The Sweet today: Bruce Bisland, Lee Small, Paul Manzi, Andy Scott. Sweet. Or ‘The Sweet’ if you prefer. To anyone who was fortunate enough to be growing up in the ‘70s, just the mention of the name evokes such a groundswell of nostalgia as to be almost palpable. Mental images of the band on Top..
KEN HENSLEY – The Bronze Years 1973-81 (HNE / Cherry Red)
Most people, outside dyed-in-the-wool Uriah Heep fans, probably won’t even be aware that Heep keyboard man Ken Hensley had a solo career running concurrently with his tenure in the band – but so he did, as this new collection of the albums he recorded for the Bronze label between 1973 and 1981 proves. And not..
DAVE COUSINS – Two Weeks Last Summer (Esoteric)
As a slight annex built on to their ongoing Strawbs reissue campaign, Esoteric have unearthed this 1972 solo album by Strawb Supremo Dave Cousins, so named because he did, in fact, record it in two weeks in the Summer of 1972, in between the Strawbs albums Grave New World and Bursting At The Seams. Although..
RPWL – Live From Outer Space (Gentle Art Of Music)
Tight-as-a-drum ensemble playing, even when embarking on lengthy instrumental sojourns This all started, of course, with Pink Floyd. Back in 1997 German proggers RPWL (the initials of the four band members) came together as a Floyd tribute band, and a very, very good one. Within a couple of years, however, they had outgrown the limitations..
STEVE HILLAGE / GONG – Liverpool O2 Academy, 23 Nov 2019
Everyone with an interest knows the Steve Hillage story by now. After a few years following his departure from Gong when he effectively had the mantle of ‘aging hippie saviour’ thrust upon him, he abruptly walked away from a style of music which he was quietly revolutionising, and disappeared into the world of trance music..
STRAWBS – DEEP CUTS (Esoteric)
a mix of more commercial, easily melodic material alongside harder-edged fare for those who didn't want too much sugar with their Strawbs! By 1976, when Deep Cuts originally appeared, The Strawbs were getting to the end of their original 1970s run, and would split following two more albums, in 1978. The previous album, 1975's Nomadness,..
HAWKWIND / BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Manchester Albert Hall, Nov 15 2019
Born To Go unfolds sinuously, visiting areas of deep space all too infrequently explored by latter day Hawkwind PHOTOS: Chris Walkden Amazingly, this current UK jaunt marks the 50th anniversary of Hawkwind as a band, which in itself is quite extraordinary. Of course, Dave Brock is the only original member left, and has been for..
STEVE HACKETT – LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, Nov 11, 2019
It might seem like hyperbole, but the inescapable fact is that Steve Hackett’s live shows just keep getting better and better Over the last few years, Steve Hackett seems to have hit upon the perfect recipe for the format of his live shows: his extended ‘Genesis Revisited’ tours delighted fans, but after a while many..
GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR – LIVE AT TRENT POLY 1977 (SFM/Angel Air)
Contrary to the revisionist history we are often fed, 1977 was not merely some kind of NME/Sounds battleground with ‘punks and hippies’ slugging it out via two falls and a mellotron. Going back an astonishing 42 years, making some of us who were, if not ‘angry young men’ at the time then at least ‘mildly..
THE ELECTRIC BANANA – THE COMPLETE DE WOLFE SESSIONS (Grapefruit / Cherry Red)
The complete works Of The Pretty Things' alter ego, collected for the first time This is a fascinating artifact from the rarely encountered underbelly of the great ‘60s / ‘70s UK music scene A word of explanation is almost certainly in order here, for any of those people who may have scratched their heads and..