pop rewind
Not Forgotten: The Beatles – The Magical Mystery Tour
A Not Forgotten article on The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour? I must have flipped my lid right? How can any album release by the biggest act in popular music be forgotten? Okay, so maybe it hasn’t been forgotten, but it has been massively under appreciated, especially when you compare the avalanche of sycophantic praise heaped …
Not Forgotten: William Shatner – Has Been
Can you imagine trying to pitch a William Shatner album to a record label in 2003? For decades he had been sniggered at for his various attempts at ‘singing’, with his much derided rendition of “Mr Tambourine Man” being a subject of much criticism down the years, though the reaction to that was nothing compared …
Classic Album (Glastonbury 2016 Special Pt2): Adele – 19
Adele, that icon of modern popular song, seems to be quite a divisive character. While she has an undoubtedly splendid voice, she has attracted a fair amount of criticism for her writing, nowhere more so than here on her debut album. Consider this though, this debut was released when she was 19 years old right? …
Not Forgotten: Clifford T. Ward – Home Thoughts
Twee long before twee became cool, Clifford T. Ward’s career has seemingly faded from the collective memory just like the photo adorning Home Thoughts album cover. Okay, so maybe some people with longer memories remember him for “Gaye”, but in terms of his wider career, he’s been in desperate need of reassessment for decades now. …
Not Forgotten: Billy Joel – The Stranger
Billy Joel is one of those artists who has divided opinion for much of his career. It’s not difficult to see why either, as some of his output has aged terribly, and one of his best selling albums, 1983’s An Innocent Man, is a well-intended tribute to doo-wop smothered in some of the most horrific …
Not Forgotten: Sparks – Lil’ Beethoven
Having comprehensively out smarted Roxy Music with their art pop in the mid-70s, and proved you could be an influential synth pioneer and still have a sense of fun by the end of the decade, the 80s and 90s had seen Sparks become an uncelebrated act that had nevertheless influenced countless acts that followed in …
A beginners’ guide to The Beatles
For me there is one genuine great body of creative work from the 20th Century which is beyond criticism. It towers above the collected work of artists like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. The collected writings of JRR Tolkien finds itself overshadowed by comparison. The original trio of films in the Star Wars franchise looks …
Not Forgotten: Tracey Thorn – Tinsel & Lights
It seemed unlikely that queen of cool Tracey Thorn would release an album of festive hits. Her melancholic sound doesn’t really seem to lend itself to the joy and happiness needed for a Christmas song. But in 2012 that’s exactly what she did. ‘Tinsel & Lights’ was her fourth solo effort away from husband Ben …
Classic Album: Elton John – Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player
By the time of Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player, Elton John was one of the biggest musical stars on the planet, his writing partnership with Bernie Taupin being one of the most fertile on the early 70s. They were adaptable too, being able to run the gamut from simple pop, ballads and …
Not Forgotten: Supertramp – Breakfast in America
Breakfast in America is an album that simply shouldn’t have happened. Slightly smug, self satisfied prog-flecked radio-friendly rock by earnest men with beards should have been felled with the double blow of disco and punk, yet there Supertramp were in 1979, knee deep in gold records, releasing a string of hit singles that had conquered …