Not Forgotten – The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
It’s happened to me more times than I like to think – I discover a great band with a small but interesting discography, I’ve just missed them on tour, but great things are expected of their next album. So I patiently wait. And wait. Finally the album is released. It’s not quite as good as …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – War Child
Released in 1974, War Child found Jethro Tull at a crossroads in their career. Having had their previous album, the dense and generally grumpy A Passion Play, critically mauled and a subsequent mis-step by management that saw the band apparently announcing their retirement without their knowledge, War Child was the opportunity for the band to …
Classic Compilation: Various Artists – A Whole Lot of Rainbows
As much as I love music, there are times when I have to just step back and say that sometimes it just takes itself too seriously. As much respect as I have for the likes of Radiohead and their ilk, there are times when I wish they’d just cheer up and crack a smile. After …
Not Forgotten: The Waterboys – A Pagan Place
Post-punk in a vaguely similar way that U2, Simple Minds and Big Country were post-punk, in the early 80s The Waterboys were a band laden with potential, fronted by an ace songwriter with a distinctive voice. Trouble was on their self-titled debut, The Waterboys consisted of Mike Scott and a saxophone player called Anthony. They …
Reissue: Supertramp – Crime of the Century
The mid 90s coincided with my late teens and were a period of contrariness and of rebellion for me, though not in the cliched ‘railing against your parents and authority’ sense. Being bullied throughout my teenage years led me to rebelling against my own generation, rebelling against the idea of rebellion itself and confounding the …
Album Review: Half Man Half Biscuit – Urge for Offal
There’s a good argument for Half Man Half Biscuit being the greatest indie band of all time. After thirty years they still remain utterly loyal to the tiny Probe Plus record label, releasing thirteen albums and five EPs laden with equal parts pithiness, wordplay and the most spot on cultural references. Half Man Half Biscuit …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young – Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young has always struck me as a somewhat schizophrenic artist, rattling between noisy guitar-rock which could be either thrilling or dragged out beyond all reasonable endurance and his softer acoustic side, which could either be touching and well-judged, or bland and uninspired. The two sides of his muse rarely acknowledged the existence of the …
News: Bruce Springsteen to release The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984
For some reason I can’t help liking Bruce Springsteen. For all his bluster, forced blue-collar worthiness and questionable career moves, his heart always seems to be in the right place. Springsteen is one of those musicians who has been periodically rediscovered by new generations of music fans, as his influence has flowed down through the …
List – Jaw-dropping debut albums
The debut album, by it’s very definition is a crucial album for any act, as it’s success or failure will inevitably dictate their future success. Sure, the act may have scored a few hit singles, or maybe had a few well-received EPs, or even a mini-album, but it’s that crucial full length debut which counts. …
Not Forgotten: Ian Hunter – All American Alien Boy
He could have taken the easy route and trotted out facsimiles of his brilliant eponymous solo debut, but Ian Hunter is a smarter cookie than that. He knew that if he was going to really establish himself as a solo artist, he’d have to distance himself from preconceptions of him that had developed when he …