All female and all American this week – Suzanne Vega plays folk (with some punk). while two non-country artists make a country album together. Suzanne Vega Flying With Angels 2025, 8/10New York singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega produced one of the 1980s’…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 3 Crawl by Atlas Topped the NZ chart for 7 weeks from 12 March 2007 ‘Crawl’ is another unexpected mega chart-topper from New Zealand. After nu-metal and alt-rock was largely extinct, ‘Crawl’ topped the NZ…
Let’s take another break from sorting albums this week and guess which half of the decade songs belong to. Remember that 1975 is in the decade’s second half. I scored 42/50 – solid, but mildly disappointing. Can you beat…
The late John Martyn never enjoyed the mass acclaim that his immense talent deserved. Nonetheless, he delivered a string of great records in the 1970s and early 1980s. He started as a folk artist, emerging in the late 1960s alongside…
Alt-rock and prog rock this week. Blondshell’s refined her angsty alt-rock, while Neal Morse recruits a veteran band and gives them a hokey name. Blondshell If You Asked For A Picture 2025, 8.5/10Sabrina Teitelbaum took a while to find her…
The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA. Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001.…
We’re still sorting albums this week, and up to V. Can you tell the Violator from the Vulture Prince? I’m ineligible because I created the quiz. Congratulations to Tony, who scored 14/15 in last week’s quiz. Here’s ‘Ben Franklin’.…
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been covering The Beach Boys’ solo careers – albeit only two of them. Brian Wilson’s solo albums of new material, starting with 1988’s self-titled record, show flashes of brilliance, although they often suffer…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 5 The Twist by Chubby Checker Topped the NZ chart for 2 weeks from 25 January 1962 Chubby Checker was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, largely because of a handful…
The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA. Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001.…
