No, this isn’t déjà vu; we did review The Turn of a Friendly Card three years ago. But that was Esoteric’s four-disc edition. Now, in their infinite wisdom, the powers that be have sought to re-release this album – along…
View More The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Expanded Edition)Author: Basil Francis
Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition Boxset)
If progressive rock is the barmy, eccentric uncle to popular music, then Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes’s landmark sixth album originally released in December 1973, is surely the barmy, eccentric uncle to progressive rock. No other album in prog history…
View More Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition Boxset)Nektar – Down To Earth: Remastered & Expanded [4CD Edition]
My Nektar collection has looked rather like a piece of Swiss cheese recently, but slowly and surely, Esoteric has been plugging the gaps. The reputation of each Nektar album is uncannily similar to that of the Star Trek film series,…
View More Nektar – Down To Earth: Remastered & Expanded [4CD Edition]Procol Harum – Procol Harum (Vinyl Edition: LP & 12″ EP)
Music cannot be divorced from its context; if Starcastle had released their debut album a decade earlier, in 1966, they would be hailed as prog-rock visionaries and not Yes clones. Procol Harum, named after their friend’s cat’s pedigree name, may…
View More Procol Harum – Procol Harum (Vinyl Edition: LP & 12″ EP)Various Artists – With A Little Help From My Friends (3CD Set)
Two years ago, I ended my review of We Can Work It Out: Covers of the Beatles, 1962 – 1966 with the following sentence: From the 1962 to 1966 caveat in the title, I’m hoping that Strawberry is working on…
View More Various Artists – With A Little Help From My Friends (3CD Set)Nektar – Fortyfied (2CD Edition)
The onslaught of Nektar reissues is incessant, but I, dear reader, will be your faithful companion as we navigate the barrage. Two years ago, I was less than impressed with the group’s live offering Journey to the Other Side, celebrating…
View More Nektar – Fortyfied (2CD Edition)Nektar – A Tab In The Ocean (Deluxe 5 Disc Limited Edition)
This is full circle for me. After years of discovering and rediscovering Nektar classics, I’m finally back with the album that began my collection, the band’s symphonic second outing from 1972. It was my starting place because it was the…
View More Nektar – A Tab In The Ocean (Deluxe 5 Disc Limited Edition)Alan White – Ramshackled (Remastered & Expanded Edition)
This was not an album that I was looking forward to reviewing. Out of all the solo albums that the members of Yes released during their 1974-77 hiatus, Ramshackled easily has the worst reputation. I mean, just look at it;…
View More Alan White – Ramshackled (Remastered & Expanded Edition)Paul McCartney
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA Tuesday, 11th November 2025 When we think about the Beatles, we tend to imagine the happy-go-lucky, mop-topped lads from Liverpool (please) pleasing multitudes of fans in packed-out stadiums or gallivanting through psychedelic adventures in a…
View More Paul McCartneySteve Hackett
Warner Theatre, Washington, DC Sunday 26th October 2025 When I interviewed Steve Hackett two years ago after he announced his “Lamb Highlights” tour for late 2024, I never imagined I’d be catching the end of it in October 2025. Speaking…
View More Steve Hackett