ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 18, 1983 By Steve Newton The heavily keyboarded and strongly percussive sound of Saga is thoroughly impressive on their latest release, Heads or Tails. Whether it’s the rocking opener “The Flyer” or the more sedate “Intermission”, the musicians are in top form. Guitarist Ian Crichton, bassist Jim Crichton, … Continue reading Album review: Saga, Heads or Tails (1983)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 2, 1983 By Steve Newton “Actually, I never really sat in a room and practiced,” claims Saga’s highly-touted drummer Steve Negus. “I always thought that the best way to learn how to play was to go out and play. So in my early days, all through high school, I used to … Continue reading Steve Negus on the rise of drum technology, crazy shows in Puerto Rico, and Saga’s new Heads or Tails
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 20, 1982 By Steve Newton This is a live, completely digital recording of songs performed earlier this year in Munich and Copenhagen. Though not a particular fan of keyboard-dominated, pompish rock, I must admit that Saga quite impresses on this latest effort. The band is very tight, the … Continue reading Album review: Saga, In Transit (1982)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 18, 2005 By Steve Newton The shrink-wrap sticker on Dirty Diamonds claims “this is the classic sound of Alice Cooper!”, but that’s what they said about the ’70s shock-rock pioneer’s previous CD, 2003’s pointless The Eyes of Alice Cooper. The classic sound of Cooper is what he was … Continue reading Album review: Alice Cooper, Dirty Diamonds (2005)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 10, 1984 By Steve Newton If you like the heavy, melodic rock of Def Leppard, but with a more poppy, Loverboy effect, then the debut LP from Eastern Canada’s Honeymoon Suite is well worth checking out. Although the album starts off weakly–with the plodding, lackluster “New Girl Now”–things change quickly with … Continue reading Album review: Honeymoon Suite, Honeymoon Suite (1984)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 10, 2009 By Steve Newton Fans of John Fogerty’s southern swamp-boogie might not be thrilled by his latest CD, which—apart from a rootsy remake of his 1986 stomper “Change in the Weather”—is a collection of country music covers. It’s a throwback to his 1973 solo debut, The Blue … Continue reading Album review: John Fogerty, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 11, 1984 By Steve Newton Many a sideways glance and inquisitive gaze came our way as heavy metalist Lee Aaron and I strolled down Burrard Street recently, enroute to a mid-day snack and chat. It was a sunny afternoon and, to the mostly suit-and-tie crowd returning from lunch, … Continue reading Lee Aaron projects a feminine power figure on new Metal Queen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 22, 1983 By Steve Newton His ability to tell captivating stories and to combine lyrical and musical nuances with easy effectiveness is what sets Ireland’s Chris de Burgh apart from a lot of today’s pop singer-songwriters. On his latest album, The Getaway, De burgh weaves enchanting tales of destiny, revolt, peace, … Continue reading Chris de Burgh on the making of his new Getaway album and its eerie hit “Don’t Pay the Ferryman”
bev davies photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 7, 1985 By Steve Newton Most people visit the Fraser Arms Hotel to see the Top 40 bands at Frams, but last Saturday night I had the urge for something a little more mellow. (I knew I’d be ending up at the D.O.A. show later … Continue reading A night on the town in Vancouver circa 1985 starts with “Mick from Paradox” and ends with D.O.A.
By Steve Newton Back in May of 1989 I interviewed British guitar great John Sykes, who was promoting the debut album by his power trio Blue Murder. Six years earlier Sykes had played on Thunder and Lightning, the final studio album by Thin Lizzy. So at one point in the conversation I asked him rather … Continue reading That time I asked John Sykes if he thought Thunder and Lightning ranked among the best of the Thin Lizzy albums
photo by the newt By Steve Newton I did the first of my six interviews with Canadian rock great Kim Mitchell back in July of 1984, when he was promoting his new Akimbo Alogo LP. That was a wicked album, containing as it did the singles “Go For Soda”, “All We Are”, “Feel It Burn”, … Continue reading That time I told Kim Mitchell that I’d like to see “Lager and Ale” as his next single
By Steve Newton Back in November of 2001 I interviewed an 18-year-old guitarist from Saskatoon named Jordan Cook. Nowadays Cook is making sizeable waves in the blues-rock world as rowdy, sweat-soaked performer Reignwolf, but back in ’01 he was just touring around Canada with two teenage bandmates trying to make a name for himself. Near … Continue reading Before he morphed into Reignwolf I asked teenaged guitarist Jordan Cook how he got into the blues
By Steve Newton Back in October of 1992 I interviewed Trouble founder and guitarist Rick Wartell when the Chicago hard-rock quintet was touring with Pantera and heading to Vancouver for a show at the Commodore Ballroom. At the start of the conversation I mentioned how much I liked his band’s current album, Manic Frustration, and … Continue reading That time Rick Wartell told me that Trouble was going over really well with the thrash-loving Pantera fans
