Monthly Archives: November, 2015
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND-THE MATRIX TAPES BOX SET.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND-THE MATRIX TAPES BOX SET. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The Velvet Underground would surely have agreed with Charles Dickens in 1969. They had just endured the most tumultuous year of their career. The Velvet Underground released their eponymous third album in March 1969. It stalled …
MOGWAI-CENTRAL BELTERS -VINYL BOX SET.
MOGWAI-CENTRAL BELTERS -VINYL BOX SET. 2015 finds post rock pioneers Mogwai celebrating their twentieth anniversary. A lot has happened in that twenty year period. Mogwai have released eight studio albums and three soundtracks. These albums have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful not just in Britain, but in America. That’s why nowadays, Mogwai are regarded …
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK SUNSET-PART TWO.
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK SUNSET-PART TWO. Over the last two years, crate-diggers extraordinaire Psychemagik, have released a quartet of compilations. That takes some doing, as compiling compilation are fraught with difficulties. As a result, many compilers struggle for two years to get one compilation released. Especially, if it’s a compilation rarities. A multitude of problems await …
KING CRIMSON-THRAK.
KING CRIMSON-THRAK. Throughout the history of King Crimson, the lineup has been in a constant state of flux. The lineup is best described as fluid, with members leaving, only to join and return at a later date. By 1995, King Crimson were onto their fifth lineup, when they recorded Thrak, which was recently released by …
JOY OF LIVING-A TRIBUTE TO EWAN MCCOLL.
JOY OF LIVING-A TRIBUTE TO EWAN MCCOLL. Many people won’t have heard of James Henry Miller. However, they will have heard of Ewan McColl. He was one of the greatest folk musicians of his generation. However, Ewan McColl was much more than a musician. Ewan McColl was also an actor, playwright, poet, record producer and …
THE ALAN PARSON’S PROJECT-THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD 35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
THE ALAN PARSON’S PROJECT-THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD 35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. Alan Parsons was just eighteen when he started work at Abbey Road Studios, in October 1967. Less that two years later, Alan Parsons received his first credit when he engineered The Beatles’ Abbey Road. It was released in September 1969, and was the …
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND-LOADED BOX SET.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND-LOADED BOX SET. For The Velvet Underground, 1969 had been a turbulent year. They had released their third album The Velvet Underground in March 1969. It featured the debut of Doug Yule, who was brought in to replace John Cale. This was meant to the start of a bright new future for The …
MOSTER!-WHEN YOU CUT INTO THE PRESENT.
MOSTER!-WHEN YOU CUT INTO THE PRESENT. Ever since they made their debut at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 2010, Norwegian supergroup Møster!’s star has been in the ascendancy. So much so, that Møster! are now regarded as one of the biggest bands in the Nordic music scene. That’s quite a feat. Especially since Norway has …
VAN MORRISON-HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR-VINYL EDITION.
VAN MORRISON-HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR-VINYL EDITION. When Van Morrison began work on his fourth album His Band and Street Choir, he faced the biggest challenge of his career. His last two albums, 1969s Astral Weeks and 1970s Moondance, had been stonewall classics. Following these albums up wasn’t going to be easy. It was going …
YAORCHT ROCK.
YAORCHT ROCK. Back in the seventies and eighties, AOR was at the peak of its popularity. Especially amongst the generation who had just graduated university and had entered the workplace for the first time. With their disposable income, they bought albums by Boz Scaggs, Seals and Crofts, Carly Simon, Toto, Christopher Cross, Daryl Hall and …
ORNETTE COLEMAN-BEAUTY IS A RARE THING.
ORNETTE COLEMAN-BEAUTY IS A RARE THING. George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm that “not all animals are created equal.” The same seems to be the case with musicians. Especially when it comes to obituaries. During 2015, many musicians have passed away. A few were innovators and changed music forever. Some enjoyed a string of commercially …
SLIP-DISC-DISHOOM’S LONDON BOMBAY GROOVES.
SLIP-DISC-DISHOOM’S LONDON BOMBAY GROOVES. In the wake of World War II, the British government encouraged people from all over the Commonwealth and Empire to emigrate to Britain. The War had hit Britain hard. So many people had died, that there weren’t enough people to fill shortages in the labour market. Soon, people were making their …
BLACK MOON CIRCLE-THE STORY SO FAR.
BLACK MOON CIRCLE-THE STORY SO FAR. Over the last few years, the Norwegian music scene has been thriving. Groups old and new, have been releasing some of the most innovative music in Europe. This includes everything from free jazz, progressive rock and psychedelia to space rock, experimental and avant garde music. It seems that the …
SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO-PIGS IN THE BULL RING [HUMANS LIKE BEASTS].
SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO-PIGS IN THE BULL RING [HUMANS LIKE BEASTS]. Concept album. These two words are guaranteed to divide opinion amongst music critics. That’s despite many classic albums falling into the category of concept albums. This has been the case for nearly fifty years. One of the first concept albums was The Beach …
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE BOX SET.
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE BOX SET. The word legend is one of the overused in music. It should be reserved for the creme de la creme of music. That would definitely include Jimi Hendrix, who achieved more in twenty-seven short years than many musical journey achieve in seventy years. Jimi Hendrix was an otherworldly musician. …
JEFF BUCKLEY-GRACE-VINYL EDITION.
JEFF BUCKLEY-GRACE-VINYL EDITION. Twenty-one years ago, Jeff Buckley released the one and only album of his career, Grace. Jeff was the son of Tim Buckley, one of the most talented singer-songwriters of his generation. Tim could’ve and should’ve enjoyed widespread commercial success and critical acclaim. Sadly, that wasn’t to be. Having released nine albums between 1966 and …
SWEET LEAF-A STONER SALUTE TO BLACK SABBATH.
SWEET LEAF-A STONER SALUTE TO BLACK SABBATH. At this time of year, the compilation market becomes even more crowded than usual. It’s polluted by compilations of third rate disco, cheesy Chicago House, seventies throwaway pop and the dreaded Christmas songs. They’re the equivalent of an oil slick, that every year, pollute the compilation market. Be …
ANTHONY PHILLIPS-PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES I-IV.
ANTHONY PHILLIPS-PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES I-IV. Many people think that the home studio is a new thing. That’s not the case. Musicians were recording music at home way DAWs and laptops began to play an important part in the recording process. Anthony Phillips is proof of that. Anthony Phillips started experimenting with a basic reel-to-reel …
A SALUTE TO THE THIN WHITE DUKE.
A SALUTE TO THE THIN WHITE DUKE. Over the last year, Cleopatra Records have released a series of “Tribute To” compilations. These Tribute To compilations see a new generation of up-and-coming artists homage to rock, psychedelic and pop royalty. Everyone from Pink Floyd and The Doors, through The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, to …
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