A buyers’ guide to They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants are an act who have forged an utterly unique music career over thirty-odd years, from their early days as an act more cabaret than their contemporaries punk rock, via their Dial-a-Song service, sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, another eight live albums (and an additional live promo album) and ten compilations. Riding …
Not Forgotten: Silver Sun – Silver Sun
Silver Sun were a bit of an oddity during the dying years of Britpop, as they were far more of a straight power-pop act than any of their contemporaries. Specialising in Weezer-esque geek-pop guitar tunes blended with Posies-style harmonies, they were a far fizzier and fuzzier proposition than the bands they inevitably toured with. They …
Not Forgotten – Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Prior to hearing Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, if you’d told me that I’d get into an album of songs about the American wild west, I’d have said that that was about as likely as me winning a beauty contest. These things have a nasty habit of surprising you though, and so it proved when …
Not Forgotten: Marillion – Brave
It’s odd isn’t it, the amount of importance we put on being ‘cool’. Of course, the pressure on us be perceived as cool can be crippling in our teenage years, but it’s something which can continue to linger throughout our twenties, and for some of us, well into our thirties and beyond. Of course, what …
Not Forgotten – Bob Dylan – Planet Waves
Over looked, underrated and generally seen as a lesser work due to the fact it wasn’t recorded in the 60s or Blood on the Tracks, Planet Waves is one of those albums that you eventually buy when you see it cheap in a sale. This is a little unfair as it’s actually one of Bob …
Not Forgotten – Bill Withers – Live at Carnegie Hall
Sometimes, no matter how great a songwriter or performer an act is, things just never work out in the studio, and it takes a live album to truly reveal their greatness and go on to become their trademark release. Now let’s get one thing straight, Bill Withers is not without great studio albums, intact he …
Not Forgotten: The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle
Odessey and Oracle is one of those albums whose reputation seems to continue to expand with each passing year. The Zombies had enjoyed a number of chart hits through the mid 60s, but their first album hadn’t shifted many units. By 1967 they had switched record labels and headed into the studio to record an …
Not Forgotten – Aerosmith – Rocks
The general consensus seems to be that Aerosmith were at something of a creative peak in the mid 70s and would never again to reach the such lofty heights again, regardless of their later commercial success. Now this is a bit simplistic for me, as in their post-Run-D.M.C. days, they’ve released some of the finest …
Not Forgotten – Billy Bragg – Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Life’s a Riot With Spy vs. Spy and Brewing Up With Billy Bragg had found Billy Bragg marking out a sonic territory that was a million miles away from the synthetic sounds and plastic production methods that so much 80s music had been blighted with. Having already established his twin songwriting themes of social commentary …
Not Forgotten: Matt Berry – Witchazel
Initially released as a one day only freebie back in 2009, before seeing a wider commercial release in 2011, Witchazel is effectively the album where Matt Berry’s musical career really started gathering momentum. While the album Opium pre-dates it, as does the music he produced for a number of television shows, for Witchazel’s 2011 release …