Articles by Neil Jeffries

Freelance contributor to Classic Rock and several of its offshoots since 2006. In the 1980s he began a 15-year spell working for Kerrang! intially as a cub reviewer and later as Geoff Barton’s deputy and then pouring precious metal into test tubes as editor of its Special Projects division. Has spent quality time with Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore – and also spent time in a maximum security prison alongside Love/Hate. Loves Rush, Aerosmith and beer. Will work for food.

Articles by: Neil Jeffries

"For blue-eyed soul fans, there are treats a plenty": Terry Wilson Slesser and friends successfully conjure up the ghost of Paul Kossoff on Forever Blue

By Neil Jeffries published 15 November 24

Back Street Crawler singer Terry Slesser sang on Pyromania and auditioned for both AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Now he's finally made a solo album

"Although synth lines were the starting point, this remains a guitarist's album at heart": Steve Howe ranges far and wide on Guitarscape

By Neil Jeffries published 27 September 24

Instrumental solo album from Yes/Asia guitarist Steve Howe

Brian Johnson in London, with the London Eye in the background

"What's the difference between a Lada and a sheep?": Brian Johnson on the worst and best cars he's ever owned

By Neil Jeffries published 9 September 24

In 2009 AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson joined the ranks of celebrity authors - but forget the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, it was all about cars

Pete Townshend: Live In Concert 1985-2001 cover art

"The beauty here is how far he strays from The Who": Pete Townshend finds new ways to play old songs on Live In Concert 1985-2001

By Neil Jeffries published 28 July 24

Live In Concert 1985-2001 comprises 14 discs of live recordings from The Who guitarist Pete Townshend

"Seven years on from their previous album, BCC still remember what they're good at": Black Country Communion stick to a winning formula on V

By Neil Jeffries published 14 June 24

V is the fifth album from the retro-styled supergroup featuring Bonham, Bonamassa, Hughes and Sherinian

"This is a hard album to love": Grand Slam's lack of originality tires on second album Wheel Of Fortune

By Neil Jeffries published 7 June 24

Phil Lynott's old band are back for a second spin

“I have to prove that I’m capable of doing it, and I wasn’t just being done a favour by Deep Purple”: the two forgotten David Coverdale solo albums that sowed the seeds for Whitesnake

By Neil Jeffries published 5 May 24

David Coverdale’s late 70s solo albums, White Snake and Northwinds, are overlooked – but without them, Whitesnake wouldn’t exist

Def Leppard: Pyromania 40th anniversary edition packshot

The 40th anniversary edition of Def Leppard's Pyromania: Come for the originals, stay for the "utterly fierce" unreleased live album

By Neil Jeffries published 26 April 24

Def Leppard's difficult third album, which lit the blue touch-paper for the band, now expanded with demos and live albums

Rush’s Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson onstage in the 1980s

“Keyboards were the new thing. There was this attitude: ‘They sound big and they sound cool’”: how Rush swapped guitars and kimonos for synths and mullets in the 1980s

By Neil Jeffries published 20 April 24

A deep dive into Rush’s divisive 80s period, when side-long epics were out and synths came in

"Sounds like a band remembering where they buried the treasure": Gun have stalled in the past, but on Hombres they sparkle

By Neil Jeffries published 12 April 24

Cocky and reloaded, Gun are firing on all six cylinders again on album number nine, Hombres

Rush shooting the video for The Body Electric

"It was a pretty low time. We weren't sure of the kind of band we wanted to be": How time took its toll on Rush as they worked on the follow-up to Signals

By Neil Jeffries published 9 April 24

For 1984's Grace Under Pressure, Rush brought in Supertramp producer Peter Henderson: It was not a good fit

Deep Purple - Machine Head Super Deluxe Edition packshot

That mix that made Deep Purple great was never stronger than on Machine Head, and never clearer than it is now, on its 50th anniversary edition

By Neil Jeffries published 29 March 24

This reissue of Deep Purple's 1972 album Machine Head adds remixes, Montreux and BBC live sets, audio fairy dust and more

Rick Wakeman: Live At The Palladium 2023 cover art

"Wakeman's genius-level playing and careful modernising have given the music legitimate new life": Rick Wakeman reinvents his past on Live At The Palladium 2023

By Neil Jeffries published 22 February 24

Live At The Palladium 2023 is a four CD set that revisits Rick Wakeman's classic solo works and Yes

Steve Hackett: The Circus And The Nightwhale cover art

"His thirtieth studio album outside of Genesis, it's as wide-ranging as the catalogue that precedes it": Steve Hackett voyages to multiple ports on The Circus And The Nightwhale

By Neil Jeffries published 16 February 24

Prog maestro and former Genesis man Steve Hackett extends his catalogue on wide-ranging solo album The Circus And The Nightwhale

"Calm and casual at the soundcheck, electrified and electrifying once the venue is full": nine videos to celebrate the humble genius of Def Leppard's Steve Clark

By Neil Jeffries published 8 January 24

Remembering Steve Clark: April 23, 1960 – January 8, 1991

"Two discs, 22 songs, one very worthy epitaph": Bernie Marsden's Working Man

By Neil Jeffries published 7 December 23

Working Man is the final album by blues aficionado and former Whitesnake star Bernie Marsden

Every Rainbow album ranked from worst to best

By Neil Jeffries published 3 November 23

Rainbow took Ritchie Blackmore away from Deep Purple, introduced Ronnie James Dio to a wider audience, then went in search of America: these are their albums, ranked

Dirty Honey: Can't Find The Brakes cover art

"Like mid-70s Aerosmith with a dash of Led Zeppelin": Dirty Honey's Can't Find The Brakes

By Neil Jeffries published 3 November 23

Dirty Honey successfully navigate the ‘difficult second album’ corner without crashing on Can't Find The Brakes

The Cadillac Three: The Years Go Fast cover art

More heartache than hell-raising: The Cadillac Three have tampered with their hard-drinkin', southern-rockin' template

By Neil Jeffries published 27 October 23

Album number six The Years Go Fast finds The Cadillac Three sounding all-growed up

The UFO albums you should definitely own

By Neil Jeffries published 18 October 23

Hard rock institution UFO may have been dogged by unsettled line-ups and an appetite for drugs 'n' booze, but they should have been huge: these are their best albums

Bryan Adams in 1985 wearing a black leather jackket

The 10 best Bryan Adams songs

By Neil Jeffries published 26 September 23

Anthemic radio rockers, epic ballads, killer duets – these are Bryan Adam‘s 10 essential songs

Segments of the sleeves of five underrated prog album

The most underrated albums by 10 major prog bands

By Classic Rock published 3 September 23

Showing a little love for the overlooked classics by prog giants Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and more

A montage of album covers picked by famous musicians

30 musicians on the album that changed their life as a kid

By Classic Rock published 13 August 23

Members of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine and more reveal the albums that set them on the path to rock stardom

Alcatrazz are well into their second coming, but it's confusing

By Neil Jeffries published 8 August 23

Alcatrazz's Jimmy Waldo on Graham Bonnet and the other Alcatrazz, Doogie White, getting heavier, and loving 'Jack The Ripper' weather

Mammoth WVH's second album finds Wolfgang Van Halen scaling spectacular new peaks

By Neil Jeffries published 4 August 23

Wolfgang Van Halen comes of age on a solo second that betters his debut in every department

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