The Crown Jewels

By
Here are a selection of those artists about whom I have written loads - a veritable cure for insomnia. I have concentrated on mainly rock artists here - soul and reggae artists are featured in their own large sections. Click on the images.
David Bowie
Bob Dylan
Elton John
Van Morrison
The Rolling Stones
The Beatles
Bruce Springsteen
The Clash
The Jam
Roxy Music
Mott The Hoople
Rod Stewart
Paul Weller
Billy Joel
Paul Simon
Queen
Elvis Costello
U2
Santana
ELO
Tom Petty
Paul McCartney
Wings
John Lennon
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Sting
Mary C. Carpenter
Southside Johnny
Little Steven
The Who
Dire Straits
Blondie
Bryan Ferry
Bob Marley
Stevie Wonder

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

America: History - America's Greatest Hits

By
Image
America were Dewey Bunnell (or was it Burrell? No - it was Bunnell), Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley. They were Americans who met in England as the sons of USAF fathers stationed there. Hence the inclusion of the Houses Of Parliament on this compilation's cover. Their sound was very typical of the early seventies country rock boom. They had a penchant for a killer hook and a captivating, mysterious lyric, however, exemplified in their two biggest hits, A Horse With No Name and Ventura Highway.  The sun's out, so let's get out there on that highway.... We kick off by letting the horse run free on the one everyone remembers - the sublime, lyrically mysterious and magnificently atmospheric A Horse With No Name . In many ways, this track exemplifies early seventies folk rock more than any other, by any other group. It captivated me as a thirteen year old in early 1972 and still sends shivers down my spine now It is simply gorgeous. " After nine days I let the horse run free....
View Full Post »

The Best Of The Boomtown Rats

By
Image
If you read my reviews of The Boomtown Rats albums, you will be aware that I took their punk credentials with a huge in ch of salt, and indeed, their very originality as a band. I found them to be most derivative - packed full of influences from artists too many to mention once again here (I listed them all in my individual album reviews!) - oh ok, if you insist - Thin Lizzy, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Graham Parker, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed for starters.  What they definitely were, however, was, for a short while, a great singles band. Their albums were p atchy and often underwhelming but Bob Geldof and is mates could pick a 45.  Deep down in my pocket I find 50p, and here are those great singles (not on this CD in chronological order, perhaps unfortunately) - Bob Geldof's contrived vocal is clear on the hit single, She's So Modern , which I really liked at the time. It has a hatful of energy and new wave vigour, with some punky riffs, perplexing lyrics and a singalo
View Full Post »

The Boomtown Rats: The Boomtown Rats - 1977

By
Image
  I was never convinced by The Boomtown Rats, and still aren't, despite strongly liking several of their songs. This was their 1977 debut album.  Although the lead-off track, the hit single  Lookin' After No. 1  is a totally wonderful, frenetic, classic punk single, nothing else about this album is really punk, although The Rats had been toting the punk attitude around Ireland since 1975.  Their influences were manifold -  Bruce Springsteen ,  The Rolling Stones ,  Thin Lizzy ,  Graham Parker ,  Elvis Costello ,  Steve Harley ,  Lou Reed ,  Mink De Ville ,  The New York Dolls ,  Sparks ,  Alice Cooper ,  glam rock ,  Dr. Feelgood... .the list goes on and on. They are all on this first album of theirs, all over it.  In many ways it is original - Irish "punk" band and all that - but in so many other ways it isn't. Others had been there before. For lots of young people in Ireland, however, none of that mattered, this was  their  group. Indeed,  Bono  has said he can
View Full Post »

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd - 1973

By
Image
  Lynyrd Skynyrd were, in many ways, the archetypal Southern States good-time whiskey and bar-room guitar-piano boogie rock'n'roll band.  Maybe not as innately talented as The Allman Brothers Band, they were earthier and more flawed, but always retained an irresistible bluesy appeal. The plane crash that took the lives of three band members and effectively ended the first phase of the band's existence is well-documented, but it doesn't make it any the less tragic. This was the debut album from  Alabama ’s  favourite sons and daughters . It is full of muscular, often slowish-paced bluesy rock, as you would expect - drums, guitars and rollicking bar-room piano topped off with  Ronnie Van Zant ’s rousing, charismatic Bourbon-sodden vocals. The sound is a bit rough and ready in places but hell, just turn it up, buddy. Ain’t no goddamn audiophiles round these parts, boy. Having said that, I have an old copy of the album, the latest remaster of it is excellent, so there you g
View Full Post »

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping - 1974

By
Image
  This was a slightly more polished follow-up to  Lynyrd Skynyrd ’s raw, bluesy debut from the previous year.  As the title suggests, though, it is pretty much more of the same - muscular, soulful Southern blues rock. It has yet to be remastered, however, so the sound is a bit duller than it might be. Skynyrd are often seen as the archetypal Southern rock band, certainly the rawest, but probably the more perfect one were  The Allman Brothers . Skynyrd were no musical perfectionists, but it did give their albums an unfettered edginess. You got the impression that they wouldn’t do endless re-takes of songs, they laid them down and got on with the next one.  The iconic  Sweet Home Alabam a  opens the album. It is a timeless, superb rocker and needs no further comment, really. Along with  Free Bird , it is the song everyone knows from the band. I have always had a bit of a problem with the band’s castigation of  Neil Young  for daring to call into question the South’s institutionalised rac
View Full Post »

Crosby, Stills & Nash: CSN - 1977

By
Image
Released at the height of punk, was there any desire for harmonious, laid-back, airy and peaceful acoustic music together with idealistic lyrics? Certainly not in the UK, where it was disco, prog-pop-rock and punk-new wave all the way.  In the US, though, this album reached number two, beaten to the top spot by Fleetwood Mac's behemoth Rumours. It is an album that functions far better when listened to now than it would back in 1997. Personally, I would have had no time for it then. 1970's Deja Vu album and the zeitgeist it was released into certainly seemed a long way away. The music is unsurprisingly gentle and subtle, full of light rhythm and acoustic melody.  The highlights are Stephen Stills' wryly musing and rhythmic  Fair Game , the (comparatively) rocky  Dark Star  and  Run From Tears  along with  See The Changes ; David Crosby's beautiful, quietly attractive  Shadow Captain , the sleepy  Anything At All  from the extravagantly-moustachioed one and Graham Nash
View Full Post »

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Crosby, Stills & Nash - 1969

By
Image
  Whenever I hear this album, I always think what a contradiction it was that such beautiful laid-back music appeared at the height of the Vietnam War. This piece of work was a perfect antidote to the horrors of war. Just hole up in the backwoods somewhere and listen to Crosby, Stills and Nash or get on your big two wheeler and ride off to join a hippy commune.  The vocal harmonies on here, married to the subtle, melodic bass, razor sharp acoustic guitar, backed by a gentle drum sound is a simple joy from beginning to end. Put on the opening tour de force, the ever-changing Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, open the windows and summer’s here again - then let it flow into Marrakesh Express and you are in laid-back hippy heaven, man. Not only is the material extremely well played but the sound quality is top notch.  Listen  to the bass on Guinevere, then the beautiful harmonies on You Don’t Have To Cry, which are sublime. Follow that with the guitar and drums on Pre-Road Downs and then the entranci
View Full Post »

Black Uhuru: Reggae Greats

By
Image
  In 1980, Reggae was beginning to change direction slightly after the roots boom of 1975-1979. What would eventually morph into “ragga” rhythms was beginning to make itself known - a harder, less melodic, more stripped down and instrumentally basic sound. Thumping synth drums, synthesised percussion, rumbling reduced bass notes, keyboard loop samples and the occasional bit of guitar. In many ways, Black Uhuru led this charge for change.  Black Uhuru had a great vocal sound though, and their vibrant, insistent rhythm is certainly intoxicating. Their lyrical preoccupations are mainly oppression, racial awareness and lots of references to the joys of marijuana, as opposed to religious devotion. I have dealt in more detail with three of their albums in individual reviews - click on the Black Uhuru link at the bottom of this page. For now, let's take a look at this bite-sized sampler of their work. Hopefully this taster will tempt you to delve deeper into this clever, inventive reggae
View Full Post »

Steeleye Span: Original Masters

By
Image
Now for some folk-rock royalty, a band whose reign is into its seventh decade and is now uncontested. Although I bought the singles Thomas The Rhymer and All Around My Hat in 1974 and 1975 respectively, it wasn't until the summer of 1976, when I bought this excellent compilation, that I really put on my smock and got up on the Steeleye Span horse and cart, clip-clopping off down the country lanes in search of a comely wench while always being sagely aware of troublesome elves. I have been there ever since. The group have pretty much always recorded traditional folk ballads and poems that often dated back centuries, initially with an acoustic backing but progressing by 1972 to electric folk-rock. Most sons are delivered by the crystal clear voice of Maddy Prior, but quite a few also feature male vocals. A notable and seriously beautiful feature to their sound is Peter Knight's emotive violin playing. The band has changed line-ups and members considerably over the years (often
View Full Post »

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gimme Back My Bullets - 1976

By
Image
  The heavy vibe continues on this, the band’s fourth album, and for some, this was a somewhat tired-sounding offering.  You can’t help but feel it is more of the same, though, and not quite as good. Some impressive guitar solos save many of the tracks from being a bit ordinary. The sound quality isn’t quite as clear or defined as on the previous album. It was received as a bit of a disappointment at the time, and, to an extent, it still evokes a reaction like that.  Gimme Back My Bullets  is the usual reliable bluesy rock opener, while  Every Mother’s Son  is a nice slow number with a great guitar solo near the end, but it suffers a bit from a muffled sound.  Trust   rocks solidly enough but is nothing outstanding. There is nice guitar in it too, although one bit lifts straight from  Sweet Home Alabama .  (I Got The) Same Old Blues  is the  J.J. Cale  song also covered by  Bryan Ferry . Skynyrd do it justice.  Double Trouble  rocks along impressively enough.  Roll Gypsy Roll  causes n
View Full Post »