Initially I was stumped when I saw that the theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week was a one-take recording. Surely any song that comes out of a studio has been dubbed, multi-tracked and heaven knows what else? Except maybe back in the fifties. So what to do? Why, pick something from a live recording…
Thirty years or so ago, I worked in ‘The City’ (for the uninitiated, that’s the London financial district). As it was a requirement to get to one’s desk at an ungodly hour in the morning, like most of my fellow wage-slaves I would usually purchase my breakfast on the way into the office. On this…
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim asks us to find a song that stands as a great album closer. You need look no further than this. There’s a school of thought that believes ‘Revolver’ is an even greater album than it’s successor, ‘Sergeant Pepper’ and I must say that I’m minded to agree. I…
For this week’s SLS, Jim wants us to pick a song that won a Grammy award. The Grammies have been going since 1959, so there’s plenty to choose from. A fair few of them are, in view, distinctly ho-hum, but if there was ever a song that deserved to win in this (1973) or any…
Hang on. ‘Acoustic rock’? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms – an oxymoron, if you will. Like ‘military intelligence’? Well, apparently not. It’s rock music played on acoustic instruments, apparently. Personally, I don’t get it. I’m a simple man, and for me, it’s an either/or. However, there are, admittedly, lots of songs that in their…
This week’s challenge for Song Lyric Sunday is to post an underrated deep album cut. Tricky, because who knows what other people consider to be underrated – it could be a firm favourite for someone. It may seem counter-intuitive to select a Beatles album, but everything is relative and a song that’s on the same…
Cards on the table: I am 71 years of age. This is the only possible conclusion to draw from looking at my official documents, from birth certificate onward. But do I feel 71? That’s an interesting question, which can only really be answered with another: what is 71 supposed to feel like? Darned if I…
The Moody Blues were at the peak of their popularity – and arguably also their powers – when I was in my late teens (late sixties, early seventies). I wouldn’t say they were my favourite band (probably not even top five in truth), but they produced some good stuff and I clearly remember being awestruck…
‘Change’ is this week’s broad theme for Song Lyric Sunday. David Bowie’s ‘Changes’ is a bit too glaringly obvious, even for me, so instead I’ve gone back to one of the first records I ever bought. I don’t think it needs any further introduction. Your baby doesn’t love you anymoreGolden days before they endWhisper secrets…
The romantic image of rural France is that it’s a haven of quiet peace and tranquility. For the most part it is, but it’s not a vacuum and of course it has its own characteristic sounds. Bizarrely, some people – incomers, obviously – have felt moved to complain that it’s actually too noisy in the…
the only deadhead in the hameau 