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Ed O’Brien – Blue Morpho

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What does it sound like?:

Bon-yr-Aur Grump…

Sorry couldn’t resist that. Ed (from Radiohead) has been through a difficult few years. His first solo album, the excellent Earth was released right at the start of Covid. He put together a great band to play it, and then… well. You know. Also, he seems to have fallen into a trap of putting out his first solo album as a sort of time capsule, what he would have sounded like if he’d started as a solo artist in the mid-90s. He seems to have a huge downer on that record, which is a shame, as far as I can see the only problem is that he doesn’t sound confident in his own lyrics on that one. He also faced being an internet meme, the guy who only sings his own name on Radiohead songs.

Apparently, he sunk into a deep depression, but pulled himself out of it by reconnecting with nature. He spent some time living in Wales, close to where the Led Zep chaps had their stomping ground and produced the acoustic/earthy aspect that took that band into the all time greats. That same inspiration has seeped through the soil » Continue Reading.

Yes – Aurora

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What does it sound like?:

Short answer. Yes. No. Different.

The Yes First of all, I liked Yes as a teenager, and lived through the Drama wars. A lot of my exposure was through osmosis from friends with older brothers, but I got into it all until they were usurped by King Crimson’s Belew period. I have returned periodically to their work over the years, and seen them live in many incarnations, but it’s probably fair to say that the magic was mostly not present. I had a listen to Mirror to the Sky when it came out, for a laugh to be honest. However I liked it – and listened to it a lot. I think they gave up pretending to be Yes, and just got on with being Yes and doing their own thing. An alternative reality Yes. Now comes the second album without White or Squire – and it seems to have come with raised expectations and positive noises from the camp. The two pre-released tracks so far have been catchy as hell, but impossible to pin down. So I was happy when Bargey offered the chance to review it.

I have not done the ’six listens’ » Continue Reading.

Yes – Tales from Topographic Tours (RSD 2026)

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What does it sound like?:

It sounds like what it is: Yes soundboard recordings transferred to vinyl. Let’s get that out of the way first, this is no audiophile release. But, it surprised me.

The energy is, at times, beyond anything I’ve heard from this version of the band. We’ve all heard the stories about Wakeman hating this album and tour, but in real life he plays like a man possessed, inserting new parts into the material from Topo and, the best I can think of saying it, playing seriously – no comedy car chase piano! Moogs and Mellotrons dominate. He inserts a whole new section into The Remembering.

Steve Howe is, as with Yessongs, flying forward at a million miles an hour, sometimes stumbling, but often adding flair and expressive, bluesy (or countryish) licks into some of the material that seemed a bit flat on the original album.

Chris Squire is Chris Squire.

Alan White is a powerhouse here, on the Ritual he raises the tempo and the band go flying, improvising sections and turning the worst track into a beast, Howe responds with some amazing steel guitar. It’s like a different song at times. Off the scale.

Jon » Continue Reading.

Perry Bamonte (The Cure)

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Obituary

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/dec/26/perry-bamonte-guitarist-the-cure-dies

Long-serving band member, who was sometimes roadie, sometimes sideman, sometimes full band member, sometimes not. Was a part of the most recent lineup. 65 is no age, very sad for us fans.

NOOKER! Strange words on album covers

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If you take a peek at the album cover for Prince’s masterpiece Sign O’ The Times, you’ll see the word NOOKER. It’s on the neon sign on the right, obviously a cropped ‘SNOOKER’, but still funny. I find that impossible to ignore.

Are there any other ‘nookers’ out there? Strange, funny words on covers…?

Tribute concert to ELO’s Richard Tandy

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I know that ELO are not everyone’s taste, but I like them. The keyboardist and guitarist Richard Tandy (who also played with The Move) died a couple of years ago, and his wife Shiela has worked with the Birmingham Conservatoire to set up a scholarship for students of piano and/or guitar. There is a tribute concert on November 7th in the conservatoire itself – this is bound to sell out fast.

https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/face-the-music-with-rbc-orchestra-and-choir-featuring-big-horizon-a-tribute-to-elos-richard-tandy

Big Horizon are the core of JL’s ELO that has been touring until recently. They have a great album out which you can stream in the usual places. They will be playing with the orchestra using Richard Tandy and Louis Clark’s original scores.

https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/face-the-music-with-rbc-orchestra-and-choir-featuring-big-horizon-a-tribute-to-elos-richard-tandy

PSA Radiohead – Hail to the Thief live recordings

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The Thom Yorke 5 have released (digitally) a compilation of live recordings of the songs from their most underrated album. Physical release due in October, but very limited.

It’s a hummer! Have a listen if you’re a fan, especially one who got off the train when they went all weird (as people say).

Birmingham Town Hall archive – volunteers needed

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Good day to you all. I have been made aware of a project to try and create an archive of Birmingham Town Hall’s history. Hot on the heels of the sudden awakening of interest in Birmingham, I remembered that I had a few things.

So, readers – do any of you have anything interesting? Actual memorabilia, photos, digital stuff, stories…?

If so… go here: https://bmusic.co.uk/news/amplify-town-hall-past-present-and-future

Also feel free to post a reply here and I will alert the relevant people.

Jim Prime (Deacon Blue)

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Obituary

Maybe not everyone’s favourite band, but one that I love. Jim Prime, keyboard player and architect of many of the band’s best songs, has died rather suddenly of cancer.

Deacon Blue keyboard player James Prime dies aged 64 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl9p193d5o

The Mars Volta: Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacio 

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What does it sound like?:

It’s hard to explain it. I am a huge fan of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who is a kind of conceptual artist with a landscape of 100+ albums under various guises, collaborations, self-directed movies, books of photos… and all the pieces of what he does recur throughout his career. The Mars Volta were sort of post-hardcore prog, with lyrics that defy explanation most of the time from Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The band went through tumultuous lineup changes, and imploded when Cedric got involved in Scientology. The reformation a few years ago, with yet another lineup (members of previous ones died, got involved in bad stuff, fell out, had accidents…) – that was a surprise. Also a disappointment – the self-titled album and the subsequent acoustic rework were, to be honest, a bit boring. But now I understand those ones more with this new one being made up really of all the things that weren’t there.

So it sounds like this: ethereal jazz, latin rhythms and percussion, vocals that are heavily re-sampled and made into atmospheres, hardly any guitar, some very EDM-influenced synths. The vocals are actually rather beautiful, Cedric is reining it in a bit and REALLY singing, » Continue Reading.

The Beta Band reform!

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It appears that the Beta Band, one of my favourite bands ever, has reformed. There is a tour scheduled, which I suspect will sell out in seconds.

September 25 Glasgow Barrowland 27 Leeds O2 Academy 29 Bristol O2 Academy 30 Nottingham Rock City

October 2 London Roundhouse 4 Manchester Albert Hall

Post of the year

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Very simply, what has been your favourite post this year.

Mine was, hands down, Bingo Little’s post on the hard rubbish thread. Specifically about Rhashak Malviv. Please read here: https://theafterword.co.uk/list-the-top-3-hard-rubbish-items-in-your-patch – the Afterword’s premiere skengman really delivered the goods here.

I’ve done one!

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This is one of two albums I made during the lockdown. It’s available on all the major streaming services. Digital Blues by Blue Grey. The second one is out on Friday 19th November. https://linktr.ee/bluegreymusic

Have we reached ‘peak silly’?

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I feel that the world is becoming sillier, but maybe has reached a limit. For example band/act names. We had Pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs on here a couple of days ago. Then there’s the rapper Pooh Shiesty. Let’s hope he doesn’t release his own range of fragrances soon. Hard to imagine what his ‘turn’ is.

It’s not just band names, I’m sure there are plenty of other examples of peak silly..?

Afterword Nerd Facts

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This thread is a compendium of niche and obscure facts about the fab world of pop music that are not widely known. It may get you out of trouble in a pub quiz one day.

My staggering fact is that the only Pink Floyd album that only has members of Pink Floyd playing on it is Animals. There are either uncredited or credited guests. Meddle almost qualified, but Seamus the Dog is on it.

(I fully expect lots of ‘Thelonius Monk lived in a 13-dimensional house’, ‘Vardis invented Yarg cheese’, and all the usual ones)

I told you I was ill – a cautionary tale

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One of the hardest things to do is admit you’re sick. Not just feeling a bit ‘off’, but properly sick, in a life-threatening way. We hear so much about ‘man flu’ and we live in a culture of presenteeism and hustle, where the only way out is through. Keep pushing, and your determination will see you through.

It’s over three years since I started to get properly sick, and I’m still dealing with it, and actually it seems that I might have had an underlying condition for a while longer that wasn’t spotted. Looking back, I just didn’t know how to say how I was feeling, not really, and it’s hard when you have a reputation for resilience and reliability.

If I go right back, somewhere in about 2007-2008 something started to go wrong. I suddenly got arthritis in both hips, reducing my mobility almost overnight. X-rays confirmed that it was significant, but I got advised that I was too young for a hip replacement and got physio that managed to overcome some of the worst aspects of it. Other things started to go wrong too; whilst on a vacation in The country I rolled out of bed, and ‘something’ » Continue Reading.

Connections

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A simple idea for a thread. Post a song that is connected to the one before it. Explain how it’s connected. I will start.