Music Q&A

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 When they eventually realised that the withdrawn […]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

JESSE S writes … Chuck Berry had this to say about Elvis. “ Describe Elvis Presley? He was the greatest who ever was, is or ever will be.” “Blacks didn’t have the air-waves that Elvis had. He delivered what he had beautifully.” SD writes .. There was a rumoured rift between them and Chuck did […]

NEIL A writes … I’m not sure it’s the most misunderstood song in history, but surely a contender is Born In The USA. With its big major chord structure and pounding rhythm it has a triumphant sound. Bruce’s delivery is rather mumbled making the lyric rather hard to make out. This has given many a […]

ERIC F writes … None of the songs from any period of history are any more or less appropriate than any others from any other era…, because the concept of “appropriate” is as much a form of fashion (or delusion) as the music itself. Instead, maybe we should ask what makes some folks think they’re […]

RICK B writes I remember when ‘Free As A Bird’ first came out, my God it was mind blowing. It was the Beatles sounding like the Beatles and OMG those delicious harmony vocals, I mover thought I’d hear that sound again. I just kept listening to it over and over again. Oh and of course […]

No longer active nowadays I’m afraid – they last toured in 2010, but with only three-fifths of the classic line-up on board. Co-founder and primary songwriter Roger Hodgson left the band in 1983 and bassist Dougie Thomson followed suit five years later. Keyboardist Rick Davies (the band’s other main songwriter) thereafter was the main creative […]

THOMAS J. BEAVER writes … What I’ll contribute here touches on whole the sweep of 1966-68 for The Beatles, and regarding George in particular. 1966’s great Revolver (released Aug. ’66) was really the culmination of The Beatles as we knew it, as a cohesive band. The result: 14 tracks, 14 great songs (okay, maybe 13) […]

AMY writes … This question is pretty much impossible to answer. There is no “quintessential Dylan album” because Dylan’s music has spanned multiple genres. He’s released 38 studio albums in his career and they run the gamut. The Freewheelin Bob Dylan and The Times They Are A-Changin’ are straight up folk albums. Highway 61 Revisited […]

ALEX JOHNSON writes … One of my strongest connections with any band ever involved falling for Talking Heads in 1985, via Stop Making Sense, an album we now know to have been quite heavily touched up after the fact—although the 1999 re-released version removed a lot of those touches. I remember noticing that Bernie Worrell’s […]

Thomas J. Beaver writes … As usual, there’s a short version, and a long version. Short version — that’s John. He perceives that he’s being challenged, so he comes back with the most cutting thing he can think of (in this case, verbally slapping George in the face, that they’ll get the very guy George […]

C. J. Skamarakas writes … After the success of Tommy, Pete Townshend was working on a new concept album called Lifehouse. But the project was going nowhere and the rest of the band didn’t understand what it was supposed to be about. Meanwhile, however, Pete had written several excellent songs for Lifehouse. The Who decided […]

Happened at a Neil Young concert I was at about 15 years ago. Loved his music, but had never had the opportunity to see him live so this was special. He was doing a mix of his newer songs and old and finally got to Heart of Gold, one of his best and a song […]