Classic Album: The Beatles – Abbey Road
Chronologically the final album that The Beatles recorded together, the general public’s appreciation for Abbey Road seems to increase each year, despite it being very much an album of two halves. Side one of Abbey Road is patchy and is unique in the fact that George Harrison’s contributions make for the two strongest tracks here, finally allowing the quiet one …
Track: Xylaroo returns with new single, Yesterdays
For those who were charmed by their 2016 album Sweetooth, Xylaroo’s recent announcement of a new single created a certain frisson of excitement, as the ever likeable Holly and Coco Chant have not released much in the way of new material for far too long. The hugely enjoyable “Yesterdays” sees Xylaroo move on from the …
Classic Album: Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
As the 80s drew to a close it was difficult to escape the conclusion that Bob Dylan‘s muse had been largely AWOL since 1976’s Desire. Since that album’s release there had certainly been allusions to greatness but it was usually by way of songs that Dylan chose to omit from shoddy albums. As a result, despite …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Stormwatch
If Jethro Tull’s ‘folk trilogy’ was not a reaction to Punk, then it was a stupendously well timed circumstance that saw the old rockers pull in the musical opposed direction to the fashionable youth rock movement of the time. While folk had always been an element of the Jethro Tull sound, 1977’s Songs From the …
Not Forgotten: They Might Be Giants – John Henry
With the Two Johns having forged an enduring career releasing a series of albums that appeal to socially awkward types who perhaps spend just a little bit too much time in their own heads, it’s a tiny regret of mine that I didn’t encounter the music of They Might Be Giants during my teenage years, …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Under Wraps
The mid 80s were a fascinating and fractious time for what would become known as classic rock. The two giant super bands of the 70s were no longer with us, with Pink Floyd having imploded in acrimony around Roger Waters’ ever more despotic tendencies, and Led Zeppelin coming to an end following the sad death …
Classic Album: Iron Maiden – Powerslave
Few acts in the long and often fractured history of Heavy Metal have been able to achieve the sustained hot-streak that Iron Maiden managed to pull off during the 80s. From 1980 to 1988, Iron Maiden released seven studio albums, as well as a live double, that still stand up to scrutiny today. Thanks to …
Not Forgotten: The Cult – Dreamtime
By early 1983 Bradford’s goth rockers Southern Death Cult had called it a day, having released a solitary single. An album consisting of said single, as well as a bunch of radio sessions and live recordings was released after their split, however by that time frontman Ian Astbury had already started to lay the foundations …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Rock Island
1987’s Crest of a Knave went some way to re-establishing Jethro Tull as elder-statesmen of rock if not actual contenders. That album had even won a Grammy (and in doing so, annoyed a lot of Metallica fans), but other than that, it didn’t really break any new ground, other than being the sound of one of the …
Not Forgotten: XTC – Drums and Wires
Drums and Wires has much more to offer than just XTC’s breakthrough hit single