pop rewind
Not Forgotten: Kate Bush – The Red Shoes
Oddly unappreciated by all but her most devoted her fans, and seemingly Kate Bush herself, I find The Red Shoes to be one of her most fascinating albums. Having established herself as a phenomenally creative spirit over her first four albums, in which she rapidly transitioned from exciting debut, to consolidation, to pop experimentalism, to …
Not Forgotten: Ray Davies – The Storyteller
The rock star’s autobiography is big business these days, but rarely are they as revelatory, or as informative as they could be and even rarer do they actually make for enlightening reading. There are, of course, honourable exceptions. Indeed, both volumes of Julian Cope’s autobiography are wildly entertaining (whether you are actually a fan of …
Not Forgotten: Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac
The career path of Fleetwood Mac has been a long, complicated and much storied one. Following their Brit-blues-boom beginnings, they enjoyed a flurry of initial success in the UK before band founder Peter Green departed. They would then have difficulty retaining guitar players until American Bob Welch gave them a sense of stability during which …
Not Forgotten: Harry Nilsson – Aerial Ballet
Released at a time when receiving blanket praise from all four of The Beatles was unarguably A Big Thing, Aerial Ballet is the album that really should have launched Harry Nilsson’s career into the stratosphere. The fact that forty seven years after this album’s release, Nilsson is considered at best, a well respected cult artist …
Not Forgotten: Sparks – Balls
One of the great things about Sparks down the decades has been their innate ability to innovate and inspire those that follow in their wake. The fact that those that follow in their wake have their own disciples and, somewhat frustratingly, bigger sales, only adds to the lure of Sparks for me. Having made great …
Not Forgotten: Kirsty MacColl – Kite
I find it impossible to dislike any aspect of Kirsty MacColl. She was a trier, tirelessly honing her craft, refusing to sell herself short or compromise her material for anyone, be they record companies, her expectant fans or her father. Sadly for all her obvious talent and verve, she struggled to record a consistently satisfying …
Not Forgotten: Paul Simon – Paul Simon
Simon and Garfunkel had enjoyed astoundingly success and were at the peak of the commercial powers when Paul Simon decided that had had tired of sharing the limelight and followed the signposts down the path towards his solo career. While it had been Art Garfunkel’s vocals which had received high praise, Simon had matured into …
Not Forgotten: Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters
It’s been well over a decade since Scissor Sisters rose to prominence as the perfect antidote to the type of dour faced guitar bands that were taking their music far too seriously at the time. While they enjoyed a string of sizeable hit singles, it was the group’s self titled debut album in particular that …
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: Nilsson – A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night
Back in the early 70s, there was still a distinct generational difference between what ‘the kids’ listened to and what ‘the olds’ listened to. Only particularly foresighted adults were listening to what current music was offering at the time and very few kids had anything but a passing interest in their parents music collection. Pop …