One of the most fiercely loved singers in the world, Frankie Miller may have lost his voice after a stroke that he suffered more than 30 years ago, but the Scottish warbler’s following hasn’t diminished over the decades. With the likes of Rod Stewart and EAGLES recording his music and THE QUIREBOYS always waxing lyrical about their love for Frankie, one would assume there are volumes written about him, but in fact, there’s never been a book on Miller – until now.
It may have started with his solo album, but once Simon Phillips‘s PROTOCOL became a band, it turned into a fusion force to be reckoned with. With the release of “Protocol V” in 2022, five years after this ensemble’s fourth incarnation, the revered drummer raised the stakes even further, and now he decided to lift the veil on the collective’s work dynamics by issuing a sequel to 2019’s “Studio Live Session” that had been preserved for posterity in Liechtenstein’s, at Little Big Beat Studios
When a deluxe edition of FLEETWOOD MAC‘s second self-titled album saw the light of day in 2018, one of its three CDs contained live recordings from the contemporary tour, and those cuts weren’t part of the platter’s two-disc version issued at the same time, which resulted in a lot of chagrin on fans’ part. Slow-forward seven years to the longplay’s five-decade anniversary, and those tapes are finally making their standalone appearance.
Nowadays, supergroups – bands whose members have created a name for themselves elsewhere – crop up at an overwhelming rate and, more often than not, appear faceless. It was different fifty years ago, when such collectives were rare and distinctive, if not necessary successful, as proven by the story of MOONRIDER. A quartet of TOMORROW singer Keith West, guitarist John Weider of THE ANIMALS, FAMILY and STUD fame, future THE ATTRACTIONS bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Chico Greenwood issued only one longplay in 1975 that, despite the strength of ten pieces on offer, flopped – and will reappear, with quite a few bonus tracks, on December 12th.
Drawing a lot of perennial attention thanks to their artwork and Vertigo affiliation, BEGGARS OPERA’s early albums – “Act One,” “Waters Of Change” and “Pathfinder” – are often unjustly overlooked as prog masterpieces. The British band might have served as a launch pad for one genuine star, guitarist Ricky Gardiner who would go on to work with David Bowie and Iggy Pop, but vocalist Martin Griffiths deserved accolades too. He left the fold after those three platters and went solo, issuing a string of singles in the late ’70s and one in 1981, only there never was a longplay credited to the singer – until now.
