NOW PLAYING on the MIGHTY WURLINGTZER
July 2023
1) Girlschool - ‘WTFortyfive?’ (Silver Lining Music - Their first album in eight years and how great it is to have them back!)
2) Gov’t Mule - ‘Peace… Like A River’ (Fantasy - Good ol’ Warren Haynes; he never, ever lets us down)
3) Allman Brothers Band - ‘The Broadcast Archive’ (The Broadcast Archive - Three-disc live box; one show from 1971 and two from ’72)
4) The Damn Truth - ‘Now Or Nowhere’ (Spectra Musique - Hard rockin’, female-fronted blues rawwwwk!)
5) Bangalore Choir - ‘Centre Mass’ (Global Rock - A decent attempt at a sequel of their well-regarded debut)
6) Mitch Malloy - ‘The Last Song’ (Godsend/Cargo - The cult-favourite all-American solo artist presents a varied and rewarding comeback)
7) Robledo - ‘Broken Soul’ (Frontiers - A winning blend of metal, melody and muscle)
8) Turkish Delight - ‘Volume Two’ (Escape Music - Another banquet of tasty, custom-made all-star delicacies)
9) Various - ‘We’re An American Band: A Journey Through The USA Hard Rock Scene 1967-1973’ (Grapefruit - Wonderful three-disc clamshell box)
10) Various - ‘Steel Bars - A Tribute To Michael Bolton’ (Frontiers - The mullet years revisited by Steve Overland, Robbie LaBlanc and many more)
11) House Of Shakira - Xit’ (Frontiers - Album number ten from the sorely underrated Swedes)
12) Mike Tramp - ‘For Første Gang’ (Target - Very odd to hear that familiar voice singing in Danish)
13) Renaissance Rock Orchestra - ‘The Ice Age Cometh’ (Escape Music - A symphonic-AOR-prog hybrid… some rather fine moments)
14) Twilight Road - ‘Trapped’ (Global Rock - Dario Mollo and Carl Sentance team up for a Purple-inspired hard rock romp)
15) Bad News - ‘Every Mistake Imaginable: The Complete Frilly Pink Years 1987-1988 (Hear No Evil - Derek & Clive meets… just about every heavy rock band ever)
June 2023
1) Ratt - ‘The Atlantic Years’ (BMG - The first five albums… inconsistent, obviously, but a very cool package)
2) Hawkwind - ‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time’ (Atomhenge - Steven Wilson remix, gatefold vinyl with fold-out insert… gorgeous!)
3) Yes - Mirror To The Sky’ (Inside Out - F**k the haters, this is really, really good stuff)
4) Luke Morley - ‘Songs From The Blue Room’ (Conquest - A rich, engaging and massively enjoyable solo album from Thunder’s tunesmith)
5) Pride Of Lions - ‘Dream Higher’ (Frontiers - Some may say ‘too familiar’ or ‘excessively cheesy’, but I just can’t get enough of this stuff!)
6) Jethro Tull - ‘RökFlöte’ (Inside Out - Still very much a Marmite band… I’m firmly in their camp)
7) Raven - ‘All Hell’s Breaking Loose’ (Silver Lining Music - Album number fifteen reminds us Raven are one of a kind)
8) Big Big Train - ‘Ingenious Devices’ (English Electric - Four epic songs, largely given the ‘strings’ treatment at Abbey Road… *swoons*!)
9) Tygers Of Pan Tang - ‘Bloodlines’ (Mighty Music - Meaty, bloody NWOBHM with solid, musical hooks… great stuff)
10) David Forbes - ‘Tales Of The Past’ (AOR Blvd - Breathtaking solo album from singer of the Canadian band Boulevard)
May 2023
1) Winger - ‘Seven’ (Frontiers - A far more consistent album than ‘Better Days Comin’’)
2) Def Leppard With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - ‘Drastic Symphonies’ (Bludgeon Riffola - This got mixed reviews. But I love it!)
3) The Defiants - ‘Drive’ (Frontiers - Danger Danger offshoot continues to deliver the goods)
4) Elegant Weapons - ‘Horns For A Halo’ (Nuclear Blast - What do you get when you cross members of Priest, Pantera and Rainbow?)
5) Michael Thompson Band (Featuring Moon Calhoun) - ‘The Love Goes On’ (Frontiers - Failure to buy this record is an act of Lunar-cy)
6) Black Sabbath - ‘Live Evil - Super Deluxe’ (BMG - The four-LP set is a thing of utter sexiness!)
7) Hanoi Rocks - ‘The Days We Spent Underground 1981-1984’ (Cherry Red - Five-CD set covering the Finns’ earliest years)
8) The Damned - ‘Darkadelic’ (Ear Music - A modern-day classic in their extensive catalogue)
9) Black Spiders - ‘Can’t Die, Won’t Die’ (Dark Riders - The title says it all… FUBS!)
10) Lee Small - ‘The Last Man On Earth’ (Metalville - Current Sweet and Lionheart member channels his eternal love of the AOR sound)
11) Heavens Edge - ‘Get It Right’ (Frontiers - Their first studio album in a quarter of a century is slick, tuneful and very hummable)
12) Raven - ‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’ (Hear No Evil - Three CDs of OTT live lunacy!)
13) Circus Of Rock - ‘Lost Behind The Mask’ (Frontiers - Some fantastic melodic hard rock and quite a lot of filler, redeemed by a terrific cameo from Bernie Shaw)
14) Austin Gold - ‘Those City Lights’ (TMR - Classy, tuneful hard rock… it’s been out for a while, apologies!
15) Glen Matlock - ‘Consequences Coming’ (Cooking Vinyl - The former Sex Pistols bassist plus friends including Earl Slick)
April 2023
1) Wishbone Ash - ‘Argus, The 50th Anniversary Box’ (Madfish - Ultimate celebration of one the greatest albums of all time)
2) Marillion - ‘Seasons End - Deluxe Edition’ (Parlophone - Four-disc ultimate revision of their debut with Steve Hogarth at the mic)
3) Angel - ‘Once Upon A Time’ (Cleopatra - It’s white hot!)
4) Jim Kirkpatrick - ‘Dead Man Walking’ (Jimkirkpatrick.com - FM’s guitarist continues to grow and flourish as a solo act)
5) Blackfield - ‘An Accident Of Stars: 2004-2017’ (Kscope - A beautifully presented seven-disc anthology)
6) Hawkwind - ‘The Future Never Waits’ (Cherry Red - Their 35th album presents the usual mix bag)
7) One Desire - ‘Live With The Shadow Orchestra’ (Frontiers - Potentially it could have been a car crash, but I think it’s great!)
8) Mecca - ‘Everlasting’ (Frontiers - This fourth album from Joseph Vana hits the spot more often than it misses)
9) Magnus Karsson’s Freefall - ‘Hunt The Flame’ (Frontiers - Melody, muscle, hook and top-class musicianship… love it)
10) Bite The Bullet - ‘Rocky Road’ (Escape Music - A fourth album of quaint Mr Mister/Toto-esque politeness)
March 2023
1) Crown Lands - ‘Fearless’ (Spinefarm - Fans of ‘Hemispheres’-era Rush will be requiring clean underwear)
2) The Allman Brothers Band - ‘A&R Studios: New York 26th August 1971’ (Leftfield Media - Semi-official recording of the ABB’s classic line-up)
3) Empyre - ‘Relentless’ (Kscope - Expertly conceived and beautifully produced arena rock… catch ‘em in the clubs while you still can)
4) Seventh Crystal - ‘Wonderland’ (Frontiers - A massively impressive sophomore set from the Gothenburg-based six-piece)
5) The Zombies - ‘Different Game’ (Cooking Vinyl - Class is timeless but enduring class is rare as rocking horse poo)
6) Demons Down - ‘Demons Down’ (Frontiers - Contains some rather fine moments of pomp majesty but regrettably too many filler songs)
7) First Light - ‘Gravity’ (Firstlightofficial.co.uk - Spiffing seven-song EP of classic AOR-esque material, with a certain Didge Digital on keys)
8) Fury - ‘Born To Sin’ (Furyofficial.co.uk - Bought this recently at one of their gigs in Hastings; what a fine band they are!)
9) Destination Unknown - Destination Unknown (AOR Blvd - Top-notch West Coast-flavoured AOR)
10) Cross Country Driver - ‘The New Truth’ (Frontiers - Ex-Riverdog Rob Lamothe returns with fiery blues-rock project)
February 2023
1) Van Halen - ‘Pasadena 1977’ (Leftfield Media - This is the VH bootleg to end all VH bootlegs… absolutely stunning!)
2) Kansas - ‘Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas’ (Inside Out - Three discs of some of the finest music in existence)
3) Transatlantic - ‘The Final Flight: Live at L’Olympia’ (Inside Out - Their fantastic farewell show spread across four discs of vinyl)
4) Girlschool - ‘The School Report 1978-2008’ (Hear No Evil - Celebrating their first thirty years with five CDs of great music)
5) Creye - ‘III Weightless’ (Frontiers - Rightfully carving a reputation for being among the most reliable bands of the Scandi-rock scene)
6) Trapeze - ‘Don’t Stop The Music, Complete Recordings Vol 1: 1970-1992’ (Purple Records - Six-CD set revisits the first three studio albums and lots of extras)
7) Roxanne - ‘Stereo Typical’ (Rat Pak - Mega-harmonious hard rock, with cameos from Paul Gilbert, Jeff Scott Soto and Dug Pinnick)
8) The Flood - ‘Hear Us Out’ (Escape Music - Classy, hard-hitting melodic hard rock with FM connections past and present)
9) Black Paisley - ‘Human Nature’ (Black Paisley AB - Named after Richie Sambora’s Fender, these Swedes aim high and largely succeed)
10) Riverside - ‘ID.Entity’ (Inside Out - Still one of the best and most deserving ‘new’ prog bands out there)
11) Robin McAuley - ‘Alive’ (Frontiers - The raspy, towering voice of Grand Prix, MSG and more still sounds absolutely great)
12) Burnt Out Wreck - ‘Stand And Fight’ (Burntoutwreck.com - Rousing, AC/DC-ish hard rock from ex-Heavy Pettin drummer Gary Moat)
13) Wig Wam - ‘Out Of The Dark’ (Frontiers - Back from the dead, it’s like the glam combo from Norway never went away)
14) Those Damn Crows - ‘Inhale/Exhale’ (Earache - The best thing to come out of Wales since Joe Ledley!)
15) First Signal - ‘Face Your Fears’ (Frontiers - More super-high-quality melodic hard rock from Mr Harry Hess)
16) Ruts DC - ‘Counterculture?’ (Sosumi - A tasty re-heating of all their best elements)
17) Electric Mob - ‘2 Make U Cry & Dance’ (Frontiers - The Brazilians return with more chest-beating hard rock)
18) Gabrielle de Val - ‘Kiss In A Dragon Night’ (Escape Music - Grand and pleasing, with tentacles sunk into pomp, metal and AOR)
19) Khymera - ‘Hold Your Ground’ (Frontiers - Slick, smooth, hard rocking sounds)
20) T3nors - ‘Naked Soul’ (Frontiers - So unremittingly saccharine you could almost use it to sweeten a cup of tea)
January 2023
1) Thin Lizzy - ‘Live And Dangerous - 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition’ (Universal - Definitive, eight-disc revision of the second best live album of all time)
2) Uriah Heep - ‘Chaos & Colour’ (Silver Lining Music - The band that just keeps on giving…)
3) Skid Row - ‘The Gang’s All Here’ (Ear Music - Got a finished CD at last… I love this!)
4) Black Star Riders - ‘Wrong Side Of Paradise’ (Earache - Who needs Scott Gorham anyway?!?)
5) Brave Rival - ‘Life’s Machine’ (Braverival.com - Fantastic, commercial bluesy hard rock with killer twin female voices)
6) Ten - ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ (Frontiers - The naysayers will have to work pretty darned hard to dismiss this one)
7) Steppenwolf - ‘The Epic Years 1974-1976’ (Esoteric Recordings - Their final three albums for the label, with bonus tracks)
8) Crowne - ‘Operation Phoenix’ (Frontiers - Hits the sweet spot where marauding instrumental power meets Scandi-melodic rock at its best)
9) Beyond The Black - ‘Beyond The Black’ (Nuclear Blast - The debut from a promising, female-fronted melodic-symphonic metal outfit)
10) Stonebolt - ‘New Set Of Changes’ (Escape Music - Reboot of a wonderful slice of pomp-rock first released back in 1980)
11) Arctic Rain - Unity’ (Frontiers - Largely enjoyable melodic rock but often a little too derivative)
12) Star Circus - ‘Separate Sides’ (Diamond Formation Music - Their influences are often a little too blatant, but fans of Cheap Trick, Lizzy, Queen and Leppard might dig it)
13) Stratovarius - ‘Survive’ (Ear Music - No Timo Tolkki, but this remains a welcome return for the enduring Finnish power-metallers)
14) Snakecharmer - ‘Anthology’ (Spirit Of Unicorn Music - Both of their studio albums, plus a pair of live recordings)
15) The Deep - ‘Premonition’ (thedeepband.co.uk - Fiery, beefy, hook-laden NWOBHM sounds from an album released back in 2015)
16) Holocaust - ‘Inferno: The Complete Recordings 1980-1998’ (Hear No Evil - Wondering where to begin with the Scot NWOBHM outfit? Get this six CD-set)
17) Bai Bang ‘Sha Na Na Na’ (Pride & Joy Music - A smooth-sounding, fabulously dumb cartoon beach barbecue come to life)
18) Big City - ‘Sunwind Sails’ (Frontiers - Melodic hard rock infused with metal filings)
19) Laura Cox - ‘Head Above Water’ (Ear Music - Sophisticated blues-rock from an Anglo-French singer and guitarist)
20) Ronnie Romero - ‘Raised On Heavy Radio’ (Frontiers - Purely for comedy value… c’mon, whoever thought a second covers set would be a good idea?)
Playlist 2022
Playlist 2021
Playlist 2020
Playlist 2019
Playlist 2018
Playlist 2017
Playlist 2016
Playlists Pre-2016
The discs on the MIGHTY WURLINGTZER will be changed every month.
If there are any albums you think should be included
on next month's playlist, please let us know!