Reviewing your parents' music collection
Walking along the streets at night. I'm out with friends. It's 2013. It's an autumn night but still warm outside. I get a notification on my phone. Lou Reed, American glam rock pioneer, had passed away. This is the first time I remember being really upset about someone famous dying. Because it was someone whose… Continue reading Pump up the Glam (Rock) – Lou Reed’s “Transformer”
All good things come in three. Three, the magic number. The number of wishes a genie grants you. The number of guesses given to you for most fantastical riddles. The minimum amount of numbers you need for counting down. In some people's opinion, the best of all numbers. Three, the magic number. Maybe it isn't… Continue reading Third Time’s the Charm – Gentle Giant exude prog rock playfulness on “Three Friends”
A banging lead guitar. Song titles that sound like they've sprung directly from Scheherazade's One Thousand and One Nights. Mysterious blue tones framing a sinking orange sun. In case these things don't ring a bell, you might have never listened to Santana's 1972 album Caravanserai before. I never had. My parents own two copies of… Continue reading At the Crossroad: Santana’s ‘Caravanserai’ should leave the vocals behind
It's 1971. Emerson, Lake & Palmer are performing Pictures at an Exhibition at Newcastle City Hall for the first time. A couple of years later my dad will buy the ELP 1979 live album, featuring that concert and will find himself listening to Mussorgsky's melodies for the first time. Struck by the music, he will… Continue reading The Great Gates of Prog Rock Perfection: Emerson, Lake & Palmer reimagine ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’
The Dad Anthology 