SUZE DeMARCHI / SATELLITE MUSHROOM AUSTRALIA MUSH01819.2 OVERALL: 86% Produced by: Nuno Bettencourt and Bob St. John

Suze DeMarchi was the voice of Australia's Baby Animals and this is her debut solo single. the album that will feature husband Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme on production and guitarists' duties will be out early next year. But for now this is the single and it's an absolute bloody ripper! Modern 90's production and feel, yet a melodic anthem with a couple of bridges that lead to a chorus of guitars and multi layered vocals. The B-Side is a little more modern in style and somewhat less melodic, but that's what B-Sides are for. Very strong stuff indeed and one to look out for. Available from Tracks Music.

MOTLEY CRUE / GREATEST HITS MOTLEY RECORDS / VIRGIN OVERALL: 80% New tracks produced by: Bob Rock

Motley Crue are back with a compilation album designed to keep the fans happy while we await another studio album. A hint of that album is in the 2 new tracks included here. I loved Generation Swine, but dome didn't. This is hopefully the best of both worlds. Bitter Pill is a mix of the best of Motley Cue with the style that was Gen Swine. More commercial than that album but equally as heavy, more straight ahead hard rock. Quite a melodic chorus. Enslaved is a cool track. It starts all soft and cracks into a nice heavy bass and guitar riff. The same style Bitter Pill and the chorus is even cooler! Melodicly twisted with a very clear sound. Fans of Gen Swine should love these, while old fans should start coming around. The only other tempter on this sort of 'dead' compilation is the re-mix of Glitter (like the original better) and the added tracks from Gen swine mixed with motley's Best. A good hint of what's to come. I like it.

MEATLOAF / THE VERY BEST OF EPIC 491823.2 OVERALL: 70% New tracks produced by: Jim Steinman (2), Russ Titleman (1)

I like Meatloaf, but if I never hear Paradise By The Dashboard Light again, it wil be too soon. Good to see this best of spread over 2 discs. Given the restriction of a single CD best of, there might have only been 3 tracks on it. This compilation mirrors Motley's, as there are 3 new tracks and a pointless re-mix. But the re-mix of Life Is A Lemon is pretty cool and the new tracks are also quite good. Not Bat Out Of Hell 2 good (Loved that record), but OK. All three songs are from the collaboration of Jim Steinman with Andrew Lloyd Webber for his musical Whistle Down The Wind. Home By Now/No Matter What and Is Nothing Sacred are both big power ballads with Meat's voice in prime shape. A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Wait is classically operatic bombastic rock and another good tune. Couldn't care less about the 'Best Of' part, but the new tunes are almost worth the purchase price

THE MAIN EVENT / JOHN FARNHAM BMG AUSTRALIA OVERALL: 49% Produced by: Ross Fraser

I love John Farnham. I think Olivia Newton John has had some pleasant tunes. And Anthony Warlow is Australia's answer to Michael Crawford. Interesting concept this. This recording is the highlights from a series of national concerts these three outstanding vocalists did just a month ago. But how do you fit a 2 and a half hour show onto a 62 minute release? Answer: You don't! Or shouldn't at least - because this disc has little magic and the few great tracks are edited to fit further highlights. For example Olivia's great AOR pop song A Little More Love goes for exactly 57 seconds. And the tracks that have been included in full are some of the worst they could have chosen! John Farnham has his single worst recording ever 'Everytime You Cry' painfully included as Olivia showcases Hopelessly devoted To You. Oh dear. this release is clearly aimed at the 50 and over club, so unless you are reading this from your deluxe retirement villa, steer clear. A good concept that doesn't quite work on record. Available from Tracks Music.

AUSTRALIAN CRAWL / GREATEST HITS EMI AUSTRALIA 497327.2 OVERALL: 85% Produced by: Peter Dawkins / Mark Opitz & Others

Singer James Reyne has always been an AOR cult favourite and his roots lie with Aussie pub rock icons Australian Crawl. The band have had a previous Best Of released, but this one is repackaged and re-mastered and sounds pretty darn good. The songs hold up as well today as they did in the mid 1980's and should have a place in every fan of Australian rock collection. Highlights are the rocking Beautiful People, Boys Light Up, Thing's Don't Seem and Daughters Of The Northern Coast and the legendary sing along classics Oh No Not You Again, Lakeside, Unpublished Critics and not forgetting the band's swan song ballad Reckless. Awesome!

GLAM ROCK '84-'92 / VARIOUS ARTISTS UNIVERSAL AUSTRALIA UMD 73131 OVERALL: 78% Produced by: Various

This is a very curious release. Why? Well that was my question! In this the age of anything anti-glam, it seemed strange that a big company like Universal should invest time and $ in such a release. Good thing they did really! This is a pretty good collection of tunes that features hits by Cinderella, Bulletboys, Tigertailz, White Lion, Enuff Z'Nuff, TNT, Steelheart, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Vain, Skid Row and Slaughter + more. 18 tracks all up. Anyone that remembers these bands with fondness should check this one out. Curious but welcome. Where's volume 2? To buy - e-mail Tracks Music, Australia

HELIX / HALF ALIVE DeROCK DERCD-9012 OVERALL: 77% Produced by: Who knows?

Just like the pair of Keel records this is unlikely to appeal outside the bands' already established loyal fan base. There are 5 new tracks here and 11 huge live tracks recorded over five years between 1992 and 1997. Great to hear some of the old tunes getting a spin and the live recording is excellent. The new tunes are much like one would expect. nothing has changed for Helix and Brian sounds in particular good vocal touch. All fans of Helix should have this. Let's hope for a full new studio album.

KEEL / VI: BACK IN ACTION DeROCK DERCD-9003 OVERALL: 73% Produced by:

Oh dear, is it 1987 or something? Damn, I can't remember if this is newly recorded tunes or archive material, but whatever it is it is strong and it is classic Keel! It has been out a while, but if you haven't seen it yet here it is. can't see that it would appeal to anyone outside the bands fan base, but that's okay, because they are going to love it. The onslaught of the first four tracks hard rocking it like nothing has changed is enough to convince me. Long live Keel!

KEEL / LARGER THAN LIVE DeROCK DERCD-9004 OVERALL: 78% Produced by:

The second of a pair of releases in '98 from the band. This release features 6 new hard rocking tunes in typical Keel fasion (no need to repeat what I said in the last review!) and 6 live tracks that feature another 2 new tracks. Good recordings and solid tunes..this is another one for fans of the band to search out if you haven't already.

HIGHER GROUND / KEEP ON WALKIN' PRO ACTIVE RECORDS PROCD2011001 OVERALL: 86% Produced by: Michael Rosman & Higher Ground

This release has been out a while now, but if you are without it and love smooth AOR or Westcoast pop, then find it now. Coming out of Sweden these guys know how to compile a classy set of tunes. At only 6 tracks this is an EP or sorts. But don't let that deter you, it is just fine. Recorded mostly live in the studio, Higher Ground produce very smooth pop/AOR in the vein of Toto at their softest or fellow westcoast kings King Of Hearts. There is almost a jazzy feel to some tracks with the piano playing a highlight. Good strong vocals also make this essential for fans of the genre.

MOSCOW RILEY / EAT THE AMMUNITION PRO ACTIVE PROCD 2011002 OVERALL: 63% Produced by: Rob Williams & Moscow Riley

After this CD cover, I didn't really know what to expect. but from the first tune this sounds like a blend of progressive pop and the 90's. A little Rush is there and maybe someone like Marillion. (?) Seriously, I don't cover anything as musically adventurous as this normally or at least not too often. The sounds is big enough and while it is not entirely heavy, it is cleaver progressive pop rock. Investigate further if this raises your curiosity. Personally it's not my style.

GREGG BISSONETTE / GREGG BISSONETTE MASCOT RECORDS OVERALL: 72% Produced by:

Drummer Greg Bissonette has quite a track record with various artists like David Lee Roth, Steve Lukather, Robin Zander and Joe Satriani. Here he steps out on his own for the first time. The album is all instrumental except for the last track on which Greg also sings. The whole album is basically a blend of his jazz roots with his metal passions. Nothing too soft and plenty of guitars. Those lending their talents to this include Steve Lukather, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Michael Thompson and Ty Tabor. Great music and nice playing, but for fans of instrumental rock only. I keep yearning for some vocals.

THE SYGNET / CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE ZYX MUSIC OVERALL: 79% Produced by:

The Sygnet is a side project of German band Sinner and features Michael Bormann on vocals. After a prolonged intro the band make their intentions clear with some thumping heavy drums and guitars. Sygnet is not as heavy as Sinner and their style is more typical European hard rock. The vocals are great and sound like they belong on a Yngwie Malmsteen record. The songs are strong and if you like European metal, you could not go wrong here. Much preferred over Sinner and I can only hope this is not the last record we hear from the guys. good job.

ROUGH CUTT / LIVE DeROCK DERCD-078 OVERALL: 79% Produced by:

If you like Rough Cutt, you need this. Fans of Paul Shortino should also check this out. I don't know the band well enough, but I can tell when there is a really good feeling happening and this live album has a great vibe. It's heavy and it's screamy and it's very raw and totally live. The songs come off well and their is a little banter between songs. Too often these days this is cut out. The recordings come from a legacy of live gigs that the band left behind. But that isn't all - the guys have reformed and before heading off to write and record a new studio album they have three new studio tracks included here. The new tracks are as heavy as anything the guys previously recorded and the vocals as scratchy as ever. Personally I prefer Shortino's solo work, but fans of the band should love this.

MEDICINE WHEEL / IMMORTAL FABRIC DeROCK DERCD-9005 OVERALL: 55% Produced by:

Immortal Fabric was the second release of the band that is one of Marc Ferrari's side projects from Keel. Their debut was well received and was a cool record and after this album's release the kind folk at DeRock picked it up for more widespread distribution. It's a pretty rocky affair but now has it's feel firmly planted in the 90's post grunge arena. Although nicely produced it sounds a little too melody vacant. Track 2 could have been a hit at modern rock radio. Not bad, but I don't think the songs are strong enough and don't nearly match the debut. If you like a more 90's rock feel, this may be OK.

MARILLION / RADIATION EAGLE ROCK RECORDS UK/VEL VEL USA OVERALL: 47% Produced by:

Radiation is another new Marillion album. These guys are pretty regular with their releases and I have to say that they don't do much for me. But there is plenty out there that love the band and I have a couple of mates here that follow the band. I asked them what they thought and the verdict was that ever for Marillion this is a little patchy and hard to get into. Personally I though a couple of tracks were OK, but when you make an album so out there, even hard core fans need a few listens to start to get into it them - then you need to make some changes! Let's hope they do next record. I would love to hear a straight forward pop release. But then maybe the fans then wouldn't? There is no doubting they are great songwriters.