Category: Off the Beaten Tracks

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

AS if it were not enough to be a virtuoso on guitar, piano and accordion, and a decent singer to boot, today’s subject played a mean trampoline. Nils Lofgren has … Continue readingWorld Exclusive: Nils Lofgren – the interview

OUR destination this week is the Land of Prog – a magical country whose population includes a woman in evening gown with the head of a fox, blood-drinking snakes and … Continue readingGenesis – when Prog ruled the Earth