1970s
Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All, Netflix review - epic two-parter on pop's first superstarThursday, 26 March 2020
Coming in at around four hours, in two parts, this 2015 documentary is ostensibly about Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, but really, via the prism of his existence, it’s as much about America’s journey through the first two thirds of the 20th century.... Read more... |
Sondheim at 90: adults will listenSunday, 22 March 2020
Here's an irony worthy of the work of Stephen Sondheim, an artist who clearly knows a thing or two about the multiple manifestations of that word. On the same day that he turns 90, namely today, Broadway is unable to host the keenly awaited American... Read more... |
Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Eventim Apollo review - and the band played onSaturday, 14 March 2020
Elvis Costello is arguably – perhaps unarguably – the most enduring and genuine talent to emerge from the mid-Seventies pub and punk scenes, and his two-hour set on Friday night demonstrated that he’s still a compelling performer, full of energy and... Read more... |
Misbehaviour review - crowd-pleaser tackles Seventies sexismThursday, 12 March 2020
Created in the mould of Made in Dagenham and Pride, Philippa Lowthrope offers up a cheery, kitschy British comedy centred around the 1970 Miss World Contest that was disrupted by feminist protests. Leading this crowd-pleaser are... Read more... |
Album: The Boomtown Rats - Citizens of BoomtownSaturday, 07 March 2020
The new Boomtown Rats album – their first for 36 years! – is both preposterous and rather wonderful. This is as it should be. The Irish band surfed the so-called “New Wave” after punk rock to brief chart-topping stardom. They had some cracking... Read more... |
Pete Paphides: Broken Greek review - top of the pop memoirsSunday, 01 March 2020
Think of the phrase “music memoir”, and you might conjure images of wild nights and heavy mornings. You’re unlikely to think of suburban West Bromwich and tributes to Mike Batt’s Wombles back catalogue. But then, Pete Paphides’s story is comprised... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Bona RaysSunday, 23 February 2020
For record buyers, Bona Rays left limited evidence for their existence. One single was issued by the aptly named Mystery Records in 1981. Pressed in a limited quantity by the independent facility Lyntone, it featured “We're Never Going to Miss You... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Tea & Symphony - The English Baroque Sound 1968-1974Sunday, 02 February 2020
When it was issued in May 1968, “Fading Yellow” attracted no attention. It couldn’t have as it was the B-side of “Mr. Poem”, Mike Batt’s poor-selling debut single. The top side was good, very 1968 and along the lines of whimsical 45s like Donovan’s... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Jon Savage's 1969-1971 - Rock Dreams on 45Sunday, 05 January 2020
As one decade gives way to the next, the beginning or end of the ten-year cycle rarely yields anything cut and dried. With pop music, a host of decade-related platitudes have no respect for the decade-to-decade switch. Depending on points of view,... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Best of 2019Sunday, 29 December 2019
Earlier this year, the Peter Laughner box set was more than an archive release. Its diligence and scale forced a wholesale reinterpretation of the evolution of America’s punk-era underground scene. What it collected – aurally and in its book –... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Big Front YardSunday, 22 December 2019
In June 1978, the still-extant independent label Cherry Red issued its first record. The seven-inch featured three slices of terse, Buzzcocks-ish art-punk by The Tights. The band were from Great Malvern, Worcestershire – as was the label. They only... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl Christmas Special 2019Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Season’s greetings, vinyl junkies. It’s unfortunate things grew so stinky just as we headed towards the one time when Britain downs tools and disappears to the enjoy itself for a week or two. But let’s try for good will towards all. To help along... Read more... |
