Not Forgotten
Not Forgotten: Deep Purple – Made in Japan
It is the 70s. Weeks last three days, amplifiers are stacked, hair is long and unkempt, pants are loon and sleeves are gatefold. In the pop charts, glam-rock and hollow pop held sway, while the album charts were dominated by progressive and hard rock bands, whose live reputations were at least as important as their …
Not Forgotten: Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis
It’s heartbreaking that someone who had such a huge talent as Dusty Springfield suffered from almost crippling insecurity and self-doubt. Legend has it that she struggled so much with the recording of this, Dusty in Memphis, now her most celebrated album, that “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Just a Little Lovin’” aside, she was …
Not Forgotten – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – The Roaring Silence
Ah pop-prog, that strange little sub-genre that only Electric Light Orchestra, Queen and Supertramp seemed to get right. Each band had their own special way of approaching it, so none of them ever sounded remotely like each other, but most of them enjoyed a certain level of success that allowed them to become household names …
Not Forgotten – Alan Hull – Pipedream
Alan Hull is one of those frequently forgotten names in British rock music. Probably best known as one of the creative forces behind Newcastle folk-rockers Lindisfarne, who were themselves best known for a string of hit singles in the early 70s (including the rightly celebrated “Lady Eleanor” and “Meet Me on the Corner”) and a …
Not Forgotten: Joe Cocker – Mad Dogs & Englishmen
“Thee Mad Dogs, thee Engleeshmen and Joe Cockair….” Crookes lad Joe Cocker was always more comfortable interpreting others songs rather than composing his own originals. None of his hits have been self penned and most casual fans would struggle to name one song that Cocker has written (I know I do). That said Cocker has …
Not Forgotten: Terrorvision – Regular Urban Survivors
How to Make Friends and Influence People had shown brief glimpses of what Terrorvision were capable of, but on the whole it was relatively scrappy. It appeared that the four lads from Bradford had shot their bolt and that they were never going to amount to anything particularly special. Then came Regular Urban Survivors. Opening …
Not Forgotten – Pink Floyd – The Final Cut
By this point in their career Pink Floyd were only a band in name. While building his wall, Roger Waters ego had crushed all before him. Richard Wright had been usurped, David Gilmour was losing interest in Water’s material and Nick Mason’s position in the band was looking increasingly fragile. The Wall had been an …
Not Forgotten – Black Crowes – By Your Side
For a band with such a reputation for shelving whole albums there’s a good argument for By Your Side being the forgotten Black Crowes album. Easily better than anything since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion and more economical than their most celebrated release, it was also tighter than the band’s debut. In many ways …
Not Forgotten – Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
The career resuscitation of Wilco following the release of the rightly hailed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a joy to behold. From being dropped by a short sighted record label to the redemption they found proving the doubters wrong, via losing key band members and being celebrated by the notoriously fickle music press, it must have …
Not Forgotten – Imani Coppola – Chupacabra
One quick glance at my album collection will confirm that I am pretty ignorant when it comes to rap or hip-hop. I’m afraid that it just doesn’t push my buttons and I find it has very little in the way of cultural relevance to me. It’s odd then that Chupacabra has found its way into …