I came to Tim Buckley via his son Jeff. His work had always been there, but I’d dismissed him as just another American singer-songwriter...

Jeff Buckley died before I'd ever heard him. I got his posthumous album Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk out of the record library,...

Erstwhile drummer with Yes and King Crimson, my interest in Bruford's solo work was awoken about ten years earlier, when he released his...

This is one of the best known and most iconic jazz albums of the bebop era, and a personal favourite. I seem to have always owned this CD...

I've long been a big fan of Jarrett's Köln Concert album, so thought I'd try this album he did with Scandinavian trio Jan Garbarek (sax),...

Teenage Fanclub completely passed me by. I don't recall ever hearing them in the past 30 years, but I'd heard enough about them to...

I'd really enjoyed Scott Walker's album of Brel songs, and we've already visited Rod McKuen's album of translations. This French...

For many, the reaction to a Brand X double CD might be "kill me now", and if I'm honest, I'm not relishing this one. But part of the...

Late 1990s Britpop wars and you had to choose your side. Oasis v Blur. North v South. Working class lads v Middle class ponces. Authentic...

Long ago, a friend lent me the A Week In The Real World compilation, following a request for a selection of African music. What actually...

I think I first heard the Blind Boys Of Alabama on a Real World compilation and really enjoyed what I heard, despite having had no...

I knew Frank Black as Black Francis in The Pixies, so this CD was obviously worth a punt for a quid in a charity shop. I don't recall yet...

I was completely unaware of The Birthday Party while they existed, and only investigated on discovering Nick Cave several years later....

I really don't remember what made me buy this album, my first exposure to The Blue Nile, but it made an instant impression. I went on to...

Obviously, I knew Hi Ho Silver Lining, but was there more to Jeff Beck than that? For years I'd had a cassette with a track of Beck and...

Mark Stewart, singer with The Pop Group died yesterday. He was only 62, a couple of months younger than me, and it's an eye-opener to...

In the gap between being the Housemartins' bassist, and hitting global mega-stardom as Fat Boy Slim, Norman Cook tested the public's...

The Barrett albums were spoken of in my youth in hushed tones, as things to approach with caution, Syd having gone a bit odd after...

I often buy a CD just because I feel I ought to have heard something by this band/artist, so seeing a The Band 'best of', I thought I'd...

Another birthday present of Italian prog from daughter's boyfriend. I do love these little gifts, even if the music's not always to my...