Guitars and Life

Time for the annual Furtheron review of the year....  drum roll please (hope I read off the card correctly ;-)) Gig of the Year Now last year Show of Hands won this - and they are high in the running this year with their superb show in Canterbury.  This year though from a small selection of gigs I've been to the winners are  The Shires.   For such a young band they were professional, note perfect, humble, talented and fun.  I hope they continue to garner more success in the coming years. CD of the year .  Rock - Iron Maiden get a worthy mention but the winners are Revolution Saints .  I know it was a put together line-up by Frontier Records but I hope not the last as this first album was stunning!  Very Journey in it's style and sound (not surprising) it was a tour de force with great rockers, ballads etc. Folk - Last year I stated the False Lights with Salvor would have this sewn up.  In the end they do win it for their innovative f...

There is plenty of news around the web today that Neil Peart of Rush has hung up his drumsticks for the last time.  Anyone who has followed my blog at all will know that two bands stand out in my life - Marillion and Rush.  Both I've followed for years and years since the 70s/80s and I've never tired of their output and seen them both a fair few times live. Marillion famously lost their front man and charismatic singer Fish to find only the more eclectic Steve H who in my opinion has driven them to their greatest creative heights - btw I've already paid for their next album due next year, like I did with Anoraknophophia when the whole idea of fans funding an as yet unwritten and recorded album via a web site was frankly considered nuts. But to Rush - I recently saw a post about stable line ups of bands.  No contest in my view - I instantly answered with Rush.  Neil was the last to join after the first album was already out and the band on the way up the ladder ...