New York’s favourite son, Lou Reed passed away on October 27th 2013 at the age of 71, following complications from a liver transplant. One of the word’s most unique artists, for most people – fans or otherwise – Reed will always be remembered for the deadpan, almost spoken word delivery of a proportion of his lyrics. As a musician, he often divided people, but there was never any questioning his gift with words, words which sometimes would surely have made far more compelling poetry than lyrical content.
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
OFF! – Live at Gilman 2011
After a handful of EP releases, OFF!’s debut album (released in the summer of 2012) was the year’s best punk record. Possibly even the best punk record of the previous decade. The combined talents of ex-Black Flag/Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris and Redd Kross man Steve McDonald was always likely to result in something fairly explosive, but OFF! really pushes their ferocity to brilliant extremes.
DELUXE EDITION DREAMLAND: Eric Clapton – Behind The Mask, 1985-86
In September 2013, the Universal Music group announced an addition to their ever growing collection of lavish, multi-disc box sets. ‘Give Me Strength’, a near comprehensive collection of Eric Clapton’s 1974/75 studio sessions with the addition of a few unreleased nuggets became a reality. In addition to its two discs of studio recordings, the set also pulls together two discs of live material from the three concerts that spawned 1975’s ‘EC Was Here’ live album (nice, but all previously released on the ‘Crossroads 2: Live In The 70s’ four disc set).
DELUXE EDITION DREAMLAND: Prince & The NPG – Love Symbol
In the 1990s, a deluxe edition (or special edition) album invariably meant a double disc set, ie: the original release plus bonus disc of rarities, b-sides and/or live tracks. In the 21st century, the big record companies have really expanded on this concept, with the “deluxe edition” now meaning multi-disc packages, in some cases retailing at a three-figure price point.
JJ Cale – 1938-2013
For most, John Weldon ‘JJ’ Cale will be best remembered as the writer of ‘After Midnight’ and ‘Cocaine’, tunes popularised in the 1970s by Eric Clapton, and ‘Call Me The Breeze’, a number which became a Lynyrd Skynyrd staple. Yet, as ingrained as these songs are in the minds of classic rock fans, it always seemed that comparatively few are as familiar with Cale’s original recordings as they are these much-heard cover tunes.