The brand new album, “Pretty Vicious”, from British rockers “The Struts” has just been released. It is the band’s fourth studio album and was preceded by the single “Too Good at Raising Hell.” The previous three albums, as well as singles like “Could Have Been Me” and “Somebody New” have had some of us wondering why oh why The Struts haven’t hit the big time yet.
The new album’s title track, “Pretty Vicious” is new this week on RadiJohan.
English singer and songwriter Chris Norman was the original lead singer of the successful English (soft) rock band “Smokie,” which was so named because of his smoky voice. With many hits, including If You Think You Know How to Love me, It’s Your Life, and of course Living Next Door to Alice, Smokie was particularly popular in The UK and Europe.
In 2024 Chris Norman will return with a new album called “Junction 55” which follows his most recent album, 2021’s “Just a Man.” The new album will contain 12 brand new songs, all either written by Chris himself or in collaboration with others.
“Tell Her She Can” is the first single released from Chris Norman’s forthcoming album and is new this week on RadiJohan.
The Beatles have released what is being described as their final new song together, called “Now and Then.”
It is the last of a series of songs written by John Lennon, and handed to Paul McCartney by Yoko Ono in demo form on cassette in 1994. The cassette also featured demos for “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” Those two songs were completed and released as singles in 1995 and 1996. However, at that time the band struggled to complete a song from the demo of “Now and Then” and abandoned the attempt. McCartney explained the difficulties the band faced in 1995:
“On John’s demo tape, the piano was a little hard to hear. And in those days, of course, we didn’t have the technology to do the separation … we kind of ran out of steam a bit, and time. Now and Then just languished in a cupboard.”
However, during the making of The Beatles’ 2021 “Get Back” documentary, director Peter Jackson’s film company developed a piece of software that allowed them to “de-mix” muddled recordings of overlapping sounds. For “Now And Then,” the software was able to “lift” Lennon’s voice from the original cassette recording, removing the background hiss and the hum of the mains electricity that had hampered previous attempts to complete the song.
Paul McCartney re-recorded the piano parts Lennon played on the demo and added a guitar solo in the style of George Harrison, as well as the bass, percussion and harpsichord. Ringo Starr recorded new drum parts for it, while the late George Harrison features via rhythm guitar parts kept from the failed 1995 recordings. Strings have also been added, as well as some newly recorded background vocals. Some older background vocals have also been used, including some from the song “Eleanor Rigby.”
A short documentary which explains the creative process behind “Now and Then” has been released on Youtube.
“Now and Then by The Beatles is new this week on Radiohan.
British melodic rockers “Nitrate” recently released their fourth studio album, “Feel The Heat.” A melodic rock band formed in 2015 in Nottingham, England, Nitrate is overtly inspired by the ‘80’s rock scene and influenced by the likes of Def Leppard, Europe, Journey, and Bon Jovi. Nitrate exudes the eighties in everything. The band profiles itself with excellent melodic hard rock that sounds timeless, and their new album is a nostalgic ride for rockers who consciously experienced the 1980’s. This is melodic hard rock that sounds the way it should.
Nitrate’s new single, “All The Right Moves,” is new this week on RadiJohan.
Rick Astley’s ninth studio album, “Are We There Yet,” has just been released. It was preceded by its lead single “Dippin My Feet”. The album, inspired by the soul music of Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Bill Withers, was recorded at Astley’s home studio in London.
The follow up single to “Dippin My Feet” is called “Never Gonna Stop” and is new this week on RadiJohan. About the new single, Rick said:
“I am so excited about the release of Never Gonna Stop, the second single from my forthcoming album Are We There Yet? I love the vibe of it and I hope you love it too.”
American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat’s has teamed up with fellow American musician, Sheryl Crow for her latest single. The duet, “I’ll Be Here” is an uplifting song written about 13 years ago and intended for anyone to sing to whoever they love, including themselves. Caillat’s latest album, “Along The Way,” was released earlier this week.
“I’ll Be Here” by Colbie Caillat & Sheryl Crow is new this week on RadiJohan.
Dutch quartet “Racoon” scored one of the biggest hits in Dutch chart history with their 2005 ballad “Love You More.” The band started life in 1997 as an acoustic duo consisting of singer Bart van der Weide and guitarist Dennis Huige. The following year they were joined by Paul Bukkens on drums and Stefan De Kroon on bass making “Racoon” complete. Their self-released debut single, “It’s An Ice Cream Day” got them noticed in the industry and, after performing at the Noorderslag Festival, they received an offer of a recording contract from Sony.
Racoon have scored a number of hit albums and singles in their native “Netherlands” over the last 25 years and a brand new album is now on the horizon. Their new single, “Nickel For Goodbye,” which serves as an appetizer, is new this week on RadiJohan.
Grant Haua started playing guitar when he was 13 years old.
“My younger brother had got one for Christmas the year before and I noticed he was already starting to get admiring glances from the girls at our school, I said to myself “dam I need to learn the guitar too.“
Haua has been playing guitar ever since. His first solo album “Knucklehead,” released in 2010, got good reviews and opened a few doors for him. He ended up meeting percussionist Michael Barker (Neil Finn, John Butler Trio) and formed “Swamp Thing,” writing music and touring regularly for the next 8 years.
In January 2019, after touring Australia and New Zealand extensively, he decided to continue solo to focus on the music he really enjoys, “soul music.” In 2021 his 2nd solo album, “Awa Blues” presented him with the opportunity to tour in Europe and getting a gig on the iconic German Music TV show “Rockpalast.” New Zealand artists rarely break through in Europe due to the country’s isolated location. The artists that do break through are almost always of exceptional quality. Grant Haua was firmly added to that list after the release of “Awa Blues.”
His new album “Mana Blues” is out now. It is different from previous releases in that it is electric rather than acoustic and deals with serious topics that, Haua says, he usually steers clear of. The album’s fist single, “Embers,” is new this week on RadiJohan.
As well as being a member of several other bands, English musician Steven Wilson is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree. He is also a solo artist, having released seven solo albums since his solo debut “Insurgentes” in 2008. The Seventh of these is “The Harmony Codex” which was released last week.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, Wilson has made music prolifically and earned critical acclaim. His honours include six nominations for Grammy Awards: twice with Porcupine Tree, once with his collaborative band “Storm Corrosion” and three times as a solo artist. In 2017 The Daily Telegraph described him as “a resolutely independent artist” and “probably the most successful British artist you’ve never heard of”.
Steven Wilson’s “What Life Brings” from “The Harmony Codex” is new this week on RadiJohan.
“Eclipse,” a Swedish hard rock band from Stockholm formed in 1999 has consistently produced melodic hard rock for the masses. Their 10th studio album, “Megalomanium” is out now and includes eleven fresh, energetic, up-tempo sing-along rockers with some of those melodic hooks for which they have become known.
With a bombastic wall-to-wall chorus, the single “Anthem” by “Eclipse” is new this week on RadiJohan.