Category: Album reviews

This review was published in the May 2025 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 339.

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Brobdingnagian hair metallers walk the earth once more.

Too late to garner real success with Last of the Runaways (1989), Giant fell victim to the Nirvana roach bomb, alongside any other remaining hair metal bands. Once the smog had cleared, the writing was on the wall and Giant disbanded after releasing 1991’s Time to Burn. Since reanimating in 2001, the band have produced an album roughly every decade, and Stand and Deliver arrives (relatively) hot on the heels of 2022’s Shifting Time.

Original guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Dann Huff provides heartfelt ballad Time To Call It Love, blazingarenastomper Holdin’ On For Dear Life andlighters-aloft showstopper Paradise Found, where ex-Perfect Plan Swede Kent Hilli proves his explosive vocal chops across each explosive hook, his style remaining comfortably similar to Huff. 

Jimmy Westerlund produces as well as playing lead guitars, creating a thoroughly modern sound with all the trappings of the melodic rock that Giant are known and overlooked for.

8/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the February 2026 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 349.

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Do you still wanna get rocked? Then your luck’s in.

The last 47 years have done plenty to Def Leppard, but it’s comforting to know that it hasn’t dented their spirit or their talents. Recorded at a welcome-home show in 2023, Live in Sheffield spans work from High ‘n’ Dry (1981) to Diamond Star Halos (2022).

The show opens with a UK debut of Take What You Want (2022), but Leppard know the brief and quickly crack on with the classics – Animal, Hysteria, Pour Some Sugar on Me et al, saving the best for last with Photograph. The legacy of the late Steve Clark is never forgotten, and is honoured here with Switch 625 and This Guitar, dedicated to Clark’s family.

You know what you’re getting with Def Leppard, in the best way: the harmonies are well-oiled, guitarist Phil Collen still hasn’t worn a proper shirt since 1987 and somewhere among the intricacies of the arrangements remains a complete and utter dumb, life-affirming joy.

9/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the October 2025 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 345.

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The ultimate rewind into hair metal’s most notorious hellraisers.

In case it wasn’t immediately obvious, Motley Crue went to strip clubs and disrespected women throughout the 80s. Messrs Sixx, Lee, Mars and Neil produced evidence of this every couple of years from 1981, peaking with Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) and Dr Feelgood (1989), in between the well-documented mayhem which intimidated even the likes of Guns n’ Roses.

Subsequent offerings limped through the era of Bizkit and N*SYNC, and probably no one paid attention to Saints of Los Angeles (2008). From The Beginning chronicles Motley’s biggest hits, including 2024 single Cancelled, which bemoans the wokerati for claiming they can’t talk about all the stuff they told you they did in the 80s. The only difference is a re-recording of ballad Home Sweet Home as a duet with – god knows why – Dolly Parton, who’s earned the right do what she wants. Plus, it’s better than the original.

As the definitive compilation from hair metal’s pioneers, it’s a musical McDonald’s – greasy, cheesy and makes you feel ashamed of yourself afterwards. As a woman, I hate it. As a fan of music, I hate it even more.

4/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the July 2025 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 342.

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Stank faces at the ready please, people…

Formed in 1994 as an outlet for then-fifteen-year-old slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks, his namesake band has always rejoiced in a melting pot of influences, merging Southern Rock, Blues, Jazz and RnB. The happy result is a darkly melodic, swampy groove pinned down by Trucks’ now-legendary slide prowess. Three years after their formation came eponymous debut The Derek Trucks Band (1997) followed swiftly by sophomore offering Out of the Madness (1998). Neither are strong departures from Joyful Noise (2002); they sank into their vibe and drove it home.

The core lineup is comprised of Trucks, Yonrico Scott (drums, vocals, percussion), Kofi Burbridge (flute, vocals, keyboards) and Todd Smallie (bass, vocals), but additional vocalists are drafted in throughout. Enter Susan Tedeschi: astonishing singer, guitarist and the other half of the Tedeschi/Trucks blues rock power couple, who lends her raw, hearty edge to Baby, You’re Right; Rahat Nusrat and Fateh Ali Khan bring Modal Eastern influence on Maki Machi, which sits alongside Panamanian singer Rubén Blades’ contribution to Latin American Funk masterpiece Kam-Ma-Lay.

This time round, Noise is complemented by Backyard Tracks, a deliciously groovy live set recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2006. Did you know that a flute can be funky? Well, turns out it pairs well with the shuffle on I Wish I Knew and provides a call and response to Trucks’ grade A noodling on All I Do.

We were never in for anything different, but if it ain’t broke…the solos are blistering, vocals soulful and vibes immaculate.

7/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the February 2023 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 310.

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The birth of a musical legend witnessed by thousands and, luckily, caught on camera.

Carole King’s revered legacy had its genesis with the release of Tapestry (1971). Two years later, the first ever free concert was put on in Central Park, performed by King to one hundred thousand people.

Archive footage filmed by Lou Adler presents a stripped back first set with the aim of recreating the intimacy of Tapestry, demonstrating King’s natural ease before a crowd. She is then joined by her band – the cream of the 70s West Coast crop – for songs from then-upcoming record Fantasy (1973). David T Walker’s flawless guitar tone embroiders Being at War with Each Other and Haywood while Bobbye Hall’s percussion ignites a medley of Corazón and Believe in Humanity.

Home Again marks King’s evolution from Brill Building songwriter into an era-defining artist. The footage captures her being whisked away from the stage, perhaps, at that point, with only an inkling of the longevity of her art.

10/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the October 2022 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 306.

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Extra! Extra! Read all about it! World in shock as Todd Rundgren makes weird album Space Force.

Spending your career dressed like a butterfly and providing hair inspiration for Billie Eilish suggests a varied outlook on life, and on Space Force the result is a smorgasbord of collaborations which suggests the inside of Todd Rundgren’s head might look like an insane fairground run by the characters from Labyrinth.

Complex basslines underlay the synthesized, airy reverb of Puzzle and Head in the Ocean, broken up by the four-minute funhouse trip that is Your Fandango. Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo guests on buoyant ska track Down With the Ship, which is followed by yacht rock sugar rush Godiva Girl. Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen helps Rundgren blow off some steam during STFU and Steve Vai closes the album, articulating his reverence for female mysticism through the medium of shredding.

Rundgren is possibly the only musician for whom a lack of any thematic coherency across a record doesn’t result in total disaster. It works – don’t ask me how.

Phoebe Flys

8/10

This review was published in the July 2022 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 302.

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Near-death experiences and personal adversity influence the gothic metaphors of rock’s own Morticia Addams.

Starting strong, Beautiful Life and Rest In Peace are powerful watersheds. The former through its soaring, anthemic chorus, while latter is a darker personification of addiction yet remains ambiguous enough to be the world’s most cathartic send-off to a hellish ex (“no-one’s laying roses on your bones.”) Hurricane is a full-frontal attack on relationship anxiety while Close to Me Always clutches at the smoke of lost love.

Trevor Lukather proves that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, matching his dad’s prowess in collaboration with Bon Jovi’s Phil X on such riffs as Top of the World and Touched by Fire.

The autonomy over struggle and success characterises Black Sheep and ultimately concludes the album, while Gifts celebrates powerful introspection in contrast to Rockisdead (2016). Dorothy’s place in the echelons of rock is secured with an ode to resilience, rooted in the deepest strength and bookended by triumph.

9/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the January 2021 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 283.

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The Sixties and Seventies influence a safe record for such dynamic personnel.

Joseph Williams contributed vocals to Along for the Ride, which sees Jeff Babko channelling some Won’t Get Fooled Again-spec keys. Williams also appears on laidback foot-tapper Run to Me, with Lukather’s All-Starr bandmate Ringo.

Anybody searching for a likeness to Toto will be satisfied with moody, groovy Serpent Soul, however the record eschews any further comparisons. Instrumental Journey Through smacks of Steve Vai’s For the Love of God – perfect for the contemplative soul also prone to a bout of air guitar. The title track is serene and melodic but with little else to say for itself.

Prog and blues crop up in the extensive Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and Bridge of Sighs, which closes the record. Along with Joe Walsh’s Welcome to the Club, none stray far from the original save for better production. The album has quality in spades, but there are very few surprises.

6/10

Phoebe Flys

This review was published in the September 2020 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 280.

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Acoustic guitar replaces wall-quivering distortion, yet this reimagining delivers no lesser quality.

The new-fangled Get Off preserves its cornerstone snarling bass; original echoes of I Miss The Misery disappear before an acoustic backdrop falls in. Brother Hale’s drums and his sister’s incendiary vocals give way to ferocious ode to self-love I Am The Fire. Gone is its former chugging intensity, this version’s a slow burner. Standout gem Break In sees Ms Hale join forces with Evanescence’s Amy Lee for a lesson in powerhouse vocals: “You let me fall apart without letting go.” Hale’s serrated growls replace Whitney Houston’s melisma in a hard rock I Will Always Love You, and layered vocals in the ever-threatening Mz Hyde still warn off any potential suitor. Josh Smith’s distorted bass concludes the album with the same steel-toed grit with which it began.

While these reimagined Halestorm favourites might be realised differently, their essential attitude remains undimmed. Yet another perfect showcase for Lzzy Hale as an unstoppable force of nature.

8/10

This review was published in the April 2016 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 221

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Out of 60 songs created between 2014/15, Ginger Wildheart has cherry-picked his favourite 12.

He’s chosen wisely. From the introductory beat of Down the Dip to the harmonious collaboration with Courtney Love on Honour, Year Of The Fanclub has you hooked from the off. With only a small sniff of Wildhearts influence, the record is a hotbed of diversity. Also the perfect platform for Ginger’s renowned lyrical skills, The Pendine Incident is a folky onslaught of life advice, whilst a more cynical side of his songwriting is brought out in the exceedingly catchy Toxins and Tea. The gentle acoustic tracks are booted aside by hard-rock riffs, à la Ostracide. The whole album packs a punch, with choruses that will be glued to your auditory cortex for days, and obviously, a beat that won’t quit.

9/10