Considering January is supposed to be the longest and most miserable month, February 2022 seems to be going on forever. Between a world seemingly dominated by bad news, and the UK braced for not one, but two storms – it feels like things will get worse before springtime eventually hits.
We all need a distraction, and the two Johns from They Might Be Giants have the very thing. For the next few hours, they’re offering everyone two digital album releases FREE of charge.
The twenty second studio album from Yes, ‘The Quest’ demonstrated how the ever evolving and legendary prog band were still capable of making great music. With a delicate balance between soaring melodies and complex structures, the album harked back to classic Yes in many ways, but also showed how they refused to become stagnant.
For a rock band so well loved, Def Leppard aren’t often given the cover tune treatment. You might remember Emm Gryner’s excellent ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ on which, the Canadian singer songwriter gave the Leps’ huge hit the “full Tori Amos” treatment, or perhaps, you’re fond of Hayseed Dixie’s bluegrass take of ‘Photograph’, but for a multi-million selling band, reinterpretations of their work seem few and far between.
In a bit of unexpected good fortune for the discerning prog fan, a selection of Pink Floyd bootlegs dating from 1971 have appeared on streaming services.
Spotify and Amazon Music began hosting a range of live recordings from the ‘Meddle’ era, in varying quality a few days ago. Some of the recordings have long been well known to bootleg collectors – such as the ‘Screaming Abdabs’ recording from Quebec, featuring the classic Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason line up showcasing a couple of new ‘Meddle’ tunes as well as providing the often overlooked ‘Embryo’ with a live outing, and the full set from Montreux ’71 – but the opportunity for the more casual listener to stumble upon these archive treasures will surely be welcomed.
UK metal band Bang Bang Firecracker gained some very positive reviews for their ‘See Evil’ EP back in the summer of 2021. Deservedly so, since the Stoke On Trent based rockers showed a great affinity with a massive riff or three.