WEEDPECKER – V

This fifth album from Polish deep psych merchants Weedpecker had a long gestation period. The material started taking shape in 2023, and the original demos had all been recorded by the end of that year. With so much doom, sludge and deep psych taking on a raw, live in the studio feel, you might wonder how different the material sounded back then, since ‘V’ didn’t actually reach the public until the beginning of 2026, but no matter what changes were made in the interim, the record sounds superb.

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CAMEL – Earthrise: Live At The Marquee 1974

In 2023, Universal Music released the ultimate in Camel box sets. ‘Air Born: The Decca Recordings 1973-1984’ brought together all of the band’s official releases from their most commercially successful period, and combined them with a wealth of rare and unreleased material. For the fan who must have everything, it appeared to be a beautiful item – especially with new blu ray audio content and surround mixes bringing a new dimension to some much loved tunes.

As is often the case with such a set, a huge price tag would prove a sticking point for those fans without deep pockets. Consolation would soon come from Cherry Red Records, however, who reissued ‘Camel’, ‘Mirage’ and ‘Music Inspired By The Snow Goose’ as deluxe editions (complete with the blu ray content) a relatively short time later.

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IQ – Live From London: Camden Palace 1985

In the 80s, it was common for music shows on TV to be hidden away in a graveyard slot. With almost every household owning a VCR, such things were no longer missable, and for rock fans it became common practice to record shows like The Power Hour and Live From London for weekend viewing. Live From London was particularly interesting. Running between1983-1985, it would show footage of all manner of rock bands – ranging from Husker Du to Uriah Heep – captured at the Camden Palace (now Koko).

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – So High I’ve Been: A European Rock Anthology 1967-1973

When it comes to compilations, the UK rock scene of the late 1960s/early 1970s has been covered extensively – to the point of absolute overkill. It’s easy to feel that this is a part of musical history that no longer needs revisiting, just as many “new” articles on The Beatles, the Stones and Queen now border on being digital landfill. With that in mind, it’s always far more interesting when attentions are turned to overseas acts. Cherry Red’s rather excellent set ‘Living On The Hill’ promised “a Danish underground trip” upon its release in 2020 and subsequently did exactly what it said on the tin, giving the keener rock fan three discs’ worth of genuinely unfamiliar sounds from the North, with Blast Furnace being the compilation’s nearest to a “known” name.

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THE REAL GONE ADVENT CALENDAR 2025

It seems unbelievable that we’ve reached December already. It was only Easter a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, the end of the year is fast approaching and, as is traditional, we’ll be counting down the days to Xmas with the Real Gone advent calendar!

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