I have to admit that when I first heard the "Promise Land" single on Giant's MySpace page I was not impressed, my apprehension deepened when I read that Dann Huff was no longer a regular band member (although admittedly he has co-written a number of the songs on the album and chips in with a solo or two along the way.) Then a few days to a week later I found some more album samples on YouTube and after hearing the new single a couple more times, not only had this tune become lodged in my brain but so had about six or seven of the others. Make no mistake, this is not another collection of out-takes from the cutting-room floor like "III" but is an all-new collection of originals.

Admittedly the phrase "it's a grower" has been done to death and usually tends to mean that an artist's latest offering is not on a par with their previous releases, but no such worries here! I'm still playing the CD nearly a week after buying it simply because most of the material is very, very strong, in fact almost on a par with material from Giant's earlier albums "Last of the Runaways" and "Time to Burn."

The album's great strength is that although stylistically it's best described as "evolutionary" rather than "revolutionary" (think Time to Burn part II) and the lyrical themes are similar (passion, unrequited/lost love, "keep-the-faith-keep-believing" and "I'm-a-knight-in-shining-armor-I'll-do-whatever-it-takes-for-you") it doesn't sound dated but more like an old-school stadium rock album with modern production.

First single Promise Land is an epic slow-burner which builds to a crescendo towards the end, possibly this may work better as a concert opener than a single as there are more "immediate" songs on the album, having said that after 2 or 3 plays it has grown on me.

There are a number of other "growers" on the album in the same vein (Believer, Never Surrender, Prisoner of Love (which sounds like Chained or Lay it on the Line from the Time to Burn album) Two Worlds Collide (I sense some Last of the Runaways vibes when I hear this one) Plenty of Love and I'll Wait for You) a couple that aren't quite so memorable and could have been left off the album altogether (Double Trouble and the bonus track Complicated Man, which both sound a bit like out-takes or B-sides from earlier releases) and several songs that hit the mark immediately (Through My Eyes (recalling earlier power-ballad Now Until Forever, from Time to Burn) Our Love and Dying to See You (both being similar to Lost in Paradise from the same album.)

Only on the album's closer "Save Me" does the current line-up change tack and dabble in Alternative Rock, repeated listens bring to mind Chickenfoot but that's no bad thing (Chickenfoot, consisting of ex-Van Halen stalwarts Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar plus guitar shred-wizard Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith are themselves a band well worth checking out.) I didn't like this song at first but after a couple of plays this is yet another one which has got stuck in my head and now I have to keep going back to it again and again!

Is the album up there with Giant's classic album Last of the Runaways? Not quite, but it's a pretty close call. Admittedly new singer Terry Brock and new guitarist John Roth are not quite as technically gifted as Dann Huff on either vocals or guitar, but they do bring their own distinctive personalities, talents and contributions and it shows. This is one which should definitely be on any rock fan's wish-list.

"It's Christmas Time" definitely stands up to many of Quo's better-known hits, in fact it's probably their strongest single release for about 20 years; it has a big, uplifting, immediate chorus and comes complete with all the bells and whistles (well, sleigh bells at any rate.)

It also bears more than a passing resemblance to Wizzard's "I Wish It Could be Christmas" and on paper it would seem that the single had all the right ingredients to at the very least hit the top 10.

Alas, yet again the boat was missed in spectacular style; poor marketing, a woeful over-reliance on physical sales (it proved impossible to find this in the shops thanks mainly to the collapse of Woolworths whose supplier had previously delivered physical items to major retailers such as HMV) coupled with an almost total lack of airplay (of all the major stations only Radio 2 played this and only then after the all-important first week when the single had already bombed!) meant that despite being the eighth-highest selling single in terms of physical sales, "Its Christmas Time" went almost totally un-noticed in the all-important download sector.

A tremendous missed opportunity.

I can't understand so many of the negative reviews this has had, particularly on Amazon. OK there are a few faults if you look hard enough; granted, some of the production is a bit plasticky and over-slick and some may also argue that the sound is quite dated. However hearing some of the clips convinced me to look beyond the doubters and order my copy and I don't regret it for one minute.

The opening track "Feel" (although sounding a bit artificial & over-produced) immediately grabs your attention and while it isn't exactly a mini-earthquake it is catchy, tailor-made for radio and makes you want to go back for more. Likewise with "King of Might Have Been" (which generates more than the odd echo of Hard Habit to Break) "Caroline" (a very catchy and radio-friendly old-school power-ballad) "Love Will Come Back" (another retro-style power ballad which is reminiscent of Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" in places) and "Where Were You" (80s soft-rock with a slightly funky twist)

On the second-half of the album "90 Degrees and Freezing" and "Already Gone" are also stand-out tunes (the latter track works well despite sounding like an odd mix of Level 42 meets acid-jazz and rock) managing to combine a modern production, some 80s sounds and the style of late 60s and early 70s Chicago in the same vein, while again making engaging listening.

Overall, although XXX has a whiff of cosy familiarity and is stylistically very similar to 18, 19 and 21, it actually beats all 3 albums at their own game and ends up giving 17 a good run for its money purely because the songs themselves are very, very strong.

Well worth buying, particularly if you like 1980s-era Chicago.

Having shot themselves in the foot with a succession of below-par albums in the 1980s, Quo began to reassert themselves firstly with a series of high-profile concerts (including the Rock Till You Drop event which earnt them a place in the Guinness Book of Records) secondly with this album featuring the same title as their marathon stint playing 4 cities in a day. It's a partial return to form; the guitars are higher in the mix, the drums/bass are loud and much of the first half of the album roars out of the traps like a hare on speed at a greyhound meet: Like a Zombie, One Man Band and even the re-recording of "Can't Give You More" (although deemed un-neccessary by some fans) display an aggression and energy which rolls back the years (most of the band were in their early 40s by this point.)

On the flip side, the quality of the album is seriously diluted & diminished by far too many un-necessary covers and even more so by the baffling re-recording of the dreadful, saccharine and utterly annoying love-ballad "Tommy" from 1989's Perfect Remedy album (come on guys, once was bad enough!) What grates most is that the four B-sides/unreleased tracks (Heavy Daze, Mysteries from the Ball, Dead in the Water and Better Times) were far, far stronger than songs like Fame or Money, Good Sign and Nothing Comes Easy which DID end up on the album.

Take a hypothetical track-listing: Like a Zombie, All We Really Wanna Do, Fakin' the Blues, One Man Band, Rock Till You Drop, Can't Give You More, Warning Shot, No Problems, Heavy Daze, Mysteries from the Ball, Dead in the Water, Better Times.

With a track-listing along those lines (covers & re-recordings omitted and the B-sides included instead of the three album tracks mentioned earlier) I suspect this would have been hailed as a classic album and up there with Quo's very best. As things stand, a good effort and still worth buying but very much a case of much less would have been a great deal more.

I was happy with the service when buying this album second-hand (it arrived promptly and was in as specified condition so 4 stars for the service) but less happy with the content (2 stars) giving an average rating of 3.

"Tamplin" might stack up OK against most Rock/Metal albums of its era; the main gripe I have is that musically it isn't a patch on some of Ken Tamplin's other work; overall the album is less well-written, has a few too many blues-rock cliches and is too repetitive in places; having said that there is still some good instrumentation and a few good solos to enjoy if you're patient.

If you're new to Tamplin, this collection is really only suitable for die-hard fans and I would reccommend checking out his other projects such as Shout (80s glam-rock) Magdallan (stadium-rock turned experimental) or 2003's "Wake The Nations" (a RIDICULOUSLY good album featuring superb songwriting, big-time wig-outs/rock jams and stunning guitar solos played by guest musicians including Reb Beach, Kee Marcello, Richie Kotzen and Marty Friedman.)

Unless you're familiar with the whole Christian Metal scene, chances are you'll never have heard of Holy Soldier although you may have heard of some of their more illustrious counterparts such as Stryper, Kings X or newer bands such as POD or Incubus.

"Last Train" is a darker and heavier effort than Holy Soldier's eponymous debut, although it has to be said that all 3 of their albums are well worth getting if you can still track them down. Stylistically it bridges the gap between the tail end of the 80s hair-metal/glam-rock era and the Alternative styles of the mid-90s; some songs (Crazy, Dead End Drive) are more hair-metal while others (including the stirring, apocalyptic finale "Last Train") sit more comfortably in the latter camp.

What's remarkable is the sheer guts and passion with which so much of the material is delivered (and I have rarely heard any secular or Christian band play with so much conviction) - pounding opener Virtue & Vice comes straight from the heart, while I would challenge anyone to listen to "Tuesday Mourning" and still have dry eyes at the end.

This is marginally the strongest of Holy Soldier's 3 albums but either their debut release or 1995's Promise Man are also great efforts.

You never can write this bunch off - having survived everything from messy band break-ups, lost court cases, diminishing record sales and a critical pounding (not to mention the odd heart attack and cancer scare along the way) and now approaching their 5th decade in a notoriously fickle business, Quo are not only back but back with a vengeance.

Following 2005's uneven and disappointing album "The Party Ain't Over Yet" the band re-enlisted Pip Williams as producer (he produced many of their earlier releases including Whatever You Want and In the Army Now) and the results are mostly very impressive. Personally I have a few quibbles over the track selection - it may have been better to omit "Electric Arena" (a very poor copy of Gary Moore) and "Saddling Up" (too country-sounding for my liking) while including "One By One" (not available on the UK release) and "I Ain't Wasting My Time" (a UK-only bonus feature) within the album proper.

However, the pluses outweigh the minuses. Many of the songs (particularly the recent single Beginning of the End) display a freshness and vitality that belies the band's years; tracks such as "I Don't Wanna Hurt You Any More" and "Alright" (which admittedly both fit the jukebox-rock/Quo-by-numbers stereotype so lambasted by the critics) sit comfortably alongside more experimental numbers such as "Pennsylvania Blues Tonight" (very ELO-sounding) "Tongue Tied" (quite similar to Quo's early 80s slow-ballad hit "Rock and Roll") "Figure of Eight" which crosses some Beatles-ish 60s psychedelia with a typical Quo shuffle (can't help but sing the "Vindaloo" song to that keyboard riff though!) and the anthemic, Buddy Holly-sounding "My Little Heartbreaker" with its lop-sided beat.

Best of all though are "Bad News" and "Gravy Train" written by bass player John "Rhino" Edwards and borrowed from his "other" band Woodedz. These add a classic-rock feel to proceedings and despite his singing limitations, Rhino's voice actually complements "Bad News" perfectly. The thrashy, raw "Gravy Train" has an almost Deep Purple sound and is again well worth a listen.

Try it, you may well be very pleasantly surprised.

When I first heard this I nearly keeled over in shock - for the most part I'm not a country music fan and would never have expected to hear violins, mandolins, twangy guitars (and even a bit of pedal steel!) on a Bon Jovi record of all places - it appeared that the pioneers of 80s soft-rock had taken leave of their senses (the old-style anthems have largely disappeared save for 2 or 3 songs.)

However on closer listen the strengths of much of the album become apparent - despite not being as anthemic or plain rocky as previous Bon Jovi releases it actually stands up better than other recent albums such as Bounce or Have a Nice Day (and is probably on a par with These Days or Crush.) The production is certainly better than their previous 2 albums, in places being similar to recent Dann Huff-produced material for out-and-out country artists (he did about half the songs here) as it tends to blend country, rock and a slight experimental/techno feel, notably on "We Got it Going on," essentially an old-school Bon Jovi party anthem but with slight alt-techno-country undertones which are vaguely reminiscent of Lonestar's "Saturday Night" from their "Lonely Grill" album (also produced by Huff.)

It's also worth mentioning that although David Bryan's keyboards remain criminally under-used, Richie Sambora makes a welcome comeback and there are a number of solos - I love the lengthy talk-box one on "We Got it Going On" (which is likely to become a live favourite despite not being to everyone's taste) and the wailing towards the end of "Till We Ain't Strangers Any More" (an old-school Jovi ballad featuring Leanne Rimes.) These 2 and the incredibly upbeat, catchy "I Love this Town" are my favourite tunes on this (although others may disagree.) "Summertime" is also a likely candidate for a future single release although not one of my personal favourites.

Now and again there are flashes of the old style (enough to keep traditionalists and old-school rock fans happy!) and overall Bon Jovi seem to have found the right blend of old and new with this release, it's a welcome return to form.

There had been rumours of a Stryper reunion for a number of years, the first concrete evidence of which came with 2003's "Seven" (a greatest hits package containing two (admittedly ordinary) new tracks.) But the question remains: after a long hiatus can a reformed Stryper still mix it with the current crop of Metal bands, and can their first release in 15 years still cut the mustard?

Having previewed "Reborn" just after its 2005 release the answer appeared to be a definite "No," which explains why it took me nearly 2 years to buy a copy. Gone were the pop-metal hooks, blazing guitar solos and trademark layered harmonies of earlier albums like "To Hell with the Devil" (although on closer examination I still heard them, albeit in much smaller doses.)

However the album does get better after a few listens, it's just not instantly catchy like earlier Stryper releases. My own favourites are "Passion" and "Make You Mine" (the closest the album gets to the Stryper of old, both sounding as if they could have come from 1990's "Against the Law" album.) "When Did I See You Cry" is also a stand-out track and is a powerful anthem which displays more of a modern Metal sound reminiscent of Creed.

The "doo-wop" harmonies on a couple of songs do get a bit annoying (particularly on "Wait For You," a shame as this is one of the better tracks) fortunately this is not too widespread. Some may also find that the production is too "muddy," the album is too short and a lot of the songs start to sound very samey after a while.

Although the high-points are well scattered the album ends with a re-worked version of "In God We Trust" which (although not universally well-received) is a fitting climax which does justice to the original while adding a much-needed dose of freshness.

Overall: won't hit home straight away but definitely worth a couple of listens.

I bought this item second-hand from Amazon and was very impressed with the quality of service; the tape was dispatched quickly (and bearing in mind that it's nearly 20 years old it runs well and is in excellent condition.)

As for the content itself, it hasn't necessarily aged well and in places appears glitzy, over-padded (with a bit too much filler) and a touch self-indulgent (especially the Buddy Holly spoof and the sketch featuring "Ronnie Relph, the Man who Loves Himself.") Also rather than attempt to explore new ground a lot of Russ Abbot material seems to be almost slavishly trying to copy Tommy Cooper (right down to the mannerisms and facial expressions!)

For all these faults, Russ Abbot Volume 1 remains worth watching as although the belly-laughs are sporadic there are touches of pure class, most notably the waiting room sketch where Russ trades head-butts with Les Dennis.

Russ Abbot seems to be at his best during the more slapstick-oriented routines and it's a shame that this compilation focuses too much on the "showbiz" side of his act because the Dracula sketch, some of the "Jimmy" skits and the ones featuring lots of room-trashing (in particular, the 30-stone man in the doctor's surgery and the remote-controlled toy in the office) are guaranteed to crank up the laughter level to the max!

Overall - 5 stars for the customer service experience and 3 stars for the content hence overall this is a "4" rating.