pop
Classic Compilation: Kirsty MacColl – Galore: The Best of Kirsty MacColl
There’s a parallel universe somewhere where Kirsty MacColl receives all the respect she deserves. A universe where the wider public knows her for more than a decent, but overplayed, festive tune, or the wonderful, but ultimately kitsch “There’s a Guy Works Down the Chipshop Swears He’s Elvis”. A universe where her late career highlight “In …
Classic Album: Peter Gabriel – Us
In 1992 Peter Gabriel was the last word in mature pop artists. Having achieved immense success after leaving Genesis in the mid-70s, his solo career had seen plough a compelling art-rock path which found him develop a deep interest in world music that continues to colour his music to this day. He complimented his worthy …
Not Forgotten: Elton John – 17.11.70
After years, if not decades, of wandering about the cultural wilderness, it has reached the point where even the most indifferent music fan has to admit that between 1970 and 1975, Elton John put out some pretty good music. While it is albums like Tumbleweed Connection, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Captain Fantastic and the …
Album Review: Sparks – Hippopotamus
When Sparks roared back to relevance with 2002‘s Lil’ Beethoven, it was treated as a glorious return to form. How long that form would last was another matter. Was it a one off, or the start of a more sustained period of creative success? 2006’s Hello Young Lovers very much confirmed that the previous album’s …
PREMIERE: Silver Wilson – I’ll Be There
Nottingham trio Silver Wilson have bottled the fleeting British summertime in the form of new track ‘I’ll Be There’, bringing tropical melodies to an otherwise dreary climate. The single, released digitally on 14th July 2017, is colourful and upbeat, allowing you to dream of those hazy summer festivals where the only thing that matters is …
Classic Compilation: Neil Innes – Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues
When is a compilation not a compilation? When it is an album padded out by a few contemporaneous bonus tracks. Except it isn’t, because those additional b-sides, singles and rarities are dotted around before, after, and even during the original album’s run time. There’s also the fact that Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues is almost everything that …
Album Review: Dan Black – Do Not Revenge
We Dan Black’s fans are a patient bunch. Just a mere eight years after his debut solo album ‘UN’ and the king of wonky pop drops the follow up ‘Do Not Revenge’ this week. So full disclosure, ‘UN’ is one of my all time favourite albums. So many I’m not really the best person to …
Classic Compilation: The Beatles – Love
How many words have been written about The Beatles in the last five and a half decades? Too damn many that’s for certain, but it’s also probably one of the greatest indicators of how they still stand like an immovable colossus over popular culture. Almost fifty years after they imploded in a cloud of legal …
Classic Compilation: ABBA – ABBA Gold : Greatest Hits
There’s seemingly always been a certain amount of sniffiness around compilations, as if they are somehow unrepresentative of the musical act they allegedly represent. This is particularly the case across the Atlantic, where they are often dismissed as, at best, being poor value for money, or at worst, being a cynical attempt to rip off …
London’s The Caress release their third single: ‘A Picture By The Thames In Winter’
The Caress, hailing from South East London and comprising of brothers Tom, Ben and Sam Easton, have released their third self-released single entitled ‘A Picture By The Thames In Winter’. Having previously been championed by Steve Lamacq and Gideon Coe, these lads are to be kept an eye on, as we will surely see more …