The Black Ice Project – 90 days…

… or 3 months since release and Black Ice has firmly embedded itself as not just the album of 2008 but one of the greatest albums of its kind. The disc is still firmly lodged in my car CD player and is an almost constant accompaniment to short car journeys. Admittedly that is primarily a result of the ‘no downloads’ policy which gave me no option but to buy the album on CD, but the main reason I am still listening to it regularly is the sheer quality.

The band also seem to have realised that this a superior product as they now include 5 selections from the album in their live show – all of which seem to sit comfortably alongside some of the greatest, and most familiar, rock ‘n’ roll tracks ever written.

The Endys 2008

Time to look back over a memorable year for classic rock with the Annual Endlessly Rocking Awards.

Any year which sees the release of new albums from AC/DC, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Metallica, Judas Priest, Motorhead and Guns ‘n’ Roses (yes…Guns ‘n’ Roses!) amongst others can only be viewed as vintage one. Endlessly Rocking reviewed 27 albums in 2008 – just one was Poor, 11 were Good, 8 were Superior and 7 were Essential. Maybe the Zeppelin reunion at the end of 2007 sparked renewed interest, perhaps the age profile of the average classic rock fan meant that the time was right for a revival, whatever the reason, such was the consistent quality of music on offer that it has proved difficult to pick a clear winner in any of the categories - but here goes…

Album Of The Year

Black Ice – AC/DC: In a year filled with quality offerings from some of the biggest names in rock this triumphant return from an eight year lay off set the high water mark. Nothing terribly new or ground-breaking – just pure quality.

Band Of The Year

Black Stone Cherry: Metallica, AC/DC et al released their albums too late in the year to back them up with a significant amount of touring, Whitesnake don’t really qualify as a band and Maiden didn’t release any recorded material so, somewhat surprisingly in a vintage year for rock music, the field is fairly limited. That’s to take nothing away from Black Stone Cherry though – the four youngsters from Kentucky followed up an impressive debut album with the even more impressive Folklore & Superstition, then set about breaking the UK the old fashioned way with a support slot on the Whitesnake/Leppard tour followed by their own headlining tour later in the year. With a refreshing work ethic and influences as wide ranging as the Appalachians, their future looks very bright indeed.

Web Presence Of The Year

Metallica: The viral attack that preceded the release of Death Magnetic will probably form the cornerstone of future internet-age marketing. Add to that their on-going release for download of virtually every live show they’ve ever played and Lars and the boys have the interweb pretty much sewn up.

Rock Icon Of The Year

Axl Rose: Interesting that a man who has shunned interviews for the last decade or so should be named as the year’s ultimate rock icon but hell… he finally released Chinese Democracy – and defied everyone by making it bloody good!

Endlessly Rocking Reviews 2008

Essential

AC/DC – Black Ice
Guns ‘n’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Rush – Snakes & Arrows Live
Thin Lizzy – UK Tour ’75
Metallica – Death Magnetic
Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad

Superior

The Black Crowes – Warpaint
Black Stone Cherry – Folklore & Superstition
Joe Bonamassa - Live From Nowhere In Particular
Fish – 13th Star
David Gilmour - Live in Gdańsk
Judas Priest – Nostradamus
The Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath
Muse – H.A.A.R.P. Live at Wembley

Good

Def Leppard – Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
Guy McCoy Torme – Evil Twin
Magnum – Wings Of Heaven Live 2007/08
Marillion – Happiness Is The Road
Van Morrison – Keep It Simple
Motorhead – Motorizer
Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
Porcupine Tree – Nil Recurring
Queen + Paul Rogers – The Cosmos Rocks
Seasick Steve – Started Out With Nothin…
Stone Gods - Silver Spoons And Broken Bones

Poor

Bryan Adams – 11 {I feel a bit bad about this now….11 isn’t poor – it just isn’t terribly good!}