1982’s Toto IV was the best known record by collective of LA studio musicians known as Toto. The record spawned three top ten singles, ‘Africa’, ‘Rosanna’, and ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’. ‘Africa’ in particular is well-loved, with a recent…
Happy Christmas to all quiz participants and a special congratulations to Tony, who pulverised the field in last week’s Bob Dylan quiz, scoring a perfect 20 when the next best player scored 10. This week’s quiz covers a more diverse…
I was originally planning to feature Elton John’s Christmas themed B-side, ‘Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who’d Be A Turkey At Christmas)’, and feature this story, written by my 6 year old daughter about our family vacation. Almost every time I went…
Congratulations to Jim, Rich, and Aaron, who all scored 100% last week, with Rich having the fastest recorded time. This week we’re going to carry on with the Dylan theme from Tuesday’s Bob Dylan post. Can you link two Dylan…
Bob Dylan needs no introduction – he’s one of the key figures in rock music. He helped to define the genre as it matured, especially as a lyricist. He broadened the scope of rock lyrics, utilising both social issues and…
Despite their short career, Joy Division were one of the best known bands from the post-punk era. The Manchester quartet had previously operated as a punk band named Warsaw, but didn’t find their signature sound until they slowed down their…
Last week’s Bowie quiz threw up a couple of different winners than usual – congratulations to Tangerine Trees () and Chris () who both scored 100%. This week’s quiz requires you to match artists from their first name to their…
I enjoy Lincoln and I adore ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’, but I’ve spent far more time with They Might Be Giant’s records for children, ever since my oldest daughter became enthused with our library’s copy of Here Come The 123s.…
For this b-side series, I’m only counting material that wasn’t released on studio albums. For instance, ‘Black Water’ by The Doobie Brothers became a #1 single, after its original release as a b-side, but it was also included on the…
Congratulations to Tony (), who narrowly defeated Murphy’s Law in last week’s Aphoristic Album Reviews Part 2 music quiz. After an epic 50 question last week, this week’s quiz is a little shorter. There are 10 different shots of David…
Joni Mitchell paid her dues playing folk clubs in the mid 1960s, and she wrote songs for other folk artists like Dave Van Ronk, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Judy Collins before she recorded her debut album. Her first song to gain prominence…
We had a lot of high scores in last week’s quiz, but only three players scored 40 Congratulations to J, Murphy’s Law, and Tony, who scored full marks, with Tony scoring the fastest time. After a respite last week, we’re…
Brian Eno was born to a long line of postmen, but went to art school and embarked on a musical career, despite describing himself as a non-musician. Over a long and illustrious career, he’s transformed from a musical outsider to enjoying…
English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock has created cult records all the way back to his days in The Soft Boys in the late 1970s. The Soft Boys began their recording career in Cambridge, and Hitchcock’s closest frame of reference has always…
Last week’s Aphoristic Albums Review quiz (Part 1) was a little tough. But one participant Kame, saw, and conquered. Congratulations to Rich Kamerman, who scored 10% more than the next participant, with 40 I’m planning a followup quiz, which I…
During the first decade of the 2000s, this website was a minor, unremarkable part of the “web reviewing community”, where people reviewed albums as a hobby. Here I revisit another of my favourite sites. Between 1999 and 2006, “Cosmic” Ben…
The early Byrds albums are best known for their cover versions – their take on Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ launched their career, while their second album was named for Pete Seeger’s biblical ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ While Roger McGuinn, David Crosby,…
Congratulations to Tony, who scored 56 out of 69 in last week’s 1001 albums book quiz, and shout-outs to Murphy’s Law and Rich who both scored 54. This week’s quiz is a little different from previous quizzes, in that I…
Growing up in a white middle class neighbourhood, The Clash were an important gateway band for me. Buying Clash albums introduced disco, hip hop, and dub into my record collection. While you could argue that explorations into disco and hip…
We had a whole lotta 100% last week – congratulations to Jim, jprobichaud, Murphy’s Law, Tony, Rich, J., Paul, and Aaron, who all scored full marks. A special shout-out to Rich, who scored the fastest time, having a spare 3:48…
I’ve already posted about my favourite five Van Morrison albums, but all five were released in the 1960s and 1970s. While he didn’t reach the level of his earlier peaks, Van Morrison continued to release fine albums in the 1980s.…
Most rock bands are remembered for their albums, but British pop-punk quartet Buzzcocks are most loved for their compilation Singles Going Steady. The group’s driving, tuneful, and love-lorn songs suited three minute bursts, and their run of a-sides includes ‘Ever…
We had four 19/19s last week in the Jim quiz – congratulations to Jim, Bruce, Murphy’s Law , and Tony! Murphy’s Law had the fastest recorded time. I suspect this week’s quiz might be a bit of a speed race…
During the first decade of the 2000s, this website was a minor, unremarkable part of the “web reviewing community”, where people reviewed albums as a hobby. Here I revisit another of my favourite sites. Steve Knowlton is a witty writer,…
Detroit power-pop maestro Marshall Crenshaw isn’t a household name. But his tuneful, often exuberant, 1982 debut album sometimes sneaks onto greatest album lists. Deservedly so – it’s a great little record of guitar pop, with a timelessly simple three-piece sound,…
Congratulations to Tony (), the only contestant to score 20/20 in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz requires you to complete song lyrics that reference Jim or James. I’m expecting Music Enthusiast to do well this week with a home…
Here’s a brief summation of recent reviews on this review blog, in haiku form. As my wife pointed out, you can’t get much more aphoristic than a haiku. I’ve haiku’d nine records below, an assortment of more obscure efforts by…
During sessions for their debut album Ten, bassist Jeff Ament, guitarist Mike McCready, and vocalist Eddie Vedder improvised a song in the studio. McCready’s opening guitar licks are inspired by Jimi Hendrix, while Vedder made up lyrics on the spot…
Congratulations to “guest” who scored 40/40 in a late entry, and Murphy’s Law, who scored 39/40, in last week’s tough three word song quiz. This week’s requires you to identify which groups are named after members of the band, and…
It’s difficult to blame Lindsey Buckingham for having a chip on his shoulder. He’s the studio mastermind, the live spark, and the restless creator behind the imperious pop era of Fleetwood Mac. But Buckingham is little known by the general…
The Jam are arguably the most British band ever, with all the telltale traits. They: Although they were from the class of 1977, The Jam were never punk. They were often fast and frenetic, but they were 1960s revivalists, taking…
We had three sets of full marks in last week’s quiz – Murphy’s Law, Rich, and Aaron. If I’m interpreting his comment correctly, Murphy’s Law was the fastest, answering 24 questions in less than 2 minutes. This week’s quiz requires…
When I first gained access to the internet, the first information I sought out was record reviews. Before that, I’d been working blind, buying albums based on radio hits. While I rarely look at it now, the All Music Guide was…
Fleetwood Mac‘s 1977 album Rumours was a sales behemoth, jam packed with hits written by the group’s three songwriters, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham. But there was at least one great song that didn’t make the cut –…
Congratulations to Jim and Tony who both scored 20/20 in last week’s guess the band member quiz. This week’s challenge requires you to name the musicians, singers, and composers. It’s a little more wide reaching than some, covering classical and…
I think that, regardless of our musical differences, we can all agree that the current decade has been tough for sharks in popular music. We all ironically enjoyed the performance of the “Left Shark” in Katy Perry’s 2015 Superbowl show,…
Congratulations to Tony and Murphy’s Law, who both scored 19/20 in last week’s quiz – I think everyone missed the 50/50 shot on the Brooks and Dunn question? This week’s quiz is the prequel to last week’s and you can…
When Uncle Tupelo split up after 1993’s Anodyne, guitarist and primary song-writer Jay Farrar seemed the best bet for a successful career with his new act Son Volt. But Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with the remnants of Uncle Tupelo – bassist…
Spring is my favourite time of the year in New Zealand – the days get longer and sunnier. I don’t have a song that I associate with any other season, but my spring song is 10,000 Maniacs’ ‘These Are Days’.…
Congratulations to everyone who made full marks in last week’s 2000s quiz – Rich, Murphy’s Law, and Tony all scored 100%, but Tony was able to finish incredibly quickly. This week’s challenge requires you to identify the named band member…
During ten anarchic years, The Replacements recorded a ton of wonderful songs, self-sabotaged their career, and never achieved the mass success they promised. The Replacements started as part of the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, but they were…
It’s difficult to not pick favourite members in a band like The Moody Blues; during their “Core Seven” albums, between 1967 and 1972, all five members wrote and sang (or in drummer Graeme Edge’s case, recited) their own material. I’ve…
I was pretty amazed when we got three 30/30 in last week’s tough trivia contest – congratulations to Geoff, Tony, and Murphy’s Law. This weeks is based in the 2000s, and requires you to fix a song title by changing…
Jackson Browne is the quintessential 1970s singer-songwriter, a sensitive individual who analysed his difficult relationships into songs. He was extremely well connected into the 1970s soft-rock scene – he dated Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell, wrote the Eagles‘ first hit…
A few months ago we discussed a curious incident at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand, when an intruder broke into the squirrel monkey cage, and was fought off by the tiny primates. The man responsible has appeared in court this week,…
Congratulations to Tony at , who solved last week’s quiz in a mind-blowing 46 seconds. This week’s quiz requires you to name some almost useless music trivia facts. I scored 27/30 – can you beat me and perhaps get the…
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at when bands peak – I’ve always enjoyed band’s later albums where they are more confident and more diverse. My graphs based on my ratings bore this out – this graph was based on…
I’ve been tremendously under the weather this week, and one of the best parts of being sick is the hallucinatory dreams I sometimes experience. In the throes of sickness I dreamed that I interviewed Neil Finn (of Crowded House and…
Last week’s competition could perhaps be described as the Falklands War of Music Quizzes, with Bruce () just pipping Rich by the thinnest of hairs (3 seconds). This week’s quiz requires you to match the song to the decade. …
For some reason, hosting a birthday slumber party for my seven year old daughter on Friday reminded me of this song. The Records are a power-pop band from the late 1970s, best known for the minor hit ‘Starry Eyes’. …
Congratulations to Jim and Tony, who both scored 25/25 in last week’s guitarist quiz. This week you need to match the self-titled album images to the artists. I scored 22/24 – can you beat me and get 100%?
It’s easy to find lists of great debut albums, but personally I often prefer a band’s later records, where they stretch their wings, becoming more diverse and more comfortable in the studio. Bands’ debut albums are often the most pure,…
1970s progressive rock is one of my favourite eras of music – bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and Gentle Giant produced adventurous sonic tapestries. If you broaden the definition of progressive rock outside of symphonic rock acts, you can…
Congratulations to Rich, Steve, and Aaron who scored full marks in last week’s Rolling Stones quiz. This week’s challenge requires you to name the top 25 guitarists from Ranker’s list of best guitarists, with the help of some song titles.…
The New Pornographers emerged in 2000, a conglomerate of talent from nationally successful Canadian bands like Zumpano, Destroyer, and Limblifter. While A.C. Newman is the group’s main creative force, the band spotlighted Neko Case’s warm, sumptuous voice and Dan Bejar’s…
The prodigiously talented Jeff Buckley only made one studio album, 1994’s Grace, before his accidental drowning in the Mississippi River in 1997. \His estate has continued to release a wealth of posthumous material. These range from top notch material like…
Congratulations to jprobichaud and Tony, who both top scored 14/15 in last week’s quiz. This week’s challenge is a rare single artist quiz, where you need to name 24 Rolling Stones albums. I scored 21/24, although I was confused by one…
For some bands, it’s fun to argue what their best album is. Do you prefer Abbey Road, Revolver, or Sgt. Peppers? Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie? But other bands have a canonical best album that’s hard to debate against –…
In New Zealand, this week has witnessed the beginning of sprinter. The daffodils are flowering, and the washing is drying in the sunny breeze. In New Zealand and Australia, some weather scientists have attempted to change our weather paradigm to…
Congratulations to Geoff () who scored 100% in last week’s intensive quiz. And a shout out to Rich, who was 1 point off the perfect score. This week’s quiz requires you to identify notable musicians from their minimalist portraits. …
Years ago, in the infancy of the mainstream internet, I used to be interested in the goings on over at the F***YouCrew. Essentially the F***YouCrew was a live journal community of musical elitists. To join the community, you needed to…
It’s a fair bet that Queen’s Brian May is the only person to have achieved a number one pop song and a PhD in Astrophysics. He combined these two skill-sets in ”39′, an album track from 1975’s A Night At…
Congratulations to all the competitors who scored full marks in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz requires you to complete an epic countdown – make sure you have a spare ten minutes before starting. What can you score out…
I grew up in, and still live in, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, a satellite city of the capital Wellington. Like your average satellite city, it can feel like a cultural vacuum, full of sprawling suburbia – if you want to…
Rickie Lee Jones is a one hit wonder in the eyes of the public; she charted with the jazzy, breezy ‘Chuck E.’s In Love’ from her 1979 debut album, which established her bohemian credentials, dating Tom Waits and wearing a beret.…
Congratulations to all of the contestants who scored full marks in last week’s dropped album quiz. This week’s challenge requires you to link the rain themed lyric to the classic rock song. I scored 14/16 – how did you…
By the mid 1980s, The Clash were in disarray – musical lynch-pin Mick Jones had been fired from the group, and impresario Bernard Rhodes was back pulling the strings. The resulting album, 1985’s Cut The Crap, was widely derided, and…
Congratulations to the plethora of contestants who scored full marks in last week’s Unfinished Albums quiz. This week’s quiz requires you to recognise 16 dropped albums. I scored 16/16 – can you join me on full marks? If you…
The Eagles emerged from California in the early 1970s, initially as Linda Ronstadt’s backing band for her album Silk Purse. They were massively successfully, with a string of chart-topping singles and albums. In particular, their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is one…
Written by guitarist Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, ‘Kashmir’ is one of Led Zeppelin’s most well known and best loved tracks. It’s from their sixth studio album, the sprawling double Physical Graffiti. As well as the Eastern scales than Page…
Congratulations to Boppin’s Blog and Tony, who both scored full marks in last week’s round of death. This week’s quiz involves trivia about unfinished albums. I got 14/14, but it was still an interesting read through some great acts.…
U2 started the 1980s as a post-punk band influenced by Joy Division and Television. As the decade progressed they beefed up their sound, working with notable producers like Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno, and became one of the highest selling…
After a string of successful albums with Crowded House, Neil Finn teamed up with his older brother Tim and recorded a relaxed and low-key album in 1995. The brothers’ previous attempts to write together had been incorporated into the 1991…
Congratulations to Rich, Tony, and 2loud2old, who all scored full marks in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz is slightly macabre – it requires you to identify which of two notable musicians died first. It covers a bit of ground,…
I’ve undergone a career change this week – I’ve dropped from full-time to a few hours a week, while my wife has returned to work almost full-time. It’s been quite a sudden change – we realised that I was finding…
Congratulations to everyone who scored 20/20 in last week’s Lego quiz. This week requires you to find the overlapping word in two song titles. I scored 24, but certainly had to rack my brain on a few of them.…
My most played album over the last month has been Kacey Musgraves’ third major label long player, Golden Hour. Musgraves began her major label career with Same Trailer, Different Park, which musically played straight to Nashville conventions, while questioning the…
My walk to work this week has been different than usual. Can any of my perceptive readers guess which city I’ve been working in? This clue is a red herring, as I haven’t actually been working in Liverpool: I had…
Congratulations to Music Enthusiast Jim, who successfully named 35 of the 37 women in the rock and roll hall of fame. This week’s quiz requires you to name the musical acts from their Lego representations. I scored 20/20, and…
Warren Zevon was an industry veteran by the time he made his major-label debut in 1976. He’d toured with the Everly Brothers as their band leader, and was rooming with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1975. Jackson Browne had…
Congratulations to Tony, who smoked the rest of the field in the tricky song title quiz last week. This week’s quiz requires you to guess the women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with song hints. Remember that…
The members of Radiohead formed the band at high school – they were originally named On A Friday, reflecting their practice regime at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire. It took them an album to find their feet – debut Pablo Honey contained…
Up until this year’s Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe’s entire musical career has consisted of Afro-Futurist concept albums, based around her alter-ego Cindi Mayweather. But with Dirty Computer, Monáe’s created a much more personal album, expressing her political and sexual concerns; she.…
Congratulations to 1001 Albums Geoff, who won the music quiz for a second straight week, scoring 42/90 in joining the bands name. This week’s quiz requires you to guess the song title from some lyrics – all these songs have…
With all the success The Flaming Lips enjoyed with their layered, emotional Pet Sounds-inspired albums like The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi, it’s easy to forget that they started back in the 1990s, as a raw, psychedelic guitar band. This song,…
Congratulations to 1001 Albums Geoff, who scored full marks in last week’s tough singer geography quiz. This week you need to put together 9 letter band names. Normally I don’t find time a problem, but this week I really…
Between 1996 and 2011, Mark Prindle wrote thousands of album reviews for his website, www.markprindle.com. His reviews were often focused just as much on humour as they were on music, as his stream of consciousness style was over the top…
Although jazz bassist Charles Mingus was best known for his musical accomplishments, he was a renaissance man with interests in surprising areas, namely the Charles Mingus Cat Toilet Training Program. Mingus writes that it took him three or four weeks to…
Congratulations to Tony, who scored 40/40 in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz, my score won’t be difficult to beat – I amassed a pathetic 1/32 in this minefield quiz. The idea is to click singers in the pattern Canada, United…
‘Heads Roll Off’ has one of my favourite openings – a Church-like organ fills the room, before a chugging guitar and thick Scottish accent delivers a memorable opening line; “Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name….to anybody that doesn’t have…
Congratulations to Rich, Tony, and 2loud2old, who all scored 25/28 in last week’s 7 to 1 female artist quiz. We’ve been dabbling in pop recently, so this quiz is more classic rock oriented. Name the album, given the albums before…
Piero Scarrufi has run an internet site since the 1980s, covering not only music, but travel, film, politics, and pretty much everything else. He’s a fascinating character, and he’s created an alternative canon of challenging albums from outside the mainstream…
Making and reading lists is one of the Great Pursuits of music geekdom, and I’ve certainly indulged from time to time. But while I generally limit myself to finite, single artist lists, a list written by Bill Wyman (but not…
Congratulations to Tony (), who headed off Rich and Chris for the highest score in a tough duets quiz last week. This week’s quiz looks at female solo artists. Match the top 5 hit song to the female artist. …
It’s been an interesting month for 1970s band reunions – first we had Fleetwood Mac drop Lindsey Buckingham, effectively becoming Fleetwood House and a Heartbreaker. And now ABBA have announced their first new music for 35 years, along with a…
Congratulations to Boppins and Tony, who scored the only 15/15s in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz concerns duets. Pick the pair of artists responsible for each song at I’m not a big fan of all of the featured songs,…
