Classic Compilation: Aerosmith – Big Ones
Aerosmith’s career is a strange one. During the 70s they came out of nowhere to establish themselves as America’s home-grown stadium fillers, take all the drugs and make minimum commercial impact outside of north America. As the decade closed they carelessly lost not just one, but both, of their guitar players, Brad Whitford and Joe …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
It was with Buffalo Springfield where the embryonic talents of Neil Young were first displayed, then his self-titled debut album revealed Neil Young the solo artist, while it was Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere that introduced Neil Young the guitar icon. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is primarily remembered for being the first album that …
Not Forgotten: Weezer – Weezer (Blue Album)
Recently Weezer have returned to prominence via their cover of Toto’s “Africa”, and long term fans have subsequently howled in derision at their decision to release a covers album. Actually, it seems that Weezer fans howl in derision to the vast majority of their releases, yet their albums continue to regularly hit the top ten …
Classic Compilation: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – So Far
For years I shied away from the work of Crosby, Stills and Nash (both with and without Neil Young). There was something a little too soft and fluffy about them, and they seemed to embody the self-congratulatory happy-clappy West Coast vibe of millionaire rock stars totally out of touch with their audience. They were the …
Classic Compilation: Sam and Dave – The Best of Sam & Dave
Sam and Dave, while not regularly being the first name to spring to the lips of members of the general public when asked to name a great soul act, released as many classic soul tunes as anyone during soul’s golden period. From the brilliant “Hold On, I’m Comin’” (the picture-sleeve of which depicted them riding …
Not Forgotten: Ben Folds Five – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
Woah, did I misjudge this album when I first heard it. I’ve never known an album take so long to burn into my psyche, but The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is a case where patience and occasional replays eventually pays off. The last of the trio of Ben Folds Five studio albums from their …
Not Forgotten: Tom Waits – Mule Variations
Mule Variations starts with what sounds like a rhythmically capable panel beater knocking seven bells out of a steel filing cabinet with hammers, and it gives you a glimpse of what Tom Waits had been doing in the seven years since the release of Bone Machine. As an album, the deconstructed blues of Mule Variations …
Not Forgotten: Sparks – No.1 in Heaven
Career reinventions don’t come much more well executed than Sparks’ recently reissued 1979 album, No.1 in Heaven. While brothers Ronald and Russell Mael had found an enthusiastic audience for their arch intelligent pop in the UK in the mid 70s, reaching a commercial peak with the game-changing single ”This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the …
Not Forgotten: The Zutons – Who Killed the Zutons?
Sometimes you hear a band and you go, ‘Yep, that’s for me’. It was like that when I heard Who Killed the Zutons? for the first time. It was, and remains, a pleasingly riffy indie album with added saxophone and an incredibly high tune count. My word. If they continued like this, I may have …
Not Forgotten: Terrorvision – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Terrorvision were one of those acts that really deserved more than they got in the 90s. Forging a sturdy pop metal alloy at a time when so many acts at the time were playing frequently flimsy retro obsessed rock, Terrorvision were no less derivative than their contemporaries, but where others were in thrall to 60s …