Jon Bryan, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album Review: Richard Thompson – Acoustic Rarities

The new Richard Thompson album, Acoustic Rarities, arrives barely two short months after the release of its sibling, Acoustic Classics Vol II, and is released both separately, and as a…

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Classic Compilation: Randy Newman – Lonely at the Top: The Best of Randy Newman

I hate Randy Newman. Previous to me discovering his work via Lonely at the Top, I was living in blissful ignorance, occasionally putting pen to paper to scribble down a…

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Classic Album: R.E.M. – Automatic for the People

R.E.M. may have taken the scenic route to international fame, but if the only thing they ever released had been Automatic For The People, that lengthy trip would have still…

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Obituary: Tom Petty

Of all the luminaries of pop music that we have lost in the last couple of years, it is the music of Tom Petty which I have had the longest…

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Classic Album: Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue

When it comes to bloated and pompous 70s pop / rock not many matched Electric Light Orchestra for ridiculously overwrought statements, and 1977’s Out Of The Blue is their most…

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Album Review: Randy Newman – Dark Matter

Back in 2004 Green Day released American Idiot, an album on which they took the American government of the time to task for the less than wise decisions that were…

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Track: Bang Bang Romeo – Natural Born Astronaut

Since I first encountered Bang Bang Romeo in early 2014, their potential was immediately obvious to me. In the years since then they have gained themselves an ever-growing fanbase, enjoyed…

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Not Forgotten: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Live / 1975-85

40 tracks of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live and rocking in various theatres, arenas and coliseums over a decade may seem excessive, until you consider the fact…

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Classic Compilation: Kirsty MacColl – Galore: The Best of Kirsty MacColl

There’s a parallel universe somewhere where Kirsty MacColl receives all the respect she deserves. A universe where the wider public knows her for more than a decent, but overplayed, festive…

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Classic Album: Peter Gabriel – Us

In 1992 Peter Gabriel was the last word in mature pop artists. Having achieved immense success after leaving Genesis in the mid-70s, his solo career had seen plough a compelling…

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