Not Forgotten
Not Forgotten: Randy Newman – Randy Newman
While Randy Newman had been a songwriter for others since 1960, and he had released his debut single at the tender young age of 18 in 1962, his self titled debut album would not see the light of day until the middle of 1968. A distinctly un-rock and roll record, Randy Newman was heavily orchestrated …
Not Forgotten: José Feliciano – Feliciano!
There have been numerous times in the history of popular song when quiet has proved to be the new the new loud, in fact it is something that happens so frequently, that every few years a new generation manages to discover the singular delights of José Feliciano, and this pleasant album of acoustic covers of …
Not Forgotten: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds
Imagine for a moment the pitch for this album to Columbia Records in the mid 70s. A guy best known for advertising jingles and writing light-weight pop-rock hits turns up at the office one day, saying he wants to record a musical version of H G Wells’ science fiction classic, War of the Worlds. He …
Not Forgotten: Smashing Pumpkins – Adore
Smashing Pumpkins were undoubtedly one of the key rock acts of the 1990s. Lumped in with the grunge movement, they stood apart from the Seattle trio of big hitters, and they were on a completely different level to the movement’s rank and file foot soldiers. Up to Adore’s release in 1998, each Smashing Pumpkins album …
Not Forgotten: AC/DC – Powerage
It’s hard to consider that AC/DC could have an album that could be overlooked, but Powerage, slotted between 1977’s Let There Be Rock, the album that first saw them achieve a measure of international success, and the live, If You Want Blood… You’ve Got It, it seems to be an album which gets oddly overlooked …
Not Forgotten: Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
As I have aged I have been slowly but surely reaching the conclusion that comedy, or more specifically, what the individual finds funny is a deeply personal thing, perhaps even more so than music. If you’re watching a film, television programme or stand up comedian who everyone around you is laughing at, yet it / …
Not Forgotten: Hawkwind – Space Ritual
There are some acts that have survived only to prove that drugs really do not work. Hawkwind are perhaps the most enduring of all the drug casualty groups, causing a world shortage of acid since the late 60s, a bewildering output of dozens of official and unofficial albums, and an even more bewildering array of …
Not Forgotten: Rainbow – Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
The artistic success of Rainbow’s first two albums had emboldened an army of bootleggers to try and capture the live thrills Ritchie Blackmore’s quintet of hard rockers. This had in turn prompted Blackmore himself to make the rather questionable decision to release an official live album, effectively to scupper the bootleg market for Rainbow live …
Not Forgotten: Tori Amos – From the Choirgirl Hotel
In retrospect From The Choirgirl Hotel was an important album for Tori Amos. By 1998, despite a couple of medium sized hit singles earlier in the decade, she was in danger of being known in the mainstream for just the (admittedly enjoyable) dance remix of “Professional Widow”, at least by the wider record buying public. …
Not Forgotten: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – You’re Gonna Get It!
You’re Gonna Get It! finds Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers in a darker, slightly more sinister mood than their debut. Production wise, it remains in the same ballpark, and the songwriting is of a similar level, but it’s just a little more narky and unsettled. It’s actually a really smart approach to differentiating between the …