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music - travel - arts
Wide angle reviews, interviews and opinion by writer Graham Reid
Deer skulls, near Rotorua, New Zealand
Some recent articles
Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan: Jimmy Berman (1971)
Given they had so much in common -- a love of words, counterculture cachet, Jewish upbringing and so on -- it is a surprise poet Alen Ginsberg and... more >>
Cristina Branco: Live in Amsterdam (Arc)
Cristina Branco was one of an emerging generation of Portuguese fado singers when, in 1997, she performed in Amsterdam where this, her debut... more >>
Various Artists: The Rough Guide to African Roots Revival (Rough Guide)
Of the dozen tracks on this useful collection, at least three bands -- Staff Benda Bilili, Bedouin Jerry Can Band and Konono No 1 -- should be... more >>
The Viscounts: Harlem Nocturne (1959)
In the final month of the Fifties, the Viscounts covered this piece which Ray Noble and His Orchestra had introduced two decades previous. But... more >>
Norman "Hurricane" Smith: Oh Babe, What Would You Say (1972)
Norman Smith was an unlikely chart-topper when he knocked Elton John off the top of the US charts with this, his second single: he was 49 at the... more >>
Florence, Italy: The passing strange parade
Ever been in a place where everything is the same, but different? Let me illustrate. It was close to midnight in Florence and after a fine... more >>
GUEST WRITER CHRIS BOURKE considers the early career of Randy Newman
It took only four notes – one
introductory bar – of a Randy Newman song, and I knew that I was in
for the long haul. The song was... more >>
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JOHN LENNON INTERVIEWED (1995): I hear you knocking
Former mop-topped pop singer and dead megastar John Lennon has given a “thumbs up” to the latest Beatle single Free as a Bird which... more >>
Merle Haggard: If I Could Only Fly (2000)
At the time of this writing in mid 2012, Merle Haggard is 73 and actually, against every preconception we might have about his tough,... more >>
Various Artists: Memphis Boys; The Story of American Studios (Ace)
American Studios in Memphis -- founded by producer/musician Chips Moman -- might not be written as large in the popular imagination as the Sun and... more >>