Last year saw an impressive reissue programme of Bob Catley‘s solo albums – impressive not only in sonic terms but also in terms of artwork that got replaced in favor of Rodney Matthews’s fantastic creations the singer’s been associated with since his MAGNUM days. However, the reemergence of the veteran’s late-’90s-early-’00s oeuvre will, on April 24th, receive an unexpected continuation in the form of a concert recording that didn’t seem to appear before.
“After two years of writing mostly rubbish, quite suddenly the music, themes and visuals fell into place”: this is how Richard Barbieri describes the road to his forthcoming record, the British soundmeister’s first offering in half a decade that passed since "Under A Spell" saw the light of day. Its follow-up “On High” wasn’t a full-fledged album – issued solely through Bandcamp, those eight cuts emerged from the cracks they fell through during earlier sessions – which would plug the gap in the musician’s discography, so the eleven numbers forming “Hauntings” are more than welcome.
Given how theatrical AYREON music is and how spectacular are the project’s performances are, the success of the shows staged in Tilburg in September 2025 to celebrate three decades of Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s mindchild was hardly surprising. Fans from all around the world flocked to Holland to be a part of the festivities, but those who couldn’t make it will have an opportunity to tap into that experience remotely, via live album titled “30th Anniversary: Amazing Flight Through Time” and scheduled for release on May 22nd.
England may have produced its fair share of blues chanteuses, yet very few of those could demonstrate such stylistic versatility as Deborah Bonham did – still does! – and very few of those warblers could bear the weight of their name with such poise and pride. She built a stellar career , all the while remaining down-to-earth – often literally so, running a farm and tending to animals with the same care and attention as reigning in concert. Of course, the elephant in the room is a totally different animal to ignore, and this was where we started our conversation with the lady.
It may seem like oversaturating the market, given Robin Trower‘s “One Moment In Time: Live In The USA” saw the light of day as recently as January 30th, to bring back his classic “Live!” album from 1976 as soon as April 3rd, but as far as anniversary editions go, there’s no better way to bridge the veteran’s past and present. The details of this release almost leaked a few months ago, with the listings removed from all the platforms – until now.
