❤️❤️❤️ The three tunes here all came through on the airwaves at Crotchety HQ very recently. Each one acquired a green heart 'like' on my Spotify account. Let's start with a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song from a concert that they recorded at the very end of 1969. The Lee Shore was first released…Read more Three Recent Likes
1970s
Gordon Lightfoot
Performing at Canada's 150th birthday celebration, 2017 The Crotchety household was saddened this week to hear that Gordon Lightfoot has died. The missus and I often listened to his 1981 compilation album, The Best of Gordon Lightfoot, in the early days of our relationship. For us, the Lightfoot name brings back memories of feelgood days…Read more Gordon Lightfoot
Out of the Mist
The original line-up of Renaissance was: Keith Relf (guitar, vocals), Jim McCarty (drums, vocals), Louis Cennamo (bass), John Hawken (piano) and Keith's sister, Jane Relf (vocals). The band was formed in the Spring of 1969 and just a year later it was falling apart. Through various personnel changes, the band quickly morphed into a second…Read more Out of the Mist
I Believe In …
Sunday is the target day for a regular Crotchety blog post. This year, though, the fourth Sunday in December falls on Christmas Day, and I will have other things on my mind. Quite apart from the present giving and the usual festive meal with the family, there is also a funeral on the near horizon.…Read more I Believe In …
Once Again
Once more unto the breach, dear friends! The advertisers are bombarding us with Christmas offers. That's allowed in this house now that bonfire night has come and gone. But, this year, I have a secret weapon to counter the assault. You see, I installed an ad-blocker in my Web browser recently, and it's doing a…Read more Once Again
Changes
Here in the UK, summer has slipped gently into autumn. It's always a season of change, but recent events have been much more dramatic than usual. We have a new prime minister. We have said a fond farewell to our queen of the last 70 years. And, closer to the Crotchety home, my father has…Read more Changes
I’m the One
There's something unique about this woman. No, not Leeloo in the 5th Element film, I'm talking about Annette Peacock, the American composer and musician who released her debut album, I'm the One in 1972. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs9zwqXsceUjPhAZQhNJ2OKYbdNvSeofE In the film, Leeloo is grown in a lab from an alien blueprint, and the scene of her awakening is…Read more I’m the One
Solution
Here's a problem for you: What do you get if you add a solute to a solvent? That's right, you get a solution. But that doesn't mean you can dissolve every problem. When I was a student, I had a summer vacation job at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, an official establishment that analyses…Read more Solution
Marscape
Marscape is, effectively, a prequel to the early Brand X albums. It's the Robin Lumley and Jack Lancaster input to Unorthodox Behaviour and Moroccan Roll. If you pay attention, you can hear all four permanent members of the 1970s line-up of Brand X in this Marscape; some of the tunes were carried over to the…Read more Marscape
Kaipa
Ura Kaipa was the name of a Swedish chieftain, and also the original name of the Swedish prog rock band, Kaipa. Less original was the title of their first album, Kaipa, which was released in 1975. The band was unknown to Crotchety Man until it was brought to my attention by the latest issue of…Read more Kaipa
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