Category Archives: Rock
CAKEWALK-TRANSFIXED.
CAKEWALK-TRANSFIXED. It was May 2012, when Cakewalk released their genre-melting debut album Wired. Released to critical acclaim, Wired featured intense, mesmeric music. Featuring three experienced and talented musicians, Cakewalk became one. Each member of Cakewalk seemed to have know exactly what the other was about to do. The interaction between them was peerless. They fed …
THE KINKS-MUSWELL HILLBILLIES.
THE KINKS-MUSWELL HILLBILLIES. By the time The Kinks released Muswell Hillbillies in November 1971, they were no longer as successful in Britain. Their last three albums had failed to chart. The last Kinks album to chart in Britain was 1967s Something Else By The Kinks. It had reached number thirty-five. After that, 1968s The Kinks …
THE BETA BAND-THE REGAL YEARS 1997-2004.
THE BETA BAND-THE REGAL YEARS 1997-2004. Although The Beta Band were only together eight years, their music made a huge impact. Formed in 1996, The Beta Band split-up in 2004. In the intervening eight years, they’d released a trio of E.P.s and albums. The music on these E.P.s and albums influenced a generation of musicians. …
JETHRO TULL-BENEFIT.
JETHRO TULL-BENEFIT. If I was to ask what group had nine albums certified gold, and one certified triple-platinum, between 1969 and 1979, how many people would say Jethro Tull? That’s because most people forget how successful Jethro Tull were. They were one of the most successful, groundbreaking and innovative of the prog rock bands in …
END OF NEIL-GAS STATION COFFEE.
END OF NEIL-GAS STATION COFFEE. In an age when artists take years to record an album, it’s refreshing to come across an artist as prolific as End Of Neil. During 2013, End Of Neil has released a trio of E.Ps. The first of this trio was Less, released back in April. Then six months later, …
HOLGER CZUKAY-ON THE WAY TO THE PEAK OF NORMAL.
HOLGER CZUKAY-ON THE WAY TO THE PEAK OF NORMAL. Holger Czukay’s name is synonymous with Can, the group he cofounded in 1968. Soon, Can went on to become one of the most innovative, influential and groundbreaking groups in musical history. Their music is best described as a fusion of ambient, avant-garde, electronic, experimental, industrial, jazz, …
VAN MORRISON-MOONDANCE.
VAN MORRISON-MOONDANCE. When Van Morrison released his third album, Moondance, in February 1970, little did he know he’d just released not only a classic album, but an album he’d never surpass. This wasn’t unexpected. After all, two years earlier in February 1968, Van Morrison has released Astral Weeks, an album which was a game-changer. Astral …
DAMON- SONG OF A GYPSY.
DAMON- SONG OF A GYPSY. For any collector of psychedelia, if they’re lucky enough to find a copy of Damon’s Song Of A Gypsy, it becomes one of their most prized possessions. Finding a copy is another thing. Copies are rarer than hen’s teeth and are changing hands for large sums of money. Recently, copies have …
KING CRIMSON-RED.
KING CRIMSON-RED. King Crimson burst onto the scene in October 1969, with their debut album In The Court Of The Crimson King. A prog rock classic, it reached number five in the UK and was certified gold in America, when it reached number twenty-eight. Following the success of In The Court Of Crimson in America, …
PERU MARAVILLOSO: VINTAGE LATIN, TROPICAL AND CUMBIA.
PERU MARAVILLOSO: VINTAGE LATIN, TROPICAL AND CUMBIA. As the sixties unfolded, British and American music was on the cusp of a revolution. This began in 1962, when The Beatles released Love Me Do. Soon, the sixties were swinging. Over the Atlantic in America, the British Invasion proved a game-changer. For the first time, British music …
NEAL FORD AND THE FANATICS-GOOD MEN.
NEAL FORD AND THE FANATICS-GOOD MEN. Between 1964 and 1968, Neal Ford and The Fanatics were Kings of the Houston music scene. They spent several years honing their sound and were now enjoying the fruits of their labor. Their unique and slick fusion of rock, R&B and garage won friends and influenced other groups all …
PUNK 45-KILL THE HIPPIES! KILL YOURSELF! THE AMERICAN NATION DESTROYS ITS YOUTH-UNDERGROUND PUNK 1973-1980 VOLUME 1.
PUNK 45-KILL THE HIPPIES! KILL YOURSELF! THE AMERICAN NATION DESTROYS ITS YOUTH-UNDERGROUND PUNK 1973-1980 VOLUME 1. Some musical historians regard 1976 as ground zero. That was the year punk exploded. A supposed game changer, it divided, and continues to, divide opinion. Depending upon who you ask, punk was either a musical revolution or a musical …
NEW YORK DOLLS-NEW YORK DOLLS.
NEW YORK DOLLS-NEW YORK DOLLS. No other group epitomises the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle like the New York Dolls. Drink, drugs and death touched the New York Dolls. Despite this, the Dolls continued to court controversy, with a disaster always just a heartbeat away. Just like a game of daring do, the egged each other to …
ASTRO SONIC-COME CLOSER AND I’LL TELL YOU.
ASTRO SONIC-COME CLOSER AND I’LL TELL YOU. The sonic landscape that is Astro Sonic’s debut album Come Closer and I’ll Tell You, isn’t like most other albums. Far from it. Recorded during these three days at the Svenska Grammofon Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden, Astro Sonic use their musical palette to push musical boundaries. Seamlessly, musical …
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY.
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY. Classic is one of the most overused words in the English language. However, classic is the perfect way to describe Country Joe and The Fish’s 1967 debut album, Electric Music For The Mind and Body. Quite simply, Electric Music For The Mind and Body …
MIKE OLDFIELD-CRISES.
MIKE OLDFIELD-CRISES. Nine years after releasing his debut album, Mike Oldfield decided his music had to change. His albums were no longer selling as many copies. Success in America seemed to elude Mike. If it hadn’t been for excerpts from Tubular Bells being played in The Shining, his debut album might never have reached the …
NEW YORK DOLLS-TOO MUCH TOO SOON.
NEW YORK DOLLS-TOO MUCH TOO SOON. Never in the history of music has an album title proved to be so prophetic than the New York Dolls’ sophomore album Too Much Too Soon. Released in 1974, Too Much Too Soon features one of the hardest rocking and hardest living bands in musical history. Unfortunately, The New …
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-I FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE.
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-I FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE. Country Joe and The Fish’s influence on rock music can’t be underestimated. One of the greatest psychedelic rock bands of the sixties, their music was a fusion of rock, folk, psychedelia and acid rock, which influenced several generations of bands, They were a band …
WORLD PSYCHEDELIC CLASSICS 5:WHO IS WILLIAM ONYEABOR?
WORLD PSYCHEDELIC CLASSICS 5:WHO IS WILLIAM ONYEABOR? To celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary, Lauka Bop will release World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who is William Onyeabor. As rhetorical questions go, it’s one of the best. No-one can say with any certainty who William Onyeabor is. Much of his life is shrouded in mystery. There’s a reason for …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 