I was saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Jones, a multi-talented artist known, of course, for his work with the Monty Python team but also his fascination with history,…
Browsing Category
Musical Ramblings
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If you like VU meters and your hi-fi just isn’t providing the necessary hardware required, what do you do? Where do you go? Paul Rigby discovers a hidden world for the…
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I’ve touched on the notion of influence and the influencer before in past columns. You see it all around when new singers name-check their heroes and talk about how this or…
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…and then there was the time that literary critic, author and TV personality Clive James could have been a pop/rock star. Paul Rigby remembers an interview with the great man who…
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When radio was king, back when you had to be in radio or your career was on the skids, a host of unique recordings were made: immediate, vital and full of…
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When band members dare to go solo, fans often have trouble coping with the change, Paul Rigby focuses on a few examples and looks at how musicians evolve The name Bram…
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(This feature has been dragged out of the archives for you, back when downloads were a significant force in the industry, I think it retains relevance in these days of streaming…
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Society in general tends to look at major musical stars with a mixture of hero worship and awe. How do they see themselves, though? And what is their view on the host…
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Here’s one from the archives that may be of interest to blues fans. Here I talked to music fan and fellow scribbler, one of the nicest guys in the business, Bill…
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I was at University at the time, in Liverpool around the early eighties. The local commercial radio station, Radio City, had sponsored a series of intriguing concerts strung over a few…
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I’d be around 13 or 14 when punk hit. I hadn’t then immersed myself into the scene but I was immediately aware of its effects. The Sex Pistols, for example, were…
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Title: Topographic Drama Label: Rhino During it’s 2016 tour, Yes played its 1980 album Drama in its entirety. The first time it had ever done such a thing. More than that,…
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We’re constantly told to buy bigger, better and more expensive to improve the sound of our hi-fi systems. But, what if removing things could do the same thing? What if taking…
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Do you ever frequent record fairs? They are wonderful places. There is nothing quite like being faced with a large room full of vinyl and CDs to get the collecting juices…
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It was famed group, Throbbing Gristle, that introduced the term ‘Industrial Music’ into the music firmament via their own Industrial Records label (which released LPs by outfits such as Clock DVA,…
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It’s horribly paternalistic and ‘Western’ to say this and also pushes aside hundreds of years of music history into a large corner but the electric guitar might just be the most…
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I have a problem with blues music. Not the genre, not the songs themselves, not the black originators or even their apprentices. I have a problem with European, white, ‘blue-eyed’, blues…
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Pop music. It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing. It can lift your spirits, divert your attention, provide a few valuable minutes of escapist fantasy and put a great big smile upon your…
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What’s that saying again? ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.’ It was apparently created by the Victorian educator, William Edward Hickson. If you are of an optimistic…
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I come over all ‘Grumpy Old Man’ whenever I see a Leaf Blower. The Leaf Blower has to be one of the most inefficient, downright wasteful and completely pointless instruments of…
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Eddie Shuler first tasted the business of music when he ran his own music store in the 40s in Louisiana, Lake Charles to be exact. He even served in that business…
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Musical RamblingsVocal Harmonies: Can I have a ‘Hell fried cuck-a-lucka wanna jubba’ to go, please?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I do like the combination and amalgamation of a number of voices that emerge as a harmony. There is something quite magical…
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I don’t intend to patronise but I do feel sorry for Keef Hartley and his band. “Keef, who?” you ask. Well, exactly. The Rolling Stones’ Mr Richards is not the only ‘Keef’…
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As a singer, it’s all very well being the one that the crowd adores, screams at, triggers tears of joy and yearning. I’m sure it’s rather nice to be recognised in…
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You know, age is a weird thing. Getting old, which is a subtly but arguably more important difference, is weirder still. I’m 52 which, these days, is not old at all.…
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When accruing music in whatever format, do you describe yourself as a collector, a completist or one step away from the edge of insanity? Paul Rigby tries to recognise the signs,…