Articles by John Aizlewood

As well as Classic Rock, John Aizlewood currently writes for The Times, The Radio Times, The Sunday Times, The i Newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and Mojo amongst others. He’s written four books and appears on television quite often. He once sang with Iron Maiden at a football stadium in Brazil: he wasn’t asked back. He’s still not sure whether Enver Hoxha killed Mehmet Shehu…

Articles by: John Aizlewood

"I don't know how much time I have left": Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late finds Reg in reflective rather than acerbic form

By John Aizlewood published 13 December 24

Elton John muses on his life, streaming now

SKAM standing on a beach and the cover of From The Depths

"A reminder of thrilling all-out, no-holds-barred guitar rock can be... their future now looks dazzling": SKAM make the great leap forward on fourth album From The Depths

By John Aizlewood published 28 November 24

English trio SKAM find an intensity of their own on From The Depths

Every Deep Purple album ranked, from worst to best

By Geoff Barton published 15 October 24

Updated Deep Purple's albums ranked, from patchy Purple to purple patches, from iconic albums to the one Ritchie Blackmore dubbed "cattle grazing" to the one with the new chap

"No worlds are changed here, but a few will be enhanced": Richie Kotzen showcases metal, funk and fusion on solo album Nomad

By John Aizlewood published 27 September 24

American guitar hero Richie Kotzen makes heroic guitar album

"The sound of a man pushing his own boundaries and having an absolute ball": Ian Anderson's solo years, now in a handy box

By John Aizlewood published 23 August 24

31 years, 10 vinyl albums, one Ian Anderson

"It's not hard to see why they struck gold": The riffs still ring as Creed's Human Clay is expanded for its 25th birthday

By John Aizlewood published 16 August 24

A twenty-fifth-anniversary reissue of Creed's globe-conquering second album Human Clay

"These cast-offs show Weller free of constraint and commercial restrictions": Paul Weller's b-sides and remixes revisited on Fly On The Wall

By John Aizlewood published 8 August 24

Paul Weller's 2003 treasure trove of obscurities, now available again

"Harking back to their early-70s pomp and the early-80s MKII rebirth": Deep Purple rediscover their purpose on the invigorating =1

By John Aizlewood published 19 July 24

Deep Purple are getting older and, remarkably, they’re getting better again

Richard Thompson: Ship To Shore cover art

"Climaxing with a fearsome guitar squall midway between Jerry Garcia and John Frusciante": Richard Thompson's Ship To Shore is his most rumbustious album in years

By John Aizlewood published 31 May 24

He's back and he's rocking

"Slash is the star of his own show, and he's chosen material to showcase his guitar pyrotechnics": Slash gets the world to sing on Orgy Of The Damned but it's the guitar that truly sizzles

By John Aizlewood published 17 May 24

One of the busiest men in the biz gets the blues

Neil Young: Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972) packshot

"A young buck trying to find his musical feet as he flits through styles": Neil Young's Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972)

By John Aizlewood published 10 November 23

2009’s mammoth box Neil Young: Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972) reprised as an eight-CD set

Black Stone Cherry: Screamin' At The Sky cover art

In Screamin' At The Sky, Black Stone Cherry have made the album where they remind us why we fell for them in the first place

By John Aizlewood published 29 September 23

On Screamin’ At The Sky, album number eight, Black Stone Cherry’s formula remains reassuringly simple: songs that pack a ferocious punch

Grateful Dead - Here Comes Sunshine 1973 cover art

Five concerts over 17 CDs, or one concert over four? The choice, Deadheads, is yours

By John Aizlewood published 30 June 23

Here Comes Sunshine 1973 features five Grateful Dead shows from May and June 1973

Def Leppard: Drastic Symphonies cover art

Def Leppard's Drastic Symphonies: You know the songs, but you’ve never heard them like this

By John Aizlewood published 20 May 23

Def Leppard go orchestral on Drastic Symphonies: treading water has never sounded so legacy-enhancing

Liniin Park - Meteora 20th anniversary artwork

The 20th anniversary edition of Linkin Park's Meteora is pure nu metal catnip

By John Aizlewood published 6 April 23

Linkin Park's second album Meteora has been lavishly expanded in celebration of its 20th birthday

We all share music we adore. Why shouldn't Saxon?

By John Aizlewood published 24 March 23

More Inspirations is the follow-up to 2021's Inspirations and finds Saxon covering Kiss, The Who, Alex Harvey and more

Bernie Marsden: Big Boy Blues And Green cover art

Bernie Marsden: a fair case for career reappraisal?

By John Aizlewood published 24 February 23

Four-CD set Big Boy Blues And Green examines the solo career of former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden

Nickelback's Get Rollin’: it sizzles, it pumps, it's more of the same

By John Aizlewood published 18 November 22

Nickelback's 10th album Get Rollin' is the sound of a band playing to their strengths, again

Libertines: Up The Bracket (20th Anniversary) cover art

The Libertines' expanded Up The Bracket is an 85-headed reminder of their greatness

By John Aizlewood published 22 October 22

Lavishly expanded 20th-anniversary edition of The Libertines' first album Up The Bracket

Gun's The Calton Songs: a rum affair indeed

By John Aizlewood published 16 October 22

Scots rockers Gun re-record some of their hits on The Calton Songs, with varied results

Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Return Of The Dream Canteen cover art

Red Hot Chilli Peppers continue red hot creative streak

By John Aizlewood published 14 October 22

Red Hot Chilli Peppers lay out a tasty musical banquet on Return Of The Dream Canteen, their second album in six months

Some people still don't take Bush seriously and it's their loss

By John Aizlewood published 7 October 22

The Art Of Survival is the ninth album by Bush, that band from here who are big over there

Creedence Clearwater Revival: At The Royal Albert Hall cover art

Creedence Clearwater Revival's legendary London choogle can finally be heard

By John Aizlewood published 16 September 22

At The Royal Albert Hall finds chooglin’ chart-toppers Creedence Clearwater Revival at the peak of their powers

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Singles packshot

Finally: proof that Emerson, Lake & Palmer were actually a singles band

By John Aizlewood published 27 August 22

ELP releases from as far away as Japan and Angola compiled into a set of seven-inch singles and presented in a nice box

Fantastic Negrito's visionary White Jesus Black Problems sounds like everything else and nothing else

By John Aizlewood published 3 June 22

White Jesus Black Problems is Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz’s fifth album as Fantastic Negrito, and surely his finest

John Aizlewood

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