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

“The ambition and depth of ‘A Passion Play’ was also something that I was dazzled by when I first heard it.”

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

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

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

The following is a slightly modified version of Tim’s introduction for Luigi Ametta’s A Black Bible –  King Crimson discography from 2000: For me it all started when a friend of mine placed me on an uncomfortable chair and forced me to listen to the whole of In The Court Of The Crimson King without interruption. It was late 1978 … Read More

The following comprises Tim’s review of Bish Bosh and an unedited and expanded version of Tim’s contribution to a Scott Walker article by Dom Lawson. Both appear in Prog magazine‘s issue # 33 What was so remarkable about those first four Scott Walker solo albums? What were the earliest signs that he was an artist with a progressive mindset? One way … Read More

I first came across Radiohead on late night TV in 1993. They were on a show called The Beat performing a song called Creep. Unknown at the time, I felt both the track and the band represented a uniquely arty British take on the Pixies loud-quiet-loud formula, while possessing an edge and paranoia that suggested a depth and a quality … Read More

Overview: Although his music has audible roots in non-Blues singer-songwriter and avant garde Classical styles, Peter Hammill is one of those exceptional musicians who seemed to come out of nowhere fully formed. Even on his 1969 debut with Van Der Graaf Generator, The Aerosol Grey Machine, Hammill’s intense emotionalism, compositional ambition and unpretentious middle class Englishness are immediately apparent.   … Read More