Category ACROSS THE DECADES
1973 COUNTDOWN: #60 — 51
60 RICK WAKEMAN — THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII Classically trained and ambitious in musical vision, Rick Wakeman shot to progressive prominence with Yes. This, his first solo album, takes as its notional concept the astonishing sequence of royal liaisons embarked upon by Henry VIII in his search for a god-given heir. Holy shit, […]
1973 COUNTDOWN: #70 — 61
70 CAN — FUTURE DAYS There is a sinuous groove throughout Future Days that is beguiling and cool as fuck. Though I do miss the forceful, controlled-explosion energy of the earlier albums. Kraut-lounge? Jägermeister on ice? [Released August 1973] * 69 PETER BANKS — TWO SIDES OF PETER BANKS With Steve Hackett (Genesis) and John […]
1973 COUNTDOWN: #73 — 71
After initiating planning and sorting for 73 FROM ’73 in the middle of 2022, somehow the project got delayed; again and again. A number of the schedule blowouts arose from life intruding on music activities, annoying incursions I hoped had been redirected towards more gainfully employed bloggers as I mooched towards retirement; but in fact […]
HIS DAY
For many years I had an ambivalent relationship with Tom Waits. Beat Generation revivalist or Carny huckster? Jazzbo pretender or theatrical joker? The moment of revelation—conversion, even—came from an unlikely source. In 1988 A&M Records released a fascinating compilation entitled Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films. Amongst left-field gems from Sun […]
JOHN McLAUGHLIN PART 1 — BEGINNINGS
Sitting down with a music book and a pile of albums to accompany the content is analogue heaven. And when the musician has a career as rich and varied as British guitarist John McLaughlin, you can be confident the soundtrack will be both demanding and deeply rewarding. As for the book, that needs to be […]
A DREAM?
Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale (“A Dream Without Special Consequences”) is the fourth album by Heldon. Released in 1976 on the French Cobra record label, it is atmospheric in a dystopian, unsettling way. Francois Auger (Drums, synthesised percussion) Patrick Gautier (synthesiser, tapes) Richard Pinhas (Guitar, Synthesizers [Moog B, Moog III, EMS], Tapes) All but one […]
BEATLES: NOW AND THEN
A blogging comrade recently mentioned a Beatles podcast where the presenters led off their series with a negative review of Help! In my response, I observed that I tended not to write negative reviews, especially of beloved albums. Overnight, several things have caused me to reflect on that pronouncement. I detected the cloying scent of […]
REALITY BITES
For many music fans around the globe, the death of David Bowie in January 2016 left a gaping chasm in the rock world. No more new studio albums from one of popular music’s most restless creative spirits; no more tours, no more shifts of direction, no more jump-cut personas. David—and all his identities—were gone, leaving […]
DEPARTURES | THIRD QUARTER 2023
Acknowledgement and celebration of those who have left the stage 🖤 Tony Bennett 3 Aug 1926— 21 July 2023 🖤 Sinéad O’Connor 8 Dec 1966—26 July 2023 🖤 Randy Meisner Poco—Eagles 8 March 1946—26 July 2023 🖤 Robbie Robertson 5 July 1943—9 August 2023 The Band—solo 🖤 Sixto Rodriguez 10 July 1942—8 August 2023 🖤 […]
AH, VIENNA
Vienna, the 1980 LP by UK synth-pop art rockers Ultravox, kicked off the second phase of their career. Original frontman John Foxx had departed in 1979 after three albums and an unsuccessful foray into the American market. But keyboard player Billie Currie—who had worked with Midge Ure in Visage—convinced Midge to join Ultravox and revitalise […]
DARK PLEASURES
It’s a striking opening line to the first song on your first album: “I’ve been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand”. Searching, yearning for direction, for counsel. The song is called “Disorder”, a one-word summary of the singer’s internal state. A plea for human contact: take my hand. Please. […]
ALBUM COVERS | PICKS AND PICS
Having launched into Instagram during lockdown, I kind of lost my appetite for its rapid digestive cycle after a year or so. More an icy pole than a proper meal, if you get what I mean. But a current September “challenge” caught my eye and so I decided to throw some records into the ring. […]
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