Guy Chadwick, weary voiced romantic songsmith of great repute, was never someone who gave the impression of being “a fucking lunatic” but that’s how Creation main man Alan McGhee affectionately describes the leader of The House Of Love on the…
View More The House Of Love – The House Of Love [Double Transparent Vinyl]
Neal Morse is an insanely prolific song-writer, with a vast array of albums that he has been involved with over the last 30 years. Beginning with 6 studio albums with Spock’s Beard, 5 with Transatlantic, 3 with Flying Colours, 3…
View More Neal Morse Band – L.I.F.T.
Synth pop has been the soundtrack for much of my adult life. From electronic beats underlying the dance clubs of the eighties to the current day output of Taylor Swift, synthesizers have been an inescapable part of the music scene.…
View More Various Artists – Musik Music Musique 1979: The Roots Of Synth Pop
CBGB, located in what was at the time one of the least desirable parts of New York City, could barely aspire to divedom. It was a sleazy, tiny and filthy bar in a city that was spiraling down the toilet.…
View More Various Artists – CBGB & OMFUG: A New York City Soundtrack 1975-1986
To me live albums sit firmly in two camps. They can be towering stamps in the annals of music demonstrating how good a band was at a particular time. Think Live at Leeds by the Who, Seconds Out by Genesis…
View More Jan Akkerman – My Focus: Live Under The Rainbow
I have to start with the context for this compilation, given that Strawberry / Cherry Red Records have already built up a collection of releases covering this period of American music history. This set, a 94-track companion volume being a…
View More Various Artists – Steppin’ Out: The Roots Of Garage Rock 1963-1965
Douze (Twelve) apparently wasn’t meant to be. In my report on Lazuli’s October 2024 show, I jokingly floated it as the likely title for the French prog rockers’ next album, a natural follow‑up to Onze (Eleven). But that’s not the…
View More Lazuli – Être Et Ne Plus Être
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)
Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint continues to revive, remix and reissue classic and forgotten prog releases. Amongst them, at the start of 2026, we have IQ’s Live From London release which has circulated in various official and bootleg versions since…
View More IQ – Live From London: Camden Palace 1985 (CD/Blu-ray)
“Searching for a place Find a different way Let go of what has gone And cannot be returned” These lyrics from Woodcut, Big Big Train’s sixteenth studio album, seem singularly appropriate. As the founder, bassist and last standing original member…
View More Big Big Train – Woodcut