"'Wild' is Joanne’s 5th studio album and was produced in Nashville by Kevin Shirley. The tracks on the album are well produced and show a movement in her career more towards the song writing and singing prowess and less towards her guitar skills. Don’t get me wrong, the dexterity of the vibratomatrix is still evident as she hammers on and pulls off with aplomb. But the focus seems to be the vocals. And that seemed to come across live too. I was all too conscious of the backing keyboards or rhythm guitar where I would usually be transfixed by the searing lead playing. The sound levels were fine, it just felt like the lead had fallen into the overall mix. To me, JST is a supreme guitar player who can sing beautifully. But the set was still fantastic. As part of her evolution, Joanne has added Gibson Les Paul’s to her arsenal and boy does she get the best out of them." Read the whole of Mother's Joanne Shaw Taylor Shepherd's Bush Empire gig review here from last Friday and check out John Bull's photo gallery here.

The Blues Club Podcast Track Of The Day returns this week with another two hours of non-stop Best in Blues with More Music and Less Chat, featuring New Releases, Classic Tracks, UK Independent Blues Broadcasters Association Presenters' Picks and much more. Music this week Includes tracks from Catfish (pictured), The Cadillac Kings, The Rolling Stones, Big Daddy Wilson, Bridget Kelly, Jim Koeppel/Dust My Blues Band, Thornetta Davis, The Hitman Blues Band, Jack Mack and the Heart Attack Horns, John Latini, Larry Griffith Band, Richard Townend & The Mighty Bosscats, Camera Soul, Lachy Doley, Hamish Stuart, Molly Duncan and Steve Ferrone, Tim Gartland, Kathleen Pearson, Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion, Jo Harman, Mike Goudreau, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado, Ash Wilson, Fran McGillivray Band, Terry Blankley, Eric Hansson, Marcus Malone Band, Starlite Campbell Band, John Mayall and B. B. & The Blues Shacks

Described as Hard Rock with a soft underbelly, we caught the awesome Black Orchid Empire headline at Camden's Monarch last night. With a plethora of support bands, namely, I Cried Wolf, Stereo Juggernaut, Dead Dollar Days and The Indya Band - there was no question that you were not going to get your money's worth - particularly as BOE's setlist contained their critically acclaimed new album 'Archetype'. We also had the pleasure of interviewing the band consisting of Dave Ferguson (bass/vocals), Billy Freedom (drums) and Paul Visser (vocals/guitar) backstage beforehand - so watch out for our audio interview soon. In the meantime check out today's Vid Of The Day with a review and more pics to follow.

We're all still buzzing after Black Sabbath's awesome shows at London's O2 Arena last Tuesday and Sunday. So today we bring you some pics from Tuesday night's gig which include support band Rival Sons (Vid Of The Day) in our photo gallery here. We've also added Tuesday night's vid of 'Iron Man' to Phil C's review from Sunday night here.

Rock music legend John Wetton sadly passed away on Tuesday after a long and courageous battle against colon cancer at the age of 67. John rose to fame with King Crimson in the early 1970’s during the iconic ‘Red’ era and later formed the band UK. In the early 1980’s he was a founder member of supergroup ASIA (Track Of The Day), which was his biggest commercial success. The band’s 1982 self-titled debut album was the biggest selling album in the world that year and contained the mega-hit ‘Heat of the Moment’. John also enjoyed a successful solo career, including the seminal album ‘Battle Lines’, and formed iCon with ASIA bandmate Geoff Downes. In 2006 the original line-up of ASIA reformed and toured the world several times to promote four further studio albums. John had been planning to tour with ASIA for the band’s forthcoming US arena tour with Journey and, following the success of his solo Studio Recordings Anthology, to continue working on the ongoing reissue programme of his solo albums via his own Primary Purpose label. John valued his over 11 years of sobriety and volunteered time in fellowship with other alcoholics to share his experience, strength and hope with them. John is survived by his recently wed wife Lisa, 18 year old son Dylan, brother Robert and mother Peggy. The very last studio song of John Wetton’s career was the closing track on the most recent ASIA album ‘Gravitas’, which included the profound lyric “Think the best of me, till we meet again.” A new live album by ASIA entitled ’Symfonia - Live In Bulgaria 2013’ is released on the Frontiers label on Friday 24th February.

Black is the operative word this week as just two night's after seeing Sabbath at the O2 Arena we are off to London again to see Black Orchid Empire at Camden's The Monarch. The London-based Rock trio released their new album 'Archetype' in November and have have performed alongside heavyweights such as Biffy Clyro, Skunk Anansie, Feeder and Editors and include previous members of highly-acclaimed groups Queen Adreena and Cape Fear. They have enjoyed significant support for their previous singles, having been playlisted on Kerrang! TV, Kerrang! Radio, Planet Rock and Total Rock. Anyway, watch out for a review, vids, pics and an interview coming soon!

Today's February 2017 WRC e-mail Bulletin not only look back at our 2016 WRC Awards but also at the gigs and CD's we reviewed in January including Black Sabbath, Glenn Hughes, The Bottom Line, Richard Townend & The Mighty Bosscats and Ronnie Baker Brooks plus new bands we have introduced. As well as tickets now being on sale here for Wrinklystock 6 featuring Magic - a kind of Queen & ELO - we also look forward to February gigs including Black Orchid Empire, The Pineapple Thief and Planet Rock's Winters End! Remember just go here to sign up for FREE membership where you can get discounts on selected gigs and merchandise! And if you are not currently on our e-mail circulation list then please send us your details in the contact box below!

The Route 66 Show are building a wall of sound plus it's going to be a mighty wall and you don't have to pay for it! Join host Rory Auskerry on today's Track Of The Day for new music from Eric Gales, Erja Lyytinen and Whiskey Myers plus classic tracks from Fleetwood Mac, The Faces, Genesis and Deep Purple. Rory also reviews Glenn Hughes (pictured) and Stone Broken's recent gig in Manchester.

Following Phil C's Black Sabbath O2 gig review from Sunday, Phil's tweet yesterday promised we were in for a treat last night at the second and final London leg of their 'The End' tour - and he was not wrong! Anyway, check out today's Vid Of The Day with a photo gallery hopefully added tomorrow.

"If this really is to be The End, then The End comes early to a sold out 02. It's 8.15 when the rain (inside and out) and the tolling bell usher in the band with the song of the same name. The crowd goes mental as the curtain falls, to reveal a massive stage spanning screen and a backline of fire. From the first note it's obvious the boys are in no mood to mess around and with little crowd interaction they let the music and visuals do the talking, one hundred minutes of it to be precise. Black Sabbath quickly heads into 'Fairies Wear Boots', who could possibly wish for two better opening songs? The fire is turned down (presumably before the whole band melt) although the intensity of the band is not, as they smash through Volume 4's 'Under The Sun'/'Everyday Comes & Goes'. Tony Iommi showing why he is such an admired guitarist and Ozzy's vocals right on the money." Read the whole of Phil C's Black Sabbath London O2 Arena gig review from Sunday night here plus watch out for more pics and vids from tonight's second performance shortly.

Matt Andersen (Video Of The Day) has been enthralling audiences with his one­-of-­a-­kind performance in North America, Europe and Australia for years and the good news he is returning to the UK and Europe for an intimate solo tour showcasing songs from his stunning new album 'Honest Man' that begins in Dublin on Thursday 18th May and ends at London's Borderline one week later. Produced in New York with Commissioner Gordon (Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, KRS­One), 'Honest Man' follows up the JUNO Award nominated 'Weightless' and sees the songwriter pushing himself into new territory. With over 10 million views on YouTube, two European Blues Awards, and winning Best Solo Performer at the Memphis Blues Challenge, it appears that the entire world is now discovering Matt Andersen. A powerhouse performer with a giant soul-filled voice and commanding stage presence, Matt has built a formidable following the old fashioned way –touring worldwide and letting the converted audiences and Andersen devotees spread his reputation through word of mouth.

Saturday night's 2016 WRC Award winning Rock On The Ridge Track Of The Day featured music from Those Damn Crows, Nine Miles South, Black Spiders, Stonewall Noise Orchestra, The Blackfires, Puppet Kings, The Winery Dogs, Chickenfoot (pictured), Deep Purple, Radio Birds, Clutch, Lower Than Atlantis, Zodiac, Red Sky Mary, Kings of The North, Fire at Midnight, Bumblefoot, Black Stone Cherry, The Irontown Diehards, The Greasy Slicks, RavenEye, Avatar and on the introducing stage Gold City Ashes.