Old's Cool - The Return Of The Rock Brigade What's going on here then ? Def Leppard and Whitesnake in the charts, Judas Priest and Kiss at Donnington (ok - Download), Classic Rock magazine selling more copies than NME, Magnum, Motorhead and even Uriah Heep are still alive, it's the very welcome resurgence of the old school rock brigade. Album Review : Songs From The Sparkle Lounge - Def Leppard**** It's the best Def Lep album for ages, dodgy title aside the Leps seem pumped up and invogorated on this, their ninth full studio album. After selling over 60 million albums the Sheffield lads are still a damn fine rock band. Unlike 'X' which I thought was a bit lacking in imagnation, Sparkle Lounge is choc full of well penned songs and big catchy hooks. Leppard have dragged celebrity mate, and country megastar, Tim McGraw, in to the studio to sing the opening lines on 'Nine Lives'. McGraw opens the song in a very laid back fashion before the Leps crank it up and provide a great sing-a-long chorus in "Nine lives, nine times to die". ' Cmon Cmon' is another fantastic song, it's a throwback (in the very best way) to the great days of Leppard - Hysteria / Adrenalize. Wonderful layered vocals, big drum beats and a another chorus that's so easy and so infectious that you'll be singing along right away. And then there's 'Love'. Queen had a certain sound, especially on 'Bo Rap', that was produced in the studio, those multi layered choral vocals, it's a precious, hallowed thing in the rock world, and usually other bands don't try something in the same vein for fear of falling flat on their faces. Rick Savage loves Queen though, and he's confident enough in his own songwriting and in the vocal talents of Joe Elliot and the rest of Def Leppard to have a go, and it's fantastic. Elliot pulls off one of the best vocal performances of his career and the rest of the band are on great form. At the end of the album you get a bonus / acoustic pian version of 'Love', that's pretty fantastic as well. I'm not giving the album 5 stars because there are a couple of tracks that sound rather like fillers but on the whole this is a cracking album, a proper chunk of Yorkshire rock. Album Review : Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow**** It has never been cool to like Magnum, they have always been a little off the rock centre, and proud of it. When they were dropped from their record label songwriter / guitarist Tony Clarkin said said "Well, we're not actually very commercial", and they're not, that keyboard influenced pomp rock sound isn't for everyone. There was a glorious moment, twenty years ago (and more of that later), when Magnum did force and album, Wings Of Heaven, into the charts, but then they sank back into their level of middling rock obscurity. Princess Alice was released early last year, so apologies for the exceedingly late review. The cover art harks back to the covers of 'On A Storytellers Night' and 'Chase The Dragon', and the really good news is.......so does the music. Tony Clarkin has always followed his own path when writing songs, he doesn't pander to current fashions and whims, mostly he doesn't mess about and try to push himself into new unfamiliar fields, but what he does do really well is pen great melodic rock. Magnum have always been accomplished musicians, and Bob Catley has a fine voice, on 'Princess Alice' they combine better than they have done for a while. The album has 11 tracks, all quite long in the classic Magnum style. I think the best two tracks are 'Like Brother We Stand' and the album closer 'You'll Never Sleep', but there isn't really anything weak on the album, everything is of a consistent good quality. What can I say about Magnum, if you already love them (and I do), then you will love this album, and if you don't care for their soft rock style, then this album certainly isn't going to change your mind. Album Review : Good To Be Bad - Whitesnake**** I have never really been a big fan of Whitesnake, sure I like the old classics like 'Still Of The Night' and 'Fool For Your Loving', but I've always thought that David Coverdale was a bit of a poor man's Robert Plant. I have approached this album with an open mind though, and what Whitsnake have done here, 11 years after thier last studio album (and much like Leppard and Magnum) have reached back in time to the time in their career when they were at their best, and have tried to reproduce that sound. To me, this sounds almost exactly like the 'Snake of old, the songs are in a very similar style to those on their early albums, Coverdale's vocals sound great and the guitar work, by Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach I think, is great. High points - the title track 'Good To Be Bad' is awesome, Whitesnake at their best, Coverdale sounds great and the guitars, well, this is what the electric guitar was created for, there are hundreds of crap emo - pop punk bands that ought to have a listen to this so that they realise just what their instruments can actually do. 'Got What You Want' is another stunning up tempo rocker and the ballad 'Summer Rain' shows the softer side of the band to great effect. Well done to Coverdale and his current version of Whitesnake, you've won over a doubter, good album, great rock / metal. Album Review : Wings Of Heaven Live - Magnum**** Ah, right, twenty years ago kids, Magnum actually got an album into the charts. Wings Of Heaven was a typically over the top, melodic pomp rock effort, I don't think it was the band's best album. but it did do rather well. Two decades later Magnum toured and performed the album in its entirity, plus a lot of other classic Magnum tracks and some songs from 'Princess Alice' recorded in venues across the UK and France. I love the sound of the crowd on live albums, that roar always sets me a tingle, sadly here the roar is rather muted, were audiences a bit sparse on the tour ? Magnum can still produce the goods live though, it's a great run through of some of their classic songs, extended versions of 'Sacred Hour' and 'How Far Jerusalem' serve to spotlight the musical talents of the band, with some excellent and thoughtful solo guitar work from Clarkin and some beautiful and atmospheric keyboards from Mark Stanway. Wings had a lot of good songs, and Magnum make them sound alive and positive in these concerts, from the soulful 'Wild Swan' to the epic 'Don't Wake The Lion' they're all good. My only niggles are that in places Stanway's keyboards are not as full and sumptous sounding as they should be, and Bob Catley's added yelps sometimes grate, but otherwise it is a fine live showing from a gret band. The always compulsory 'Kingdom Of Madness' (oh the memories, one of the first singles I ever bought) closes the double album after nearly two hours of great songs and great playing. 'Wings Live' is a great treat for Magnum fans, and the band are already working on a new album, old's cool ? You betcha.