The group's first album with Michael McDonald marked a shift to a more mellow and self-consciously soulful sound for the Doobies, not all that different from what happened to Steely Dan – whence McDonald (and Jeff Baxter) had come – between, say, Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic…

21 track Japan compilation featuring highlights from the 70-80's Disco label West End Records.

Modernized Retro sound brought into New Milenium invoking strong imagery, and tells a story without saying a word! The album’s cover is telling, too, as every string plucked here belongs to a Fender, the only implicit thing about the record being the homage it pays to THE SHADOWS, which becomes obvious once the muscular chord of “The Reaper” starts hugging its gently rippling strum. Ringing in the years, its echo takes Ford down the memory lane, as no matter how long John’s been living on the other side of the Pond, the reminiscences he puts in “Granny Takes A Trip” still bear an imprint of foggy-eyed English psychedelia and “Tomorrow’s World” contrasts its futuristic self with an air of nostalgia, while out of the title cut the same axe carves a prime example of surf rock…

It's safe to assume that when Saxon's original lineup was formed in Barnsley, England back in 1977, the last thing that singer Biff Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn were thinking about was a 31st anniversary. Metal bands come and go, and it is hard enough to keep a band together for two or three years – let alone 31. But 2008, the year in which Saxon recorded their early 2009 release, Into the Labyrinth, did, in fact, mark the band's 31st anniversary – and the good news is that this 50-minute CD is quite faithful to the spirit of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal…

"Get Mooned" is a great slab of melodic hard rock that blends in a healthy dose of melodic metal. Plenty of bands have been blurring the melodic hard rock / melodic metal line for years now, and "Get Mooned" is a great example of what it sounds like when done right. The japanese version (DIGITAL REMASTER) of "Get Mooned" contains the bonus track "Crystal Eyes". The cover shows the band in front of an over-sized full moon. Worth mentioning is that this version contains many songs which were significantly reduced in play length when compared to the original release.

Steve Tilston's first CD since last year's retrospective box set and 2005's traditional work "Of Many Hands" is a stunning collection of songs, with some great slide and 12 string guitar playing , supported by musicians of real quality…