This week it was announced that Joan Baez is releasing a new album on 2nd March. Whistle Down the Wind will be her first new recording for a decade and its promotion marks the end of more than 50 years of touring for Baez. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5-e4qqvKck The phrase, "whistle down the wind", evokes a forlorn sense…Read more Whistle Down the Wind
Track
Raven
The rain clouds have blown over and the rainbows have faded away. Neil Ardley's bright kaleidoscopic colours have dissipated leaving only black, white and 50/50 shades of grey. These are the colours of penguin suits and polar landscapes but for this Track of the Week we are in temperate regions much closer to Crotchety Man's…Read more Raven
Photograph
There has been an outbreak of man flu at Crotchety Mansions. In the interests of public safety Crotchety Man has cancelled all public engagements for the time being. A number of restrictions have been put in place on current activities, too. This Track of the Week was chosen simply because it was the stand-out track…Read more Photograph
The Fairie Round
An article in New Scientist about the Voyager 1 space craft caught the Crotchety eye the other day. It reports that the primary thrusters that keep Voyager's antenna pointing towards Earth are beginning to fail. Voyager does have backup thrusters but they had not been fired since 1980 so NASA's engineers did not know if they would…Read more The Fairie Round
August & September
Donning his pith helmet and carrying his elephant gun Crotchety Man went out hunting for tracks on the theme of autumn. It proved to be a disappointing expedition. To my mind autumn is a gloriously uplifting time of year and yet all the songs relating to the third quarter of the calendar seem to…Read more August & September
To Luminous Scale
A few days ago I was reading an article by Thomas Hatton on proglodytes.com titled "Some of modern prog's best frontmen are ... women". It makes the point that the progressive rock genre is usually regarded as something reserved for the male of our species, a decorative accessory to the boys' toys that we use to…Read more To Luminous Scale
The Brief and Neverending Blur
One entry in my Release Radar this week stopped me in my woozle tracks. The ears pricked up automatically when I heard something very much like the soft call of a Hidden Orchestra. The eyes opened a little wider when I saw the contrary title, The Brief and Neverending Blur. When I saw Richard Reed…Read more The Brief and Neverending Blur
The Lesson
Do you believe in formal education or are you a proponent of the school of hard knocks? Was your schooling a good preparation for your adult life or did it squeeze every precious drop of creativity from your soul like the juice of the lemon in a lemonade press? Did you leave school/university a rounded…Read more The Lesson
Tears in Heaven
While idly browsing the Web the other day, with my Release Radar playing in the background, my thoughts were hijacked by a bluesy bass solo. I knew immediately that it was something by Colin Hodgkinson. It had to be him because nobody plays bass like Colin Hodgkinson. Switching to the Spotify window I saw the…Read more Tears in Heaven
Starless
For those who are unfamiliar with the British folk music scene The Unthanks are a five-piece folk group led by sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank. The band was formed in 2004 as an all female group called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. After lineup changes that brought Adrian McNally into the band as pianist, arranger, producer…Read more Starless
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