Both of them were born in 1949, both of them contributed their talents to British music scene – enough to change it – and both of them publish their autobiographies this year: one already out and the other forthcoming. Both are producers – only both David Courtney and Mike Batt are much more than that. Aming other things, they are hitmakers – in songwriting terms.
Given the fact that every Geraint Watkins recording is an excuse for having a bout of unbridled fun, it’s easy to imagine how exhilarating the singing piano player’s concert performances are. Unfortunately, his live albums don’t see the light as often as one may want, yet the veteran’s forthcoming offering is exactly this kind of a sonic document.
One doesn’t have to wonder why Fernando Perdomo doesn’t have time to trim his beard, as his work rate is truly astounding: having fairly recently issued "Art" – which was a joint effort with Matt Tecu – the American musician not only followed it up with a solo platter titled "Self" but also came up with another collaborative project, this time with a fellow multi-instrumentalist Ian Gothe. And this time the two pay homage to the original gods of light, CAMEL.
It’s been four decades since Thurston Moore embarked on a solo career, and since SONIC YOUTH went on indefinite hiatus in 2011 the stream of his albums has become rather steady, the singer’s last platter “Screen Time” released as fairly recently as 2021. Yet, apparently, it’s Thurston’s 1995 debut “Psychic Hearts” that’s his forthcoming offering “Flow Critical Lucidity” is most closely related to. To be issued on September 20th, this record reflects Moore’s fascination with reveries which became obvious on his band’s classic “Daydream Nation” back in the day.
There’s no other rock twang as soulfully resonant as Steve Cropper‘s one, and without his recordings for Stax – be it on Booker T.’s “Green Onions” or Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” – modern music as we know it wouldn’t be the same. The guitarist’s solo platters are no less impressive, although Cropper can hardly be called a prolific artist in his own right and his sessions may outshine what the veteran releases under his own name, so each of Steve’s albums is a compact set of robust statements. His last, “Fire It Up” from 2021, wasn’t an exclusion to the rule – yet his next should feel even more arresting.
