rock/metal rewind
Not Forgotten: Alice Cooper – Welcome to My Nightmare
Splitting from the Alice Cooper band when he did was a gamble for Vincent Furnier, but in retrospect, and probably at the time, the Detroit five piece had achieved all they could by 1974’s Muscle of Love, and the band had started on the downswing. Co-opting the name of the band for his solo career, Furnier solidified …
Classic Album: Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
When it came to Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin opted to make the biggest splash instead of the most impressive splash.
A Buyers Guide to ZZ Top (The Warner Brothers Years)
It’s a long way from the dive bars of Texas to the global stadium circuit, yet somehow ZZ Top managed to navigate their way.
Classic Compilation: The Who – Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy
The Who are an odd one for me. A few of their peers managed the same transition from being a “singles” group to an “albums” group, but for me the demarcation between the two phases of The Who’s career is notable, as prior to them going all in as an album focused act with their 1969 concept …
Not Forgotten: Brainchild – Healing of the Lunatic Owl
Purchased, simply because I was flicking through the racks at Record Collector, took one look at the cover and declared that, regardless of the music it contained, I simply had to own an album called The Healing of the Lunatic Owl, Brainchild’s sole long player to date delivers. Then again when you have the combination of a …
Not Forgotten: Grand Funk – Grand Funk
With a fuzz bass sound to die for high on their list of priorities, and critical adulation low, Grand Funk (Railroad) blazed a trail across America from the late 60s and way into the mid 70s, playing their crowd pleasers to packed out venues regardless of what the critics of the era had to say. Rising to …
Classic Album: Pink Floyd – The Wall
Has there ever been another album quite as unrelentingly miserable as The Wall? It first entered my life back in 1998, when I was suffering from a bout of not inconsiderable self-doubt and struggling to connect with anything or anyone. Knowing that I was a Pink Floyd fan, my Uncle loaned me his old vinyl …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young – Live Rust
One of the things that strikes you when you look at Neil Young’s extensive discography is just how many live albums he has put out over the years. No matter how much his muse has waxed and waned over the last thirty years, Young has always remained a brilliant live performer and his live albums …
Not Forgotten: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willie and The Poor Boys
For years I unfairly dismissed Willie and the Poor Boys as one of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s weakest albums. I can’t explain why this was the case, as it came smack bang in the middle of the band’s red-hot streak through 1969 to 1971. Perhaps it was the slightly rootsier rocking which I reacted against, as if CCR decided …
Not Forgotten: Supertramp – Crime of the Century
Few fans of the band wouldn’t argue that Crime of the Century is by far and away Supertramp’s best album.