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Bret Adams
Ace Frehley
10,000 Volts
Kiss’ original guitarist didn’t appear at the band’s final concert, crushing the rock-and-roll dreams of diehard fans. But, his latest album will have them once again pumping their fists. After releasing two Origins cover albums in 2016 and ’20, here, Frehley returns to originals, co-writing most songs with Trixter guitarist Steve Brown, who also plays…
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Bret Adams
Pop ’N Hiss: UFO’s Lights Out
Shining Bright
Most critics and fans agree that the finest studio album by British hard-rockers UFO was 1977’s Lights Out. The group’s sixth studio effort is renowned as a cohesive yet varied set highlighted by the full-out strut of the title track along with catchy mid-tempo rockers like “Too Hot to Handle” and “Gettin’ Ready” perched alongside…
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Bret Adams
Ace Frehley
Shock Waves
As an original member of rock titans Kiss, “Space Ace” Frehley inspired countless budding musicians. His new album, 10,000 Volts, is his first set of original material in six years, following two Origins cover albums. Trixter guitarist Steve Brown co-wrote most of 10,000 Volts with Frehley, and the partnership will likely continue. With writer Ken…
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Bret Adams
Geddy Lee
My Effin’ Life
Great autobiographies fill gaps and provide details untold in prior interviews. That’s true with this memoir by Rush vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee. As you’d expect, the book focuses on Lee’s bond with guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart; especially revelatory are insights on their friendship and musical collaboration, including recollections of how mixing and playback…
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Bret Adams
Mick Mars
Different Flavors, Different Way
Guitarist Mick Mars’ long-discussed solo album is finally done. The Other Side of Mars is crushing modern metal with gothic touches, violins and violas, prog-like soundscapes, and more. If you’re expecting a carbon copy of Mötley Crüe, you’re in for a shock. The album features the core of keyboardist Paul Taylor (Winger, Alice Cooper), drummer…
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Bret Adams
Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet
Feast Your Ears
The Rolling Stones were back. Well, they’d never really gone anywhere, but most fans thought they’d lost their way with 1967’s psychedelic experiment Their Satanic Majesties Request. Widely considered rivals to the Beatles, the Stones were accused by some of copying the colossal influence of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, issued earlier that year.…
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Bret Adams
Robin Trower featuring Sari Schorr
Joyful Sky
Trower, a legendary guitarist who has occasionally sung lead on his own albums, has more-often worked with stellar vocalists to bring extra power to his combustible blues-rock. Collaborators have included the late, great James Dewar, Davey Pattison, and Richard Watts. Now, add Sari Schorr to that list. Trower exhibits palpable excitement at having the husky-voiced…
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Bret Adams
Sue Foley
Live in Austin Vol. 1
Foley is an award-winning blues veteran, yet this is her first electric live album. It includes 11 songs primarily from the Canadian-born/longtime Texan’s 14 studio albums. Of course, no live album (this one recorded at the famed Continental Club) would be complete without some covers, and Foley delivers those, too. Snapping off crisp, clean, thumbpicked…
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Bret Adams
Andy Taylor
Man’s a Wolf to Man
The former Duran Duran guitarist’s third solo album is his first of new material in 37 years, and it’s lucky to have been completed. Taylor announced in ’22 he had stage-four prostate cancer and is undergoing treatment he says will extend his life by five years. This release was delayed by that and the pandemic.…
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Bret Adams
Foghat
Sonic Mojo
Few things in life are guaranteed – but one is that drummer Roger Earl will keep Foghat truckin’. For 50-plus years, he’s been weathering lineup changes and members passing, bringing its people-pleasing blues-rock on the road and releasing new music. Sonic Mojo is the band’s first new studio album in seven years. Earl, longtime lead…
