Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
Rory GallagherIrish Tour '74(Vinyl + CD - Polydor/BMG, 1974) *****
Genre: Irish rock Places I remember:Sounds Unlimited (Newmarket) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Cradle Rock
Gear costume: Too Much Alcohol, As The Crow Flies
Rebranded for CD
Active compensatory factors: A classic is a work of art of recognized and established value. Rory's amazing guitar virtuosity is best displayed over the three live sides of this extraordinary album (the fourth side of jams adds to the experience but isn't as essential as the previous three sides). This is classic rock in the best definition of 'classic'! Where do they all belong? At the pinnacle of the Rory Gallagher collection.
FeederPushing The Senses(CD - Echo Label, 2005) ***
Genre: Welsh pop/rock Places I remember: Samantha left the CD behind after moving out of the family home. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Bitter Glass
Gear costume:Tumble and Fall Active compensatory factors: For me, Feeder have something of an identity crisis. I don't know any of the members, or anything about their history, and their music is kinda good but non distinct - in that they sound similar to loads of other bands. So why do I hang on to this CD? Well partly because it's my daughter's CD, partly because I hate to throw music away and partly because Pushing The Senses has some naggingly good songs, inspired in part, as it is, by John Lennon! The more I listen the more I like it, except I play Embrace and Coldplay a lot more. Problem. Where do they all belong? Alongside Coldplay and Keane but more rocky with it.
Genre: English pop/rock Places I remember:The Warehouse (Hastings) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:River Lea takes its inspiration from Adele's roots in Tottenham.
Gear costume: Hello is the mega hit off the album, of course. Over a billion YouTube views so no need to include it here. Active compensatory factors: There's something in the expression in Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (MBE)'s eyes on the cover of 25 that looks tired and a little blank. Am I reading too much into this? I don't think so - by 25 (actually she was aged 27 when it came out in November 2015) she had well and truly been on the roller coaster ride of mega success for a few years. For everything - you have to pay the price. Like 19, I haven't listened to 25 a lot - twice maybe all the way through. Whereas 21 is the one I'll return to over time. I wonder how much of 25 would have made the cut for 21? Not that 25 is bad by any means. It's just that things have become somewhat formulaic, which is to be expected, I guess. Time for a change? But what do I know. It's in a load of best of year lists and you can't argue with its success and she's a hell of a singer. So...yeah. Where do they all belong? The next one is REALLY going to be interesting. Apparently 25 will be the last one to use the number idea.
Genre: Australia/NZ rock Places I remember: The Warehouse (Cambridge) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Let There Be Rock
Gear costume:Bad Boy Boogie, Whole Lotta Rosie, Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be. Active compensatory factors: The early history of the band is complicated because of the variety of international and Australian releases. So this is either the third or fourth studio album by the young Aussie battlers. For many though, it's where the classic slam bam guitar rock sound of the band got fully underway thanks to the crunching Angus Young solos and fills. He has a very distinctive sound! It also features Bon Scott - still (and forever) my favourite AC/DC vocalist. The album has at least four classics on it, but the rest is not far away - quality control was at an all time high for the band in 1977 (what a year!!!). Where do they all belong? In the Bon Scott AC/DC corner of my collection.
BeethovenSonata For Piano Nos. 17, 23 & 26(CD - Point Classics, 1994) ****
Genre: Classical Places I remember: The Warehouse (Cambridge) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: For the second time in a week, shock/horror, it's the total package that rates highly on the gear-o-meter.
Active compensatory factors: When I was working at Marbecks Records back in the eighties, I bought a box set of Beethoven's symphonies, because I figured I should, and tried hard to get into them. I felt like I needed to 'get' classical music. I struggled. They didn't do a lot for me and I told Roger Marbeck. He suggested I try the piano sonatas instead, so I did. Lo and behold, I found them to be much more to my taste (what taste I have that is). Why? The comparative simplicity, I guess. I'm a simple guy and I could easily understand the simple beauty of the sonata. I sold the symphony box set - it was wasted on me. But I continue to listen to the piano sonatas. Yes, I do! This CD brings together three very famous ones (from the middle period of his 32 sonatas). Where do they all belong? Between Bach and Brahms.
