NOW PLAYING on the MIGHTY WURLINGTZER
December 2017
1) Black Sabbath – ‘The End’ (Eagle Vision – A fitting sign-off for a truly legendary band)
2) Magnum – ‘Lost On The Road To Eternity’ (SPV – Very happy to say that they can still make bloody great studio albums)
3) Genesis – ‘Seconds Out’ (Virgin – Early Xmas pressie to myself… fab to play on CD after all these years!)
4) Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons – ‘The Age Of Absurdity’ (Nuclear Blast – Ex-Motörman takes an assured first step back to the spotlight)
5) Caligula’s Horse – ‘In Contact’ (Inside Out – Mesmerising prog-rock; heavy, soft, jazzy, euphoric, morose… but always satisfying!)
6) Galahad – ‘Seas Of Change’ (Avalon - One 42-minute track… now *that’s* neo-prog!)
7) Anvil – ‘Pounding The Pavement’ (SPV – The Canucks have made some great metaaaal since the movie came out!)
8) Lee Abraham – ‘Colours’ (F2 Music – Where prog meets AOR!)
9) Tyketto – ‘Live From Milan 2017’ (Frontiers – In-concert CD and DVD from the Frontiers Rock Festival)
10) Riot – ‘Official Bootleg Box Set Volume 2, 1980-1990’ (Hear No Evil – The recording quality varies, but the ‘Fire Down Under’ writing sessions are pretty cool)
11) ZZ Top – ‘Antenna’ (Floating World – Amazingly, I’ve never owned this on CD before!)
12) James Warren – ‘Innocent Bystander’ (Angel Air – Whimsical, addictive pop sounds from the Stackridge/Korgis frontman)
13) Dave Kerzner – ‘Static’ (Davekerzner.com – Floyd-flavoured and wonderfully melodic prog-rock)
14) Bigfoot – ‘Bigfoot’ (Frontiers – Um… I’m rather late to the party with this exciting young hard rock band from Wigan… sorry!)
15) Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs’ (Century Media – Still asking important questions and making great music)
16) Marco Mendoza – ‘Viva La Rock’ (Target – Hard driving, sometimes funky hard rock)
17) Trespass – ‘Footprints In The Rock’ (Mighty Music – Blimey! It’s the return of the NWOBHM-era combo from Suffolk!)
18) Alan Simon – ‘Excalibur V: The Dark Age Of The Dragon’ (Babaika Productions – Some interesting guests, but a wee bit ploddy for my taste)
19) The Wild Lies – ‘Prison Of Sins’ (Wild Recordings – A classic metal sound blended with darker, modern edginess)
20) Jaimz Vokins – ‘Time Machine’ (AOR Blvd – Covers album from Steevi and Phil, including a cameo from Cherie Currie)
November 2017
1) Sweet – ‘Sensational Sweet, Chapter One: The Wild Bunch’ (Sony Music – The boxed set to end all boxed sets)
2) Hawkwind – ‘At The Roundhouse’ (Cherry Red – Triple-disc documentation of their show from May 26, 2017)
3) Von Hertzen Bros – ‘War Is Over’ (Music Theories Recordings – Yet more melodic-prog genius from the wonderful Finns)
4) Glenn Hughes – ‘Building The Machine’/ ‘Songs In The Key Of Rock’ (Purple – Newly expanded editions)
5) The Downes Braid Association – ‘Skyscraper Souls’ (X2X – Sublime pop-meets-prog)
6) Newman – ‘Aerial’ (AOR Heaven – A magnificent slice of pomp rock-flavoured AOR)
7) Tony Mills – ‘Streets Of Chance’ (Battlegod Productions – Has the ex-Shy/TNT man still got that voice, or what?!)
8) Pink Cream 69 – ‘Headstrong’ (Frontiers – A great entry point for those newbies… includes nine-song live album)
9) Houston – ‘III’ (Livewire/Cargo – Reliable, or predicable maybe… but Houston will never lets you down)
10) Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (Frontiers – A nice of mix of melodic and heavy)
11) Mike Tramp – ‘This & That’ But A Whole Lot More’ (Target – Six-disc boxed set of demos and much, much more)
12) Primal Fear – ‘Best Of Fear (Frontiers – Double-disc anthology that includes four new recordings)
13) Samson – ‘Mr Rock And Roll: Live 1981-2000’ (Hear No Evil – Four-CD set featuring various line-ups)
14) Peter French – ‘Ducks In Flight’ (Repertoire – Long-lost, star-studded solo album from 1978)
15) Reuben Archer’s Personal Sin – ‘Petrolhead’ (Toxic Arrow – The former Stampede man in… er… stampeding form!)
16) Warrior Soul – ‘Back On The Lach’ (Livewire/Cargo – More unpredictable insanity from Kory and cohorts)
17) Jane Lee Hooker – ‘Spiritus’ (Ruf – Gutsy, attitude-charged blues-rock)
18) Steve Tilling – ‘Circu5’ (ST Productions – A journey to where edgy alt-rock meets prog)
19) Strawbs – ‘The Ferryman’s Curse’ (Esoteric Antenna – Sunday afternoons are made for this…)
20) Appice – ‘Sinister’ (SPV – Carmine and Vinny together with a little help from their friends)
October 2017
1) Sons Of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (Inside Out – Members past & present of Dream Theater, GN’R, Journey and Mr Big… not merely a supergroup but a group that’s super)
2) Heaven & Earth – ‘Hard To Kill’ (Quarto – A truly classic hard rock record)
3) Status Quo – ‘Live At The NEC’ (Universal – Newly expanded edition… contains the full Prince’s Trust show)
4) L.A. Guns – ‘The Missing Peace’ (Frontiers – The best since the band’s debut back in ’88)
5) Kansas – ‘Leftoverture: Live & Beyond’ (Inside Out – Two hours concert from the current revised line-up)
6) Steve Walsh – ‘Black Butterfly’ (Escape Music – Former Kansas singer returns with a slick collection of melodic-pomp tunes)
7) Phil Lanzon – ‘If You Think I’m Crazy!’ (Phillanzon.com – Hugely enjoyable solo disc from Heep’s keyboardist)
8) King Crimson – ‘Live In Chicago’ (Panegyric – Does what it says on the tin!)
9) Michael Crimson – ‘Medusa’ (Gain – A hypnotic full-length debut from the Swedish singer, guitarist, writer and producer)
10) Stray – ‘All In Your Mind: The Transatlantic Years 21970-1974’/‘Fire & Glass: The Pye Recordings 1975-1976’ (Esoteric Recordings – New multi-disc retrospective sets)
11) Hawklords – ‘Six’ (Shellshock Distribution – These guys are *so* underrated!)
12) Hirsh Gardner – ‘My Brain Needs A Holiday’ (Escape Music – Technicolour solo outing from drummer of AOR cult heroes New England)
13) Vardis – ‘100 MPH’/‘The World’s Insane’/‘Quo Vardis’ (Dissonance Productions – The 2017 editions, with bonus tracks)
14) Target – ‘In Range’ (Escape Music – Long-lost album from 1979, with Jami Jamison on vocals)
15) The Radio Sun – ‘Unstoppable’ (Pride & Joy Music – Pop-meets-AOR from Down Under)
16) Millennium – ‘Awakening’ (Keep On Metal Records – Blood, guts and hard driving rock from reactivated NWOBHM combo)
17) Michael Bloomfield – ‘Live At Bill Graham’s Fillmore West’/‘Don’t Say That I Ain’t Your Man! Essential Blues 1964-1969’ (Floating World – Re-issues from 1969 and 1994)
18) Ace Frehley – ‘Anomaly – Deluxe Edition’ (SPV – His album from 2009, with three bolt-ons)
19) Vuur – ‘In This Moment We Are Free- Cities’ (Inside Out – Anneke van Giersbergen in seductive form)
20) Dirty Thrills – ‘Heavy Living’ (Frontiers – A little like Rivals Sons, admittedly… but some good moments here)
September 2017
1) Cats In Space – ‘Scarecrow’ (Harmony Factory – AOR-meets-pomp-meets-retro just doesn’t get any better)
2) H.e.a.t – ‘Into The Great Unknown’ (Ear Music – Bold, experimental and vital)
3) Mr Big – ‘Defying Gravity’ (Frontiers – Great songs, great singin’, great playin’!)
4) Black Country Communion – ‘BCC IV’ (Mascot – As good as I hoped it would be)
5) Anathema – ‘The Optimist’ (Kscope – Got a finished CD at last! This is great…)
6) Threshold – ‘Legends Of The Shires’ (Nuclear Blast – Their most ambitious album to date… love it!)
7) Sparks – ‘Hippopotamus’ (BMG – The genius of the Mael brothers goes on and on…)
8) Motorpsycho – ‘The Tower’ (Rune Grammofon – Weighty but fabulous double-set from the eccentric Norwegians)
9) Gun – ‘Favourite Pleasures’ (Caroline International – The Glaswegians come up trumps again)
10) Martina Edoff – ‘We Will Align’ (AOR Heaven – A third helping of glacial, majestically performed Scandi-AOR)
11) Walter Trout – ‘We’re All In This Together’ (Provogue – Mr Consistency delivers again)
12) The Cadillac Three – ‘Legacy’ (Big Machine – Yee haw, the South rises once more!)
13) Phantom 5 – ‘Play To Win’ (Frontiers – More of the same from Claus Lessmann and Michael Voss, but better still…)
14) Midnite City – ‘Midnite City’ (AOR Heaven – For fans of Def Leppard, 1980s-era Kiss and especially Danger Danger)
15) Steven Wilson – ‘To The Bone’ (Caroline – Only just blagged my copy… it’s gonna take some time, I fear)
16) Koyo – ‘Koyo’ (88 Watt – The debut from these exciting young proggers)
17) Wishbone Ash – ‘Twin Barrels Burning’ (AVM – Revisited for sleeve essay purposes; I still love it)
18) Wishbone Ash – ‘Raw To The Bone’ (Neat – Ditto)
19) The Tangent – ‘The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery’ (Inside Out – Wordy but endearing anarcho-prog… yes, really!)
20) Austin Gold – ‘Before Dark Clouds’ (Jigsaw – High-quality, hard-riffing, blues-rock from… erm… Peterborough)
21) Muddy Manninen – ‘Long Player’ (muddymannien.com – Mainly instrumental solo album from the guitarist who spent 13 years with Wishbone Ash)
22) The Doobie Brothers – ‘Rockin’ Down The Highway: The Wildlife Concert’ (Floating World – Double-disc live recording from 1996)
23) Leprous – ‘Malina’ (Inside Out – Sprightly, melodic but sometimes thunderous prog-metal!)
24) Coldspell – ‘A New World Arose’ (Escape Music – The hard rockin’ Swedes return with a killer fourth album)
25) V1 – ‘Armageddon – End Of The Beginning’ (Frog Juice – Gritty hard rock from ex-Maiden pair of Dennis Willcock and Terry Wapram)
26) Ian James Stewart – ‘Arcticana’ (Dangerous Dog – Shimmering chill-out music, don’t expect anything like AOR-era Strangeways)
27) The Nights – ‘The Nights’ (Frontiers – From Finland, melodic rock with a pleasingly modern edge)
28) Albert King – ‘Fillmore East, NY, 1971, Plus Early Studio Recordings’ (Floating World – Does what it says on the tin)
29) Jag Panzer – ‘The Deviant Chord’ (SPV – I found the singer a wee bit painful, but Joey Tafolla shreds!)
30) Moritz – ‘About Time Too’ (Shadows Of A Dream – Polished AOR from the UK veterans)
August 2017
1) Lionheart – 'Second Nature' (King – The long awaited second album… a bloody masterpiece)
2) Styx – 'The Mission' (Alpha Dog 2T – Their first original album in 14 years, it's a real grower… wonderful!)
3) Degreed – 'Degreed' (Gain/Sony – All-killer, no-filler melodic hard rock from Sweden… where else?!)
4) Accept – 'The Rose Of Chaos' (Nuclear Blast – Er… Udo who?!)
5) Tytan – 'Justice Served' (High Roller – Back after 35 years, and well worth the wait!)
6) Big Big Train – 'The Second Brightest Star' (English Electric – Their 'secret' album… bucolic and charming as ever)
7) Kryptonite – 'Kryptonite' (Frontiers – As glacial and imposing as their fictional mineral namesake)
8) Overend Watts – 'He's Real Gone' (Angel Air – Posthumous solo album from Mott The Hoople's bassist – quirky, fascinating and funny… just like the man)
9) Kim Seviour – 'Recovery Is Learning' (White Star – Former Touchstone singer makes blinding solo album with John Mitchell)
10) Samson – 'Joint Forces: 1986-1993' (Hear No Evil – Three albums recorded within this time-frame, contains some great long-lost chewns)
11) Snow – 'At Last…' (Escape Music – 30-year-old hard rock that holds its age with ease)
12) JD Miller – 'World War X' (Target – Melodic hard rock/metal with a modern edge)
13) Hard Stuff – 'The Complete Purple Records Anthology 1971-1973' (Purple – Wonderful retro hard rock)
14) Sea – 'The Grip Of Time' (Target – Groove-laden retro rock from Denmark)
15) Mike Brookfield – 'Brookfield' (Golden Rule – Adept blues-rock, with lyrics by Eamon Carr of Horslips)
16) The Wynntown Marshalls – 'After All These Years' (Wynntown Recordings – Anthology of "Europe's best Americana band")
17) The Outsiders UK – 'Everything's Gone Vintage' (Planet – Back after 15 years; still earthy, bluesy and honest)
18) Frontback – 'Heart Of A Lion' (Dead End Exit – Ludicrous yet appealing helium-voiced, female-fronted powerhouse rock)
19) SNAFU – 'Live Nottingham 1976' (Angel Air – A vintage show from Bobby Harrison and Micky Moody)
20) Sandy Thom – 'Merchants And Thieves' (GA Records – Bargain basement gem from 2010, with special guest Joe Bonamassa)
July 2017
1) Tyketto – 'Don't Come Easy' (Rock Candy – Shameful to admit I've never owned this on CD till now)
2) Eric Martin Band – 'Sucker For A Pretty face' (Rock Candy – Ditto!)
3) Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush – 'Live' (Rock Candy – Ditto… I cannot believe this album is now 40 years old!)
4) Sammy Hagar – 'All Night Long' (Rock Candy – Ditto! 'Young Girl Blues' = shivers!!)
5) Riverdogs – 'California' (Frontiers – Their best since the all-time classic debut)
6) Art Nation – 'Liberation' (Gain/Sony Music – Vibrant, wildly exciting melodic pop-rock from Sweden)
7) Gov't Mule – 'Revolution Come… Revolution Go' (Fantasy – Bluesy hard rock to die for)
8) Biters – 'The Future Ain't What It Used To be' (Earache – Wonderful fresh-sounding retro-rock)
9) Michael Monroe – 'The Best' (Spinefarm – Double-disc resume of his solo years… a cracker!)
10) Warrant – 'Louder Harder Faster' (Frontiers – A great rock record, but is it really Warrant? Hmm….)
11) Glenn Hughes – 'Feel' /'Addiction' (Purple – Newly expanded, re-mastered, double-discs)
12) Celtic Frost – 'To Mega Therion'/'Into The Pandemonium'/'Vanity/Nemesis' (BMG – The controversial so-called 'ultimate editions'! Sorry, Tom!)
13) Ten – 'Gothica' (Frontiers – Melodic hard rock of massive depth and scope)
14) Burnt Out Wreck – 'Swallow' (Burntoutwreck.com – Highly enjoyable AC/DC-inspired rock… I wished I'd played this months ago!)
15) Barclay James Harvest – 'Octoberon' (Esoteric Recordings – Triple-disc edition, including new stereo and 5.1 mixes)
16) The Dogs D'Amour – 'Swingin' The Bottle: The BBC Radio Sessions' (Dynamite Jet Saloon –Does what it says on the… er, bottle!)
17) All 4 1 – 'The World's Best Hope' (Frontiers – Terry Brock, Gary Pihl and Robert Berry… what's not to love, except the awful name?)
18) The Who – 'Isle Of Wight 2014' (Eagle Vision – 2xCD+DVD set)
19) Rex Brown – 'Smoke On This…' (SPV – Diverse, mature solo debut from Pantera/Down bass player)
20) Sons Of Death Valley – 'Fathers Of The Free' (Prime – Cowboy-themed, bluesy hardcore from the plains of… Denmark!
21) Balkun Brothers – 'Devil On TV' (Dixiefrog – Fiery, aggressive "back porch stomp boogie"; their description… love it!)
22) Kickin Valentina – 'Imaginary Creatures' (Target – A rowdy mix of rock 'n' roll, hair metal, melodic rock and sleaze)
23) Cloven Hoof – 'Who Mourns The Morning Star' (Hey, don't go changing guys… I know you won't!)
24) Next To None – 'Phases' (Inside Out – A brave, accomplished sophomore set)
25) RPWL – 'A New Dawn'(Gentle Art Of Music – These German art-rockers just cannot do 'simple', nor should they)
26) Nirvana (UK) – 'Local Anaesthetic'/'Songs Of Love & Praise' (Esoteric Recordings – The *real* Nirvana, haha!)
27) Voodoo Six – 'Make Way For The King' (White Knuckle – If not Kings exactly, then maybe Dukes or Lords…)
28) Taz Taylor – 'Pressure & Time' (Escape Music – Hook-laden, guitar-fuelled hard rock)
29) Nitrogods – 'Roadkill BBQ' (SPV – A little patchy compared to what they've done before)
30) Steve Hackett & Djabe – 'Summer Storms & Rocking Rivers' (Esoteric Antenna – Live album with Hungarian jazzers… a bit hard going at times)
June 2017
1) Sweet – 'Are You Ready? The RCA Years' (Sony Music – Seven-disc vinyl boxed set that includes a gatefold edition of 'The Rainbow: Live In The UK 1973')
2) Status Quo – 'Blue For You'/'Just Supposin''/'Never Too Late' (Universal – The newly expanded double-disc special editions)
3) Inglorious – 'Inglorious II' (Frontiers – The best of the vintage-aspiring hard rock bands out there)
4) Cheap Trick – 'We're All Alright' (Big Machine – What an institution! What a band! What an album!)
5) Gov't Mule – 'Revolution Come… Revolution Go' (Spinefarm – Ditto!)
6) Harem Scarem – 'United' (Frontiers – Terrible title for an album, which is a shame because this rules)
7) Dan Baird & Homemade Sin – 'Rollercoaster' (Jerkin' Crocus Promotions – Rock 'n' roll as it was meant to be!)
8) Glenn Hughes – 'Play Me Out' (Cherry Red – Re-mastered double-disc edition)
9) Rock Goddess – 'It's More Than Rock 'N' Roll' (Bite You To Death – It's great to have 'em back!)
10) Stackridge – 'The Final Bow, Bristol 2015' (Angel Air – Last ever gig from a band that should've been much, much better known)
11) The Allman Brothers Band – 'Hell & High Water: The Best Of The Arista Years' (Floating World – Re-issue of compilation from 1994)
12) Dickie Betts & Great Southern – 'Southern Rock Jam' (Floating world – re-issue of compilation from 2002)
13) Marcus Malone – 'A Better Man' (Redline Music – Hard hitting, heartfelt blues-rock)
14) Blackwater Conspiracy – 'Shootin' The Breeze' (Bulletproof 20/20 – Blue collar rock with a tuneful Southern edge)
15) Violet Janine – 'Between Red & Blue' (Lions Pride Music – Superb female-fronted hard rock from Sweden)
16) Nad Sylvan – 'The Bride Said No' (Inside Out – More enjoyable prog from Mr Hackett's lead singer)
17) Galahad – 'Quiet Storms' (Avalon – A collection of their quieter, more pastoral moments… lovely!)
18) Black Paisley – 'Late Bloomer' (Blackpaisley.com – A cunningly effective hybrid of AOR and Southern rock… a real grower)
19) Red Butler – 'Nothing To Lose' (House Of Tone – Splendid female-fronted blues… how shameful it took me this long to play it!)
20) Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly – 'On Her Journey To The Sun' (Inside Out – Ex-Beardfish man returns in style!)
21) Kepler Ten – 'Delta – V' (White Star – A promising mix of hard rock and prog)
22) Pete Townshend's Deep End – 'Face The Face' (Eagle Vision – Live Rockpalast show from 1986 with David Gilmour on guitar)
23) Snakecharmer – 'Second Skin' (Frontiers – A bit too slick and not 'Snakey' enough for me, I'm afraid…)
24) Snake Eye – 'The Journey' (Angel Air – Unreleased vintage hard rock album from 1972)
25) The Moody Marsden Band – 'Never Turn Our Back On The Blues' (Talking Elephant – New version of a live album issued back in 1992)
May 2017
1) The Lemon Twigs – 'So Hollywood' (4AD – Here's my favourite new power-pop combo!)
2) Walk On Fire – 'Mind Over Matter' (Escape Music – Unexpected and very welcome back to the long-lost UK melodic crew)
3) Hawkwind – 'Into The Woods' (Cherry Red – They just keep on deliverin' the goods…)
4) Quatro-Scott-Powell – 'QSP' (Sony Australia – Some covers, a few originals and a cool vibe… it's a real grower, too!)
5) Ayreon – The Source' (Music Theories Recordings – A preposterously complex concept piece, but heck… what a record!)
6) Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – 'Stranger In Us All' (Hear No Evil – Newly expanded edition; much better than I recalled!)
7) Barclay James Harvest – 'XII' (Esoteric Antenna – The new triple-disc edition, complete with stereo and 5.1 mixes)
8) Mostly Autumn – 'Sight Of Day' (Mostly Autumn – Their first in almost three years is worth the wait)
9) Sinner – 'Tequila Suicide' (AFM – An enjoyable slice of good time, sometimes Lizzy-ish hard rock)
10) Erja Lyytinen – Stolen Hearts' (Tuohi – Finland's Queen of Slide goes up a few more gears)
11) Humble Pie – 'Official Bootleg Box Set Volume 1' (Hear No Evil – Hit and miss recording quality clouds these otherwise great shows from 1972, '72 and '74)
12) The Night Flight Orchestra – 'Amber Galactic' (Nuclear Blast –Members of Soilwork and Arch Enemy unite in prog-classical homage)
13) John Otway & The Big Band – 'Monserrat' (Red Bowler – Cor baby, this is really great!)
14) Steel Panther – 'Lower The Bar' (Kobalt Label Services – "Hey baby, do you mind if I stick my nuts in your chocolate?")
15) Shadowman – 'Secrets And Lies' (Escape Music – Messrs Overland, Morris, Childs and James… plus a certain Didge Digital!)
16) Rex Smith – 'Rock And Roll Dream 1976-1983' (Cherry Red – Six-disc boxed retrospective… when it's good it's great!)
17) Ben Craven – 'Last Chance To Hear' (Tuneleak – Melodic, cinematic prog… how annoying this has lurked in the 'to be played' pile since last year!)
18) Witchfynde – 'Divine Victims: The Witchfynde Albums 1980-1983' (Hear No Evil – Three-disc set, includes the timeless 'Give 'Em Hell')
19) Virgin Steele – 'Visons Of Eden' (SPV – Their 2006 album receives a double-disc facelift)
20) Lionsheart – 'Lionsheart' (Treasure Island Music – Re-mastered version of the debut from 1992)
21) Alive In Theory – 'Abandon' (Ultraviolet – Male-female duo from Manchester; a little erratic but the worthwhile bits are excellent)
22) Mick McConnell – 'Under My Skin' (Stuff Music – Smooth, seductive blues-rock)
23) Steve Thorne – 'Island Of Imbeciles' (White Knight – Melodic but politically assertive prog-rock)
24) Axel Rudi Pell – 'The Ballads V' (SPV – I probably shouldn't like this, but… I kinda do! Sorry!)
25) John Mayall – 'Rock The Blues Tonight' (Talking Elephant – From Canada 1970/'71… contains some good jamming!)
April 2017
1) Uriah Heep – 'Look At Yourself'/'Demons And Wizards'/'The Magician's Birthday' (BMG – Newly expanded double-disc editions)
2) Uriah Heep – 'Live '73' (BMG – Now on 180-gramme splatter-coloured vinyl)
3) Big Big Train – 'Grimspound' (English Electric Recordings – A new masterwork from the neo-prog titans!)
4) Vain – 'Rolling With The Punches' (Jackie Rainbow – A throbbing glam/sleaze/melodic rock masterclass)
5) Eclipse – 'Monumentum' (Frontiers – Yet more genius from Erik Mårtensson)
6) One Desire – 'One Desire' (Frontiers – A remarkable debut. Do not miss them on tour with the above)
7) Night Ranger – 'Don't Let Up' (Frontiers – As ever, consistency remains Night Ranger's watchword)
8) Steve Hackett – 'The Night Siren' (Inside Out – My, what a run of form this guy is on!!)
9) Procol Harum – 'Novum' (Eagle – What a band, fifty years… respect due!)
10) Alan Reed – 'Honey On The Razors Edge' (White Knight – Divine, tuneful prog from the ex-Pallas frontman)
11) House Of Lords – 'Saint Of The Lost Souls' (Frontiers – Album number ten from James Christian and company)
12) Dirty White Boyz – 'Down And Dirty' (Escape Music – A warm welcome back to Tony Mitchell, once frontman for Kiss Of The Gypsy)
13) Brother Firetribe – 'Sunbound' (Spinefarm – Nightwish guitarist Emppu Vuorinen delivers yet more high quality melodic reock))
14) Mike + The Mechanics – 'Let Me Fly' (BMG – You can't beat the power of a good song, well sung)
15) Rox – 'The Teenteeze EP' (Teenteeze – Three anthems from the now reunited and quasi-legendary UK glamsters!)
16) Kreator – 'Gods Of Violence' (Nuclear Blast – Still making a wonderfully ugly noise!)
17) Sari Schorr – 'A Force Of Nature' (Manhaton – Enjoyable blues-rock… I must check her out live!)
18) Renaissance – 'Illusion: Through The Fire' (Angel Air – Expanded re-boot of album from 2001)
19) Raveneye – 'Nova' (Frontiers – Okay, I'm a bit late with this one, but will check 'em out supporting Kiss)
20) Devilskin – 'Be Like The River' (Devilskin.co.nz – Attitude-charged, female-fronted rock from New Zealand)
March 2017
1) Steve Hackett – 'Genesis Revisited: Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Inside Out – Deluxe five-disc set of his spine-tinglingly excellent gig in 2013)
2) Pride Of Lions – 'Fearless' (Frontiers – Jim Peterik really is the king of melodic hard rock)
3) Thunder – 'Rip It Up' (Ear Music – It's a grower…)
4) Black Star Riders – 'Heavy Fire' (Nuclear Blast – They've stepped out of Lizzy's shadow at last)
5) Blackfield – 'V' (Inside Out – Geffen and Wilson are such a talented duo… this is superb)
6) Tim Bowness – 'Lost In The Ghost Light' (Inside Out – Beautifully mellow in feel, but the songs are fascinating)
7) Unruly Child – 'Can't Go Home' (Frontiers – A little on the light side, but the songs are superb)
8) The Mute Gods – 'Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth' (Inside Out – Incisive, dark, angry prog from the ever-impressive Nick Beggs)
9) Tokyo Motor Fist – 'Tokyo Motor Fist' (Frontiers – Terrible name, great band/project?)
10) Mike Tramp – 'Maybe Tomorrow' (Target – The Dane's third consecutive bullseye!)
11) Lionville – 'A World Of Fools' (Frontiers – Shattering the 'difficult third album' curse in style!)
12) Tokyo Blade – 'Knights Of The Blade' (Hear No Evil – Four-disc boxed set)
13) Jack Russell's Great White – 'He Saw It Comin'' (Frontiers – A little different, but rather enjoyable all the same)
14) Eden's Curse – 'Carnival' (AFM – Better late than never!)
15) Janus Stark – 'Great Adventure Cigar' (Earache – Hadn't played this in decades – no wonder Dave Grohl loved it!)
16) Over Kill – 'The Grinding Wheel' (Nuclear Blast – I'm trying to overcome a tendency to write off these guys… this kicks serious butt!)
17) Electric Guitars – 'Rock 'N' Roll Radio' (Target – Melodic hard rock administered with an AC/DC-esque punch)
18) Alcatrazz – 'The Ultimate Fortress Rock Set' (The Store For Music – A thorough six-disc audio-visual boxed set)
19) Edenbridge – 'The Great Momentum' (SPV – Melodic female-fronted symphonic metal… better than it might look on paper!)
20) Gravytrain – 'Staircase To The Day' (Esoteric Recordings – Dating back to 1974, this was the fourth, final and best album from the little-known British proggers)
21) Haken – 'Aquarius'/'Visions' (Inside Out – Newly re-mastered, expanded editions of their albums from 2010 and '11)
22) Quiet World – 'The Road' (Esoteric Recordings – Obscure yet quaint religion-driven concept piece from 1970, with guest Steve Hackett)
23) The Murder Of My Sweet – 'Echoes Of The Aftermath' (Frontiers – Female-fronted symphonic metal)
24) Stephen Pearcy – 'Smash' (Frontiers – Contains some great moments but also a whole lot of filler)
25) Stefanie – 'Stefanie' (Escape Music – Strong female-fronted AOR, backed by members of Shotgun Symphony and Prophet)
February 2017
1) Status Quo – 'Status Quo Live!' (Universal boxed set – the perfect send-off for poor ol' Rick… RIP, sir)
2) Uriah Heep – 'Look At Yourself' (BMG – Newly revised and featuring a bonus disc of 're-imaginings')
3) Maschine – 'Naturalis' (Inside Out – A second album from the Dunnery-approved proggers)
4) Marcus – 'Marcus' (Rock Candy – Once referred to by Sounds as "perhaps the greatest obscure heavy metal album of all time")
5) Michael Schenker – 'Michael Schenker Fest' (Inakustik – Double-disc, special guest-strewn show from Tokyo)
6) Pain Of Salvation – 'In The Passing Light Of Day' (Inside Out – Super-personal subject matter and very dark at times, but utterly fantastic!)
7) Hawkwind – 'The GWR Records Years 1988-1991' (Atomhenge – Three mid-era goodies, repackaged in a clamshell box)
8) Richard Marx – 'Greatest Hits' (Capitol – Record fair bargain… no guilt here; I love this fella!)
9) The Simpletone – 'Angels Share' (Thesimpletone.com – This band from Cambridge get better and better)
10) Sepultura – 'Machine Messiah' (Nuclear Blast – Quite possibly their best post-Max release!)
11) Bob Young – 'Back In Quo Country' (Hear No Evil – Star-studded expanded edition of Quo sideman's solo album from 1986)
12) Elaine Samuels And Kindred Spirit – 'Phoenix Rising' (kindredspiritband.co.uk – Fantastic, laid back folk-meets-prog fusion)
13) Freedom Call – 'Master Of The Light' (SPV – 'Metal Is For Everyone'… what a fuggin' brilliant song!!)
14) Kreator – 'Love Us Or Hate Us: The Very Best Of The Noise Years 1985-1992' (BMG – As my good friend Xavier Russell would say: Frash till death!)
15) The Struts – 'Everybody Wants' (Interscope – To my enormous shame, I've just discovered these guys)
16) Touchstone – 'Lights From The Sky EP' (Ministry Of Progression – Three new songs, and a fourth repeated in Polish!)
17) Blonde On Blonde – 'Rebirth'/'Reflections On A Life' (Esoteric Recordings – Two albums of Welsh prog-rock from the 1970s)
18) Kyla Brox – 'Throw Away Your Blues' (Pigskin – Smoky, soulful crooning… lovely stuff!)
19) Last Autumn's Dream – 'In Disguise' (Escape Music – Covers album, includes re-workings of songs by Angel, Loverboy and Sweet)
20) Gandalf – 'Journey To An Imaginary Land' (Esoteric Recordings – Re-issue of Mike Oldfield-esque obscurity from 1980)
January 2017
(*Note: Some of these are late either 'cos it took me a while to play 'em or to blag finished copies*)
1) Glenn Hughes – 'Resonate' (Frontiers – The Voice Of Rock returns firing on all six!)
2) Deep Purple – 'California Jam 1974' (Ear Music – One of the best rock concerts of all time!)
3) Hawkwind – 'The RCA Active Years 1981-1982' (Atomhenge – 'Sonic Attack', 'Church Of Hawkwind' and 'Use Your Masques' in a handy box!)
4) A Thousand Horses – 'Southernality' (Republic – Contains some quite brilliant Crowes-esque sounds)
5) Magnum – 'The Valley Of Tears – The Ballads' (SPV – Does what it days on the tin!)
6) Preacher – 'Aftermath' (Imer Records – Impressive, Floyd-esque melodic prog from Scotland)
7) Kaipa DaCapo – 'Dårskapens Monotoni' (Foxtrot – Roine Stolt and company deliver Stirring neo-prog)
8) Jenny Darren – 'Heartbreaker: Best Of 1977-1980' (Angel Air – Belting, raunchy rock, with some tracks featuring Nicko McBrain on drums)
9) United Progressive Fraternity – 'Fall In Love With The World' (Inside Out – Delicious, melodic and fruity prog-rock)
10) Thirsty – 'Albatross' (Thirsty Music – The second album from ex-Quireboy Guy Bailey and company)
11) Iamthemorning – 'Lighthouse' (Kscope – Hauntingly ethereal prog from St Petersburg, Russia)
12) Ina Forsman – 'Ina Forsman' (Ruf – Sultry, smoky blues-rock from a striking Finnish redhead)
13) Devin Townsend – 'Ziltoid Live At The Royal Albert Hall' (Inside Out – Four disc set of a quite preposterous gig from Aril 2015)
14) Dario Mollo's Crossbones – 'Rock The Cradle' (Frontiers – Meaty melodic rock, with vocals from Carl Sentence)
15) Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado – 'Songs From The Road' (Ruf – This guy is a blues powerhouse!
16) Evergrey – 'The Storm Within' (AFM – Swedish progressive metal, with a cameo from Floor Jansen)
17) Black Oak County – 'Black Oak County' (Mighty Music – If Black Stone Cherry had been born in Esbjerg, Denmark)
18) Mr Big – 'Bitter Streets' (Angel Air – Studio album the UK band… too schmaltzy but contains some very good tunes)
19) Leprous – 'Live At Rockefella Music Hall' (Inside Out – Two discs of Norway's modern prog-metallers performing onstage)
20) Eternal Idol – 'The Unrevealed Secret' (Frontiers – Classy, melodic, symphonic power-metal)
Playlist 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!