The trajectory of Uriah Heep in the 1970’s followed a sadly similar path to many of their musical contemporaries: a blistering burst of creative energy at the start of the decade fizzling out by the end of it, with over-touring and excessive drug use being major contributors to that decline. Somewhat miraculously, Uriah Heep have..
The Long Ryders – High Noon Hymns (Cherry Red records)
I wonder how many of you out there have heard of the Long Ryders? Not so many I suspect - although in the 80's they played a key role in the development of American music, if not the wider music world! Formed in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, The Long Ryders helped lay the..
CAMEL – Nude: Deluxe Reissue (Esoteric / Cherry Red)
I find this more appealing than the somewhat jazzier 'Camel/Caravan' crossover line-up on Rain Dances, and certainly preferable to I Can See Your House From Here or especially The Single Factor by some distance. The window for early '80s progressive rock predating the neo-prog movement revving up in the wings is a narrow and sparsely..
Ernie Graham – Ernie Graham (remastered, Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red Records)
Ernie's is not a name many of you at all will recognise, but do bear with me - this is one of the most beautiful and uplifting albums coming out of the early 1970's school of slightly hippyish country rock espoused by the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band and The Grateful..