rock/metal rewind
Classic Album: AC/DC – Back in Black
There are some rock albums that grow to be bigger than the band that recorded it, so much so that it eclipses their whole career, becomes somewhat of an albatross around their necks and they spend the rest of their careers trying to downplay the album as they struggle to match its commercial success. Then …
Not Forgotten: Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
I took the scenic route to being a Bruce Springsteen fan. Perhaps bizarrely I started with his critically acclaimed Tunnel of Love, before back tracking to the stadium-conquering Born in the USA. Losing interest for a while, it wasn’t until one of my closest friends started dating a Springsteen obsessive that my interest was sparked …
Buyers’ Guide: Slade – Live
Perhaps more than at any other point in the history of popular song, the early 70s were a schizophrenic time for rock music, particularly here in the UK, with a sharp contrast between the singles and albums charts. In the album charts, heavyweights like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and a whole host of other hairy …
Not Forgotten: Rush – Rush
With them having spent the last four decades carving out the most enduring career of all the iconic prog rock acts, hearing Rush’s self titled debut for the first time can come as something as a shock to the newcomer. The only one of their albums not to feature drummer, lyricist and former tractor salesman, …
Not Forgotten: Matt Berry – Opium
A few weeks ago my father-in-law asked me, as the family’s resident source of music recommendations, if there was an act in the contemporary music scene that I was genuinely excited about. “Matt Berry”, was my immediate answer. The reason for my lack of hesitation in my response was simple. Other than Half Man Half …
Not Forgotten: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Tomorrow Belongs to Me
Absolutely uncategorisable throughout their career, by 1975, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were still in pursuit of an elusive hit singles, but album wise Tomorrow Belongs to Me followed hot on the heels of the brilliant The Impossible Dream, and proved beyond a doubt that its predecessor was in no way a fluke hit. Rocker …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Live: Bursting Out
When the broom of Punk arrived to sweep away the dust bunnies of the old guard, Jethro Tull took the frankly baffling route of going folk-rock. Having been born out of the 60s British Blues Boom, they’d already undergone an evolutionary career which saw them dabble with hard rock, satirical concept albums, art-rock and even …
Not Forgotten: Tom Waits – Small Change
Sometimes you dismiss an entire era of an established artist’s career for what you convince yourself is a good reason. As much as I love Tom Waits’ debut, Closing Time, and the albums he recorded since joining Island Records in the early 80s, I dismissed the rest of his 70s material for one reason alone. …
Not Forgotten: 10cc – How Dare You!
Their fourth album in as many years, by How Dare You! 10cc had mastered the art of balancing the conflicting demands of big hit singles with fiendishly clever art-rock albums. As commercial as glam rock, but still cleverer than the vast majority of prog-rockers, their formula worked, but it never made them any less ambitious …
Not Forgotten: The Cult – Sonic Temple
Sonic Temple came at an interesting point in The Cult’s career. Having evolved from paisley-patterned goths, 1987’s Electric had seen them strip back their sound to brutal and basic biker-booted hard rock riffery. Having originally attracted as a post-punk act, going full on hard rock was an interesting evolutionary move, but one that had seen …