Not Forgotten
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
Not Forgotten: Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door
In Through the Out Door was no disaster, but you can’t help escape the feeling that it was just the start of something new for the band.
Not Forgotten: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival were a band out of time in 1969. Releasing albums of late 60s durability to a late 50s schedule, you might expect their albums of this period to be little more than their latest single, a few covers, and a whole load of filler. Reality is that all three of the albums CCR …
Obituary: David Berman from Purple Mountains/Silver Jews dies.
It was only last month that Backseat Mafia reviewed the great new album from David Berman’s Purple Mountains project, saying it was: a beautiful album from beginning to end – a bleak vignette of some mid-western USA existence leavened by a twisted sense of humour, a sweet acceptance of the bitterness of a worn out …
Not Forgotten: Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs – Under the Covers Vol. 2
When the Under the Covers collaboration between power pop veteran Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles fame was announced, there must have been a fair bit of head scratching from fans of one but not necessarily the other. Then you hear their voices together and it makes absolute sense. Hoffs, despite her Paisley …
Not Forgotten: Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat
I still remember the level of disappointment I experienced when I first heard Blueberry Boat. Fiery Furnaces debut, Gallowsbird’s Bark, is for my money, one of the best debut albums of the last two decades. A thrillingly shakey series of travelogue sketches recorded in a lo-fi manner, propelled by tumbling pianos, nicely rhythmic guitars and …
Not Forgotten: The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Duckworth Lewis Method
While concept albums about cricket may not be the most obvious career move, The Duckworth Lewis Method seemed to be just the project that The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon and Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh needed at that point in their respective careers. While Divine Comedy had enjoyed their commercial heyday as the 20th Century closed, their …
Not Forgotten: Elton John – Caribou
Bless him, for all his tantrums (and tiara’s), Elton John has enjoyed a career reassessment over the last two decades to the point where he’s now arguably as popular as he’s ever been since the mid 70s. Perhaps more crucially, Elton understands and agrees that his 1970-1975 work is his most popular material, and does …
A Beginners Guide to Sparks
Sparks aren’t just any old pop band. Formed by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, the former child models were just too weird for the macho chest-beating alpha male loving American rock scene of the 70s, Sparks have always enjoyed far greater success in Europe. Following some tentative steps as Halfnelson, the brothers would form Sparks …