The parrot is a cunning bird ... ... but that is not what this blog post is about. An album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks was released on vinyl in 1973. It was called, simply, Buckingham Nicks. Shortly afterwards, Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, and their debut offering was eclipsed by their new…Read more Cunningham Bird
rock
This Could Be Texas
The wind is picking up. A hurricane is coming. Run, Dorothy! There's been a lot going on in Crotchety Land recently, and I haven't been paying attention to what's happening in the wider world. In particular, I haven't been keeping an eye on the Mercury Music Prize. While I've been distracted, the winner of this…Read more This Could Be Texas
The Story of Mr. Bogd, part 1
Once upon a time, there were four musicians from Sweden who decided to form a prog rock band. They called themselves Ritual. Over the next 15 years, they recorded and released four studio albums and one live. Their fifth studio album, The Story of Mr. Bogd, part 1, was released earlier this month, after a…Read more The Story of Mr. Bogd, part 1
Tom Penaguin
If you are wondering what a penguin has to do with a Zeppelin, read that title again. There's an 'a' in Tom Penaguin, and he's French, so his name is pronounced more like penaga than penagwin. And the airship is from the artwork for his experimental project, Soundtrack for Places I've Never Been Vol 1.…Read more Tom Penaguin
The New Normal
There's an important prerequisite for readers of this post: you must have a Good Sense Of Humour. You will need to take track titles such as Stroboscopic Fennel, Bach Stabber and Stupid Pop Song in your stride if you are going to enjoy this latest collection of prog/fusion pieces from Trifecta. We met Trifecta in…Read more The New Normal
Blood In The Water
Ian Anderson, Al Di Meola, Leslie Mandoki, Richard Bona In 1992, László "Leslie" Mándoki, a Hungarian drummer and producer, started his Soulmates project. The original line-up was: Ian Anderson (flute, vocals), Jack Bruce (bass, vocals), Al Di Meola (guitar) and Leslie Mandoki himself (drums, vocals). That's plenty to justify a post in these pages. But…Read more Blood In The Water
Fragments
If you live in the U.S. or Australia, you may be familiar with the word 'trifecta'. It's a type of bet in which the punter predicts the first three finishers in a horse race, in the right order. But this Old Man is not interested in horses or gambling and, anyway, here in the U.K.…Read more Fragments
Prelude to Ecstasy
The Last Dinner Party were formed in 2021 in the midst of the Covid lockdown. They exploded onto the indie/pop scene in April 2023 reaching no. 19 in the UK pop charts with the single, Nothing Matters. Their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, was released on 2nd February 2024, and it's a corker. As a…Read more Prelude to Ecstasy
Dormiveglia
Did you know there's a word for that state between sleep and wakefulness when you slip into the world of imagination, but you are not quite dreaming? In fact, there are two words in English: hypnagogia for the transition from awake to asleep, and hypnopompia for waking up. Italian has just the one (as far…Read more Dormiveglia
Signs of Life
Is it alive? I am going to give Signs of Life the highest accolade available to me: after one spin it was ordered for the Crotchety Collection and will soon make a small dent in the bank balance. It's a curious beast, though. More an album of poetry than music. And it sits well off-centre…Read more Signs of Life
Crotchety Man 