As the Day-Glo tide of psychedelic that swept over the U.K. in the late '60s began to recede, something far less ornate and flashy took root in its place. Spurred on by the artistic and commercial success of Traffic's folk- and jazz-influenced debut album – which was recorded out in the countryside – the Byrds headlong plunge into country-rock on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and the Band's brilliant slice of backwoods Americana, Music from Big Pink, all sorts of groups and artists sprouted up to play loose and wooly blends of organically grown folk, country, jazz, and rock. Some of the bands were beat group leftovers looking to evolve past paisley (the Searchers, the Tremeloes), some were city boys gone to seed (Mott the Hoople, the Pretty Things), and some were just weirdos like Greasy Bear, or lazy-Sunday balladeers like Curtiss Maldoon, all doing their own freaky thing.
The Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers. Where the Pistols were nihilistic, the Clash were fiery and idealistic, charged with righteousness and a leftist political ideology. From the outset, the band was more musically adventurous, expanding its hard rock & roll with reggae, dub, and rockabilly among other roots musics. Furthermore, they were blessed with two exceptional songwriters in Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, each with a distinctive voice and style. The Clash copped heavily from classic outlaw imagery, positioning themselves as rebels with a cause.
Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, The Soundtrack is all set for release through Universal Music on 8 June 2018. The soundtrack album accompanies the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story which will also be released with new exclusive content on the same day. The soundtrack will be the first official career retrospective compilation for the guitar virtuoso. As well as key tracks from Mick Ronson’s solo records, the compilation includes material from his key collaborations with David Bowie, Elton John, Ian Hunter, Queen and Michael Chapman.
One of the most sought-after of all ‘60s cult LPs, 1967’s Hapshash and the Coloured Coat Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids is the sort of record that could only have emerged during the psychedelic era, and a vibrant manifestation of that period’s freewheeling, boundary-breaking spirit of musical adventure. Hapshash and the Colored Coat—the English duo of Michael English and Nigel Weymouth—initially achieved notoriety as a graphic design team whose distinctive visual sensibility placed them at the center of London’s original psychedelic explosion. The pair’s vivid visual imagination spawned album covers and countless posters promoting performances at London’s legendary UFO Club by such acts as Pink Floyd and the Incredible String Band. Those visual works brilliantly captured the London scene’s buoyant, mind-expanding vibe, and feature some of the psychedelic era’s most arresting imagery.
Under the Covers is collaboration between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs. Volume 1 and 2 contains 36 cover versions of favorite songs from the 1960s and 1970s.