the heaviest album they’d recorded up to this point. It’s a mix of hard rock and metal with a punk underlay, with tracks like ‘Ain’t My Crime’, ‘Built for Speed’ and ‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’ leaning towards classic rock. There’re a few rehearsal tracks which’ll be of interest mainly to diehard fans, alongside blistering versions of ‘Killed by Death’ and ‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’ from the Friday Rock Show.

The album was originally released in 1986, with a deluxe reissue in 2010, and now there’s this… how many copies does one fan need? There’s probably no answer to this, but one thing’s certain, which is the 2026 remix versions are the best-sounding tracks… ‘Deaf Forever’, ‘Doctor Rock’ and ‘Orgasmatron’ are now so much clearer. The guitar separation on ‘Mean Machine’ is easier to pick out and the music sounds much crisper and cleaner.

The remastering and remixing have undoubtedly improved the sonic quality of the album, but it’s very much one for the diehard fan or the completist.

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Work on the album began in 2015 with Downes and John Wetton putting ideas down but, very sadly, Wetton became very ill and died early in 2017, the work was shelved and the band went on hiatus, with Carl Palmer and Steve Howe walking away. But the ‘John Wetton tribute concert’ in 2023, with Downes, Harry Whitley on bass/vocals, plus Virgil Donati on drums and prog guitarist John Mitchell, was extremely successful and the band continued.

Indigo sees Asia stepping up to the mark again and producing a series of well-crafted and put together accessible rock based songs, with the occasional prog flourish as a reminder of the pedigree of the original band. The first thing you notice, from the opening notes of the intro track, ‘Time Traveller (Into The Light)’, is that the formula which brought them their success in the eighties is still in place… the good harmonies, the catchy melodies and the quality of the playing, particularly from John Mitchell, whose guitar work has given Asia the rocket boost they really needed. Original member Steve Howe is a masterful, almost cerebral, guitarist but Mitchell’s rock credentials have given the band a much harder, rockier edge.

This is very noticeable on the three part piece ‘Tattoo Indigo’, Pts 1 to 3 which, taken together, probably constitute some of Asia’s finest playing. Pt 1 shows what they can do when they really let go, which includes getting in touch with their inner prog, and there’s very good guitar work from Mitchell all the way through. Pts 2 and 3 are also amongst the last pieces John Wetton wrote before he took his leave of us. Bonus track Pt 3 features powerhouse prog drummer Mike Portnoy who, along with Mitchell’s fine guitar playing, takes the track up to another level.

For the rest of the album, for want of a better way of putting it, it’s classic Asia, with power ballads like ‘Change Of Heart’, the occasional lapse into MOR with ‘On A Winter’s Night’, and tracks like ‘Night And Day’, ‘Echo Of You’ and ‘Life In The Sun’, any of which could easily have been slotted into any of Asia’s earlier works, and original member Steve Howe adds some acoustic guitar to ‘Chesapeake Bay’. All the music is extremely well played and put across, retaining the accessibility which made the band’s name back in the day.

Indigo proves Asia haven’t moved too far away from the style which helped make their name in the eighties… it ain’t broke so they’ve not had to fix anything… they’ve simply played to their strengths, and it shows.

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This is an album which is both ambitious and epic on the grand scale, consisting of only four pieces of music, though the two longest tracks are divided into three and five parts respectively. There’s a blend of two longer, more complex tunes which run for something like forty-eight minutes between them, alongside two shorter, slightly punchier tunes running for a mere ten minutes. The result is an album bristling with some of the finest music the Kings have come up with for some time. As mainman Roine Stolt says, “After 37 years, I’d never have dreamt we’d be making one of our finest albums in 2026.” Hope is easily on a par with the best work of The Flower Kings. The music is concise, well performed and the sentiment expressed in the message is heartwarming.

The nineteen-minute ‘The Final Curtain’ opens the album and is divided into three sections, beginning with an instrumental which is redolent of Transatlantic. Overall it’s an excellent piece of music with superb keyboards from Lalle Larsson, whose fine playing is one of the central features of the album. It’s followed by a much shorter piece, the delightful ‘In A World Of Fools’, a slightly catchier tune with pop elements, where we’re told to “hold your head high, keep the light alive in a world of fools.” The even shorter ‘Mars & Minerva’ (Roman gods of war and wisdom respectively) is a pulsating piece of music, dominated by another fine synth solo from Lalle Larsson.

The album’s centrepiece is ‘Gods Of Rome’, an epic divided into five parts. Despite its length and occasional complexity, it’s an accessible piece of music right the way through, with elements of pop, prog and symphonic rock alongside some beautifully evolved musical parts. There’s lots of good soloing, with Roine Stolt and Larsson well to the fore with scintillating performances, though everyone in the band performs superbly. During parts three and four, Roine Stolt intones, “there are no chosen ones, just fools who live by the gun.”

Hope is an album which, with two tracks running to almost fifty minutes, is asking a lot of the listener, but it’s one which rewards the listener, because part of the Kings’ skill set is their ability to play what appears to be simple and easy music yet, when listened to closely, is actually quite complex. They possess the virtuosity of Yes but without the intense complexity of Gentle Giant. Hope bristles with everything the Kings are renowned for, and it’s absolutely one for the prog fan who harkens back to the great bands of the 1970s, from whom the Kings draw their main influences.

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Tonight’s show, one of two nights at a sold-out Cadogan Hall, gives his fanbase the rare opportunity to catch him in a somewhat intimate setting, rather than in a large hall. At 7.30, the lights go down and, with no introduction, dressed in white chinos and an untucked shirt, he casually strolls out onstage alone with an acoustic guitar and opens with ‘I Dreamed Last Night’, a song written with fellow Moody John Lodge for their Blue Jays album, after which he’s joined onstage by his fellow musicians and, for the next two hours, with a short break, he gives us a run-through of songs from the Moody Blues repertoire, ranging from 1967 to 1991, alongside a few songs from his solo albums and a newly released song.

Predictably it was some of the older tunes which drew the biggest cheers. After ‘Say It With Love’, from 1991, he goes back to the late 60s and plays ‘Lovely To See You’, from 1969’s On The Threshold Of A Dream, and ‘Tuesday Afternoon’, from 1967’s Days Of Future Passed. It’s remarkable to think, between 1967 and 1970, the Moodies released four iconic albums which still resonate today. He then performs a solo album track, ‘Living For Love’, and a 1991 Moodies track ‘Hope And Pray’, from the Keys Of The Kingdom album. After which the band leave the stage and there follows a Q&A session, where he invites audience members to ask questions, and he answers queries about his favourite guitar, where he once lived and a very amusing story about how, in the late 60s, the Moodies were ‘there but not quite all there,’ and arrived a year late for a radio performance! He then closes the set with a short medley of pieces, which includes the sublime ‘Out And In’, from 1969’s To Our Children’s Children’s Children.

The second half opens with a new song, ‘A Minute Ago’, and 1991’s ‘Land Of Make Believe’ before he then performs hit single ‘Forever Autumn’, after which there’s a selection of the Moodies‘ more iconic songs, which include ‘Your Wildest Dreams’, ‘Question’, ‘The Story In Your Eyes’ and .. you guessed it .. ‘Nights In White Satin’, all of which were rapturously received, before the set closes with ‘I Know You’re Out There Somewhere’, from 1988’s Sur La Mer.

This was a classy set from a consummate professional. His voice still sounds good and his support band are all fine musicians, particularly Carmen Gold and Julie Ragins, who provide backing vocals, flute and occasional keys which enhance the set beautifully. A couple of tracks sound different with no mellotron behind them, notably ‘Out And In’, but this is a minor quibble. It’s only when you see Justin Hayward ‘live’ when you realise just how many good songs he’s written down the years, and his and the Moodies‘ place in rock history is assured and richly deserved.

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This is a mini-album, consisting of just six tracks with a playing time of only twenty-two minutes, and the title comes from the music being recorded, not just in studios, but also in hotel rooms whilst touring, the intention being to go for ‘raw expression and emotional truth over studio perfection,’ with the musicians wanting the ‘feel’ of what they play to be right out front.

Opening track, ‘Your Luck Won’t Last’, is a track the young Tina Turner could have cut her teeth recording and features some nice sleazy sax in the middle, whereas ‘Help The Poor’ is a more bluesy number, with Randy Jacobs demonstrating his dexterity on acoustic guitar. Title track ‘Pull Up The Roots’ is a slower, funkier tune with smouldering vocals from Jenny Langer, and run through with some fine harmonica from Mark Pender. ‘Eat A Peach’ is a smooth soul infused piece played with a very catchy southern groove, with very understated guitar from Jacobs, while ‘Fire On The Bayou’ drips with a deep south ‘feel,’ before it all concludes with ‘Fly On The Wall’, a fine fusion mix of blues and soul.

The post The Boneshakers: Pull Up The Roots Album Review appeared first on RAMzine.

Country rock is notoriously hard to pin down but, like other genres, it’s very much in the ear of the beholder… you know it when you hear it. Whether a track is country rock or country and western is something purely for the listener to decide, and the distinction between Ry Cooder‘s ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ and Dillard & Clark‘s ‘No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine’ is probably negligible, though both are really superb songs.

Safe At Home, from The International Submarine Band, was possibly the first album to be referred to as country rock. The band were led by Gram Parsons, a seminal figure in the genre whose desire to create what he referred to as ‘Cosmic American Music’ led to the band fusing folk, country and rock to evolve a new sound. Parsons then joined The Byrds, whose 1968 album, Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, saw the band moving towards a more countrified sound. During this same period, a number of other albums were released which, at the time, sold poorly but which have since become revered as seminal in the evolving of country rock as a genre. Even Bob Dylan got in on the act with albums like Nashville Skyline.

Many of the usual suspects are to be found on this release, with fine tracks from the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Linda Ronstadt, Buffalo Springfield, John Prine, Pure Prairie League, Allman Brothers, Mike Nesmith and The Lovin’ Spoonful. The influence of bands like The Byrds, on tracks like ‘Brother John’ by The Dillards and Turnquist Remedy‘s ‘Cowboy Song’, and Buffalo Springfield, on Rick Nelson‘s ‘Things You Gave Me’, is very noticeable. There are several songs which may or may not be country rock but, whatever, are gorgeous pieces of music, in particular Little Feat‘s ‘Willin” and The New Riders‘ glorious tune ‘Last Lonely Eagle’. Inevitably, on a set with 76 tracks, one or two don’t quite make the grade and, great band though they are, by 1973 The Byrds were just a shadow of their former selves, and it shows on a very lame version of Neil Young‘s classic tune ‘Cowgirl In The Sand’.

The only downside here is, for several of the artists included, there never was a gold rush because, as good as their songs were, songs like JD Souther‘s ‘How Long’ somehow got lost in the mix and didn’t get the recognition they deserved.

Country rock probably peaked in the mid-1970s with The Eagles, who took it into the mainstream to achieve global success, and its ramifications can still be felt in modern Americana. This set does exactly what it says on the cover, offering plenty of really good tracks, irrespective of genre, for fans to get enthused about.

The post Before The Gold Rush: An American country rock Anthology 66-73 appeared first on RAMzine.

McLaren is the dominating part of the film, but Anarchy takes a holistic view of the whole era, touching on the pre-Punk social and political context, and looking at the people, the fashions and, ultimately, some of the controversies and impact of what became one of the biggest cultural explosions of the twentieth century, and Phil Strongman is well qualified to make this film… he was right in there on the ground floor, helping to fight the Punk wars, working on the King’s Road when McLaren and Westwood had their shop, and attending the gigs and being present at several of Punk’s more controversial moments, as well as being the author of Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk.

McLaren studied art & design before launching his fashion ideas. He spent time in the US in the early seventies, wanting to be the ‘British Andy Warhol,’ and got involved with the New York Dolls, where his ideas of red patent leather stage gear with a Hammer and Sickle backdrop went down badly, with guitarist Johnny Thunders blaming McLaren for the band splitting. Back in London, from a shop named ‘Sex’ on the King’s Road, he puts his ideas of ‘image, performance and music all wrapped up together’ into practice… the Pistols were the result and a social revolution emerged. McLaren was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time as a generation of bored teenagers was looking for something different, and the Punk message of No Fun, No Future resounded loudly.

The film contains a wealth of older footage of places and gigs, but surprisingly no footage of the Pistols in action which would have given the film added gravitas, as well as perceptive comments and interviews with luminaries who were there, including Tony Wilson, Boy George and Adam Ant, plus detailed contributions from Ben Westwood, McLaren and Westwood’s son.

Ultimately, whether you’ll enjoy this film will depend on your view of Malcolm McLaren… interest declared, mine is not favourable… but, to be fair to him, there can be little doubt about the role he played in a major social movement. Anarchy is a film for anyone who wasn’t around at the time as a social history of the seventies and, if you can stomach some of McLaren’s more ludicrous pronouncements and outlandish claims… his eulogising of the pathetic specimen which was Sid Vicious is laughable… it’s a fascinating period piece.

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RAMzine: Yourself and Geoff come from very different musical worlds so how did you actually link up?

Braide: I was a founder member of a band called The Producers, and we were rehearsing for a reunion Buggles concert, for a supper club, and we met there and got on really well. I told him, ‘I’m moving to America in a couple of months, it’d be great to see you out there.’ This was around the time of Yes‘ Fly From Here album, and this is what led to the first DBA album.

RAMzine: With what you have going, and Geoff Downes having Yes and Asia, you both must have to sacrifice a lot to make music together.

Braide: Yeah, it’s not easy. I mean, this album took a period of years and was recorded in various different places, because I’m busy, he’s busy…

RAMzine: Geoff in particular has been busy… Trauma is the third new album he’s been involved with in 2026, Aurora with Yes and he has Asia‘s new one, Indigo, out next month.

Braide: That’s right, yeah, he does. But Trauma was on the boil for about four years. It started life in London, then it went to LA, then back here to Gloucestershire… it really has been all around the houses. But it needed all this time to cook away and become the album it now is. At the age I am now [Chris is 53] I can’t just knock something out in six weeks. I mean, what for? I’d much rather something took time.

RAMzine: What is it about Geoff Downes as a musician which made you want to record with him?

Braide: I wouldn’t put any album out if I didn’t believe in it, because you have to stand by it, and Trauma‘s up there with the best we’ve done, as a fan of music. For the past fifteen years, Geoff and I have had a very strong friendship, I like what he does and he likes my stuff, and we wouldn’t put out any old crap. It’s easier when you have a connection with someone. We haven’t run out of ideas yet so, as long as this is the case, then why not do it?

RAMzine: Have you ever thought of maybe making DBA a more regular project rather than just the occasional album every other year or so?

Braide: No, not really. The album’s so intricate, there’s so much in it and I don’t think I could possibly make something else like in another six months, there’s no way. You have to go and live life and have experiences, especially with this one, but I think with all the albums it’s the same, especially the last three. For me, personally, I wouldn’t want them to sound manufactured, if you know what I mean.

RAMzine: You mentioned experiences. On Trauma, were tracks like ‘I Wish I’d Known’ and ‘Wonderland’ written from personal feelings, as they’re both quite emotional?

Braide: Yeah, everything I write is from personal experience, I couldn’t do it any other way. I’m not one of those writers who can just conjure up a scenario. Great writers like Elvis Costello can write about other people, and Marc Almond‘s great at writing observational lyrics, whereas my style of writing tends to be more personal, bit more like a diary kind of thing or maybe autobiographical, loosely I mean, not all of it is about me, or scenarios I’ve found myself in, but, yeah, a lot of what I write is personal.

RAMzine: ‘Wonderland’ in particular sounds like it comes from very personal experience.

Braide: Yeah, I think so, yeah. I’m kind of fascinated by the idea that you can leave somewhere, like your origins… it’s hard to explain, it’s almost like a form of survivor’s guilt. I grew up in a small northern town and ended up on the road as a musician, travelling here, there and everywhere, and I got far away from where I started, and you forget about some things, but it’s still important to me and I hope the people I left behind, if you like, they found their wonderland as well… though I’m not sure anyone ever does, really, and that’s why I keep searching… the older I get, the more I realise how important my roots are to me.

RAMzine: Would DBA be a better known band if you did the occasional ‘live’ gig?

Braide: I’m sure it would, yeah, I’m sure it would, but I’m quite philosophical about it. If people want to buy the record, then great, but I don’t lose sleep over it. I’m kind of a strange fish because I don’t actually need the validation of an audience, I never have done, I do music in its purest form. I do it because I can’t not do it, and if people buy it, then it’s almost like ‘Wow’… but I like to think I have a kind of innocence about my relationship to music, and not wanting it tarnished by the business, though there have been times when I’ve been pulling my hair out. So, yeah, I suppose if we toured endlessly, we might, but that’s not me, and it’s not the life I saw myself having. Also if I was touring all the time, I wouldn’t get to make these records, and you can’t be good at all things. I can do ‘live’ stuff, and I’ve enjoyed it…

RAMzine: There’s been one ‘live’ album, hasn’t there?

Braide: Yeah [Live In England, 2019], we did four shows, they were fun and I enjoyed them, but I prefer being in the studio. We’d have to sell a lot more albums to justify all the touring, you know what I’m saying? If you wanna sell records, you’ve really gotta tour a lot, though every DBA album has sold progressively more than the previous one. Geoff and I have this idea about DBA being a band waiting to be discovered, it does work, it just takes a long time.

RAMzine: Given how closely you and Geoff work together, could it be said you’re the musical soulmate Geoff hasn’t had since John Wetton? (John sadly died in 2017)

Braide: It’s a nice idea, yeah, but I’d never say I’ve taken the place of John Wetton because he can never be replaced, but definitely Geoff and I have a kind of kindred spirit between us. Maybe it’s because we’re both northerners, and we laugh at the same things.

RAMzine: So, would it be true to say you’re happy keeping DBA a ‘creative comfort zone’?

Braide: Yeah, I think so, yeah… I mean, Trauma took four years to make and I couldn’t do another one next week. It’s like a painting, isn’t it? You don’t rush a painting, do you? You take time and when it’s finished, it’s finished. Making music’s always been a bit like that with me. DBA‘s my creative outlet, a big canvas and a pot of paint.

The post Chris Braide On DBA’s Trauma: A Trauma In The Making? appeared first on RAMzine.

‘Wonderland’ being a good example, a song about breaking away from rigid familial hierarchies and surviving the guilt of walking away. ‘I Wish I’d Known’ would’ve made a fine single, a reflective piece about the passing of time, “I wish I’d had the sense to see, the ego stops the heart from being free”, with the implication of time wasted and regrets. The heartfelt ‘Wherever You Are Now’ closes the album, a song about the heartache of really missing someone, and the subtle trumpet adds a melancholic vibe. A voice which carries slightly more emotional depth, someone like Colin Blunstone perhaps, could have made a real tear jerker out of this one.

There’re two lengthy epics which, together, run to twenty three minutes. Title track ‘Trauma’ begins slow but gradually builds up into a powerful piece, quite proggy with a touch of Fish-era Marillion added to the mix, and it’s a pity Dave Bainbridge, whose guitar work lights up the album, waited till the end to add his contribution, while on ‘Lake Of Memories’, a fourteen minute piece of varying moods and tempos, CB and GD go all metaphysical on us with a song about how immersion into said lake enables one to reconnect with the past, “to have one minute back with those we’ve lost”, and features some of the best musical performances on the entire album.

Trauma is an album of intriguing songs with some fine hooks and fine vocal performances, admirably supported by a top class rhythm section. The likelihood of gigs behind this new release is minimal, however, as both men are kept very busy with other projects, though I suspect DBA would be a much better known outfit if they were out in the public eye more.

The post Downes Braide Association: Trauma Album Review appeared first on RAMzine.

This set looks at the three albums Budgie recorded for MCA during the early to mid seventies period, Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (NTYBOAF), In For The Kill (IFTK) and Bandolier (B). These three very likely represent Budgie‘s career peak, with two of the albums entering the top forty and, whilst their ability to rock out onstage ensured they continued to pull in the crowds as a good ‘live’ draw, no other albums came close to matching the quality on offer here, and they didn’t come close to troubling the charts again.

Together, these three albums contain a number of the tracks which helped ensure Budgie stayed in rock’s top division, though without ever seriously competing for the top of the tree. There’s some fine playing from all involved, with guitarist Tony Bourge showing he’s a consistently underrated musician, while Burke Shelley‘s voice, like Geddy Lee‘s and Brian Johnson‘s, is an acquired taste.

‘Breadfan’ (NTYBOAF) is one of the great riffs of classic rock, easily on a par with many other much vaunted riffs of the genre. Budgie were quite adept at performing lengthy rock tunes, such as the epic ‘Parents’, ‘You’re The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk’ and ‘In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter’s Hand’ (NTYBOAF), ‘Zoom Club’ and ‘Living On Your Own’ (IFTK) plus ‘Breaking All The House Rules’ and ‘Napoleon Bona Parts 1 and 2’ (B). On these, rather than just remorseless riffing, they were able to combine driving hard rock with a bluesy underlay, as shown on their cover of Big Joe Williams‘ ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’, a staple which many bands of the era attempted, and while Big Joe would’ve been horrified at what Budgie did to his song, they nailed it completely.

They also showed their more sensitive side with quieter songs like ‘You Know I’ll Always Love You’ (NTYBOAF) and ‘Wondering What Everyone Knows’ (IFTK), with Burke‘s high register voice surprisingly in accord with the sentiments expressed, plus also ‘Slipaway’ (B) which steers very closely to the middle of the road. ‘Living On Your Own’ (IFTK) even saw Budgie hinting at prog with a middle section which brought Welsh band Man to mind.

As mentioned, these three albums were Budgie‘s recording peak. They released other albums, but on different labels and with changing personnel, with only Burke Shelley staying the course. Who knows what Budgie might have achieved had they received the right level of support from record labels? But, nonetheless, their place in rock history is assured. They carved out their own niche and, in any classic rock Hall of Fame, they richly deserve a place.

The post Budgie: Running From My Soul, The MCA Years reviewed appeared first on RAMzine.