The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show

Episode 10, so we are 20% of the way through Season 5 and 2022.  The show aired on 10 Mar 2022 on Rebel Rock Radio.  It kicked off with what could possibly be one of the greatest show starting songs ever written, a track called 'Invincible', brand new from Eddie Vedder off his Earthling album.  It has an incredibly uplifting feel.  If I were a movie director I would be pulling it into my movie damn quick.  Anyway, that was the start and we followed up with an ode to the post-covid economy in the wake of the Ukrainian disaster called 'All Revved Up With No Place to Go' courtesy of Meatloaf. 

From there we meandered through some early Queen to two great albums, Sixteen Stone.  and Throwing Copper, both released in 1994, by Bush and Live respectively.  A highlight was taking in a 60 min blast of energy from Arch Enemy.  The track is titled 'The Leader' (Of the Fucking Assholes) and was originally written by a band called Shitlickers out of Gothenburg in the '82 - '84 era.  I dedicated it to those who send troops into neighboring countries to kill civilians to fulfill their own worldview.  

Rory Gallagher and Joe Bonamassa took care of the blues.  The Stranglers and Stiff Little Fingers did the same for UK Punk.  The SA stuff was handled by Blue Scream and The Burning and towards the end of the show Piet Botha with 'Van Tonder'.  The Blue Scream track is special as it features Roger Kaye who passed away in 2013 and was one of the finest musicians I ever met.  Roger was at school with me and had a huge influence on my musical journey.  You can find out more about him in my book The Story of Rock and Roll which is available on Amazon Kindle and in hard copy.  In order to build Roger's legacy, I post any episode of TSORR featuring him to the Roger Kaye Facebook community.

We went heavy with Parkway Drive and Arch Enemy and then had a lekker mellow ending which was a bit different and pretty cool.  Hope you enjoy it, catch you next episode.  

PS. For the record, I made a comment that although my German is non-existant I figured that I was pretty certain that Rammstein's 'Fruhling in Paris' meant woman or lady in Paris.  Once again certainty is the enemy it means Spring in Paris 

Artists featured:  Eddie Vedder, Meatloaf, Queen, Bush, Live, Kane Roberts, Disturbed, Mastodon, In This Moment, Sons of Liberty, L.A. Guns, Massive Wagons, Arch Enemy, Rammstein, Scorpions, Stone Sour, Rory Gallagher, Joe Bonamassa, Motörhead, Led Zeppelin, The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Billy Bragg, Josh Todd & The Conflict, Sammy Hagar & The Wabo’s, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Blue Scream, The Burning, Van Halen, Parkway Drive, Arch Enemy, Neil Young, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Piet Botha. The Edgar Broughton Band, The Killers

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 9 of the 2022 season kicked off at 19h00 on 3 March on Rebel Rock Radio.  We started with ACDC to get the blood pumping and then followed with a fairly laid-back Wolfmother track called 'Mind's Eye'.  The whole show was pretty diverse, and included some heavy moments with Testament and Killswitch Engage then all the way back to the early  1969 ad 1976 for MC5 and UFO respectively.  We took a listen to 'Motor City is Burning' which was actually a John Lee Hooker song before Wayne Kramer fixed it up. 

There was a nice little bit showcasing the talents of Alissa White-Gluz, starting with a track off Me and That Man's latest album New Man, New Songs, Same Shit Vol II.  The track was called 'Goodbye' and featured Alissa with Devin Townshend.  She sings it beautifully with clean vocals and it's an amazing contrast to the next track where she does her trademark death vocals in Arch Enemy.  That track was called 'Deceiver, Deceiver' off the soon-to-be-released Deceiver album.  Sounds like something out of Black Adder, Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness.  It made sense to round out this bit of the show with my current favorite female-fronted band In This Moment with Maria Brink on vox.  

We had a short section where we went into C&W territory and played Buckcherry and Kid Rock both featuring Gretchen Wilson.  The big disappointment was messing up the transition between Jethro Tull's 'Moths' and Metallica's 'Moth Into Flame', do not adjust your set there was a technical problem which, in the interests of keeping it real, I haven't edited out.  Dan Patlansky's new album Shelter of Bones is excellent and we took a listen to 'Soul Parasite'.  The new Scorpions 'Rock Believer' went down very well as did listening to two of my favorite solos ever, one from KK Downing on 'Before the Dawn' and the other from the amazing C.C. de Ville on Poisons' track 'Life Goes On'.  Putting Pantera and Nickelback together was good fun, I thought it worked very well and we closed out with two heartfelt South African tracks, 'Sien Jou Weer' and Komma from Piet Botha & Jack Hammer and Francois Van Coke respectively.    

Artists featured:  ACDC, Wolfmother, Sixx A.M. Rush, Slash feat Myles Kennedy, Testament, Killswitch Engage, MC5, UFO, Stone Sour, Def Leppard, Megadeth, Me and That Man, Arch Enemy, In This Moment, Black Label Society, Buckcherry, Kid Rock feat Gretchen Wilson, Jethro Tull, Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Dan Patlansky, Samantha Fish, Diverted Disorder, Type O Negative, The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Sham 69, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Parkway Drive, Pantera, Nickelback, Rob Zombie, Piet Botha & Jack Hammer, Francois Van Coke. 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 8 aired on 24 February 2022 on Rebel Rock Radio, earlier that day Vladimir Putins troops marched into Ukraine.  The Doomsday clock is set at 100 seconds to midnight, 20 seconds worse than Iron Maidens apocalyptic 2 Minutes to Midnight.  It was difficult to put it to the back of mind.  We kicked off with Run Like Hell, off Pink Floyd's masterpiece the Wall.  From there we hit Metallica's Devils Dance.  It was impossible not to see the links to the world situation and song played, most of these songs were on the playlist days before this situation happened.

The episode ended up a bit different, overall probably a heavier show than normal. No UK Punk!, that's a first, no Aussie, no Judas Priest.  In its place we checked out heavier fare like BUllet for my Valentine, Gojira, In This Moment, Megadeth and Helloween.  The highlight was two tracks for new SA bands, Code 106 with Eradicate and Diverted Disorder with DEstroyed by Fate.  Both tracks are great and its clear SA rock / metal is in a good place.  Both bands are on iTunes, check it out.  I finally figured out a way to overcome technical difficulties and bring you more from the latest Iron Maiden album Senjutsu.  

The end of the show is pretty special, I played out with Kreator 'World War Now' not because I think there is one coming but because its a great anti-war song and deserves to be played.  The live show fades to black at exactly 22h00 for the next show on Rebel Rock, the song however finishes on the podcast and there is a perfect little end to the whole situation tacked on to finish things off.  May the force be with us.   

Artists featured:  Pink Floyd, Metallica, Accept, Black Sabbath, Billy Talent, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, In This Moment, The Burning, Hell Fire, Slash’s Snakepit, Megadeth, Grand Funk Railroad, Kiss, Kane Roberts, Halestorm, King Kobra, Van Coke Kartel, Therapy?, Serj Tankian, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Code 106, Diverted Disorder, Scorpions, Saxon, Volbeat, Sixx A.M., Mastodon, Iron Maiden, Helloween, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Gojira, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Kreator, Pink Floyd.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 7 of Season 5 aired on 17 February 2022.  We kicked off with a track called 'Bulletproof' of Paul Stanley's second solo album titled Live To Win.  It was topical given the difficult times we are living in, it seems like everyone is going through some serious shit.   We added a bit more inspiration to the airwaves with Billy Squiers' track 'Stronger' off Here and Now.  It was a fairly quiet night by TSORR standards not a lot of people calling in so the show sort of had a life of its own. 

Cold Chisel's cover of 'Knocking on Heavens Door' showed once again just what a great live band they were.  Ian Moss's guitar work as always just shines.  Speaking of guitar work, there was plenty of it, Black Label Society, Exodus, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden all showcasing some of the greatest guitarists around.  For a bit of UK Punk, we called on Sex Pistols with 'Did U No Wrong' and Stiff Little Fingers with 'Wait and See'.  The latter perfectly demonstrates the wonderful ability of Jake Burns to shift quickly into 'really aggressive now' mode.

Local music was ably handled by Roland Suttie, Johnathan Martin, and a seriously powerful track from Code 106 of a new EP called Alium.  Code 106 are sounded really good on this, I was suitably impressed.  From there we went on a Southern Rock jag for a few tracks, Kid Rock, Lynryd Skynyrd, and Whisky Myers all delivering the goods.  'Fill My World' the sad tale of Myles Kennedy's little dog Mozart alone in a storm and Sixx A.M. with 'Maybe It's Time' gave us a good 10 min of emotional stuff and it was tempting to mine that vein further, instead I opted for a mood-lifting end of show blitz of high octane 3 min tracks from The Offspring, The Distillers and Joan Jett (with her Blackhearts of course).  We closed out with UK Metal stalwarts Desolation Angels and a sublime track from Piet Botha.  Hope you enjoy it.       

Artists featured:  Paul Stanley, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Billy Squier, Anthrax, Manowar, Black label Society, Rose Tattoo, Cold Chisel, Powderfinger, MC5, Megadeth, Children of Bodom, Exodus, Rage Against the Machine, Code 106, Johnathan Martin, Roland Suttie, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Whiskey Myers, The Black Crowes, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead, Slash (feat Myles Kennedy), Sixx A.M., Kreator, Warrior Soul, The Offspring, The Distillers, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Desolation Angels, Piet Botha

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 6 of season 5 aired on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 10 Feb 2022.  It started off in an uncharacteristically chilled way with Cinderella and a track called 'One For Rock and Roll' off Heartbreak Station.  From there it got a bit heavier and a lot more uptempo with Adrenaline Mob, featuring the phenomenal fretwork of Mike Orlando and then a track called 'Premonition' by Running Wild.   The track was released in 2013 and makes a passing reference to the end of days and "unknown virus".  Rocking Rolf probably feels pretty smug about that. 

From there we bounced around between poppy-type Night Ranger tracks and way more metallic stuff from Bewitcher off Cursed be thy Kingdom.  I was told that it was once again time for the SONA, where the President takes a huge hit on the crack pipe and takes those who are interested on a fantastical journey of lies, fabrications, and pipe dreams.  Once I became aware of this a theme of sarcastic chirps permeated the show.  Cheap shots aplenty were taken when we listened to Keel - 'Die Fighting', The Clash - 'Police and Thieves, Stiff Little Finger - Fly the Flag, and We Are Augustines - Into the Abyss.   

Evanescence made their TSORR debut with 'Call Me When You're Sober and we added to that with some Halestorm and a track called 'I Am the Fire'.  My favorite stretch of the show was Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden & Judas Priest.  It went down well proving once again why the world's biggest bands are the world's biggest bands.  We wound down with David Bowie, Iggy & the Stooges, and The Rolling Stones before we checked out with parkway Drive and Venom.  I played Skid Row's 'This is Killing Me' just to mark the South African situation and express my feelings about it, the song is truly amazing and gets me every time.  We closed out with Kobus! and 'Volk Van Main' dedicated to all of you amazing people who support TSORR, I am deeply grateful to you all.   

Artists featured:  Cinderella, Adrenaline Mob, Running Wild, Night Ranger, Biters, Bewitcher, Keel, Gluecifer, Papa Roach, W.A.S.P., ACDC, Billy F. Gibbons, Exciter, Airbourne, Rory Gallagher, In Flames, Seether, Audioslave, Evanescence, Halestorm, The Clash, The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Rolling Stones, Iggy & The Stooges, David Bowie, We Are Augustines, Parkway Drive, Venom, Skid Row, The Pretty Reckless, Kobus!

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 5 of Season 5 took to the airwaves on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 3 Feb 2022.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and flowed really nicely.  I felt like I didn't have enough time right from the very start which is unusual and a good sign.   We kicked off with an instrumental track from In Flames called 'Man Made God'.  That early '2000s period was where I fell in love with In Flames and this track off the deluxe edition of Colony shows exactly why.  From there it was a bit of Audioslave and some Godsmack and we hit stride with L.A. Guns off their new album Checkered Past. 

The death of Meatloaf a few weeks ago highlighted to me how much Bat Out of Hell had meant to me growing up and it took his death for me to fall in love with it all over again.  That led to me thinking there are a lot of excellent bands that were so ubiquitous at a period in time that do not get a lot of love on TSORR.  Journey is one of those bands so we checked out 'Feeling That Way' off Infinity.  There was a great little bit where we checked out Metallica and then directly after two of their influences in the form of King Diamond and the totally underrated British NWOBHM band Demon.  We had Southern Rock from John Cougar and Kid Rock and then two young SA bands, Drumfish and Future Radio.  The latter has done a very powerful and interesting version of Dylan's 'Master of War'.  Check it out, very cool. 

A highlight of the show was the Punk section, Stiff Little Fingers' debut album Inflammable Material was released 43 years ago this week so we took a listen to 'Law & Order', then The Clash, and finally a song that I can't believe hasn't been I haven't played before on TSORR; 'Down in the Tube Station at Midnight by The Jam.  Tony Martin's new album Thorns went down very well and we closed out with a focus on Bruce Kulick's acoustic solo on Kiss' track 'Forever' and one of the greatest songs ever, a track called 'Learning to Fall by Chickenfoot. Check it out, hope you enjoy it.  

Artists featured:  In Flames, Audioslave, Godsmack, L.A. Guns, Those Damn Crows, Journey, Thin Lizzy, Slash feat Iggy Pop, Saxon, W.A.S.P., HIM, Live, Greta Van Fleet, The Doors, Jimmy Barnes, Metallica, King Diamond, Demon, John Cougar, Kid Rock, Drumfish, Future Radio, Johnathan Martin, Joe Bonamassa, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, The Jam, Ryan Adams, Tony Martin, Helloween, Junkyard, The Rolling Stones, Kiss, Chickenfoot, Van Halen. 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 4 of Season 5 aired on 27 Jan 2022.  I think I will always consider this the episode I lost control of.  Doing these shows is a bit like doing a gig, you have the songs and the sequence in our head and you play them in a way that seems to fit and sometimes everything flows and one thing leads to a better thing and that to a better thing, and other times everything doesn't seem to fit.  The biggest problem is when you get technical shit and lose your rhythm.  I lost wifi on one laptop but the show stayed up which is all that matters.  We started with Backyard Babies and Chickenfoot and then made our way through some early Halestorm and a track called 'I Get Off'.  Faith No More and Tool got a look in for the first time in a while and I give top marks to Tool for the lyrics to 'Aenima'.  They were just what the doctor ordered.   I suggest pulling them up while you listen to the track. 

We said cheers to Meatloaf who sadly passed away last Friday.  Meat had a huge impact on everyone growing up in the '70s, Bat Out of Hell was one of those freakish, outsize albums, selling north of 35 million copies that just took the world by storm.  We took a listen to 'Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Come True'  of Bat Out of Hell II. 

SA music got 4 in a row with 12th Avenue, Sugar Drive, The Burning, and Fokofpolisiekar.  We had nothing from Aussie, zero, nada, zip, that has to be a first, and was quite a shock when I realised it.  Apologies to my Australian friends, amends will be made next week. 

The Punk section was also unusual with nothing from the UK, we checked out Ramones and then a track called 'Bad Habit' off Smash, The Offspring's breakthrough album.  Are Offspring considered Punk?  No idea, these labels can be a bit tedious at times.  A highlight for me was Don Babylon with 'Ow, My Tiny Heart'.  I think it's one of the greatest choruses ever written.  It must be impossible to finish that song live, it will just loop on forever.  

Artists featured:  Backyard Babies, Chickenfoot, Halestorm, Ozzy Osbourne, Dokken, Def Leppard, U.D.O., Faith No More, Tool, Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders, Therapy?, Ramones, The Offspring, Walking Papers, Meatloaf, Arch Enemy, Judas Priest, 12th Avenue, Sugar Drive, The Burning, Fokofpolisiekar, Savage, The Pretty Reckless, Sheryl Crow, Ryan Adams, The Rolling Stones, Audience, Billy Gibbons & Vivien Campbell, Don Babylon, Eluveitjie, Scorpions, Metallica, Slaughter, Mötley Crüe, Sepultura

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 3 of Season 5 aired at 19h00 on 20 Jan 2022 on Rebel Rock Radio.  We started with a nice little instrumental before diving into the strange waters of Legend of the Seagullmen and their song ' Rise of the Giant'.  Following that we went back to 1989 and took a track off Badlands, a fantastic album released in 1987 by the band of the same name.   That album was the first CD I ever bought, it is a seriously good album and belongs in every rock fans collection. 

This episode contained a higher percentage of the lesser-known bands than normal, I think it worked out pretty well.  We took a heavy dose of what I would call Classic UK Punk; The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, and Sex Pistols.  It is interesting to reflect on just how things have changed.  In the sanitised world of 2022these songs are even more incendiary than they were in 1977.  Or, am I just getting old? 

The early stuff was covered by Uriah Heep and Jethro Tull, The newer stuff by Ayron Jones and Me and That Man.  The heavy came from Venom and Architects.  We raised the issue of Valiant Swart's fundraiser and efforts to raise some cash so that his wife Lanelle can get treatment for a seriously debilitating condition that will need some support to sort out.  TSORR wishes Valiant well in this effort and supports the initiative.   As usual, we ran out of time just as we really got going and Neil Young closed the show with a track called 'Canerican' of his new album Barn.   


Artists featured:  Bewitcher, Legend of the Seagullmen, Badlands, Devil’s Train, Buckcherry, Alter Bridge, Glenn Hughes, Rhino Bucket, Seether, Nirvana, Volbeat, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Architects, Motörhead, Skid Row, Guns ‘n’ Roses, W.A.S.P. Coheed & Cambria, The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Adrenaline Mob, Five Finger Death Punch, Pirates of Radio, Drowning pool, Ayron Jones. Great White, ACDC, Queensrÿche, Valiant Swart, Me & That Man, Kadavar, Venom, Warrant, Neal Young & Crazy Horse

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 2 of season 5 aired at 19h00 on Rebel Rock radio on Thursday 13 Jan 2022.  It started off disastrously.  Apart from being stung by a wasp minutes before the show, the entire playlist I had planned did not copy across to the database so as George Costanza once said " I got nothing".  I had to do this as a sort of best of TSORR fly by the seat of the pants jol.  Having said all that it was one of the most fun shows in ages. 

After misplaced jingles and dead ait it kicked off fittingly with W.A.S.P. and L.O.V.E. Machine,   From there it was a smorgasbord of the greatest artists in the world, UFO, Ozzy, Judas Priest, Megadeth, & Iron Maiden.  Thin Lizzy with Cowboy Song was especially good to hear again and so was Led Zeppelin all the way back to 1971 with 'Rock 'n' Roll.

We pigged out on Punk with Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers, The Clash, and Ramones and it was good to be reminded of how cool these bands were.  the Stranglers in particular at their magnificent malevolent best with 'Sometimes' off Rattus Norvegicus.  Anyway, check it out, you should find something here.  It's a bit light on SA stuff with only Piet Botha and The Uninvited representing but I will sort that out next week.  

Artists featured:  W.A.S.P., Volbeat, UFO, Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Bonamassa, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones, Kid Rock, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Rammstein, Oasis, Mötley Crüe, Led Zeppelin, Skid Row, Scorpions, Tom Waits, Rory Gallagher, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, Ramones, The Stranglers, The Pretty Reckless, Avenged Sevenfold, Badlands, Neil Young, Rose Tattoo, Cold Chisel, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Grand Funk Railroad, Metallica, Seether, ACDC, L.A. Rats, Van Halen, Piet Botha, Motörhead, Buckcherry, The Uninvited.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Welcome to 2022 and Season 5 of The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show.  Episode 1 kicked off the season live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 6 Jan 2022.  We launched with Prince and the Revolution and 'Let's Go Crazy' off the multi-platinum era defining Purple Rain album.  Then it was time for a bit of positivity with Lit and 'Lovely Day' and we rocked on from there. 

I corrected the omission of Dee Sniders 2021 release Leave a Scar on last week's Best of 2021 show.  We hit the '70s with Deep Purple and Nazareth and then got heavy with Bewitcher.  They released another album I missed last year called Cursed Be Your Kingdom and it's excellent, we checked out 'Valley of the Ravens'.   There was some slower bluesy stuff from Billy F. Gibbons and Gov't Mule and an opportunity to slip in some Slipknot which went down really well.  It was a pretty mixed up show going from Joe Jackson and The Jesus & Mary Chain to In This Moment and Rammstein and then Hinder and Nickelback.  TSORR once again going where angels fear to tread.

The highlight for me was getting to play all 7 min of the title track of the Deangersmith Album Lead us to your Taker (Disable the Corrupt).  This album was released by Dean Smith, ex- Ragnarok, and Mouthful of Flies last year.  Dean played every instrument, did all the vocals and all the programming.  It deals with societal issues and it's a seriously good album.  So all in all a bit of a mongrel of a show and you will hopefully find something to get your teeth into.  

Artists featured:  Prince, Lit, ACDC, Dee Snider, W.A.S.P., Deep Purple, Nazareth, Bewitcher, Dio, Pearl Jam, Clutch, Bullets & Octane, Airbourne, Gov’t Mule, Billy F. Gibbons, Billy Idol, Ted Nugent, Accept, Slipknot, John Mellencamp, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, The Jesus & Mary Chain, 999, Joe Jackson, Megadeth, Metallica, Deangersmith, Rammstein, In this Moment, Hinder, Nickelback, Motörhead, 12th Avenue, Tom Morello, My Chemical Romance

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock