Last week’s winners were Nightwish, followed by Ulysses in second place and Foreigner in third. But who ticks all the right boxes this week? Listen in, then vote for your favourite at the foot of this page…
Black Sabbath – Paranoid (live on Top Of The Pops, 1970)
As Black Sabbath bid us farewell, let’s cast our eyes and ears back to 1970, when four young blokes from the Midlands took a little number called Paranoid to TOTP. In the years to come there would be fights, drugs, an ill-fated bat and The Osbournes, but at that moment the wider world simply got a taste of one of the most influential rock bands there’s ever been.
Biffy Clyro – Re-Arrange
New one from Biffy, anyone? Go on then. The fourth single from their latest album Ellipsis, Re-Arrange is one of their softer, more personal moments. It may feel a little too sweet for the more purist rockers among you at first, but stick with it; it’s got real depth, and grows on you very pleasingly.
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow – Man On The Silver Mountain
Years of pagan fiddlery with Blackmore’s Night have done Ritchie’s amped-up skills no harm, as we see in this highlight from his recent Rainbow revival. Ronnie Romero might not be Dio or Gillan, but he pulls it off with real guts here; providing a confident partner for all that unfailingly classic fretwork.
Black Star Riders – When The Night Comes In
Last year’s The Killer Instinct was a UK top 20, and now with album number three (titled Heavy Fire) due in February, Black Star Riders have stepped firmly out of the Thin Lizzy shadow and become their own band. An upbeat mix of the band’s hard, Southern, punk and classic rock histories, When The Night Comes In is the sound of a group capitalising on their past – rather than fighting against it. Nice.
Def Leppard – Photograph (live from Detroit)
Busy week? Office lurgy? Boiler packed in?? (yes these things might’ve happened to some of us at CR…). Why not bid a cheery ‘fuck you’ to all that arseache and crank out this advance taste of Leppard’s new live DVD – which comes out in February 2017. If Photograph’s infectious ‘80s-ness, Joe Elliott’s impassioned delivery and Phil Collen’s gleaming chest can’t save you, we’re not sure what will.
Ex People – Without
Fans of Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin and Kylesa will enjoy this new blast of noisy, woozy stoner activity, from a band whose name makes them sound like they used to be humans (as far as we know they still are…). Like being dragged through a dark, overgrown forest to some sort of late night satanic ritual, voiced by Karen O. In a good way.
Kate Bush – And Dream Of Sheep
In 2014 Kate Bush defied all bets, and delighted fans, by playing a series of shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall – her first live performances since 1979. Since then she’s released an album of recordings from those shows, and now we have this brand new video – shot at Pinewood Studios, and yes that is Kate singing from a massive water tank. She actually got mild hypothermia while filming, but that didn’t stop her sounding rather wonderful.
Sólstafir – Dagmál
Now for something heavy and Icelandic. Brooding and mysterious, but also boasting a rather catchy, 80s-sounding melody, it’s an enigmatic slice of Nordic imagination. A good one for some wintry, yet non-Christmassy, atmosphere (if the likes of Wizzard just annoy you).
