Followers of these pages may be aware of Cherry Red Records’ ongoing history of prog, recorded in a series of lavishly-notated CD boxed sets. They are currently up to 1974, which is represented by this 4 CD set on the label’s Esoteric imprint, containing well over five hours’ worth of music from the veritable heyday..
Barclay James Harvest – Baby James Harvest Deluxe edition (Esoteric)
It's never too late for a reappraisal of these dusty old gems... One of my favourite aspects of expanded boxed set reissues of dusty old albums is the simple act of reappraisal. Those of us with a collection of thousands and too little time on our hands can easily forget these ancient relics as they..
Headstone – Bad Habits/Headstone (Esoteric)
Dynamite 70s rock still highly listenable in 2023... My abiding question through numerous listens to the two newly-reissued albums from Headstone is: Why is this band so unknown? When mentioning them to my fellow music-worshipping peers, I've been met with quizzical responses and even occasional hints of disdain; as though to say 'They can't be..
Renaissance – A Song For All Seasons, LP Reissue (Cherry Red)
...in 1978 Renaissance sailed on as if punk hadn't happened and managed to produce the last great prog album of their career and most likely the last great prog album of that decade. It’s fascinating to look back and see how bands reacted to the explosive impact of punk and new wave. If you examine..
Ken Hensley – Past & Present (Songs In Time), A Ken Hensley Anthology 1972-2021 (Cherry Red)
Credit goes to Cherry Red for putting together this anthology that also complements their existing Hensley box sets. In doing so they are ensuring that his legacy lives on and doesn’t become just proud words and music on a dusty shelf. Two years on from Ken Hensley's death, this compilation provides fans with a first..
Jade Warrior – Eclipse & Fifth Element: The 1973 Recordings (Esoteric)
Quite frankly, this should have been released 50 years ago... Looking back through the mists of time to the catalogue of the inventive and original Jade Warrior, there has always been a clear distinction between the two phases of their early career. The first three albums recorded for the Vertigo record label were a melting..
Hawkwind – We Are Looking In On You (Cherry Red)
This album maintains the grand tradition of great live Hawkwind recordings, including possibly the best recorded versions of Magnu, Levitation and Born To Go. It’s interesting to see how different bands approach live albums. There are groups that avoid them altogether – most famously, Led Zeppelin, and there are plenty who feel obliged to do..
Centipede – Septober Energy Remastered Edition (Cherry Red/Esoteric)
I must be a sucker for double albums from the 1970s that are comprised of four side-long epics. Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes and Third by Soft Machine are mainstays in my stereo. Both are strange albums by the conventional standards of their associated genres, and yet they are celebrated to this day -..
Faster Pussycat – Babylon – The Elektra Years 1987 – 1992 (Cherry Red/HNE Recordings)
If there is one music scene from the 1980s that is often uttered with a sneery disparaging tone then it is “hair metal.” It was something of an umbrella terms that would include the pop and commercial end of metal, anything from Def Leppard and Whitesnake to Winger and Skid Row and would stretch into..
GUN: ‘Calton Songs’ album celebrates legacy, plus New single / video released today
Glaswegian rockers GUN are back with a brand new album, Calton Songs released on Cherry Red Records on 14 October 2022 and will be available on Cherry Red-coloured vinyl, CD, cassette and digital. Calton Songs is a full-blooded celebration of the band's career so far with enthusiastic and brand new acoustic reinterpretations of the songs that made their name and took GUN to..