Category Archives: Pop
THE BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2016-PART 5.
The Best Compilations Of 2016-Part 5. The Golden Age Of American Country Music: More Country Hits. For many people, the golden age of country music was the late fifties and early sixties. During that period, country music provided the soundtrack to much of American life. Providing the soundtrack were giants of country music like Johnny …
KLAUS DINGER AND JAPANDORF-JAPANDORF.
KLAUS DINGER AND JAPANDORF-JAPANDORF. By 2007, sixty-one year old Klaus Dinger was a veteran of German music. He had been a member of three of the most important, influential and innovative German groups of the past forty years, Kraftwerk, Neu! and La Düsseldorf. Despite enjoying such a long and successful career, Klaus Dinger hadn’t lost …
THE BEST VINYL REISSUES OF 2016-PART 1.
THE BEST VINYL REISSUES OF 2016-PART 1. Black Moon Circle-Sea Of Clouds. April 2016 saw Norwegian space rock pioneers Black Moon Circle make their debut at the prestigious Roadburn Festival. This was prefect timing. That day, Black Moon Circle released their fourth album Sea Of Clouds via Crispin Glover Records. It was a much anticipated …
THE BEST VINYL REISSUES OF 2016-PART 2.
THE BEST VINYL REISSUES OF 2016-PART 3. John Marty-Solid Air. During his long and illustrious career, John Martyn released two classic albums for Island Records, including Solid Air in 1973. It was reissued twice during 2016. In May, Island Records reissued Solid Air as part of their Half-Speed Mastering series. Then Universal-Island Records Ltd supplied …
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 2.
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 2. Circles-More Circles. Just a year after the release of their eponymous debut album, Circles returned in 1984 with their sophomore album, More Circles. Again, Circles had put their impressive of array of technology and traditional instruments to good use on More Circles. It features the coming of age of Circles. They …
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 4.
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 4. Gordon Lightfoot-Dream Sweet Rose, Midnight and Salute. For Gordon Lightfoot, the seventies proved to be the most successful period of his career. Commercial success and critical acclaim were constant companions for the man that was dubbed “Canada’s greatest songwriter.” This success many thought would continue into the eighties. Gordon …
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 5.
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 5. Led Zeppelin-The Complete BBC Sessions. Last year, the Led Zeppelin reissue campaign continued when Atlantic Records released The Complete BBC Sessions as a three CD set. This is essentially an expanded version BBC Sessions which was released in 1997 as a double album that featured twenty-four songs. However, nine …
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 6.
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 6. Melissa Manchester-Home To Myself, Bright Eyes, Melissa and Help Is On The Way. It was almost inevitable that Melissa Manchester would end up embarking upon a musical career. The Manchester family were a highly creative family, with music playing an important part in everyday life. So it was no …
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 8.
THE BEST REISSUES OF 2016-PART 8. The Charlatans-The Limit Of The Marvellous-Vinyl. Between 1964 and 1969, The Charlatans’ star shawn bright. They were larger than life mavericks who looked like a cross between 19th Century, wild west outlaws and Victorian dandies. This carefully cultivated image soon began to prove popular with the audience at their …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4. Jóhann Jóhannsson-Ophee On Orphée, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s turned his attention to the beauty and the process of creation. Orphée features Jóhann Jóhannsson tracing a path from darkness into light. Inspiration for Orphée comes from the opéra bouffe Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). It was written by Ludovic Halévy, …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6. Qluster-Echtzei. Forty-seven years after he first co-founded Kluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius keeps the memory of Kluster and Cluster alive with Qluster. They released their sixth album Echtzeit on Bureau B during 2016. Echtzeit marks a stylistic departure from Qluster. It’s much more ambient sounding album. Qluster combine elements of …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7. Sunanna-Triangle. Triangle is Susanna’s eleventh album and first for four years. It was released on Susanna’s own SusannaSonata label, and is no ordinary album. Not by a long chalk. Instead, Triangle is a twenty-two song cerebral epic, where Susanna muses and meditates on mortality and religion. It’s a powerful album, …
BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1
BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1 For years, I’ve been writing about the Nordic Wave scene, which is, without doubt, one of the most eclectic and vibrant in Europe. During that period, I’ve witnessed the rise and rise of the Nordic Wave. There’s no sign of the bubble bursting. Quite the opposite. This latest …
BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3.
BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3. Nicklas Sørensen-Solo. Ever since 2010, Copenhagen based instrumental rock trio Papir’s star has been in the ascendancy. One of the men behind Papir’s success was guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, who released his debut album Solo on El Paraiso Records. He set out to experiment on Solo. However, on other …
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1973-1977.
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1973-1977. In 1970, Birmingham based songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood decided to form a new band with drummer Bev Bevan. This new group they christened the Electric Light Orchestra. At first, the Electric Light Orchestra was regarded as an offshoot of The Move, which Jeff Lynne, …
MELISSA MANCHESTER-HOME TO MYSELF/BRIGHT EYES/MELISSA AND HELP IS ON THE WAY.
MELISSA MANCHESTER-HOME TO MYSELF/BRIGHT EYES/MELISSA AND HELP IS ON THE WAY. It was almost inevitable that Melissa Manchester would end up embarking upon a musical career. The Manchester family were a highly creative family, and music played an important part in everyday life. That was no surprise. Melissa’s father was a bassoonist in the New …
TIM MAIA-1972 AND 1973.
TIM MAIA-1972 AND 1973. After the success of his sophomore album Tim Maia 1971, the Brazilian singer-songwriter headed to London to celebrate his newfound success. He had just enjoyed two successful albums, after six years of struggling to make a breakthrough. Tim wanted to celebrate, and enjoy the fruits of his labour. It was during …
KATE BUSH-BEFORE THE DAWN.
KATE BUSH-BEFORE THE DAWN. Touring isn’t for every artist or band. Some like Free, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath loved touring, and spent much of their career on tour. Kate Bush never enjoyed touring. So much so, that for thirty-five years, Kate Bush never took to the stage. She toured once in 1979. After that …
THE RISE OF THE PARIS SISTERS.
THE RISE OF THE PARIS SISTERS. The Paris Sisters weren’t an overnight success. Far from it. It took nearly a decade of hard work and dedication before they made a commercial breakthrough. Suddenly, all the hard work was worthwhile. Especially when I Love How You Love Me reached five on the US Billboard 100 in …