Classic Rock And Prog Almanac

Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink: Review

This week, the first of an occasional series: “Pods from the wood”, in which Shaun goes back to nature and discusses one of his favourite albums whilst moving around in the Essex countryside. Today’s topic is the third album by Caravan, In The Land Of Grey And Pink. Themes discussed include: the influence of Chaucer on the band, where the album stands in the Canterbury canon, the Tolkeinesque nature of the cover, and how Caravan relates to its successor bands. Also, is that wind, or an earthquake in the Home Counties? Can you think of another band with cousins in? What is a winter wine (when it’s at home)? And who’s that on the phone?

RANKING: THE BEACH BOYS ALBUMS

This week, Shaun and Tim did a marathon ranking of the 28 albums by The Beach Boys. The discussion included: the difference between a great album and a favourite album; who the best songwriter was after Brian; whether Pet Sounds is really that good; whether the Beach Boys discography is a curate’s egg or jam sandwich; and how many of The Beach Boys albums are concept albums. Also, how bad does one song have to be to ruin an album? What happened to Shaun when he was in the bath while listening to 20/20? And how many references to Stalin can the lads include in a Beach Boys ranking?

Curved Air - Air Conditioning: Review

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue, on the first album by Curved Air, Air Conditioning. Topics that come up are: Curved Air’s role in the English rock scene post-psychedelia and pre-prog rock, the nature of the writing committeee they mobilised, how the album fits into the band’s career trajectory, and the extent to which they can be considered a fusion band. Also: how do Curved Air relate to French philosopher Alain Badiou? What would Kant have said? What would Stumpy have said? How does the band incorporate quantum mechanics in their work? And we know that something happened today, but what exactly was it?

Strawbs - From The Witchwood: Review

Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the third album by Strawbs, From The Witchwood. The discussion includes: whether it should be thought of as a concept album, where it stands in the Strawbs canon, why we can’t find any information on the cover, whether Wordsworth was an influence on the lyrics, and how important the Christian influence was on the band. Also, does Rick Wakeman ever stop playing? Can we trust Artificial Intelligence? Does the animatronic Oliver Cromwell have a Norfolk accent? And which is better, the English Civil War or the Norman Invasions? There’s only one way to find out…

RANKING: THE TOP FIFTEEN BEATLES OUTTAKES

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their favourite Beatles outtakes. The discussion includes: the ratio of John songs to Paul songs and of John and Paul songs to George songs; why there are so many early outtakes and late outtakes; who did the best solo album; and why they gave so many songs to Billy J. Kramer. Also, are there any Ringo songs on the list? Is there anything that shouldn't have been on the White Album? Is ‘Every Night’ brilliant or awful? And why did Cilla Black sound like that?

The Electric Light Orchestra - The Electric Light Orchestra: Review

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did the second part of his ‘Birmingham Beatles’ duology: the first album by the Electric Light Orchestra. The ‘conversation’ included: the Move connection, the differences between ELO and the later prog movement, the incredibly high quality of ELO’s musicianship and the nature of the creative relationship between Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood. Also, why did so many of the songs have two titles? Why was the album called ‘No Answer’ in the U.S. (as opposed to, say, ‘Press one for hold’)? Where would one cry from if not from one’s eyes? And who led the Royalist forces against Cromwell in the English Civil War?

The Move - Move: Review

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue about the debut album by The Move, Move. The ‘conversation’ included: the multicultural nature of The Move’s music, the ELO connection, whether this is the best UK album of the 1960s and why this was both the beginning and the end for the band. Also, why didn’t they make a concept album about gardening? Who the hell is singing each song? How did the album tapes end up in a bin in central London? And who was Mr. Chad? 

RANKING: THE TOP TEN UK BANDS OF THE 70S

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their favourite Top Ten UK Bands of the 1970s. The discussion includes: the difference between cultural importance and musical importance, punk versus pre-punk genres, whether we trust one band to write better than another, and why we had so many honourable mentions. Also, who were the real heirs to The Beatles? Why did Phil Collins play on everybody’s records? Did Shaun preempt early US rap music? And what does lampooning mean?

Black Sabbath - Paranoid: Review

Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the second album by Black Sabbath, Paranoid. The discussion includes: whether Black Sabbath started heavy metal, who the most important member of the band was, the influence of drugs on their performance, what their influences were and what the relationship is between jazz and heavy metal. Also, what would Kant have made of Black Sabbath? Why did they keep setting the drummer on fire? Who can do the best Birmingham accent? And why does Shaun keep throwing salt over his shoulder?

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells: Review

Tim and Peter were busy this week, so Shaun had a conversation with himself, about the debut album by Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells. The following topics were covered: how Tubular Bells relates to the rest of the Oldfield catalogue, the relationship between Tubular Bells and early minimalism and how Oldfield's early life affected his compositional processes. Also, did Oldfield exclusively write his music down on the back of cigarette packets? Why hasn’t Shaun seen The Exorcist? And how good is Viv Stanshall?!