The new solo album from Steve Annetts sizzles with old style rock and new sound direction!

Regular listeners to the station and older rockers will probably be aware of the name "Steve Annetts". We first introduced you to him as the lead singer with "Dangerous Age", a band featuring Ian Foster (Miss Bonnie's dad!) on the drums. A little while later we brought you the decades overdue release of the album from the band "Heartbreaker", both also featuring Steve and Ian.

A couple of months ago, Steve also finally brought the albums out from NWOBHM band After Dark. All these projects have been a labour of love and fans of Free/Bad Company inspired blues rock and rock have taken the albums to heart.

But Steve somehow also found the time (and energy!) to work on his solo album, "The Fire and the Rain". And we're very glad that he did, because this album has not been out of the car cd player since we got it.

Like most of Steve's material, you can feel that Bad Company influenced voice and style, but this album is very much a modern commercial rock album. The title track exemplifies this mix of styles and influences, and to be fair, is worth the ticket price alone, a true slow burner that grows into a chorus that will be your ear-worm forever!

The album has also already given us a new show starter with "Rock Show On The Radio", which will have all us rockers of a certain age reminiscing about the glory days of radio rock (and wondering where all the time has gone!). Live for the Music is another anthem for music fans everywhere, with its Bon Jovi style guitar hook and a nod to the commercial rock hits of the 70s & early 80s (most of the lines are made up of titles of some of our favourite songs from the era- as you sing along your brain will be going... aha! OOOO! Ah that one!).

There's some slower, more reflective songs (Killing Streets for example), songs which add musical instruments and styles not heard on previous albums featuring Steve (the poppy 'Heart in Her Pocket' for example, which reminds me of Robert Palmer and John Farnham type songs, and then delivers a chorus that will have you blasting it out like you've known the song for yonks!). Then you have the ballad "Highlands" with, yes, bag pipes, and the ballad 'Joey' with its keyboard led melody and end of life lyrics. It all works though. There's an energy and sense of fun that drives the album on from song to song, all held together by that voice that shows no sign of losing the desire to sing.

And for the air guitar freaks amongst us, don't worry, because the riffs on song after song will have you reaching for that fret like a reborn rocker. The first 3 songs especially will see you riff dancing where ever you are- car, work chair, shopping, walking in the country and, of course, the studio chair (yes, I broke another one to the first song "Shutupanddrink!") . And then there's the guitar solos... proper, part of the song but totally performed by an axe-god guitar solos (the solo on Bring It On merits special mention here- Yngwie Malsteen take note on how to do a great solo that remains part of the song it is within!). Oh yes, guitar fans will be more than happy.

All in all, this is a fine album, a great example of the talent of British musicians that deserve to be household names, but were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But they never gave up. Never lost that love of the music they so brilliantly craft. Thank the Gods. Because we would be without some wonderful gems, and that would be a crime against music.

The album is available for downloads from all the regular streamers and you can order the physical CD. Follow Steve in his Facebook page HERE and above all else, please, buy and stream the songs and albums.

For now however, it's time for me to shutupanddrink!!