In the previous entry in this blog I mentioned A Trip To The Fair, a track on the Scheherazade And Other Stories album by Renaissance recorded and released in 1975. That song recounts a spooky incident at a funfair. Now, there's an eerily similar song on Ralph McTell's 1969 album, Spiral Staircase; it's called simply The Fairground. The two…Read more The Fairground
Scheherazade …
The trouble with classical music is that it has no punch. The notes have no attack; melodies wander aimlessly; movements stagnate. Where is the zing of a plucked metal string, or the thwack from a flick of a hickory stick on a taut sheet of calfskin? The trouble with rock music is that it's all Punch…Read more Scheherazade …
Big Yellow Taxi
It's been a rather miserable summer in the UK so far. Here in the middle of England there's hardly been a day when it didn't rain or at least threaten to. There have been sunny periods, too, but I've lost count of the times we planned to go out for the day and at the…Read more Big Yellow Taxi
Lady Rachel
From ghoulies and ghosties And long-leggedy beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us. There's a fine line, sometimes, between a curious dream and a terrifying nightmare. The flimsy tissue-paper barrier between benign and malignant worlds, between the familiar and the unknown, is conjured up perfectly for us by Kevin Ayers in his song Lady Rachel.…Read more Lady Rachel
Maria Browne
It was the 100th anniversary of the start of the battle of the Somme the other day. The battle lasted the best part of 5 months. 20,000 men died on the first day; one million were killed or injured all together. It is difficult to imagine how we can inflict such misery on ourselves and yet there was…Read more Maria Browne
I Vow To Thee …
Last Saturday Crotchety Man went back to school. It was the first time I had visited my old school, St. Dunstan's College, in more than 45 years. My father, who also went to St. Dunstan's, had visited a couple of years ago when they celebrated the 125th anniversary of moving to their present site in south London. This time…Read more I Vow To Thee …
This Wheel’s On Fire
I remember walking down Putney High Street back in 1968. It was summer and I had time to kill. In the late sixties Putney was a rather dull part of south west London; it probably still is. After so many years I can only guess why I was there. It was where my dad worked and it must have…Read more This Wheel’s On Fire
Magnolia
It's prog, Jim, but not as we know it. Magnolia is the latest album by The Pineapple Thief, which is generally regarded as a progressive rock band. But that categorisation sits uneasily with Crotchety Man. When I think of 'prog' my first thoughts are of Yes, Genesis and King Crimson and then ELP, Gentle Giant and perhaps Jethro Tull.…Read more Magnolia
Golden Brown
The Stranglers were formed when punk was sweeping away the bland and sickly sweet pop groups of the early seventies. They toured with the American punk band, The Ramones, and regarded themselves as part of the punk scene. But they were never a punk band. Originally called The Guildford Stranglers the band was assembled in 1974 by Jet Black (real…Read more Golden Brown
The Kinks
It was 1963 when the Beatles' She Loves You sparked my road to musical Damascus moment. For the next two or three years the Beatles were the benchmark for every song I heard on the radio. Only the Rolling Stones challenged them for the honour of the Crotchety Kid's 'best band' rosette. But there was another group at that time that sounded…Read more The Kinks
Crotchety Man 