EARLY CAREER MASTERPIECE: Jackson Browne – ‘LATE FOR THE SKY’ [email protected] May 20, 2022 LATE FOR THE SKY (1974): Inducting Browne into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen called ‘Late for the Sky’ a ‘masterpiece.’ RANTS & REFLECTIONS Don Henley, Eagles, J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Late for the Sky, Linda Ronstadt
EASY COME EASY GO, LITTLE HIGH LITTLE LOW – Twenty Great Games of 1975-76……. [email protected] May 13, 2022 TWENTY GREAT GAMES of 1975-76: Keeping the overheads down – Dennis Tueart wins the League Cup for Manchester City……….. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Derby County, Leeds United, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, QPR, Southampton, West Ham United, Wolves
THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE MOON – Van Morrison & ‘MOONDANCE’ [email protected] April 22, 2022 ‘MOONDANCE’: The magnificent title-track succeeds on many levels not least in introducing jazz to the rock generation. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Astral Weeks, Bob Dylan, Moondance, Them, Van Morrison
REVOLUTION-CONVOLUTION-EVOLUTION: Twenty Great Albums of 1968 [email protected] April 7, 2022 Twenty Great Albums of 1968: Small Faces – OGDEN’S NUT GONE FLAKE: A fast moving feast of rock, layered pop, surrealism and Cockney revelry. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, The Band, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Kinks, Van Morrison
SOMETHING IN THE AIR – Twenty great games of 1969-70 [email protected] March 30, 2022 Twenty great games of 1969-70: Leeds United v Chelsea (29/4/1970) – FA Cup Final replay/English Civil War reenactment…….. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Arsenal, Celtic, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United
DOWN PAYMENT – The Kinks & ‘LOW BUDGET’ [email protected] March 15, 2022 The Kinks & ‘LOW BUDGET’: Raucous choruses and shout-a-long lines proved ideal for the arenas The Kinks were now playing. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Dave Davies, Low Budget, Mick Avory, Misfits, Muswell Hillbillies, Ray Davies, Sleepwalker, The Kinks, The Who
ALL DRESSED UP NOWHERE TO GO – England: The Don Revie era…… [email protected] March 4, 2022 All Dressed Up – Nowhere To Go: ENGLAND – The Don Revie era: New kit, plenty of new caps, same old failings; RANTS & REFLECTIONS Don Revie, Emlyn Hughes, England, Leeds United, The FA, World Cup 1974, World Cup 1978
OVER THE STILLS – Stephen Stills & ‘STILLS’ (1975) [email protected] February 18, 2022 ‘STILLS’ (1975) contains any number of fine songs, but there remains a sense that a good album should have been a great one. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Manassas, Neil Young, Stephen Stills
SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE – Twenty great games of 1974-75………….. [email protected] February 10, 2022 TWENTY GREAT GAMES of 1974-75: Crimes and misdemeanors – Leeds United await start of the 1975 European Cup Final; RANTS & REFLECTIONS Aston Villa FC, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Stoke City, Sunderland, West Ham United, Wolves
Borderline sublime: Eagles & ‘ON THE BORDER’ [email protected] January 22, 2022 ‘ON THE BORDER’ (1974) dispelled any notion of the Eagles losing their early momentum and became an immediate best-seller. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Bernie Leadon, Bill Szymczyk, Desperado, Don Henley, Eagles, Glenn Frey, Hotel California, J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Linda Ronstadt, On the Border, Randy Meisner