not forgotten
Not Forgotten: Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow
In less capable hands 50 Words for Snow could have been a disaster. A ‘seasonal’ album is not something that many artists can pull off, especially as the majority of albums around a ‘winter’ theme are also based around the theme of Christmas (trust me, the day that the The Jethro Tull Christmas Album was …
Not Forgotten: They Might Be Giants – Mink Car
Having extracted themselves from the Elektra record label, They Might Be Giants spent the late 90s keeping relatively low key, with the live Severe Tyre Damage and the early internet oddity Long Tall Weekend being the only albums added to their already interesting CV. By 2001 though they had a backlog of material to clear, …
Not Forgotten: Clifford T. Ward – Home Thoughts
Twee long before twee became cool, Clifford T. Ward’s career has seemingly faded from the collective memory just like the photo adorning Home Thoughts album cover. Okay, so maybe some people with longer memories remember him for “Gaye”, but in terms of his wider career, he’s been in desperate need of reassessment for decades now. …
Not Forgotten: Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy
Countdown To Ecstasy was an album that I initially struggled with. After the radio-friendly songs of their debut, Steely Dan decided to stretch things further, cut a set of longer than average songs (only two tracks on the entire album clock in at under five minutes) and put an increasing amount of focus on the …
Not Forgotten: Billy Joel – The Stranger
Billy Joel is one of those artists who has divided opinion for much of his career. It’s not difficult to see why either, as some of his output has aged terribly, and one of his best selling albums, 1983’s An Innocent Man, is a well-intended tribute to doo-wop smothered in some of the most horrific …
Not Forgotten: The Band – Music From Big Pink
The Band are an acts whose heavyweight reputation promises far more than it actually delivers. For all the revisionist history since, in truth they only released two truly world class albums, Music From Big Pink and their eponymous second. That said, those two albums are probably responsible for influencing more Americana acts than anyone else …
Not Forgotten – Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Prior to hearing Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, if you’d told me that I’d get into an album of songs about the American wild west, I’d have said that that was about as likely as me winning a beauty contest. These things have a nasty habit of surprising you though, and so it proved when …
Not Forgotten: The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle
Odessey and Oracle is one of those albums whose reputation seems to continue to expand with each passing year. The Zombies had enjoyed a number of chart hits through the mid 60s, but their first album hadn’t shifted many units. By 1967 they had switched record labels and headed into the studio to record an …
Not Forgotten: Paul Simon – Paul Simon
Simon and Garfunkel had enjoyed astoundingly success and were at the peak of the commercial powers when Paul Simon decided that had had tired of sharing the limelight and followed the signposts down the path towards his solo career. While it had been Art Garfunkel’s vocals which had received high praise, Simon had matured into …
Feature: Shelved albums – a celebration.
The history of popular song is littered with unreleased albums. The explanations for these albums being unreleased can vary from record label apathy, recording facilities just not being up to scratch, or the act simply having a change of heart / musical direction at the eleventh hour. There are of course a number of legendary …