GRAHAM BONNET BAND

"Lost in Hollywood Again" (Frontiers Music SRL; 2025)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

Another solid live recording from the living legend who is Graham Bonnet. Not much to be said here that hasn't been said before. This sixteen track live recording features familiar songs from such bands as Rainbow, Michael Schenker Band, Alcatrazz, and, of course, Graham Bonnet. I also detect some Deep Purple in the instrumental track, "Lazy" although, as far as I can tell, Bonnet never performed with that band.

There's a lot of big hits here, and maybe a couple lesser known songs, but they all sound great. Bonnet's band has the chops, that's for sure, and Graham himself sounds as good as ever.

Bottom line: Fans of Graham Bonnet's work with the bands listed above, as well as his solo material, will find "Lost in Hollywood Again" another terrific listen. I can tell you this much: It makes me wish I'd been at this show and, if Graham ends up touring nearby me, I'll be in the audience, for sure.

For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/grahambonnetmusic.

"Live in Tokyo 2017" (Frontiers Music SRL; 2019)

Reviewed by Snidermann

I have a unique experience in reviewing music that I will share with you now: My editor, R. Scott Bolton, gave me some music to review and one of them was the Graham Bonnet Band's "Live in Tokyo 2017." I had never heard of the band--never heard a cut, nothing, nada, zip. So I start to listen to the album and what I hear is a loud, late 80s early 90s rock'n'roll sound.

But this was the first I've ever heard of the band, this live recording. So here I am, with zero experience with this band, and I have got to write about what I think. So here goes: "Live in Tokyo 2017" features some high quality music: well-rounded, well thought-out and with a nice hard edge. This shit has a backbone, plenty of charisma, fire and whatever other word you want to use to describe really good music with a ton of presence. This shit is alive and very fun to listen to.

Everyone knows that a live recording is a showcase of the best any band has to offer. Since I did not know any of the band's music, I had to listen very closely to make an evaluation based on that live sound alone. And I intentionally didn't research this CD before I listened because I wanted to go in fresh. As of this writing, I do not know very much about this band at all but one thing I can say is that they really kick ass live. "Live in Tokyo 2017" has everything a great live CD needs: solid music, a lively performance and a great soul. If a band has soul, it has everything it needs.

Editor's note: I love the fact that Snidermann went into this recording without realizing that Graham Bonnet is who he is. It gave this review a fresh perspective it might not have otherwise had. And, for the record, congratulations to Graham on his induction to the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame.

For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/grahambonnetmusic.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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