FANTASTIC PLASTIC – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band… neilsambrook@btinternet.com September 10, 2020 ‘JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND’ (1970) is without equal as a statement of personal expression, raw with intensity, unflinching in heartfelt emotion. RANTS & REFLECTIONS John Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Phil Spector, Plastic Ono Band, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, Yoko Ono
IT WAS A JAMBOREE – Twenty great albums of 1973 neilsambrook@btinternet.com September 4, 2020 Twenty Great Albums of 1973: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: Bold tangents, rich textures, inch-perfect cohesion. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Alan Hull, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, David Bowie, Elton John, Gladys Kinght & the Pips, Gram Parsons, Jackson Browne, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, Mike Oldfield, Mott The Hoople, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pink Floyd, Ringo Starr, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, The Stooges, The Who
GET IT ON – FA CUP FINALS 1970-76…………… neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 30, 2020 Sunderland 1973: Supporters at the ‘lucky’ end, team in stripes yet to lose a post-war FA Cup Final, 73 the reverse of 37……. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Arsenal FC, Chelsea, Fulham, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Peter Osgood, Southampton, Sunderland, Wembley Stadium, West Ham United
COME ON, TELL ME – The Who & ‘WHO ARE YOU’ neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 24, 2020 The six Pete Townshend contributions to ‘WHO ARE YOU’ suggest they were constructed without recourse to being played live. RANTS & REFLECTIONS John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, Quadrophenia, Roger Daltrey, Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Who, Who Are You
THE GOLD STANDARD – Neil Young & ‘AFTER THE GOLD RUSH’ neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 20, 2020 AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (1970) is a landmark recording – not just for Neil Young but 70s rock as a whole. RANTS & REFLECTIONS After The Goldrush, Crazy Horse, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Deja Vu, Neil Young, On The Beach, Stephen Stills
THE TIMES THEY WERE AMAZING – England v Scotland 1967-1970…….. neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 13, 2020 ENGLAND v SCOTLAND 1967-70: A landmark victory apiece, dazzling passages of play and arguably the greatest save ever seen RANTS & REFLECTIONS Alan Ball, Billy Bremner, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Celtic, Denis Law, England, George Best, Gordon Banks, Jack Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Malcolm Allison, Manchester United, Martin Peters, Scotland, Sir Alf Ramsey
THE GOSPEL OF THE BAND ACCORDING TO ROBBIE ‘ONCE WERE BROTHERS’ (documentary review) neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 7, 2020 ‘Once Were Brothers’ serves as testimony to the timeless effervescence of The Band. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Hudson, levon helm, Music From Big Pink, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson, Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks, The Band, The Last Waltz
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ – ‘ECHO IN THE CANYON’ has good reverberations…….. neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 4, 2020 ‘ECHO in the CANYON’ is a love letter to the audacious new music that seeped out of LA during the mid-60s. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Buffalo Springfield, David Crosby, Echo in the Canyon, Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Mamas and The Papas, Tom Petty
IT’S A MIXED UP MUDDLED UP SHOOK UP WORLD – The Kinks & ‘Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (Part One) neilsambrook@btinternet.com July 29, 2020 ‘LOLA vs POWERMAN and the MONEYGOROUND’ (1970) is a fascinating take on how Ray (and Dave) Davies viewed the state of the United Kinkdom. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire, Dave Davies, John Dalton, John Gosling, Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Mick Avory, Pete Quaife, Ray Davies, The Kinks, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
WELCOME MATT – ‘BUSBY’ documentary review neilsambrook@btinternet.com July 25, 2020 Busby further avoided convention in becoming the first of the ‘tracksuit managers’ developing an attacking style of play that would be adopted by teams at every level of the club RANTS & REFLECTIONS Busby, Busby Babes, Manchester City, Manchester United, Munich Air Crash, Sir Matt Busby