SIVET HOYEM (Ex Madrugada) Live in Athens. The Playlist...

A few days ago, the ex-singer and former member of the Norwgian band 'Madrugada' gave 2 sold out live shows in Athens.
Madrugada happens to be very famous in Greece, and now that they are separated, their singer is following a solo career, and his visits in Greece are rather frequent.
 Being a fan of Madrugada since their first album (1999), I was lucky enough to see them on stage 5 times, and after their disbanding I saw Sivet Hoyem performing live twice. So I had no need to go once more to the concert. But as far as I heard and read, it was a very good one. The only bad thing for me is that he doesn't play enough songs from Madrugada anymore, and the playlist is based on his solo albums. (Which is logical).
Here you can see the whole playlist from the concerts:

Majesty (Madrugada)
Give It A Whirl
Red On Maroon
Endless Love
What's On Your Mind? (Madrugada)
Ride On Sisters
Into The Sea
Görlitzer Park
Honey bee (Madrugada)
Wat Tyler
The Hour Of The Wolf (Madrugada)
Inner Vision
Encore:
Where Is My Moon
Return To Nothing Special
Prisoner Of The Road
The Kids Are On High Street (Madrugada)
Moon Landing

Prog & Roll: The Special Birthday Show (29/9/2014)

  Yesterday was Prog & Roll's second birthday, so we decided to make a special show in order to celebrate it. First of all we planned an extended show, which lasted more than 2.5 hours, and it included the participation of some other producers from the radio station. We had some surprises in the playlist as well, which at some parts included songs from the very first show. Also we played a birthday song which 'Salander' recorded especially for Prog & Roll and send it to us, which was something very thoughtful and touchy. 
 As for the people who logged in, well... we had many people in the chatbox and many many more who were just listening. Both members of 'Salander' joined us in the chatbox and listened to the whole show, and I think it was a very friendly and fun atmosphere in general, with the comments and everything.
 A characteristic of last night's show was that for the first time we even did an encore! Yes yes, at the time we were finishing, people were asking for more, so we played one extra song for them. We felt like Rock Stars! hahaha
 As some of you know already, for this year we named the last part of the show as 'The Grand Finale" or "Epic Part", on which we will be playing at least one very long song. On our previous show we played Jethro Tull's 'Thick as a Brick' Part 1, and last night was Marillion's turn with 'Grendel'.
If you are interested to see the full playlist, it is here:
Part 1: MOUNTAIN: For Yasgur’s Farm / STONE THE CROWS: Sad Mary / ERIC CLAPTON: Little Wing / JIMI HENDRIX: Red House
 Part 2: Birthday spot by SALANDER / GENESIS: Dancing with the Moonlight knight / WILL-O-THE WISP: Elbereth / THE MARS VOLTA: Widow / SALANDER: Out of the Wreckage 

Part 3: PORCUPINE TREE: Sound of Muzak / QUEEN: Brighton Rock / CAMEL: Nimrodel / PROCOL HARUM: Conquistador (Live) 

Part 4: RUSH: A Farewell to Kings / UFO: love to Love / THIN LIZZY: Massacre / KANSAS: On the Other Side / PAVLOV’S DOG: Late November.

Part 5 (Epic): LIFE LINE PROJECT: Dusk / MYSTERY: The Silent Scream / MARILLION: Grendel

 Extra Song: ELOY: Future City
  I want to thank you all for joining our show last nught, and especially the 2 members of 'Salander', Dave & Dave for joining our show twice in a row, and of course for making this wonderful birthday song for us.
Prog & Roll will be online again on next Sunday 5/10, at the usual hour. (20.00 UK time)
Thank you very much! :)
 

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.102

Hello everybody!
One more Saturday is here, therefore it's time for me to write down myTop-5 songlist for this week.
During this week I listened to lots of music, because I was preparing tomorrow's special Prog & Roll radio show. I listened lots of Progressive Rock, Claassic Rock and Hard Rock mostly. But this time my list is eclusively including Progressive Rock songs, with only one exception as you will see by yourselves.
So, these are my best 5 songs for this week:
MARILLION: Grendel (EP B-side - 1982)
THE DOORS: When the Music's Over (Strange Days - 1967)
JETHRO TULL: Baker Street Muse (Minstrel in the Gallery - 1975)
GENESIS: Dancing with the Moonlight Knight (Selling England by the Pound - 1973)
PROCOL HARUM: Conquistador (Live) (In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra - 1971)
As usual I conclude this post by adding 2 videos with songs from my list, for you to listen to. On the first video is the wonderful 'Conquistador' recorded live with orchestra & choir, and on the second one you can listen to the really famous 'When the Music's over' by The Doors.
Enjoy the music, and have a nice weekend! :)

PROG & ROLL Radio Show: The first Podcast...

Hello all!
Many people from time to time asked if it could be possible to upload our shows as a podcast, in order to be able to listen to them any time they want.
Truth is that I had no idea what a podcast was, and how it works.
Together with my wife we made a small research, and finally we did it!
So now it is possible for everybody to listen to our show whenever he/she wants.
In this first podcast we uploaded the show we did on Sunday 21/9/2014.
If you are interested to see the playlist behorehand in order to listen to the songs you like, or you don't know, take a look here: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2014/09/last-nights-prog-roll-radio-show-full.html
If you like our show, spread the word people!
In order to listen just click the following link:
Prog & Roll radio show on 21/9/2014
Thank you!

Goodies from GFreedom's Music Collection # 15

                            UFO: Lights Out (1977)
 UFO are one of the pioneers in the English Hard Rock scene of the '70's. They were formed in 1969 by the singer Phil Mogg, the guitarist Mike Bolton, the bass player Pete Way and the drummer Andy Parker.
They took their name from the famous UFO club in London where they were spotted by the agent Noel Moore, who brought them to the 'Beacon Records' label on which they signed their first contract. They were lucky enough to recruit the guitarist Michael Schenker from Scorpions in 1973, who at the time was only 18 years old. Together they recorded some of the band's most wonderful and successful albums such as: 'Phenomenon', 'No Heavy Petting' and 'Lights Out'.
 'Lights Out' was released in 1977, and it was the band's 6th studio album. It includes a cover version of Love's famous song 'Alone Again or', which is a very good one! Further than that, all the other songs are original compositions. 'Lights Out' is the band's first album to feature some extra string arrangements, alongside with more complex songs than their previous albums. Their producer at the time Ron Nevison brought in Alan Mc Millan to handle the string and horn arrangements.The most notable song to feature the orchestal coloring was 'Love to Love', which became one of the band's most successful hits.
  The album contains 8 songs and has a total running time of 37.00 minutes. All 8 songs are very good compositions, and it's an album which the listener can enjoy from the first till the last song without becoming boring at any point.
 For all of you who are fans of the classic Hard Rock sound, beautiful guitar riffs and solo's, combined with beautiful and "catchy" melodies, then this album is for you!
Here you can see the tracklist of the album:
1. Too hot to Handle / 2. Just Another Suicide / 3. Try Me / 4. Lights Out / 5. Gettin' Ready / 6. Alone Again or / 7. Electric Phase  / 8. Love to Love.
In the following videos you can listen two songs from the album and have an idea...

Last Night's 'Prog & Roll' radio show. The full playlist and more...

Last night we had the first Prog & Roll for the new season, as I mentioned in the post below.
 We wanted to make a nice start, and I beleve we did a very good one! Further than the music we played, and the people who were listening and/or participating in the chatbox, we had also an unexpected visitor: Mr. Dave Smith from the band 'Salander' joined our show, so we made a small last-minute change in the playlist in order to play one of their songs. He stayed until the end of the show, and as it seemed he enjoyed it.
 As for the show itself, this time we had a more 'Rock' playlist than usual, and we tried for the first time one of the changes I mentioned in the other post. In the fourth (and last) half-hour part on the show we used to play the most slow and melodic songs. But from now and on in this last part we will be playng songs which can be characterized as "Epic" ones, mostly because of their length, and/or their main theme. These songs can be from 10 minutes minimum up to half-hour maximum.As you can understand these songs are very difficult to listen on the radio, so we thought it will be a nice idea to have something like a "Grand Finale" to our shows. As for last night's 'Epic' song, we chose the first part of Jethro Tull's 'Thick as a Brick'.
 We also had a music contest, on which we played a cover version of a song, and we were asking which artist/band recorded the original version of it, and what was the name of the song. I must say that I was surprised from the really quick answer we received in the chatbox. Just for the record I should say that the song was Bob Dylan's 'One more cup of coffee', and the cover version we played was recorded by Robert Plant.
  As for the whole playlist from last night's show you can see it here:

DEEP PURPLE: Burn / TONY IOMMI: Flame on / DREAMSCAPE: Led Astray / IRON MAIDEN: Alexander the Great / SALANDER: Zeitgeist / TRION: Silence Of the Universe / STYX: The Grand Illusion / ELOY: Inside / ROBERT PLANT: One More Cup of Coffee (Music Contest) / BRYAN FERRY: These Foolish Things / VAN MORRISON: The Great Deception / TRAFFIC: Empty Pages / CREAM: Sunshine of Your Love / DAVID BOWIE: Hang on to Yourself / FOCUS: Anonymous / JETHRO TULL: Thick as a Brick (Part.1).

As for next Sunday, we will prepare a special playlist full of great songs, and maybe a few surprises as well, because it will be Prog & Roll's birthday. So, try not to miss our next show, because I believe it will be a very good one.

Thank you very much for logging in last night and listening, hoping you had some nice time.

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.101

Hey all!
  After almost a month and a half, the usual Saturday "Juke Box" series of posts is back.
  For those who aren't familiar with these posts I should say that on every Saturday I'm writing this post which includes my weekly Top-5 songlist for you to take a look, and maybe listen to a few songs you don't know yet. Sometimes I receive comments from people who are adding their own weekly Top-5 song or album list, which is something I like very much. So, If any of you is in the mood for that, know that your comments are very welcome!
As for my weekly Top-5 songs you can see them here:
EDEN: Spatergen (Eden - 1978)
KALEIDOSCOPE: The Sky Children (Tangerine Dream - 1967)
ARENA: Sirens (Pride - 1996)
MADRUGADA: What's on your mind? (Madrugada - 2008)
JETHRO TULL: Thick as a Brick Part.1 (Thick as a Brick - 1972)
At the end of the post I'll add a couple of songs for you to listen to right away.
Tthe first video is the song 'Spartegen' by the German band 'Eden', and on the second one the Psychedelic tune 'The Sky Children' by the English underground band 'Kaleidoscope'. Enjoy the music people, and have a wonderful weekend!
Thank for visiting! :)

'PROG & ROLL' Reloaded...

 After a long Summer break, 'Prog & Roll' radio show is back!
Starting from this Sunday (21/9), GFreedom Team will be presenting 'Prog & Roll' radio show once more, on the same day & hour as before. (every Sunday at 20.00 UK time)
   During the break we decided that we wanted to make some changes, and all of you who listen to our show frequently, will see what I mean very soon. First of all, we will widen ever more our musical horizons, in order to make the show more interesting, more enjoyable and more unpredictable. Further than that, we will have some changes in the structure of the show itself, but I'm not gonna reveal more on that subject.
  Furthermore, we will be doing some special shows every now & then, on which we will have some of our listeners as guests, and altogether we will be playing something like a "musical game". There are also a few more things we have in mind, but I'm not going to reveal them right now either. You will have to tune in for that. The point is that this year we will try to do whatever we can in order to present something that you will find interesting and enjoyable.
  Don't forget that 'Prog & Roll' is a live show, and the broadcasting is in English & Greek language.
On every Monday morning I will be writing a post here, with Sunday's playlist, so you can take a look and see what kind of music we played.
 It will be a great joy to have you there with us on Sunday nights, and we hope that you will like the "new" 'Prog & Roll'.
If you want to log in, just click this link: www.justincaseradio.com
Thank you! :)

Travelling: SKOPELOS (Greek Island)

  This summer me and my family spent some days in the beautiful island of Skopelos in the western Aegean sea, and here's a small post about this island...
  Skopelos is one of several islands which belong to the Sporades complex, and lies east of the Pelion peninsula (on the mainland), and north of the island of Evia. Skopelos is also the name of the port and at the same time main city of the island. The first thing the visitor notices is the unbelievable greenery of the place. The whole island is covered with forests, and the trees almost reach almost the sea. The forests are mostly of pine and oak, but of course you can find numberless olive trees as well. (Like anywhere in Greece). Another important fact is that because of all those forests there are only 2 villages in Skopelos: Glossa and Neo Klima. (The port is excluded).
There are also a few other communities here and there, but that's all.

 The visitor can enjoy the spectacular beaches and very clean sea, together with the very tasty local dishes. I visited 3-4 of those beaches, and my recommendation would be: Kastani, Panormos, Milia and Stafylos. (in that order)
The rhythm of the island is rather relaxing in general, and has nothing to do with the noisy island of Skiathos which is exactly next to Skopelos.
 Skopelos became widely known in the last decade because of the film "Mamma Mia' which was filmed there. I've never watched the film, so I have no opinion, but I have an opinion for the island, which is really wonderful! For all of you who want a cool relaxing place for your holidays, consider Skopelos as an option. You can also have a small idea from the pictures I'm posting here.
Thank you for reading...

TV Series: Orphan Black (Seasons 1 & 2)

As I mentioned at the start of the post below, lately I watched enough series, and in this blog I will be writing my opinion and a small review on them.
Yesterday I wrote about 'The Blacklist', and today I'm writing about 'Orphan Black', which is a MUST SEE in my opinion.
But let's take everything from the start:
'Orphan Black' is an Action/Drama series, with strong doses of Sci-Fi. The first 2 seasons have been released in 2013 & 2014, and now we will have to wait until next year for the 3rd one.
 SPOILERS AHEAD:
Now let's take a look at the main story:
 Everything starts when the orphan and street-punk Sarrah Manning is witnessing a woman's suicide in the underground train. The weird thing is that the woman who just suicided looks exactly like her! But before jumping in the rails, she left behind a coat and a briefcase. Sarrah picks them up, only to realise that this woman is a cop. This is the point which she decides to take her role for a while, and solve her economical (but not only) problems by clearing this woman's savings. This is just the start (Episode 1) in a very intersting and intriguing story, which includes medical experiments with clones, with Sarrah being just one of them. Very soon she will realise that there are more women who looks exactly like her, but only in face and shape. Each one has a totally different character and temper, and is living a different life. As the story goes, it becomes more & more complicated, including many unpredictable turns in the plot.
 The rythm in the first season is so fast, that doesn't let you press 'stop' in the control. I watched all 10 episodes of the first season in two days! (Each episode has a running time of almost 45 minutes). But unfortunately that doesn't continue in the second one, which is slower by far, and less interesting. It is very obvious that they tried to add as many extra stories as they could, in order to "strech" the whole series.That thing really bothered me to tell the truth.
 Here I have to make a special mention to Tatiana Maslany, the actor who holds the whole series almost by herself. She plays the basic role of Sarrah Manning, together all the other roles of the clones I mentioned above.
Also, very pleasant surprise to me was the appearance of Maria Doyle Kennedy (The Commitments, The Tudors), in the role of Mrs. S. She is a really good actor, and I was very glad to see her participating here.
 Concluding this, I have to say that I really enjoyed these series, and I highly recommend them!
As for my rating, I will give an 8.5 for the first season, and 7.0 for the second one.
IMDB's rating for both seasons is 8.5/10.
The following video is a small trailer for your liking.
I hope you find this post interesting and informative.
Thank you for reading. :)

TV Series: The Blacklist (Season 1) - 2013

  One of the things I did during the holiday period was to watch some series, and in the following days (or weeks), I'll be writing here a few things about them.
 I will start with the first season of 'The Blacklist' which was the first one I watched.
 I found the main idea very interesting, and as I was watching it I was hooked by the scenario and the fast pace of the story.
  The main story goes like that: The former US goverment agent Raymond "Red" Reddington who happens to be one of world's most wanted fugitives suddenly turns himself in. In the first episode we watch him as surrenders himself to the FBI, but not without a reason. He has a proposal in his hands and he tries to make a deal. The deal is that he is offering help to the FBI in order for them to be able to find and arrest (or kill) some of the world's most notorious and wanted criminals, terrorists etc, and he has already prepared a blacklist with their names. (Hence the title of the series). In return for his help they will set him free, and drop all the charges against him.
 But further than that, he has a main demand which is that we will be speaking only with Elizabeth Keen, a young FBI profiler who's barely out of Quantico, and they don't seem to be connected somehow. But that's only the one side of the story. As you will find out if you watch 'The Blacklist', there are many other stories which are hidden and they made the things more & more complicated. For example there is also one more basic story that runs in the background, (which is the most interesting I think), but I'm not going to reveal it here.
 In the role of Raymond Reddington we see James Spader, and I have to admit that he gives a very good performance. In the role of Elisabeth Keen we see Megan Boone, which I never heard off before, and to be honest I wasn't crazy about her acting. But I'm not sure if the problem was her acting of the role itself.
 The whole first season consists of 23 episodes, and each episode has a running time of almost ah hour. (If I remember well). The second season will start soon, and I am kind of impatient to see what's going to happen next.
If I had to rate this first season I would give something between 7.5 - 8.0. (IMDB has a rating of 8.2)
I tried to upload a video trailer from YouTube here for you to watch, but for some reason it's not happening. If you are interested, go to YouTube and check it there please.
I hope you found this post informative.
Thank you for reading. :)

So here I am once more...

Hello all!
  After almost a month on which I was away from my blog, now it's time to return.
During this month I relaxed enough, went on holidays, and enjoyed my free time in general, away from my blog and the radio program as well.
  But Autumn came, and I have to return to my usual things.
I'm starting with the blog, and the radio show will follow in a couple of weeks.
I also changed the appearance of the blog, hoping that you will like it, and find it more relaxing and easier to read.
Well, that's all for now. I will start posting new (and I hope interesting) things very soon...
Thank you! :)