VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Magic Forest: More Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975

In 2022, the Cherry Red subsidiary label Grapefruit Records released ‘Deep In The Woods’, a 3CD collection of cult recordings from the late 60s and early 70s, which documented the trippier and occasionally proggier elements of folk rock. Featuring a host of familiar names along with some genuine obscurities, the lengthy listen played brilliantly, offering the more open minded prog fan and 70s rock buff a listen that relied on far more than easy nostalgia.

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IAIN MATTHEWS – Thro’ My Eyes: The Vertigo Years 1970-1974

After leaving Fairport Convention rather prematurely in 1969, singer songwriter Iain Matthews embarked on what was to be an epic musical journey. His first solo album ‘Matthews’ Southern Comfort’, released that same year, saw him venturing further away from folk and further into the realms of country rock and Americana, and two further albums released under the Matthews’ Southern Comfort band name cemented a warm, rootsy sound, eventually netting Matthews a UK #1 hit with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’, presented in the mould of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young version. For the more casual observer, that will be the recording for which Iain is best known.

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THE FALL – Fall Sound Archive Vol. 9: The Infotainment Scan

By the beginning of the 1990s, The Fall were barely recognisable from the band who’d given the world ‘Live At The Witch Trials’ just over a decade earlier. Mark E. Smith’s fearless approach had steered the band down broader musical avenues, far beyond their punky roots, and the line up of The Fall that delivered the brilliant ‘Extricate’ album in 1990 were a hugely sophisticated musical unit. The flirtations with a Manchester influenced indie sound and a few dance oriented beats on tunes like ‘Telephone Thing’ from that album, and the synth based sounds on tunes like ‘The Mixer’ and ‘Sinister Waltz’ (from the following year’s ‘Shift-Work’) may have lost them a few fans, but regular coverage in the music press and a desire to stay contemporary won The Fall new admirers. By the time of the recording 1993’s ‘The Infotainment Scan’, The Fall’s “90s sound” had really found its feet.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Popscene: From Baggy To Britpop 1989-1994

The early nineties were an exciting time for guitar based music. Grunge dominated the rock scene, but as any avid viewer of the ITV Chart Show will tell you, circa 1992, the indie chart was brimming with great bands, often more of a UK vintage. Shoegaze sounds captured the underground; jangly indie acts – like The La’s and World of Twist – celebrated more of a 60s vintage, and the social commentary that drove bands like Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and The Wonder Stuff found itself crossing over for massive chart success.

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THUNDER – The Complete EMI Recordings 1989-1995

When it comes to rock bands, Thunder are a British institution. Their classic rock sound has long conveyed a timeless style, and in the live setting, Danny Bowes, Luke Morley and company are second to none. What’s even more amazing is that Thunder’s greatness was evident from the very beginning. Whereas some bands work hard to hone their sound and have to learn to win over a crowd, Thunder displayed a natural ability the moment they arrived. Part of that was obviously due to Danny and Luke warming up with their former act Terraplane, but Thunder’s live presence was much greater than their predecessor. Almost perfect proof of this can be heard during their very first Donington Monsters of Rock appearance. It’s a difficult task – sometimes even thankless – being the first band on at a festival, in front of a demanding audience, but on Saturday 18th August 1990, Thunder played a blinding forty minute set that proved they were more than “just another band”. They gained an army of fans that day, and it’s a festival show that still got talked about many years after the event.

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