Pete Hartley: sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler
One objective of fictional dystopia is to offer a hope of readdressing the hypocritical myopia in the real world. This album does that, putting duplicitous morality to the fire, ripping the finery off the self-righteous and unmasking the two-faced flag-bearers of bigotry.
A simple and invaluable tip to help you to prepare for a public performance.
From the Witchwood is a mesmeric musical forest. It is of its time but has enough validity to stand contemporary playing. Sadly, there are songs on here that still need singing for the worst of reasons, but joyfully there are others that can be sung because they are stunningly delightful.
One ring at the heart of the Shire. A seven-mile walk that starts where it ends.
Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios is a unique artefact in several ways. It is a live album like no other, in that is truly cohesive in style, mood and configuration, yet it is not a repressing of ‘greatest hits’, nor is it a crowd-pleasing indulgence. It is much closer to a proms concert … Continue reading Antiques, Curios and collectable dreams
Anthony Finnerty: an appreciation of an exceptional companion.
Stroking stringed instruments and kissing winged insects. An appreciation of the second Strawbs album, released in 1970.
How Wilfrid, Cecilia, and their aerobatic friends protect us from aerosol infection.
The ‘first’ Strawbs album The cover of the first A&M Strawbs album released in 1969 is the most incongruous of them all. It bears no emblematic link to the band or any of the tracks. It has not stood the test of time, perhaps because the only possible justification for it was to appeal to … Continue reading Strawbs: Strawbs
There is a quiet thunder where the Hodder and Ribble ram. You feel it more than hear it. There’s a constant wet tumbling, but also a silent thudding, sensed more than detected. It was the only place to go to determine what should be done.
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