Reviewing a band you have followed and enjoyed from the beginning is always a dicey proposition. You can’t help but wonder if this is the one where it all falls apart, or has the band forged ahead to reach new…
View More Kinetic Element – Chasing the Lesser Light
The first, self-titled Angel album, released in 1975, introduced a band that straddled the worlds of prog and glam, leaning heavily on the former musically and the latter in sartorial style. The first two albums (which were produced by Derek…
View More Angel – Once Upon A Time
One of the very first singles I bought as a music-obsessed child was Blues Image’s Ride Captain Ride in 1970. The song was all over the radio at the time and, as one of the first popular songs to feature…
View More Blues Image – Next Voyage
Ice Age was formed on Long Island, New York in 1991 by college buddies Josh Pincus (vocals & keys) and Jimmy Pappas (guitars). Originally an instrumental outfit, with the addition of drummer Hal Aponte and bassist Arron DiCesare, the band…
View More Ice Age – Waves Of Loss And Power
The 1960s were a rather bizarre time to live through. The war in Viet Nam dominated the headlines, but a growing awareness of impending ecological disaster was never far behind. Sit-ins and love-ins competed with student protests and Jesus Freaks…
View More Various Artists – Too Much Sun Will Burn: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967, Volume 2
What the ???? Yes, you read that right. Cherry Red Records, in association with Robinsongs, has compiled some of the more outstanding dance mixes from the golden age of disco into one glorious, joyous, can’t-stop-moving compilation that will leave you…
View More Various Artists – The Greatest Soul, Funk & Disco 12” Singles of the ‘70s & ‘80s
Between 1976 and 1979, the Alan Parsons Project were a staple of FM radio here in the States. With the release of The Turn of A Friendly Card in 1980, the band became a hit-making juggernaut. An interesting proposition for…
View More The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn Of A Friendly Card
During their tenure with Island Records, Jade Warrior received critical plaudits while failing to garner album sales. This new box set makes the case for why that might have been. Progressive in the small “p” sense, this was a band…
View More Jade Warrior – Wind Borne: The Island Albums 1974 – 1978
Back in the seventies, the epitome of having “made it” (and maybe a bit of self-congratulatory excess) was the release of a triple vinyl live album. Some of the more notable examples are Yes’ Yessongs, ELP’s Welcome Back My Friends…,…
View More The Tangent – Pyramids, Stars & Other Stories: The Tangent Live Recordings 2004 – 2017
Every once in a while, reviewing an album presents a conundrum. Richard Dawson’s latest release, The Ruby Cord, is a case in point. Having released his first album in 2007, Dawson seems to have largely aligned with the freak folk…
View More Richard Dawson – The Ruby Cord