Badfinger have long been considered one of the great power pop bands of the late 60s/early 70s. Scratching the surface of their career, hits like ‘No Matter What’ (covered by Jellyfish), ‘Without You’ (covered by Harry Nilsson and later turned into a monstrous hit by Mariah Carey) and the McCartney-penned ‘Come & Get It’ have helped them stay in the public consciousness. Other great, lesser heard tunes like ‘Baby Blue’ and well crafted album cuts give further examples of Badfinger’s enduring greatness for listeners who have bothered to dig a little deeper.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Life In Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute
Taking an early influence from Paul McCartney, bassist Chris Squire truly pushed boundaries in the late sixties and early 70s and took the four stringed instrument into new territory. Using the rhythmic instrument as a lead, Squire gave the bass a distinctive voice and with progressive rock band Yes, he subsequently became a huge influence upon bassists around the world.
Prior to his death in 2015, Squire gave his blessing for Yes to continue without him. In many ways, any form of Yes without Squire seemed like an odd proposition since his writing and arranging skills were always pivotal to everything, but the official Yes (featuring long-time members Stece Howe and Alan White, alongside vocalist Jon Davison) have toured harder and more extensively than ever, keen to keep Squire’s memory and legacy alive. With Yes releasing their own tribute in October 2018 via Cherry Red Records (including new recordings by Yes men Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood), it’s only right that the band’s founding father should have his own tribute too, and while on the surface, this US release ‘A Life In Yes’ (issued via Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid) doesn’t appear quite as glossy as its UK counterpart, it is every bit as interesting. A few recordings even make it an essential listen.
Todd Rundgren’s Utopia reunite for US tour; box set coming soon
After 32 years, Todd Rundgren’s 70s prog outfit have re-united. Rundgren has kept himself extremely busy recording and touring during that time, of course, but there were always a core of fans who hoped the band would one day return.
In 2018, Utopia will be touring the US, stopping at various major cities. They’ll also be releasing a limited edition box set containing all 7 of their studio albums.
The Great Seventies Project: 1970
In March 2017, we created a playlist of some of our favourite 70s tunes. In an effort to shake up our spare time listening, the playlist included none of the usual stapes. There were no tracks by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy or Led Zeppelin and yet we still managed to create a golden listening experience spanning several hours.
The experience got us thinking. What if we were to create extensive playlists of music we liked – or maybe brought back fond memories – for each year of the decade? Would one year stand out above all others? With this remit and using only two or three tracks per chosen album (maybe stretching to one extra in the instance of a double platter), we set to work.