Er, y'wot? What's this got to do with Mellotrons, then? Bugger-all actually. Believe it or not, I do listen to music that has nothing to do with them, or at least where they're tangential, at best. Years of reading online reviews of albums I love written by people who appear to be listening to a different record has finally pushed me over the edge; since I've already got this website, I've decided to use a corner of it to attempt to redress the balance with some unsung (or at least undersung) favourites of mine, neatly sidestepping the rather ubiquitous prog arena by going back to my roots and instigating (quick fanfare)...
Neglected Hard Rock Classic of the Month!
So, what constitutes a 'neglected etc. etc.', then? Critics often agree, not only with each other, but with the general public. Occasionally, they even agree with me. Yes, Led Zeppelin II is a total classic. Live & Dangerous rocks like a bastard. Made in Japan? Ditto. End of story. They frequently laud the great albums and dismiss the poor ones, as do I. However... Maybe it's just because my taste is quite clearly well out of kilter with that of the general public - even the general rock public - but I often find myself disagreeing, sometimes violently, with 'received opinion' on an artist's work. No, Agents of Fortune is NOT the Blue Öyster Cult's best album - when did these people last actually listen to it? No, Back in Black is NOT AC/DC's artistic peak. It's their commercial one. A recent Classic Rock mag 'how to buy' article on Rory Gallagher, an artist who produced fewer than twenty albums in his lifetime, despite quoting around a dozen of these, entirely failed to mention any of what I consider to be his three finest. Huh?
I've got a couple of rules to which I hope to adhere, because where would we be without rules?:
- I shall only write about albums that aren't usually spoken of in hushed tones, be they multi-million sellers or much-lauded cult items
- I intend to only include any given artist once, although I can already think of one well-respected band who deserve at least three entries here
- There is no rule three
Anyway, you'll either agree with me, or you won't. There's a small possibility that I'll sound so enthusiastic about something that you'll feel inspired to check it out. You might even like it. If anything I write here interests you, please feel free to write to the usual address, even if it's only to tell me I'm a cloth-eared twat. Index below, now in reverse order.
