SpectresAlbum by Blue Oyster CultReleased October 1977Hard RockLabel – ColumbiaRating – 9.5/10 The secret euphoria of Spectres. – I’ve skimped on the special reviews this holiday season – forgive me for skimping. The truth is, I haven’t had much planned. I’ve been making my way through a few discographies, so I will have a few […]
StarcatcherAlbum by Greta Van FleetReleased 21 July 2023Hard RockLabel – RepublicRating – 4/10 Something something sounds like Led Zeppelin. – While Greta Van Fleet did relieve their infamous Led Zeppelin mimicry on their proggy, Rush-tinged sophomore album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, third album Starcatcher simply dictates when there is and isn’t merit in the […]
ZangoAlbum by WitchReleased 2 June 2023ZamrockLabel – PartisanRating – 8/10 Back by popular demand! – The “zamrock” genre (psychedelic rock originated or popularised in the Copperbelt region of Zambia) seemed to reach a lapse once the 1970s – its decade of invention – were over. The genre was governed by the likes of Amanaz and […]
I don’t tend to go out of my way to listen to remastered versions of albums, but I surrendered to the hype and spent a bit of time with the new mix of The Beatles’ Revolver – none of the bonus material, just the revamped version of the original tracklist. While a little tighter than […]
ImperaAlbum by GhostReleased 11 March 2022Hard RockProduced by Klas AhlundRating – 6/10 Ghost’s hardened classic rock schtick is tired but entertaining on Impera. – I like to think of Ghost as a better counterargument for the supposed death of rock than Greta Van Fleet. While the Swedish band borrows heavily from the classic rock they […]
Morrison HotelAlbum by The DoorsReleased 9 February 1970Psychedelic Rock / Blues RockProduced by Paul A. RothchildRating – 8/10 The Doors’ post-Soft Parade return to form! – Whilst watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, I was delighted to hear The Doors’ Peace Frog make an appearance, as hit-or-miss as compilation soundtracks can be. I did find […]
The Boy Named IfAlbum by Elvis CostelloReleased 14 January 2022RockProduced by Costello / Sebastian KrysRating – 7/10 Elvis Costello’s wordy weirdness is here to stay. – I hadn’t necessarily thought about what I wanted to say about ‘The Boy Named If’. Listen-by-listen, I’ve found myself conflicted regarding Elvis Costello’s thirty-second album (his fourth co-credited to […]
The Soft ParadeAlbum by The DoorsReleased 18 July 1969Psychedelic RockProduced by Paul A. RothchildRating – 4/10 They’re making fools of themselves! – As one door closes, another seems to close too. Following the success and heavy touring of ‘Waiting for the Sun’, a burnt-out Jim Morrison became less of a factor in The Doors’ creativity. […]
My introduction to The Only Ones was likely the same as most people’s; hearing ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ without voluntarily listening to The Only Ones, whether through commercials or an accordant Blink-182 cover. In that three-minute tour of power pop utopia, one wouldn’t be judged too harshly for assuming that’s all there was to the […]
Few musical passages resemble their artwork quite like the submerged piano heard at the beginning of Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes’. Appearing like a dishevelled piano from a decades-old shipwreck, these proclaimed piano “pings”, created by sending the signal through a Leslie speaker and echo machine, approach with a nonchalance reliant on the ensuing power of the […]
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