Rewind
Not Forgotten: Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
This is the first album I’ve heard with any involvement from Ritchie Blackmore where it sounds like he’s genuinely having fun.
Not Forgotten: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
American rock music was in an interesting place in the late 60s, with the psychedelic sounds of the West Coast jam bands, a burgeoning singer-songwriter movement, arty outsider rock courtesy of the likes of The Velvet Underground and The Silver Apples, as well as a roots rock movement that had been spearheaded by The Band. …
Not Forgotten: Randy Newman – The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1
Listening to The Randy Newman Songbook Vol.1, there’s probably a case to be made for him being one of the all time great American songwriters. It’s always been something of a mystery to me just why Randy Newman rarely receives the appropriate praise for his not insignificant contributions to popular song. Granted he is primarily …
Not Forgotten: Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
Even after four and a half decades, there’s still something oddly lovable about The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. I guess it’s the fact that it really tries to be something we all want it to be. Ultimately though, like anything that tries too hard, it fails to reach the goals it …
A Buyers Guide to 80s Live Albums
Although the heyday of the live rock album was the late 60s to the late 70s, there have been many live albums released since then that have captured the public’s imagination, topped the chats, or stood out as absolutely crucial releases within an act’s discography. Here then is the second instalment of what we hope …
Classic Compilation: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Anthology: Through the Years
Tom Petty – a Dylan disciple, a Byrds with harder-wearing tunes, a Bruce Springsteen for the rest of us. Few artists have defined approachable Middle-American rock and roll radio quite like Petty and his loyal band, and no one has made such a consistently good job of it for as long as he did. Anthology: …
Classic Compilation: ABBA – ABBA Gold : Greatest Hits
There’s seemingly always been a certain amount of sniffiness around compilations, as if they are somehow unrepresentative of the musical act they allegedly represent. This is particularly the case across the Atlantic, where they are often dismissed as, at best, being poor value for money, or at worst, being a cynical attempt to rip off …
Not Forgotten: Wilco – Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
The live double album was considered heavyweight currency back in the 1970s. In an era when using extended guitar duals and a drum solo to expand a zippy four minute studio based rock work out into a multi-layered live epic was not frowned upon, the live rock experience could rarely be contained on just the …
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: 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 …