GFreedom's Juke Box No.181

Hello all!
After a small break, my usual Saturday 'Juke Box' post is back with my weekly Top-5 songlist for you.
During this week, I've listened to songs from many different styles and genres as you will realize by looking at my list.
From all the songs I've listened to, I chose the following as the best ones:
OPETH: The Seventh Sojourn (Sorceress - 2016)
CHUMBAWAMBA: Mouthful of shit (Anarchy - 1994)
BLUE OYSTER CULT: Burning for you (Fire of Unknown Origin - 1981)
THE NEAL MORSE BAND: City of Destruction (The Similitude of a Dream - 2016)
IRON MAIDEN: Flash of the Blade (Powerslave - 1984)
I will conclude this post by adding the YouTube links of the songs in my list, so you will be able to listen to them right away.
Enjoy the music and have a great New Year's Eve!
Thank you for visiting my blog. 😎
OPETH: The Seventh Sojourn
CHUMBAWAMBA: Mouthful of shit
BLUE OYSTER CULT: Burnin' for you
THE NEAL MORSE BAND: City of Destruction
IRON MAIDEN: Flash of the Blade

Rick Parfitt of Status Quo passed away... (24/12/2016) (Followed by the death of George Michael one day later)

... And the sad list of musicians that died in 2016 continues...
Rick Parfitt, the singer, composer and guitar player of Status Quo passed away at the age of 68 one day before Christmas.
The cause of his death was an infection he caught in the hospital. It's claimed the veteran musician was taken in after suffering complications from a previous shoulder injury - but picked up a severe infection while he was there.
 Parfitt joins a long list of celebrated musicians to have died in 2016 - including David Bowie, Prince, Pete Burns, Keith Emerson, Glenn Frey, Greg Lake, Sir George Martin and Leonard Cohen.
  Parfitt was a true "servant" of Rock n Roll, and during his long career with Status Quo he recorded over 30 studio albums.
I was lucky enough to see Status Quo on stage almost 25 years ago, and I still remember that great concert they gave in Athens.
R.I.P Rick Parfitt, you will always live through your music. 
The world of Rock n Roll just lost another faithful soldier...
STATUS QUO: Whatever you want - live (2009) 

P.S: At the time I was writing this piece, I learned about George Michael's death on Christmas day. He was just 53 years old. I was never a fan of George Michael; it was quite the opposite actually. But I must admit that he was a good and famous composer and musician, who influenced many artists during his long and very sucessfull career. 
And the list continues... 
We got just a few days before the end of 2016, and only God knows what might happen...
R.I.P George Michael or should I say Georgios Kyriakos Panagiotou, which was his birthname...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I would like to send my warmest wishes to you and your beloved ones. 
Have a great holiday season, filled with love and happiness!
Thank you for visiting my blog and supporting my radio show.
             MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The last Prog & Roll of 2016. A Small “Review” and the complete playlist.

Hello all!

  Last night the last Prog & Roll radio Show of 2016 was on air, on a different day than usual, but at the same time. Because on Sunday we have Christmas, we decided to move our show 2 days earlier, and have a “Christmas Special” show.

  Because it was a special and the last show of the year, we tried to make it somehow different. For those reasons, we added in the playlist some famous Christmas Carols in very interesting versions and tried to also include songs from many different genres and sub-categories.

  We had a good crown listening, but not as many as other times, because the people weren’t informed I guess, or forgot it. Even me, enough times I found myself thinking that it was Sunday, because I got confused.

  Anyway, further than all those things, during the last part of the show we also had the contest for the ‘Song of the Month’, during which, our listeners have to grade once more the best songs we played during the whole month, and with their grades are choosing the winning song.

I believe it was an interesting and pleasant show, and I hope the people enjoyed it.

Here, you can see the whole playlist:

1^st Part: SOUTHPARK: Oh Holy Night / TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA: O Come All Ye Faithful / THE NEAL MORSE BAND: Back to the City / RPWL: Unchain the Earth / GENTLE STORM: Heart of Amsterdam / CLIVE NOLAN: Quarternary Plan. 

2^nd Part: DIO: God Reast Ye Merry Gentlemen / MANOWAR: The Crown and the Ring / RHAPSODY (OF FIRE): The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream / BLIND GUARDIAN: The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight / BLACK SABBATH: The Sign of the Southern Cross.

3^rd Part:  JETHRO TULL: Gaudete / LOREENA McKENNITT / Good King Wenceslas / BLACKMORE’S NIGHT: Mond Tanz-Child in Time / STEELEYE SPAN: All Around my Hat / FAIRPORT CONVENTION: Sir Patrick Spens / MIKE OLDFIELD: In Dulci Jubilo.

4^th Part: "SONG OF THE MONTH" Contest: THE BEATLES: While My Guitar Gently Weeps / THE ROLLING STONES: She’s a Rainbow / SPOCK’S BEARD: On a Perfect Day / DIO: The Last in Line.

After our listener's graded the songs and I calculated the average points each song received, The title of the Song of the Month for December goes to: The Last in Line by Dio.

I would like to thank all those who joined our show last night, and to wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Prog & Roll is going to have a two weeks break and will be back on Sunday the 8^th of January. Till then, take care!

Thank you!

The last Prog & Roll of 2016 will be on air on Friday the 23rd of December, with a "Christmas Special" show.

  I'm writing this piece in order to inform you that the last Prog & Roll radio show of 2016 will be on air on Friday the 23rd of December at 20.00 UK time. We changed the show's usual day because on Sunday is Christmas and we didn't want to have a show on that day.
  So, the "Christmas special" Prog & Roll will take place 2 days earlier, but at the usual time. 
  We are preparing a rather jolly playlist, that will include a few surprises for our listeners, and we hope that we will see you in our chatbox once more, in order to exchange season wishes and spend 2 pleasant hours with good music and the usual fun on the chatbox.
  But further than that, because this is going to be the last show of December, it will be including the "Song of the Month" contest, where our listeners will have to chose the best song of this month. 
  So, if you are in the mood for some good music and a fun and warm company, tune in to Prog & Roll.
On Friday the 23rd at 20.00 UK time, just click on the following link: www.justincaseradio.com
I hope to "see" you there!
Thank you! :-)

PROG & ROLL Radio Show (18/12/2016). A small "review" & the complete playlist...

Hello all!
Last night the internet radio show Prog & Roll was on air once more as usual. I believe that it was a good show, and I hope the people enjoyed it. We had a good crowd gathered, but not as big as other times, and for that reason we were more cool and relaxed. 
  We also had the pleasure to have in our chatbox the Italian composer, producer and musician Marco De Angelis from Rome, but not as our official guest. A few days ago, Marco send us one of his new songs that is going to be included in his forthcoming album that will be released in a couple of months. We did play his song last night, and maybe this was a worldwide radio premiere.
Further than that, we didived the 2-hour show into 4-half hour parts once more, and on each part we played a totally different style of music. 
 Here you can take a look at the complete playlist:

1st Part: THE KINKS: Sunny Afternoon / LOVE: The Daily Planet / JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: High Flying Bird / QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE: Fresh Air / THE ROLLING STONES: She’s a Rainbow.

2nd Part: SECTION IV: Inside / MARCO DE ANGELIS: Freewill / VERBAL DELIRIUM: Close to You / CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX: We are the Darkeners.

3rd Part: ARK: Where the Wind Blow / WHITESNAKE: Guilty of Love / THIN LIZZY: Killer on the Loose / RAINBOW: Lost in Hollywood / DIO: The Last in Line.

4th Part: CURVED AIR: Marie Antoinette / RENAISSANCE: The Song of Scheherazade. 

 I would also like to inform you that, the next Prog & Roll will be on air on Friday the 23rd of December, with a special Christmas show. Also, because this show is going to be the last of 2016, it is going to include the final stage of the 'Song of the month' contest, where our listeners will choose the best song of the whole month. I will write an announcement about that in a few days, in this blog.

  I would like to thank all those who tuned in last night, and especially Marco De Angelis, who not only showed up, but also send us his new song, a couple of months before the album's official release.

Thank you very much!

THE NEAL MORSE BAND: The Similitude of a Dream (2016)

   Starting this piece, I should first of all mention that I’m not a fan of Neil Morse. I surely respect him as a composer and musician, I have many of his solo albums, and of his projects as well, but still…

   The Similitude of a Dream is the new work of The Neal Morse band, in which many very good musicians are participating, and Mike Portnoy is one of them.

  The album is available as a double CD, with a total length of almost 105 minutes. It includes 23 tracks, and none of them is more than 10 minutes in length; so no epic this time. The longest song here is the album’s closing piece, the very beautiful Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise), which is almost 10 minutes long, and one of my most beloved songs.

  It is a concept album, having as main theme the story of a man who decides to write his own life-story while he is in prison.

   I am not going to write about each song separately, first of all because the songs are many, but further than that because I usually put the CD to play and I listen to it as a whole work, not song by song. But despite that, there are some songs I like very much, like the song I mentioned above, (Broken sky/Long Day), City of Destruction and The Ways of a Fool, to name a few.

   The album is filled with very beautiful melodies (which is my soft spot), many interesting turns, and of course excellent musicianship, not to mention Neil Morse’s dramatic vocals that are adding a lot to the album.

   The Similitude of a Dream is not an easy album, it needs many listenings in order to reveal its beauty. But once it does, it will satisfy you without any doubt.

 4 out of 5 stars is my rating, and I’m not sure if it is enough to be honest.

PROG & ROLL Radio Show with Evership as guests. (11/12/2016). A small review and the complete playlist...

Hello all!

  Last night, one more Prog & Roll radio show was on air as usual. We were very glad to have in our chatbox the members of the American Progressive Rock band Evership, from Nashville. Further than their leader Shane Atkinson, and Beau West, the band’s singer, we also had James Atkinson, Jaymi Millard and Joel (I don’t know his last name). But further than Evership, we also had a few more musicians that joined our chatbox, (such as Benjamin Bell and Colin Tench), in order to listen to the show and chat with our special guests.

  We had a big crowd listening from many countries once more, and from time to time the chatbox was on fire. In order to honour our guests, we prepared an all-American playlist, with only one exception; the opening song. This, was dedicated to the memory of Greg Lake, who passed away a few days before.

 In last night’s playlist we included 4 songs from Evership’s excellent debut album, and as it seemed most of our listeners loved it.

  We also did our usual music quiz, and we gave as present 3 download codes for the digital version of Evership’s album, that were gently offered by the band. The 3 winners were: Emily and Sarah from England, and Phegos from France. Congratulations to all of you, enjoy the album!

I really believe that it was a very pleasant and interesting show, and the 2 hours passed really fast. I hope that everybody had some nice time, and enjoyed it!

Here you can see the whole playlist:

1^st Part: GREG LAKE: I Believe in Father Christmas / DAVE KERZNER: The Lie / SPOCK’S BEARD: On a Perfect Day / EVERSHIP: Silver Light.

2^nd Part: JOURNEY: Of a Lifetime / BLUE OYSTER CULT: Astronomy / ALICE COOPER: Second Coming – The Ballad of Dwight Fry.

3^rd Part: ECHOLYN: One Brown Mouse (Music Quiz) / EVERSHIP: A Slow Descent into Reality / EVERSHIP: Ultima Thule.

4^th Part: THE DEAR HUNTER: Waves / FLYING COLORS: Love is What I’m Loking for / SHADOW GALLERY: Ghost of a Chance / EVERSHIP: Flying Machine.

I would like to thank all of you who chose to spend your Sunday evening with us, and especially the guys of Evership, and also Benjamin Bell and Colin Tench. Our musicians community is becoming bigger, and that is something that makes us very happy and honoured. Thank you all!