Jon Bryan, Author at Backseat Mafia

Not Forgotten: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Nightingales and Bombers

The sixth and final album recorded by the original Manfred Mann’s Earth Band quartet, Nightingales and Bombers was also released prior to the new line up’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s…

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Classic Album: Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

Iron Maiden are a band whose name I have always known, but it is only in recent months that I have felt the impulse to actually investigate their work outside…

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A Beginners Guide to Ian Hunter & Mott the Hoople

Looking back, Mott the Hoople did it all as a rock band. From cult underground heroes, to chart bothering singles and albums, to glam rock superstars that no less a…

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Classic Album: Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends

For those that purchased Bookends when it was first released in 1968, it might have come as something of a surprise that a folk-pop duo would have taken on board…

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Not Forgotten: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization

Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization is a cumbersome title, but then again Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization is a cumbersome album. Like…

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Classic Album: Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy

On the release of Houses of the Holy in 1973, there simply wasn’t a bigger band on the planet than Led Zeppelin. Over their first four albums they had perfected…

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Album Review: Isle of Dogs – Original Soundtrack

While Wes Anderson’s visual style have been the primary calling card of his impressive career, an important secondary element has been the utilisation of great soundtracks and scores on his…

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Not Forgotten: Led Zeppelin – How the West Was Won

Legend has it that Led Zeppelin were the best live band of the 1970s. For far too long the only official example of this for those of us that weren’t…

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Album Review: Band of Gold – Where’s the Magic

I’ve always had a quiet regard for Scandi-pop. Maybe it’s the to do with the enunciation, something which can give a sense of cool detachment from the lyrics. Whatever the…

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Classic Album: Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast

1982’s The Number of the Beast is one of Iron Maiden’s best selling albums, and saw the band re-assert their place as one of the prime heavy metal acts of…

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