Not Forgotten
Not Forgotten – The Hold Steady – Almost Killed Me
It’s late summer 2007, it’s pouring with rain outside, and I’m spending the evening in the pub. I’d had dozens of nights like this in the previous ten years, a cheery couple of pints in our local had descended into my friend berating me for having a preference for rock music rather than jazz. His …
Not Forgotten: Aretha Franklin – Aretha Now
I have no wish to put the cat among the pigeons, but I have to confess that I marginally prefer Aretha Now above the more widely celebrated I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. As great as Aretha Franklin’s debut for Atlantic is, Aretha Now boasts a measure more lightness of touch …
Not Forgotten – Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Back in the day Tusk was one of the most anticipated albums ever released. Rumours had launched Fleetwood Mac to the eye-watering heights of rock music’s mega-league, despite the increasingly strained relationships between the five band members, and expectation for its follow up had reached fever pitch. Behind the scenes at Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham …
Not Forgotten – Half Man Half Biscuit – Back in the D.H.S.S.
The current documentary series on BBC4 on the history of the Indie music labels here in the UK has made for great watching so far, having so far detailed the rise of the indies in the late 70s, and their flourishing in the 80s. I have had but one minor quibble with the series so …
Not Forgotten – Deep Purple – Machine Head
The sixth studio album of their career, and the third by their much celebrated Mk2 line up, Deep Purple were very much in the ascendant when they set out to record Machine Head. While there had certainly been distractions in the form of a major line up change and Jon Lord’s much celebrated Concerto for …
Not Forgotten: XTC – Oranges & Lemons
Oranges and Lemons is an album that has spent the twenty six years since its release trying to put behind it the fans disappointment that it wasn’t as good as Skylarking. The thing is, there are precious few albums as good as XTC’s 1986 masterpiece, so anyone expecting Partridge, Moulding and Gregory to release something …
Not Forgotten: Kate Bush – The Red Shoes
Oddly unappreciated by all but her most devoted her fans, and seemingly Kate Bush herself, I find The Red Shoes to be one of her most fascinating albums. Having established herself as a phenomenally creative spirit over her first four albums, in which she rapidly transitioned from exciting debut, to consolidation, to pop experimentalism, to …
Not Forgotten: Monie Love – Down To Earth
Hip hop has always been a male dominated industry. It’s probably something to do with the blatant misogyny in the lyrics, or the sexually explicit imagery in the videos. Whilst big female icons such as Missy, Nicki, and Lil Kim have paved the way for the girls to be taken more seriously, back in the …
Not Forgotten: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are one of the great rock and roll bands of the American Heartland. Every bit as accessible as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, they’re huge in the USA, yet they have always had oddly inconsistent commercial success in the UK. This is really rather odd, as Tom Petty …
Not Forgotten – PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Sometimes heading for more calmer, more easily accessible waters is a good thing. Take PJ Harvey for instance, for years she had been known as a lady with a penchant for the shouty, confrontational and vitriolic. The trouble was she always seemed to possess an unfulfilled desire to create music that one day may get …