This is a revised and expanded version of an attempt I made in February 2011 to try and encapsulate my main musical tastes in just 10 albums. My belief is that the most influential pieces of music in a musician’s life aren’t necessarily the artist’s favourites and aren’t necessarily the albums the artist considers to be the best of all … Read More
Jethro Tull
“The ambition and depth of ‘A Passion Play’ was also something that I was dazzled by when I first heard it.”
Flowers At The Scene Album Notes
“I decided to resurrect an idea we had in the 1990s of the no-man production team (we’d always liked the concept of albums being produced by no-man and carrying something of the band’s DNA into other artist’s releases). Very belatedly, Flowers At The Scene became the idea’s first manifestation.”
Kevin Godley / 10cc
The following is something I wrote for the 10cc fan site regarding Kevin Godley’s involvement on Flowers At The Scene. It contains some sections from other writing I’ve done, but as it gives an overview of my interest in KG’s work, I thought it appropriate to add here. For years I only listened to John Barry’s film music, hymns (courtesy … Read More
Plenty – It Could Be Home
Anywhere But Widnes – Plenty (An Origin Story) Plenty existed from July 1986 to November 1988 and had a partial resurrection in June 1990. The band fluctuated between being a quartet and a trio, but the longest lasting line-up comprised me, Brian Hulse and David K Jones. My frequent six-string magician of choice Michael Bearpark was a part of the … Read More
Lost In The Ghost Light
Psychoderelict: If it looks like a Rock Opera, smells like a Rock Opera, then…… I was tempted, in true 1970s style, to offer an enigmatic explanation that offered more questions than answers, but as Lost In The Ghost Light has nothing to do with cosmic coincidences or creatures of myth and legend (well, perhaps something of the latter), I felt … Read More
Peter Gabriel
The following review appeared in Prog Magazine Issue 60 (October, 2015): Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (4 / ‘Security’) Like Kate Bush’s equally brilliant The Dreaming (released only 7 days after PG4), Peter Gabriel’s fourth solo album was an innovative fusion of cutting-edge sampling, primal rhythms, provocative globe-spanning lyrics, soulful singing, and strikingly memorable songs. By 1982, Peter Gabriel was … Read More
David Bowie
In selecting the Album Notes inspirations, I’ve partly been guided by what I feel I can say something interesting about. With some artists, there’s just too much to say. Their careers are so complex and diverse that I find it difficult to succinctly sum up the artist, or their effect on my own work. With other artists, it’s the opposite; … Read More
Stupid Things That Mean The World
Stupid Beginnings Stupid Things That Mean The World was finished in late April 2015. In terms of release dates, it seemed to emerge quickly after Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, but the truth felt somewhat different. All the recording for Abandoned Dancehall Dreams had been completed by December 2013. As a result, there was a lot of time to prepare the final … Read More
Schoolyard Ghosts
These are Tim’s sleeve notes from the August 2014 double cd reissue of Schoolyard Ghosts. Playground Fears: Schoolyard Ghosts came together between Spring 2006 and Spring 2008 and unlike other no-man albums, its starting points almost exclusively drew on material I brought in. What resulted felt unified and like an evolution of no-man, but the process of making it was probably the … Read More