Off the Beaten Tracks – Page 2

My Hundred Favourite Albums, Part 1

IT IS three years since I began this weekly column, based mainly on my music collection but taking in a few side turnings along the way. Finally I have run … Continue readingMy Hundred Favourite Albums, Part 1

A last request

IN A recent email exchange with a knowledgeable country fan from Ballymoney, Co Antrim, I mentioned that I had just about run out of favourite artists to write about. Came … Continue readingA last request

A Jackson Browne study: Part 4

BY the end of Part 3 we had reached the mid-1980s with our hero beginning to introduce social conscience to the music on his album Lawyers in Love. For 1986’s Lives in the Balance, … Continue readingA Jackson Browne study: Part 4

Gram and Emmylou

ONE of the greatest songs of any era, any genre, has to be Love Hurts (Mrs Ashworth writes: Definitely the best pop song ever). Written by the prolific Boudleaux Bryant, it was … Continue readingGram and Emmylou

An Audience with Van Der Graaf

THIS week I am fondly revisiting two bands with much in common. Both were unorthodox additions to the British progressive rock scene in the early Seventies, both were on the … Continue readingAn Audience with Van Der Graaf

Prime Ribot

IN a recent column about Tom Waits, I mentioned the crucial role that guitarist Marc Ribot played in the creation of the classic 1985 album Rain Dogs. It was Marc’s first major session … Continue readingPrime Ribot

Danny Thompson, ace of double bass

IN previous columns I have mentioned the great Danny Thompson in connection with favourites such as Bert Jansch, John Martyn, June Tabor and Maddy Prior, Nick Drake, Tim Buckley and the Incredible String Band. But these are mere … Continue readingDanny Thompson, ace of double bass

Category: Off the Beaten Tracks