1970s

Baker Street

London is a big city. A really big city. The population of Greater London is currently estimated to be about 8.6 million, only slightly less than New York. Crotchety Man was brought up in the suburbs of England's capital city and it will always have special memories for me. London, though, can be a lonely place…Read more Baker Street

Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant was a big band. When I say 'big band' I don't mean they sound like the popular 50's dance bands led by the likes of Ted Heath, Billy Cotton or Glen Miller. Gentle Giant's music is very different. It sits under the umbrella of progressive rock, but it incorporates elements from a wide range…Read more Gentle Giant

Soft Machine

I just love the Internet! The other day an email dropped into my in-box inviting me to listen to Karl Jenkins on composed.com which is, apparently, a brand new streaming service. "Oh, that's good", I thought, "I'd like to hear some of that". The email described Karl Jenkins as an award-winning composer, which he is,…Read more Soft Machine

Yes

There was a lot of good music on the radio in the late sixties but by the time I started university in 1971 it had been almost entirely replaced with banal and sickly-sweet pop songs. Look away now if, like me, you don't want to be reminded of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, Grandad or Bridget…Read more Yes

Journey of a Sorcerer

A few days ago I was listening to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music when over the airwaves came the theme tune from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Stuart Maconie was doing the show solo that day and the track was part of The Chain - "officially the longest running listener-generated thematically-linked…Read more Journey of a Sorcerer

Feels Good To Me

I was going to have All Heaven Let Loose by Bill Bruford's Earthworks as my album of the month for March but it's not available on Spotify and there's not much point writing about music my readers can't listen to. So, instead, I'm going back to Bill Bruford's first release as a solo artist, Feels Good To…Read more Feels Good To Me

King Crimson

They say, if you invent a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door. I think there is some truth in that, but it has to be a much better mousetrap. Fortunately, there are a few examples of products that are so desirable that they hardly need to be promoted at all: the Morgan sports car, the…Read more King Crimson

Back Door

We're half way through January already, so I think it's time to start the Album of the Month. Here's one for jazz fans, although there's nothing quite like it - not even in the infinite space of the Internet. Whatever your musical tastes are your education won't be complete until you've listened to Back Door's eponymous…Read more Back Door