STORMING OUT – Joe Walsh & BARNSTORM neilsambrook@btinternet.com June 30, 2024 0 Comments On leaving the James Gang, Walsh sought a more refined approach to presenting his music – BARNSTORM (1972) an assured and accomplished album. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Barnstorm, Eagles, Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh, Kenny Passarelli, Pete Townshend, The Who
ALL MOD NO CONS – The Who & QUADROPHENIA (1973) neilsambrook@btinternet.com December 13, 2023 QUADROPHENIA (1973): No other songwriter has been able to express teenage angst as well as Pete Townshend – and there is no other album like ‘Quadrophenia.’ RANTS & REFLECTIONS John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Live at Leeds, Pete Townshend, Quadrophenia, Roger Daltrey, The Who, Tommy, Who's Next
The Empire and the States: The Kinks & ‘ARTHUR’ (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire); neilsambrook@btinternet.com August 15, 2022 ‘ARTHUR’ (1969): Seeking out a song with more astute social comment than ‘Shangri-La’ is not worth the effort. It hasn’t been recorded. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire, Dave Davies, John Dalton, Mick Avory, Pete Quaife, Pete Townshend, Ray Davies, The Kinks, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, The Who, Tommy
DOWN PAYMENT – The Kinks & ‘LOW BUDGET’ neilsambrook@btinternet.com 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
BLOODY MINDED – Twenty great albums of 1969……. neilsambrook@btinternet.com November 26, 2021 Twenty Great Albums of 1969: Chaos, copulation, conflict – the Rolling Stones cover it all on ‘LET IT BLEED’. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby Stills and Nash, Dusty Springfield, Flying Burrito Brothers, Joni Mitchell, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Poco, Rolling Stones, The Band, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who
NUMBER CRUNCHING – The Who & ‘THE WHO BY NUMBERS’ neilsambrook@btinternet.com October 28, 2021 Townshend is not exactly reveling in his own misery, but on ‘The Who By Numbers’ addresses the problems facing him and The Who with brutal honesty. RANTS & REFLECTIONS John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, Quadrophenia, Roger Daltrey, The Who, The Who By Numbers, Tommy, Who's Next
MAKE THE BEST OF THE SITUATION – Twenty Great Albums of 1970 neilsambrook@btinternet.com June 22, 2021 The Domino effect: Eric Clapton produces a spotless collection with Derek & the Dominoes. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Creedence Clearwater Revival, CSNY, George Harrison, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who, Van Morrison
YOU CAN BE SERIOUS – Joe Walsh & ‘BUT SERIOUSLY FOLKS’…….. neilsambrook@btinternet.com May 20, 2021 With enough self-deprecating humour to avoid sounding boastful, ‘Life’s Been Good’ is an important statement on rock stardom. RANTS & REFLECTIONS Bill Szymczyk, Don Henley, Eagles, Hotel California, Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, The James Gang, The Long Run, The Who
ONLY TEENAGE WASTELAND? Twenty great albums of 1971…… neilsambrook@btinternet.com April 15, 2021 TWENTY GREAT ALBUMS of 1971: Blues, boogie, folk and fantasy – all bases covered on ‘LED ZEPPELIN IV’ RANTS & REFLECTIONS Al Green, Carole King, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Kinks, The Who, Van Morrison
JOHN ENTWISTLE – ‘AN OX’S TALE’ (documentary review): neilsambrook@btinternet.com November 30, 2020 John Entwistle stood as a musical flak-tower – firing off bass notes like tracer bullets. RANTS & REFLECTIONS John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Kenny Jones, Live at Leeds, Pete Townshend, Quadrophenia, Roger Daltrey, The Who, Who's Next