Music Q&A

Charlotte Beugge writes: Some old records fetch £10,000, others – such as a Blur LP worth £70 – are fast risers http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10947022/Ten-most-valuable-albums-of-all-time.html

PLV NESS writes … Dude, where have you been for the past fifty years? You need to lay off that wacky weed and pay closer attention to life. ‘Wings’ was always seen as a serious endeavor. All 23 of ‘Wings’ U.S. singles registered Top 40 hits. Over the years, the band won six Grammy Awards, […]

NEIL A writes … Many writers use various means to create music, and Bowie seems to have been one of these. The early songs appear to have been written in a very traditional way, by sitting down at a guitar or piano and finding chord structures that worked, then putting a tune to that, and […]

G ROWLAND writes … ‘Something’ is a lovely song, but if you were Paul McCartney you’d have some license to regard it as charming but ultimately somewhat naive, a bit of an easy win for a composer. Why? Because the harmonic structure relies on something which is known as ‘Line Cliche’ in music theory, which […]

J. Spangler writes: Yes he did. Especially John Lennon. As related by author Chris Hutchins (who for some unknown reason confused the California Bel-Air mansion with Graceland when relating this anecdote {The Beatles and Elvis never met at Graceland}), who took the Fab Four to meet the King at his mansion at 525 Perugia Way, […]

Neil, I’m a new follower of the Grateful Dead and I would like advise me a good performance of Grateful Dead, containing the song “Dark Star” and if possible you can buy on DVD What is the best performance by Grateful Dead recorded or  on DVD ? Thanks you very much Hello and thank you. […]

SCOTT M writes … Several reasons. He was coming under the influence of drugs, and being in a band with Keith was making it feel like the drugs were ok. Mick failed to stay away from drugs after leaving the band. Mick was bored with the type of music the Stones were playing. He was […]

KEITH R writes … “Better?” I am an old turd (late 50’s) music fan that writes album reviews for a local publication, and let me assure you, there is a lot of GREAT music still being made today, by VERY talented musicians. You have to WANT to find it, and you have to get over […]

ROBERT G writes … Yes, Rod Stewart. Elton John, too. But I remind, the “major drop off in terms of quality” is subjective, of course. Therefore we answer in terms of our opinions. For me, maybe others, too, it is about the integrity that one builds within his/her fanbase, friends, etc. Like it or not, […]

PATRICIA P WRITES … Paul usually doesn’t write in first person but has on some occasions. The song wasn’t written about himself and Jane Asher. They were actually on vacation together when Paul wrote the song. The song was written in 1966 while Paul was 24. He seemed to be a bit young to write […]

JAY S … Yes, in 1975, while The Floyd were recording the album “Wish You Were Here”. During recording, Barrett (now heavyset, with a completely shaved head and eyebrows) wandered into the studio. Because of his drastically changed appearance, the band did not recognize him for some time. When they eventually realised that the withdrawn […]

DAVID R …. Sadly, Sly Stone was recently reported to be homeless living in a van in Los Angeles. Someone interviewed him, and he said he would still perform if the opportunity presented itself. I think he has some serious issues if he has got to that point in life. I’d love to see him […]

ROBERT G … An icon of the era, and now a Nobel laureate, Dylan missed Woodstock even though he lived close to the upstate New York venue. Bob, at his home in Woodstock Popular legend has it that Dylan was so annoyed at the constant stream of hippies showing up at his door that he […]

THOM H writes … Well, there actually three I can think of off the top of me ‘ead: Their Satanic Majesties Request ( 1967) – I really enjoyed this album when it came out and it is still, to me and enjoyable listen. I think that Stones fans were very much used to them recording […]

ROBIN M writes … This is going to get me in a lot of trouble with Queen fans. I find them a little disturbing myself. I’m not into PC culture because it has gone too far and is now more harmful than helpful to society IMO—even for those it is supposed to protect— so I’m […]

JD WRITES …. There was a period of time when Rod Stewart was a phenomenal rock singer. His work with Jeff Beck and The Faces was hard to beat. His solo work, of course, is classic. I’d put Maggie May near the top of the list of Great Male Rock Vocals. Then, it seemed (at […]

RJH writes … Ringo was/is a very good drummer. Solid with the timing of a metronome and very, very innovative. As a session drummer and a band drummer, I’ve been given songs with the music and told, “RJ, put drums to this music piece, It’s for a motorcycle commercial,” or “guys, we need some music […]

KK WRITES … All the Qween members were more like a band of freinds or brothers than just colleagues, especially in the early days when it was sharing rooms, sharing limited resources and even sharing clothes. They all showed consideration and affection towards each other. Freddie seemed to relish the big brother role especially to […]

Middle-aged men are snapping up classic albums by Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac for their music collections, leaving hipsters out in the cold Like so many things in the music/hifi world we invite you to take what you like HERE and …. leave the rest