Poetry is condensed thought. It can be accessible or demanding or both. Rough And Rowdy Ways is both. The rhyming couplets are just a contrivance of form. They make it pleasing to the ear.

“All you coffee goers […]

Well, I’m not ready to post yet, but my number one will be Rough And Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan. I had written off Dylan in 2004 when his voice collapsed into shit. I was given a kick up the arse by Tell Tall Signs […]

I shall play Solo in Soho Square immediately.

I suspect it will be a while before I find myself in central London though.

God bless the Big Man!

Yes. Lots.

I used to subscribe but lapsed about 15 years ago. It is of course aimed at Dylan nerds not the general public: I used to read it cover to cover. Can’t speak for recent issues.

I have heard the album and it is every bit as magnificent as the reviewers say, maybe even better.

It is as if the Nobel Prize made him think, “better live up to this then.” Not only is his voice back but this […]

Thanks for the info about Ricky Nelson @Paul Wad. I’ve heard Garden Party but none of the later works. I do have a 4 CD set called Legacy which goes up to 1985.

Regarding Dion, his 1988 LP Yo Frankie is simply […]

I think @Sewer Robot is right above. It is the veneration of the Album as Art icon that is the culprit. I am as guilty of this as anyone.

I was 15 in 1970 and perceived Chuck Berry as an old man. He was 43 and […]

I just read the wiki articles before; both these were new to me. It seems Biggles is due a reappraisal. Rock on Hilary!

As an aside, I did meet Hilary Mantel once, outside the Ladies Loo at the RSC in […]

Van attended Orangefield School in Belfast. There is a very good song about it on the Avalon Sunset LP. On being requested to perform at the school before it was to close a few years ago he happily played the show […]

@Freddy Steady
It was Erich Von Stalhein. I had to look it up. Actually, W.E. Johns’ life story is quite interesting. Apparently he was fired as editor of an aviation magazine in 1939 for opposing Chamberlain’s […]

Dennis Wheatley’s novels remain eminently readable. Colour me surprised. I lapped them up as a callow youth in the early 70s but assumed they would not age well. I read half a dozen of them on Kindle a few years […]

I have taken the active life style route for my Diabetes 2 and have finally got down to pre-Diabetes level after 5 years of good diet and minimum 10,000 steps a day. I’ve lost 3 stones. I’m not about to reverse […]

To be fair to Pete and Jimi neither smashed guitars every night, and the one time I saw Pete do it (Kennington Oval 1971) it was genuinely thrilling to witness. I saw a far more fractious Who show in 1975 in […]

I don’t think it’s that ridiculous. He was talking about Lennon. McCartney has corroborated that and added that it was harder to learn left handed. There were only acoustic instruments at Rishikesh, so the […]

I know you guys like mocking Donovan for claiming to have invented modern music, but here’s a thought for you: maybe some of it is true. He is certainly in Don’t Look Back with Dylan, he really was at Rishikesh […]

Got to see Parasite this evening. We had to drive all the way to Birmingham to find a cinema that was showing it: the excellent independent Electric Cinema. It’s supposed to be on general release, but not showing […]

The Stones cover is awful and agree that Watch That Man and Panic In Detroit are average songs. The rest is absolutely great though. I also hate the cover.

I cannot agree about the production. The vinyl first […]

Hurrah! Someone finally mentioned Big Thief – my new artist discovery of the year. They released two albums in 2019. Songwriter Adrianne Lenker is super talented. I will choose the other 2019 album Two Hands just […]

Hard to understand the appeal really. I suppose he’s harmless enough – maybe a comfort blanket for some folk in these trying times? Never heard a whole album by him, nor wanted to.

I did see him live at […]