Esoteric’s series of Renaissance clamshell boxsets – which began with Running Hard, covering the years 1974-76 – continues with Opening Out, and contains the albums that followed: Novella, A Song for All Seasons and Azure d’Or. If Running Hard could…
View More Renaissance – Opening Out: The Albums 1977 – 1979 (3CD Boxset)
Hawkwind released their fourth album Hall of the Mountain Grill in September of 1974, following on from their successful previous release Doremi Fasol Latido. This album sees some changes in the Hawkwind world with the temporary departure of Robert Calvert…
View More Hawkwind – Hall Of The Mountain Grill (7CD/2Blu-ray Limited Edition)
One of my earliest memories from childhood is my father showing me a book of song lyrics. The songs would have comprised what would later come to be known as Americana – folksy, simple, emotional and often humorous songs that…
View More Various Artists – When Will They Ever Learn? A Story Of U.S. Folk Music: 1963-1969 (4CD Boxset)
Some music is timeless. Some music is resplendent and perfect. Some music is beautiful and unique. Music Inspired by The Snow Goose is all those things and more, and has remained the pinnacle of their career ever since 1975 when…
View More Camel – Music Inspired By The Snow Goose (2CD/Blu-ray Edition)
As an avid fan of the band Comedy of Errors I was particularly excited when Machinary’s new, self-titled EP landed on my desk. Like COE, Machinary hail from Scotland and their credentials are impressive, including three current/previous COE members: Bruce…
View More Machinary – Machinary
Tony Levin’s seventh solo album, Bringing It Down to the Bass and acts as a kind of autobiography exploring themes from his musical life. It features numerous collaborations spanning his more than fifty-year career, both on tour and in the…
View More Tony Levin – Bringing It Down To The Bass
Another day, another Renaissance release. It seems as if Esoteric has gone slightly bonkers with their treatment of the symphonically inclined prog favourites, but it’s no surprise that this extremely talented group are the darlings of their collection. Instead of…
View More Renaissance – Running Hard: The Albums 1974-1976 (4CD Clamshell Box)
In a recent interview during the launch gig for Music Is Art Vol.1 Steve Balsamo and Rob Reed of Chimpan A shared their approach to writing music for this new album: ‘There are no rules – the only rule is…
View More Chimpan A – Music Is Art Vol.1
Whimsical Creature is the latest outlet for the songs of Michael Whiteman, whose prolific writing brought us I Am The Manic Whale, as well as Spock’s Beard keyboard maestro Ryo Okumoto’s most recent solo album. Here he teams up with…
View More Whimsical Creature – Wistful Thinking
This collection of eight short songs explores a number of emotionally charged states which are complimented by the intimate production, and uncluttered instrumentation. Some songs are beautifully unsettling. Sometimes they feel like a hug from a treasured friend. The album,…
View More Silje Marsh – Sun Will Prevail