Category: Off the Beaten Tracks

THIS week’s subject featured recently in the Times Saturday Review column My Culture Fix. Rickie Lee Jones was asked who, in her opinion, was the most underrated figure around. ‘Myself,’ … Continue readingRickie Lee Jones, Duchess of Coolsville

DURING my early years in journalism, I was lucky enough to interview a number of musicians. I have already described my meeting with the delightful Kevin Coyne, at which he … Continue readingIn praise of Bryn Haworth

THIS month marked the 50th anniversary of an LP release which was to prove a landmark in modern music. Hot Rats, by Frank Zappa, is without doubt the album I have … Continue readingHot Rats’ Golden Jubilee

AT a recent reunion lunch for Fleet Street hacks, I was reminded of a boast I made in the late 1970s – ‘I’ve got more Leo Kottke albums than Leo … Continue readingLeo the lion

LAST week we left Yes basking in the success of their breakthrough third LP, The Yes Album, which went platinum in America. They were, however, far from content to rest on their laurels. … Continue readingJust Say Yes, part 2

FOLLOWING my recent column about Genesis, I have received thousands of requests (well, a good few) to look at another giant of the British progressive rock scene. To which my … Continue readingJust say Yes

IN a previous column, we left Joni Mitchell feeling battered and bruised after being ditched by James Taylor, consoled little by the success of her classic fourth album, Blue. So what … Continue readingAfter Blue – what Joni did next

WHEN I first heard Jonathan Richman I thought he was simply playing a character – a naïve childlike figure who saw beauty in ordinary things and sang simple songs about … Continue readingThe forever innocent Jonathan Richman

WE left Nick Drake last week in the depths of misery after the commercial failure of his debut album Five Leaves Left. A series of disastrous live appearances at small venues … Continue readingNick Drake Part 2 – Darker Later

GIVEN that the skunk weed available today is at least double the strength of the cannabis which was on the street fifty years ago, I fear greatly for the mental … Continue readingAlas, poor Nick Drake