Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell might be a new name to some but the guitarist has played with plenty of notable names in a career that dates back to the 80’s. Colwell’s credits include being one of three guitarists in ASAP with Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden fame, key involvement as a songwriter/guitarist in the reformed Humble Pie on the 2002 ‘Back On Track’ album plus stints in many other acts including Samson, Urchin and The Entire Population Of Hackney.

This all sounds pretty impressive but Colwell’s main claim to fame is his five years or so in Bad Company during their Brian Howe/Robert Hart years. Colwell joined the band as a touring guitarist in 1991 before becoming a fully-fledged member on the final Brian Howe fronted ‘Here Comes Trouble’ album. Colwell’s tenure with the band continued with the arrival of new singer Robert Hart for the ‘Company Of Strangers’ and ‘Stories Told & Untold’ releases and subsequent tours. It’s a shame that this period of Bad Company’s history seems to get brushed under the rug as those albums are well worth revisiting. Colwell would release a solo album in 2010 ‘Guitars, Beers & Tears’ with plenty of big name friends in tow including Edwin McCain, Bekka Bramlett, Robert Hart, Danny Bowes (Thunder), Spike (The Quireboys) and Adrian Smith before things seemed to go a little quiet…

In 2018 Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell is back with Buckets Rebel Heart and an album ’20 Good Summers’ which has been nearly five years in the making via an exhaustive Pledge Music campaign. In 2013 the Dave Colwell Band performed shows in Scotland and Cyprus and recorded a single ‘Whiskeyland’ which was released in 2014. The track (included here) is a cool hard driving blues rocker with a big riff and bags of melody sure to appeal to fans of Colwell’s time in Bad Co. The creative juices must have been flowing as Colwell put together CRH with drummer Paul Edwards (Edwards and Colwell had played together in 720 and The New Torpedoes) and began the long process of writing and recording ‘20 Good Summers’.

The result is an album that will appeal to all fans of old-school melodic/classic rock in the vein of Bad Company, FM, Thunder etc. In the past Colwell has employed a range of singers for his solo projects but here Colwell has enlisted vocalist Jim Stapley on 10 of the albums 12 tracks. Stapley is a fantastic singer who has fronted The Jones Gang for Kenney Jones (The Who/The Faces) alongside a solo career that includes a Tony Visconti produced album ‘Long Time Coming’. A quick mention here for the two tracks that don’t feature Stapley namely ‘Radio State Of Mind’ with Rick Richards (Georgia Satellites/Izzy Stradlin) taking the lead vocal on a fun slab of straight up, countrified, boogie rock that Satellites fans will adore and ‘Customised Car’ which finds Australian singer Lyla D’Souza (Kill For Eden) belting out this horn-driven blues song. Both of these tracks are fine, but for me, Stapley is missed and some of the album’s flow is lost.

The album opens with the rhythmic ‘Animal Beat’ which is a slight false start, despite Stapley catching the ear immediately before things really get going with the excellent melodic rock of the title track. Stapley is again in fine voice while Colwell’s melodic guitar lines and a catchy chorus seal the deal. ‘Rebel Heart’ is up next and as should always be the case with track three on a classic rock record it’s time to raise those lighters (mobile phones as we’re in 2018)for the big ballad. Richard Young adds piano and organ while Mollie Marriott’s backing vocals are a really nice touch giving the song a soulful/gospel feel. Great stuff. Marriott’s vocals are an equally welcome addition to the chorus of ‘The Bridge’ a tune that even features a good old fashioned “Na Na Na” vocal refrain which is always fine by me.

Things take a turn for the epic in just over four minutes with ‘Mexican Sun/El Diablo’. A “Let’s live every day like it’s our last” lyric transports us to Mexico and allows Colwell room to mix up Spanish and electric guitar lines over Richard Cottle’s strings. The acoustic blues of ‘Bulletproof’ is another winner, a perfect marriage of Colwell’s guitar and a wonderful Stapley vocal while Lyla D’Souza returns with a telling backing vocal contribution. The album concludes with Sam Tanner’s piano and Richard Cottle’s strings to the fore on a really lovely ballad ‘If You Need Me’ with Stapley again in fine voice.

Producers Colwell and Edwards have done a fine job delivering a nice clean and powerful sound. The songs are generally strong with more than a few standouts — as good as anything I’ve heard recently in the genre — on what has obviously been a labour of love. The band recently performed at Sweden Rock and hopefully will be playing more dates soon. In the meantime fans of Colwell’s work in Bad Company and melodic/classic rock generally will find much to enjoy on ’20 Good Summers’.

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Classic Rock @RGM

Feb 24, 2024

Sons Of Liberty - The Detail Is In The Devil (Album Review)

Feb 24, 2024

Sons Of Liberty are a bunch of old-school rockers who, somewhat surprisingly, hail from Bristol in the UK but are steeped in the harder-edged Southern rock rooted in the Southern states of the USA that came to prominence in the late 70s. The quintet made their recording debut in 2018 with a brace of EPs, ‘...Shinola’ followed by ‘Aged in Oak’. 'The Detail Is In The Devil' is their third full-length release and first with new singer Russ Grimmett.

Feb 24, 2024

Aug 1, 2023

Status Quo –Official Archive Series Vol.1 (Album Review)

Aug 1, 2023

Status Quo might not instantly spring to mind as an artist you would expect to embark on a series of archive releases, but if Vol.1 – Live In Amsterdam is any guide to the quality of this new undertaking, fans are in for a treat. The band has joined the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young in delving deep into the vaults to unearth, spruce up, and release a live show recorded on October 19th 2010, at the Heineken Hall in Amsterdam for a limited numbered edition CD and LP release. This makes perfect sense; Status Quo live, there are few better, so what more do you need to know?

Aug 1, 2023

Jul 7, 2023

Fred Abbott and The Wild Unknown - Shining Under The Soot (Album Review)

Jul 7, 2023

Fred Abbott may be better known to you as the guitarist from the much-loved and hard-to-pigeonhole band Noah & The Whale. A popular live draw, their refreshing, inventive approach to songwriting and record-making set them apart from the crowd but ultimately the band split in 2015, with four albums to their name. Abbott’s solo debut, Serious Poke, appeared shortly after, sporting a more straightforward, guitar-centred sound. Eight years later - and having gained broad experience as a session musician and producer in between - Abbott has returned with Shining Under The Soot, a mature and beautifully crafted follow-up, brimming with energy and heart.

Jul 7, 2023

May 20, 2023

Arjen Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution - Golden Age Of Music (Album Review)

May 20, 2023

When you think of progressive rock/metal concept albums, one name springs instantly to mind, Arjen Lucassen. It could have all been so different for Lucassen, as his 1993 solo album, released under the Anthony moniker, ‘Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy’ was met with indifference by the record-buying public (finding a copy thirty years later will be a long and expensive search). Seemingly undaunted and already a hard rock veteran after stints in Bodine and Vengeance, Lucassen pushed on regardless, his determination resulting in a slew of projects that played a crucial role in revitalising the progressive rock/metal scene via releases under the Ayreon, Ambeon, Guilt Machine and Star One banners while still finding time for guest appearances and contributions to albums by leading lights of the scene such as Within Temptation and Avantasia. For this project, Lucassen has put his little black book of names to one side (Lucassen has enlisted many performers on his star-studded albums, especially singers) and settled on a band project, it’s still essentially a concept record in the Lucassen tradition, but he looks to be out to have a little fun, and the results are glorious.

May 20, 2023

Sep 30, 2022

Richard Marx - Songwriter (Album Review)

Sep 30, 2022

From his self-titled, triple platinum-selling debut album in 1987 to ‘Limitless’ in 2020, Richard Marx has had an unerring knack for a melody (not to mention a pretty wonderful voice). Marx's songwriting skills have enabled him to stay relevant throughout his nearly forty-year career. His sound has evolved over time, with the punchy guitars of the late 80s replaced by a smoother, more R&B/pop sound tailored to radio and streaming services. Along the way, his song craft has been in high demand, co-writing and/or contributing songs to a startling array of artists from Kenny Rogers to Keith Urban via NSYNC, Luther Vandross and Vixen. An impressive CV, but where does that chameleon-like ability to pen hit songs come from? How does he do it? Hopefully, ‘Songwriter’ might give us a bit of a clue as we take a journey through twenty tracks encompassing four genres; pop, rock, country and ballads.

Sep 30, 2022

Sep 29, 2022

Status Quo - Riffs 2CD Deluxe (Album Review)

Sep 29, 2022

In 2003 fresh from the success of ‘Heavy Traffic’, which found a rejuvenated Quo recovering somewhat from a run of uninspired releases, things were seemingly on an upward curve. So, what do they do? They release another covers album…honestly guys, really? There’s been a trend in recent years, which isn’t particularly welcome, of bands rerecording their own songs or putting out cover albums of their “favourite” songs (usually the same “favourite” songs of every other band on the planet). The Quo did both on one album!

Sep 29, 2022

Sep 26, 2022

Status Quo - Heavy Traffic 3CD Deluxe (Album Review)

Sep 26, 2022

I’ll always have a soft spot for Status Quo. Admittedly this is based on a hazy memory of a March 1981 show on the ‘Never Too Late tour. In those days, the Quo were a British institution as the classic line-up of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan were revered by fans and could be relied upon for no-nonsense hard rock of the highest order. It wasn’t overly complicated, but they had the songs; it was loud, it was sweaty, and that was good enough for me. Unfortunately, my love of all things Quo was brief as post ’82 Quo were a mere shadow of their former selves and had a string of pretty terrible records to prove it.

Sep 26, 2022

Jul 21, 2022

Silent Running - Follow The Light (Album Review)

Jul 21, 2022

Silent Running is a name that might be familiar to readers with a long memory. The Northern Irish rockers released their debut record ‘Shades Of Liberty’ on EMI in 1984 before moving to Atlantic for two further albums. The guys maintained a busy touring schedule that included shows with Talk Talk, Simple Minds, John Foxx and Robert Palmer and even appeared on The Tube (an iconic TV show that was incredibly influential at the time). Unfortunately, major success eluded them and the band called it a day in 1989. It looked like the Silent Running story was over, but after a thirty-year hiatus, the guys thought it might be fun to play a few songs at a band member’s wife’s birthday party. The birthday party would lead to a sold-out show at Belfast’s Voodoo, and now Silent Running are back with a fourth album, ‘Follow The Light’ to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the band.

Jul 21, 2022

Apr 6, 2022

Envy Of None - Envy Of None (Album Review)

Apr 6, 2022

As a founding member of legendary Canadian rockers Rush, Alex Lifeson sold millions of records and embarked on numerous world tours with bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart. The trio played huge venues to a level of fan adoration that many of their contemporaries could only imagine. The only time I was lucky enough to catch the band was on their ‘Roll The Bones’ tour at London’s Wembley Arena. That night convinced me how special they could be, even if I wasn’t always totally convinced by their varied musical output. Rush played their last shows as a band in 2015, and with the sad passing of Neil Peart in 2020, the Rush story came to an understandable, albeit sad conclusion. This brings us to the question of what do you do when you have been there, done it and bought the t-shirt (and probably a very nice house)?

Apr 6, 2022

Mar 4, 2022

John Illsley - VIII (Album Review)

Mar 4, 2022

For many, John Illsley will always be the imposing figure standing next to Mark Knopfler as Dire Straits left the London pub circuit behind and achieved worldwide domination via their fifth album ‘Brothers In Arms'. The band almost singlehandedly convinced every household they needed a shiny little 5” silver disc to replace all those old and antiquated black slabs of 12" vinyl. Approximately 30 million of us did just that (which, in 2022, is pretty ironic considering the perceived cool factor of LPs these days). Alongside Mark Knopfler, John Illsley was the only other band member to do a full tour of duty with Dire Straits on their almost twenty-year run before the band slowly faded away in the early 1990s. John’s solo career actually began during his time in Dire Straits with the ‘Never Told A Soul’ LP in 1984. John has continued to release albums on a semi-regular basis, with VIII being, unsurprisingly, his eighth studio album.

Mar 4, 2022

Jul 22, 2021

David Crosby - For Free (Album Review)

Jul 22, 2021

A mere month before his 80th birthday David Crosby returns with a new record ‘For Free’ and continues a career renaissance that would have been, at the very least, unlikely just a few short years ago. The famed singer and songwriter is undoubtedly one of the greats. His role as a founding member of two of the seminal groups of the late 60s (The Byrds/Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) and his contribution and influence on what became known as the Laurel Canyon sound confirms Crosby’s status. Unfortunately, Crosby’s career has been dogged by personal tragedy, ill health, substance abuse and a seemingly unmatched ability to annoy the hell out of people, most notably his fellow band members. With the release of ‘Lighthouse’ in 2016 Crosby was back making great music in the studio and touring with like-minded musicians who understood Crosby’s musical legacy and were intent on adding to it. The genesis of this resurgence can be traced back to Crosby’s work in CPR a trio he formed with his son James Raymond and Jeff Pevar. It was Raymond who produced Crosby’s first solo album in twenty years (2014’s ‘Croz’) and now helms ‘For Free’.

Jul 22, 2021

Mar 16, 2021

Creye - II (Album Review)

Mar 16, 2021

Originally formed by guitarist Andreas Gullstrand back in 2015 Swedish melodic rockers Creye are back with (I’m gonna take a wild guess here) their second album. Since the release of their well-received debut in 2018, the band have gained a new singer in August Rauer and spent the majority of 2019 on the road honing their sound. The result is an impressive release that marries muscle with melody harking back to the likes of fellow Swedes Europe and Bad Habit while adding more than a hint of pop nous. RGM featured Creye late last year in our popular Hard Place feature and we thought a proper look at their latest album was well overdue.

Mar 16, 2021