Tanita Tikaram Returns To Action With Fresh Longplay

May 23, 2025

It’s hard to believe that close to four decades have passed since “Twist In My Sobriety” – a second single from Tanita Tikaram‘s debut album, “Ancient Heart” – became a massive hit; and it’s hard to believe that was so massive, because quite a lot of people have forgotten the infectious song. The British chanteuse couldn’t recapture this success, and perhaps the diminishing chart action determined her unwillingness to issue new music, the musician’s latest offering being “Closer To The People” from 2016. And yet, October 10th is when her tenth longplay will hit the shelves.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

Interview with Judge Smith

May 22, 2025

People like this are called mavericks because they cut their own unorthodox path through crowded fields, only branding Judge Smith in such a way would be wrong. Often mentioned as a cofounder of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, Smith took care of transforming his ever-so-important role in the classic ensemble’s creation into a mere reference in his genre-defying oeuvre, and Judge’s solo albums are remarkable in their thematic and stylistic scope.

Still very much active, the veteran nevertheless decided to take stock of his textual output in 2024 and published a book of lyrics – and reading it can provide a peek into Judge Smith’s personality, too, while speaking to this artist shines even more light on his brilliant mind.

Read the interview.
 

Posted in News Tagged

JETHRO TULL Drill Deep Into “Living In The Past”

May 21, 2025

Perhaps, the first artists to recognize commercial potential of different versions and out-takes, as well as non-album singles packed together with rare material, JETHRO TULL seemed sure to succeed when they put together a comp titled “Living In The Past” in 1972. Still, the record taking a third line in “Billboard” charts felt rather surprising, given the tracks collected on the double-LP hailed from before "Aqualung" and “Thick As A Brick” established the British ensemble as a global force to reckon with. However, the five-odd decades that passed since the platters’ release haven’t diminished the connoisseurs’ interest to those tracks, even though quite a few of them reemerged on the band’s box sets, which is why the news of reissue of the entire compendium of the veterans’ formative era should delight many a fan.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

John McLaughlin Delivers Another Report From Montreux

May 19, 2025

Even though sometimes there are decade-long gaps in his discography, John McLaughlin always keeps his listeners on their toes, because each new entry in the long list of the British legend’s records shines a new light on the art of fusion. His last studio album being 2021’s “Liberation Time” which captured the essence of the pandemic, and a concert one “Live in San Francisco” from three years prior to that, it’s about time Mahavishnu John delivered something new – and on August 8th, McLaughlin will.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged

GOLDEN EARRING Flipped Their “Switch” For Its Golden Jubilee

May 18, 2025

It might not have been as glorified as “Moontan” whence “Radar Love” emerged to make GOLDEN EARRING an international proposition, but “Switch” – the Dutch veterans’ tenth longplay, released in 1975 – housed another bona fide classic, a future B-side for IRON MAIDEN who covered “Kill Me (Ce Soir)” in 1990. However, dismissing the rest of the album, very much progressive and funky at the same time, would be nigh on criminal, as each of the platter’s tracks is precious, especially when assessed as part of the whole record. And now this record has been expanded within the ensemble’s reissue programme.

Continue reading →

Posted in News Tagged