Classic Rock And Prog Almanac

This week, Tim discussed Tusk, the twelfth studio album by Fleetwood Mac. Topics covered include: the problem of following up a mega-hit album, the deconstructionist and situationist nature of Tusk, how the track listing could have been improved, which of the three main songwriters did their best work on this album and the influence of punk and new wave on the band at the time. Also, if Peter Green really played on one track, why can’t anyone remember him actually being there? What would Samuel Beckett have thought of the album? Did Lindsey really cut his hair with nail scissors? In what way is the album like a tortilla? Why did the band keep excluding Stevie Nicks songs? And is that Mick Fleetwood, or is it a Kleenex box?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2uYVm0J7KdZsk04ioZ7C6D?si=GSCYDjR9Td-f6GruvjyzXA&utm_source=copy-link&pi=6rbryv-URACd5

This week, Tim did a monologue on the third Rush album, Caress Of Steel. Topics covered include: Rush’s relation to the prog rock canon, the influence Rush had on bands like Metallica, Rush’s arrangement gift, the nostalgic nature of some of the words, and how the album matches up to Rush’s more famous album, 2112. Also, are drum solos on albums ever a good idea? Can Thomas More’s Utopia be found in Canada? What would Woody Allen think of Rush? Who is the Greek God of having fun? Which bit of the album can be described as ur-Lifeson? And where do you find Ontario on the maps of Middle Earth?

This week, Tim, Peter and Shaun discussed their top five favourite albums from 1969. Topics covered include: the bubbling cauldron of creativity that was the 1960s, what the best year in the history of rock was, the balance between U.K. & U.S. albums, whether the albums from this period should be considered unrepeatable experiences, and the infamous prog proms. Also, what is Lammastide when it’s at home? What’s Alain Badiou’s theory of history? What’s the best play ever written about a carpet fitter? Does anyone remember Bagpuss? Who’s your Neil Young? What was Noel Redding angry about? And it’s a welcome return (one assumes) for round-up of the week.

This week, Tim discussed the only studio album by the band Refugee, from 1974. Topics covered include: why the album wasn’t rubbish, the virtuosic gifts of Patrick Moraz, whether prog is modernist or post-modernist, how the band measures up to The Nice and ELP, and why they never made a second album. Also, should the band have been called Asylum Seeker? What was Lee Jackson’s ex-wife like? Is music schizophrenic? What would TripAdvisor have made of this album? Did Lee Jackson waste his time in the library? And who chose that cover?

This week, Tim did a ranking of all 24 studio albums by The Kinks. Topics covered include: the role of genre music in the Kinks catalogue, the difference between the American and the British reception of the band, the importance of having a concept for an album, the political correctness issue, the Ray/Dave Davies dialectic and the singles/albums split. Also, how many times do you have to kill Antigone? Is there a connection between Ray Davies and Morrissey? Is Ray Davies serious when he says he hates education? Do soundtracks have to be any good? Is there any universality that isn’t subjective? And is a spectre haunting The Kinks?

This week, Peter and Shaun brought their history of jazz for a rock audience up to date. Topics covered include: the relationship between individual jazz musicians and bands, whether there was a ‘golden era’ of jazz, what the ‘cultural revolution’ of the 60s meant for jazz, whether jazz is essentially an American art form, and do we like modal and free jazz? Also, does anyone remember Les Dawson? Did Frank Zappa try to put his audience off from listening to him? What’s the exact temperature of cool jazz? Can you beat jazz flute? And is something jazz just because Ginger Baker says so? Will anyone mention Miles Davis? And is it pronounced Porgy or Porky?
Link to Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DBe4plpktVOuKFyV6T9LR?si=eHnSdIR4TEyYzuqiQBVRjg&pi=iw2MwbMnRUWqU

This week, Tim discussed the debut album by Jack Bruce, Songs For A Tailor. Topics covered include: Bruce’s eclectic musical influences, whether this is Jack Bruce’s best album, the story of Jeannie Franklin, the surrealist dimension of the album’s lyrics, the unusual harmonisations on the record and what a follow-up to Cream’s Wheels Of Fire might have sounded like. Also, which song on the album could have been played Metallica? What was Jack Bruce’s favourite local record shop? How do you represent quantum physics in R&B form? Should you tell a Beatle when he’s playing out of tune? Is Imaginary Western a tautology? And how many points do we get for mentioning the Mahavishnu Orchestra?

This week, Peter and Shaun give a potted history of jazz for a rock audience. Topics covered include: how the lads took the path from jazz to rock (and sometimes back), the definition of jazz itself, the influence of the 1920s in the 1960s and the chronology of jazz movements as a whole. Also, is fear the driving force in jazz? Why did jazz happen at all? Who was in Bix Beiderbecke’s gang? Can hamsters play jazz? Who is the John the Baptist of jazz? Which is the rudest pre-war jazz song? What would have happened to Hank Williams if he’d been able to shake his hips? And exactly how many shenanigans are there in jazz? Here's the episode playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3umw0kBfjdFRWGZQu9w08U?si=XKzKN9_hTOKyvJdjvu9FEA&pi=6_ux3V0eSLmYZ

This week Tim discussed the seventh studio album by ELP, Love Beach. Topics covered include: the album’s place in the ELP canon, the structural nature of the writing, the mediaevalist slant in the lyrics, the paradigm nature of some of these tracks and the classical music themes that are quoted on the album. Also, does Carl Palmer work undercover as an Estate Agent? Which track sounds like a church service? How much tax did ELP avoid by going to the Bahamas? Is Keith Emerson using his synths to subtly subvert Greg Lake’s lyrical motifs? Which is the worst lyric on the album? And is there a sexual relation?

This week, Tim and Peter gave their rankings of Bob Dylan’s 9 albums from the 1960s. Topics covered include: Dylan’s chaotic approach to recording, the change in Dylan’s voice over the years, Dylan’s sense of humour, how to identify the different phases of Dylan’s 1960s career, and the relationship between Dylan and The Beatles. Also, what does the word ‘existential’ mean? Does Woolworth’s still exist? Does Peter choose his shoes for musical reasons? What’s a surface of inscription when it’s at home? Has there ever been a technically worse duet than Bob Dylan singing with Johnny Cash? What’s ‘the Dylan paradox’? And of course, how many ears must one man have?