Just realised “Sir Henry at Rawlinson End” is on Spotify. Cheers me up enormously.

A friend of mine posted the following on F*book. Interesting idea.

I just realised a thing. Is there some kind of law that says that the 4th studio album a band makes will be their best work? (For ‘best’, read ‘my personal favourite‘!) I give you the following evidence: Queen – Night at the Opera Bowie – Hunky Dory Dire Straits – Love over Gold Led Zeppelin – IV Yes – Fragile Marillion – Clutching at Straws (although actually I think Misplaced Childhood is even better, so it breaks down here) Exception to the rule would be Pink Floyd, where I think their best work is albums 8 and 9.

What do we think?

I can’t think of many bands where the singer was successfully replaced. Sabbath? No. Even though Ronnie James Dio is a great singer, just, no. Genesis? Hmm. Tougher – Phil did a good job but it wasn’t the same. AC/DC – well producing one of the most successful albums of all time with Brian tends to make a strong case but really, Bon was the man, wasn’t he? In answer to my own question I think there’s only one case I can think of where it worked. Gillen to Coverdale. IG was great but DC was even better (yes, different, but I go to the DC albums most).

Are there any other examples where the lead singer was successfully replaced?

I need a decent laptop for around the house use, Zoom etc. Anyone know a reliable source for a second hand one?

The boy, age 16 and bang on cue, expresses an interest in becoming veggie. Actually I suspect this will be slightly selective – the Papa John’s Meat Feast is hard to give up. But I’m not opposed to a bit of veggie though I know almost no simple, quick recipes. Ideas welcome! Spicy flavours especially appreciated, and I do enjoy my pulses.

I’m off for two weeks hols in rural France on Thursday. Please recommend one album each for me to download from Spotify. You must know my thing by now. Tip – currently loving Bonnie Young Horsemen.

The lovely Folk By The Oak festival one day festival is, of course, cancelled along with everything else but is running as a free event on Sunday evening with voluntary contributions to a charity for financially challenged musicians. Some great names playing including Jim Moray, Mary Chain Carpenter, Kris Drever and Sir Richard Thompson. I went to the real thing with absent friend Phil Pirrip a few years ago so I’ll be at the Speckled Hen bar at 7.30, pewter tankard in hand. See you there.

https://www.folkbytheoak.com/about/familynestfest/

This is rather lovely which came out a few months ago. RT just released a lockdown album too which I bought, again on Bandcamp, though haven’t sampled yet.

https://allisonmoorer.bandcamp.com/releases

I’ve had it with the extenders. Where do I start with a meshed WiFi setup?

Interesting blog from No Depression making the case that 1973 was the greatest year for roots music in terms of crossover, future major artists appearing and even some commercial success. Something of a niche topic and tumbleweed might fit the landscape but some here will find it interesting….

https://www.nodepression.com/through-the-lens-was-1973-the-greatest-year-for-roots-music/?mc_cid=db87ceaf9a&mc_eid=7b765fa53a

We do this every year and I see no reason not to now. Post something your Dad liked. Mine was more of a Sinatra/Ella/big band guy but he did like a bit of Santana, especially this one.

HFD Dad I miss you every day.

On to more important topics, I woke up this morning not knowing hedgehogs have or need houses. I have now discovered three of my friends have them of varying degrees of sophistication from converted wooden crates through to built from plan bespoke. They all have boho funky backwoods chic. @robc could be meditating in the corner if he was hedgehog size. So now I have to build one. I feel like my garden is a Brexit voting unfriendly environment to visiting hogs. Tomorrow I will ransack the handy bits of wood collection and anodised nail tin and get building. In fairness I did save a hog who had fallen in the abandoned water feature and saved him whilst making it hog safe, but clearly I need to do more.

As you were.

One of the little joys of the past few grim months have been the videos by Toyah and hubby Robert Fripp where they dance, sing and muck about in their kitchen and garden. Here’s a particularly quirky one.

Jimmy Cobb, the pulse of “Kind of Blue” has gone to the great bandstand in the sky. The consummate cool jazz drummer, here he plays with the Miles quartet without Miles who was having a break so you get Trane fronting Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly and Jimmy. And a fine sound they make. RIP maestro.

Steven Wilson and NoMan sidekick Tim Bowness are doing a podcast called The Album Years where they take a year and talk about the interesting releases in it. The first is the year of the devil, 1980, and the second 1973. It’s really good and as they say in the intro to the first one, it’s aimed at music nerds who really don’t need another podcast about Sgt. Pepper (half the AW move to the next thread). Anyway, this is a public service announcement.

No front page spoilers, but certainly within so if you haven’t watched the finale, go no further.

OK, share your tips for lockdown survival here:

Something to read

Something to watch

Something to listen to

Something to do

A random one.

Mine in comments

This is fab. The three original members of the band sans grumpy bollocks on bass, Dick Parry recreating the sax parts from Dark Side and Sam Brown on Great Gig in the Sky vocal duties. DG is in fine form and how wonderful his harmonies with Rick Wright are. The only time we miss Rog is the vocals on Comfortably Numb which has to be in for the guitar solo, but other than that it’s tip top. The band are releasing a live gig every Friday on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/hokGXqEsCXk

Bit of fun by @misterpee and I. We took it in turns to add a part, without discussion, until it felt finished, then did our own mixes. This is my trance version. It’s a bit like that story where you each take it in turns to add 5 words etc, and it gets odder and odder.

I have a nice but old Samsung laptop (circa 2005) with a good screen, camera and speakers which is trapped running Windows Vista. I’m wondering how one installs Linux or similar to give it a new lease of life. A little lockdown project. Any advice gratefully received!

Hitchin Folk Club has basically had anyone who is anyone in the folk world on their stage over the years, and the always impeccable sound, mixed by Kieron, has also been recorded. He is opening up this treasure trove (with artist approval) so that you can buy live sets for a fiver and he will send the money direct to the artist and send you the audio. It’s delightfully folky and a bit hand made which I like even more. See communiqué below and fill your boots!

HITCHIN FOLKUS DOWNLOAD A CONCERT FOR £5   Hi Folks Times are certainly hard for all of us now, with the self-employed probably facing more uncertainly than most.  With all venues now shut down all the wonderful singers who have entertained us for so long have had their income cut to nothing at a stroke.  It has struck us that there may be a little we can do to help.  Since the late 80’s I have been recording concerts at Hitchin Folk Club, originally on cassette, then mini disc, next digital recorder and now directly onto iPad.  If we were to offer whole concerts to download for £5 it could take a meal » Continue Reading.