Few bands in the history of rock & roll were riddled with as many contradictions as the Who. All four members had wildly different personalities, as their notoriously intense live performances demonstrated. The group was a whirlwind of activity, as the wild Keith Moon fell over his drum kit and Pete Townshend leaped into the air with his guitar, spinning his right hand in exaggerated windmills. Vocalist Roger Daltrey strutted across the stage with a thuggish menace, as bassist John Entwistle stood silent, functioning as the eye of the hurricane.
Average White Band are widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands. Although probably best known for their global hit, the US #1 single ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, this extensive anthology delves back into their musical history, from the early sessions in 1971, right up to the most recent studio album released this millennium. ‘All The Pieces…’ features the band’s entire catalogue of recorded material on a 19CD box set, which includes all of the original studio albums (and ‘spoilers’ ‘Put It Where You Want It’ and ‘Volume VIII’) in mini-vinyl replica wallets, alternate versions and selected mixes, in this 172-track collection…
Think of Canadian rock bands and Rush probably spring to mind, as would Steppenwolf and Triumph. All fantastic bands. That's not to take anything away from April Wine, who in terms of output (if not success), must rank alongside the aforementioned. Classic hard rock that is really worth checking out….
April Wine is a perfect example of a band that critics loved to loathe in the 1970s and 1980s – you could fill an encyclopedia with all the negative reviews that First Glance received in 1978…
Career retrospective from Pub Rock’s angriest man Graham Parker, spread over 6 CDs with a DVD featuring a live set at the Brook Southampton from last year’s final tour with the Rumour…LTW’s Ian Canty looks at 40 years of Camberley’s very own Punk Soul brother….. It wasn’t very promising on the face of it. A resentful 25 year old garage pump attendant with a run through the 60s from Mod to Hippy behind him and a headful of dreams about Van Morrison and Dr Feelgood, matched up with what might have been the cream of the Pub Rock scene. But this was after all of their respective bands had singularly failed to make an impact, so together, in 1976, they stood at the doors of the Last Chance saloon. What wasn’t expected was that with their musical power allied to the petrol pump punk’s lyrical smarts and alarming stage presence, they would blow the doors off the hinges. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Graham Parker and the Rumour.
The Rolling Stones’ 1981 tour was the biggest rock and roll event of the year. The size of the production, the length and the pubulicity surrounding it were unprecedented. They played in the biggest arenas, sometimes for multiple nights, and orchestrated a media blitz which saw them appear on television somewhere in the world at least once a week on local stations, syndicated shows like Rona Barrett’s new news program “Inside & Out” and on cable television with several appearances on the brand new channel MTV. The big tour finale was the pay-per-view broadcast by satellite on the final night…