She moved thro' the fair (Trees) (LP 4726 - 4727)

Trees  The Garden of Jane Delawney (CD, CBS Records, 1970) **** 

Trees  On The Shore (CD, CBS Records, 1970) *****   

Genre: Folk rock

Places I remember: FOPP

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Soldiers Three (On the Shore)

Gear costume: Geordie (On the Shore) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: I was fascinated by the cover of Trees' On the Shore album when it was featured in a Hipgnosis album cover book that I still gaze at from time to time.

I was thrilled to track down that album and the band's debut album on a visit to FOPP.

Trees is a folk rock band, active from about 1969 to 1972. They only released the two albums and...they are superb. The band's five members for that first album sound very accomplished. They were bass and keyboard player Bias Boshell, lead guitarist Barry Clarke, acoustic guitarist David Costa, drummer Unwin Brown and singer Celia Humphris. 

Celia is basically the reason they were labeled as folk rock and it's her superb vocals that make the band stand apart from the others (yes even from Fairport Convention).

Both albums are great, with On the Shore being the better album as it sounds more confident and more coherent as a complete album.

Where do they all belong? Love both albums and they sit in an elevated position in the folk rock section.

Driftwood (Travis) (LP 4724 - 4725)

Travis  The Man Who (CD, Independiente Records, 1999) ***** 

Travis  The Boy With No Name (CD, Independiente Records, 2007) *** 

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Music shop in St Lukes, The Warehouse.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Gear costume: Turn, Writing to Reach You

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Travis are a band from Scotland composed of Fran Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dougie Payne (bass guitar), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo) and Neil Primrose (drums).

Most people were alerted to the band's presence by the single hit, Why Does It Always Rain On Me? I was no exception. It's a wonderful song and as it turns out, it was one of many wonderful songs on their second album, The Man Who (daft title), like Writing to Reach You, Driftwood and Turn. 

Fran Healy sells these often moody, melancholy songs in a thoroughly convincing way throughout. So much so that I bought other Travis albums as a consequence, only to be disappointed by them. Seems like they peaked on that second effort.

I have continued to hang on to their fifth album, The Boy With No Name, even though it's not as strong as The Man Who. It's a much more indie rock sound, with eclectic songs which is fine, but I prefer the softer sounds of The Man Who.

Where do they all belong? The Travis singles from The Man Who period are fantastic. I've written about them previously and you can find them here and here.

Crash and burn (Pat Travers Band) (LP 4723)

Pat Travers Band  Crash and Burn (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1980) ***  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Snortin' Whiskey

Gear costume: Crash and Burn

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: I had a thing for Canadian rock guitarists like Pat Travers and Frank Marino for a while in the late seventies.

Crash and Burn was his sixth album and the most successful, thanks to the song Snortin' Whiskey. It's easily the best thing on the album but most of the rest is damn fine as well. That includes the two covers - Born Under a Bad Sign and Bob Marley's Is This Love.

Things go slightly astray towards the end of side two when synths rear their ugly head. Nevermind. The album has managed to survive various culls over the years.

Where do they all belong? Along with Neil Young, Randy Bachman and Frank Marino, Pat Travers flies the Canadian guitar hero flag with honour.

Reaching for the sky (Transatlantic) (LP 4721 - 4722)

Transatlantic  Kaleidoscope (CD, InsideOut Records, 2014) ****  

Transatlantic  The Absolute Universe - The Breath of Life (CD, InsideOut Records, 2021) *** 

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: FOPP

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Shine (Kaleidoscope) on YouTube

Gear costume: Black as the Sky (Kaleidoscope) on YouTube

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: The modern prog world loves to dabble in multiple side projects. The supergroup Transatlantic is a good example. Transatlantic is made up of Neal Morse (ex–Spock's Beard), Roine Stolt (Kaipa, the Flower Kings), Pete Trewavas (Marillion) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater).  There's a lot of prog pedigree in that assembled collection of talent.

Kaleidoscope was the band's fourth album together. My copy is an enhanced bonus one - 2CD and a DVD. The first CD is the album, the second has eight cover versions of artists from Yes to The Moody Blues and the DVD is a collection of bonus videos,

Being prog it has two lengthy suites and some shorter songs that display the band's range, from what AllMusic calls 'gentle, '70s-hued pop hooks ("Shine"), richly detailed ambient soundscapes ("Beyond the Sun"), and thunderous, ELP-kissed stadium anthems'.

Their fifth, and final album is called The Absolute Universe. It came in three different lengths - mine is the 64 minute abridged version, called The Breath of Life. I'm a less is more guy.

It's good in an AOR prog kind of way but this one feels more like a Neal Morse solo album or else a latter day Yes album without Jon Anderson than Kaleidoscope. No denying the guy can write and sing some quality prog songs.  

Where do they all belong? That's it for Transatlantic, a good companion to all those parent band albums.

Me too (Meghan Trainor) (LP 4720)

Meghan Trainor  Thank You (CD, Epic Records, 2016) ***  

Genre: Pop, Dance pop 

Places I remember: Shona Wilding collection

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Woman Up

Gear costume: NO

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Although I do own multiple albums by Lady Gaga and Madonna, I wouldn't have bought Meghan Trainor's second album, Thank You. Indeed, I wouldn't have ever made its acquaintance without finding it in Shona's collection.

I'm glad I did though, as it's dance pop that Lady Gaga would approve of, I'm sure. The album is full of bright shiny pop moves and Meghan comes across as a real hoot - I'm thinking all the FIGJAM stances are meant in an ironic, self-deprecating way. I hope so.

Where do they all belong? My one and only album by her.

Eggplant (Train) (LP 4710 - 4719)

Train  Train (CD, Columbia Records, 1998) ****  

Train  Drops of Jupiter (CD, Columbia Records, 2001) *** 

Train  My Private Nation (CD, Columbia Records, 2003) *****  

Train  Alive at Last (CD, Columbia Records, 2004) ***  

Train  For Me, It's You (CD, Columbia Records, 2006) ***  

Train  Save Me, San Francisco (CD, Columbia Records, 2009) ****  

Train  California 37 (CD, Columbia Records, 2012) ***

Train  Bulletproof Picasso (CD, Columbia Records, 2012) ***

Train  A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat (CD, Columbia Records, 2017) ***

Train  AM Gold (CD, Columbia Records, 2022) ***

Genre: Pop rock, indie rock, pop, folk rock

Places I remember: HMV, Real Groovy Records, Fives, Fopp, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: When I Look to the Sky (My Private Nation), Hey Soul Sister (Save Me, San Francisco)

Gear costume: Counting Airplanes (My private Nation), Drops of Jupiter, Save Me, San Francisco, Drive By (California 37)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Train emerged, pretty much fully formed, in the late nineties. Their debut is nicely understated. It manages to convey a lovely hybrid of alt country, alt rock (Meet Virginia), guitar-driven pop and light classic rock moves (everything else). The band at this stage comprised Pat Monahan – lead vocals, Jimmy Stafford – lead guitar, mandolin, Rob Hotchkiss – rhythm guitar, harmonica, Charlie Colin – bass, and Scott Underwood – drums. Pat's lead vocals are impressive from the off!

Second album, Drops of Jupiter, amps up the indie rock sound and forgoes any alt country progression, largely thanks to Brendan O'Brien's meaty production. Highlights for me - the title track and the brooding Mississippi which closes the album.

It was actually their third album, My Private Nation, that alerted me to the joys of Train. It was from there that I back tracked to the first two albums and then bought each successive release. I'm a sucker for their brand of fun, bright shiny, hooky pop music.

My Private Nation is a clear peak in their catalogue, with each song bringing something special and different to the party.

In a strong album, definitely their finest album to this point, the highlights are many: Calling All Angels; All American Girl; Save The Day; Counting Airplanes; and my favourite - the emotional When I Look to the Sky.

Alive at Last was the live album that capitalised on this peak moment. It includes a heap of great tunes with a small audience who get fully involved from first track (Calling Angels) to the encore of the Faces' Stay With Me. It's raucous fun throughout! There's even two new songs tagged on to the end. Great value for money!

The next studio album, For Me, It's You, came three years after My Private Nation. The band was still a five piece but only Stafford, Monahan and Underwood remained from the first album.

Although it wasn't as commercially as successful as other albums there are still some great Train songs on their fourth album - namely Cab and Give Myself To You. The rest is good too but without the killer tunes of My Private Nation. In some ways it feels a little like they are running out of inspiration and that something needed to change (this was Brendan O'Brien's last album as producer). 

Another three years would go by before their fifth album, Save Me, San Francisco. It introduced some key changes in producer, personnel and style. During those three years the band went on hiatus as the guys pursued some solo projects. After the hiatus, Train returned as a trio (Monahan, Stafford and Underwood).

The pause worked, as Save Me, San Francisco is a dramatic and impressive return to chart success and artistic success (which is the more important but leads to the former). Five big singles came from the album, including Hey Soul Sister, If It's Love and Marry Me. 

The album kicks off with the brilliant title track which acts as a purpose statement (I love San Francisco and riding on the 101 along the coast), then comes Hey Soul Sister, a song I never tire of hearing. From there it's a buoyant set of pop smart Train moves that add up to a vibrant return for the trio.

It was the trio's last outing on the next album, California 37, as it was drummer Scott Underwood's last album. It again kicks off with two great Train songs - This'll Be My Year and Drive By (this album's Hey Soul Sister moment). The rest is the sunshiney pop Train do so well.

Bulletproof Picasso (who knows what that means) was next, their seventh studio album in the Train production line. It did start feeling a bit like that by this point. Albums were coming and going - most had a few hits and some good songs but nothing was really approaching the glory of Save Me, San Francisco.

Bulletproof Picasso was another okay album but without the big hits of the previous ones. By now the Train formula is pretty well established - Monahan's vocals and over-egged lyrics which people either love or hate (I mostly love them), the big classic pop hooks (again - I love them), the big guitars of Jimmy Stafford, and the infectious pop songs.

Even though Underwood was gone (replaced by Drew Shoels), the band had grown on the back cover to include six members. That included two back up singers, but still - a radical change from the trio years.

A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat was next five years later. That's quite a gap. Jimmy Stafford was gone, so that just left Pat Monahan as the last original member of Train. Even with all those personnel changes, it still sounds unmistakenly like Train.

AllMusic sums the album up well as 'an exuberant album, a celebration of everything that makes Train such a corny band. The hooks are big, the production is so glossy that it shines, and it's so cheerful it's bound to irritate anybody who isn't on the band's wavelength. If you're with them, though, a girl a bottle a boat is a good time because of its eagerness to please'.

AM Gold is the last album on my list. It has such a crappy cover that it's kind of endearing. Same with the music - big bold classic Train. The album displays all of their strengths, even if it's basically a Monahan solo album.

Where do they all belong? There are a few Train albums that are still on my list: Christmas in Tahoe (2015), Train Does Led Zeppelin II (2016) and it looks like they've also recorded a new album for release this year called Mad Dog in the Fog.

Side effects (The Rolling Stones) (LP 4707 - 4709)

Steeleye Span  Live at Last! (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1979) *** 

The Rolling Stones  Foreign Tongues (CD, Polydor Records, 2026) ****  

Anthony Williams  Spring (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1966) *** 

Genre: Folk rock, rock, jazz

Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Rough and Twisted (Stones)

Gear costume: Montrose (Steeleye Span)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: This post reviews three albums from a recent trip to New Plymouth and Palmerston North that cover three very different genres.

The Steeleye Span live album is both their first live album and final album of the seventies. It features Martin Carthy amid the band's gloriously updated folk rock sound. Honestly - any album featuring the combined vocals of Maddy Prior, Tim Hart and the others is worth hearing. 

Maddy is in great form here and she makes the album come alive. The Highlight is the lengthy Montrose and an expanded version of The False Knight on the Road which was originally from their 1971 album Please to See the King.

The latest Stones album has arrived in shops and like Hackney Diamonds, it is produced by Andrew Watt. He again achieves some great results from the threesome (Mick, Keef and Ronnie) plus guests (Macca again plays bass on one song).

It's not as consistently brilliant as Hackney Diamonds, but it is still a solid set of Stones songs with some familiar touches - the falsetto vocal songs, a country song and Keef's song all making an appearance.

Remarkably, Mick Jagger's vocals seem untouched by the years. He's remarkable!

Tony Williams (billed as Anthony here) is an amazing drummer. This was his second album as leader. He assembled a stellar cast for the album -  tenor saxophonists Sam Rivers and Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Gary Peacock.

The sub genre of jazz that is on offer here - post bop or modal jazz, is one step away from free jazz and it's an acquired taste. I don't mind being challenged by music but a lot of post bop is at the outer limits of my taste.

When they settle into a more lyrical stride I'm more on board, as on side two with both Love Song and Tee. That's largely down to the wonderful playing of Herbie Hancock on piano. I'm much more content with those than I am with the wild shronking horns of Extras which leads off side one. Even then though, there are things to learn, and it's good to stretch the taste boundaries from time to time.

Where do they all belong? Three excellent additions in three different genres.