albums
Oh dear, Abba’s new album is a bit of a dog: Voyage reviewed
Time has been very kind to Abba. No one back in the 1970s thought of them as geniuses. But they've even lost the talent for writing memorable tunes
The death of the live album
Next week The The release The Comeback Special, a 24-track live album documenting the band’s concert at the Royal Albert…
The best recordings of the Goldberg Variations
I sometimes think the classical record industry would collapse if it weren’t for the Goldberg Variations. Every month brings more…
Hugely unmemorable: Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever reviewed
Grade: C+ Time to get the razor out again — Billie’s back. The slurred and affected can’t-be-arsed-to-get-out-of-bed vocals. The relentless,…
When musical collaborations go right – and when they go horribly wrong
Big Red Machine release their second album later this month. It’s a fine name for ten tonnes of agricultural apparatus…
Is there anyone more irritating and stupid than Bobby Gillespie?
Grade: B– Is there anyone in rock music more irritating and stupid than Bobby Gillespie? The rawk’n’roll leather-jacketed self-mythologiser. The…
Whiny, polite and beautiful: Kings of Convenience's Peace or Love reviewed
Grade: A– The problem with Norwegians is that they are so relentlessly, mind-numbingly pleasant. Well, OK, not Knut Hamsun or…
How Trojan Records conquered the world
When Trojan Records attempted to break into the United States music market in the early 1970s, it hit an insurmountable…
A new recording throws fresh light on Mahler's puzzling Tenth Symphony
There are many Symphonies No. 10 by Gustav Mahler, or none. The situation is rare, if not unique, in the…
'Germans thought we couldn't play': Irmin Schmidt, of Krautrock pioneers Can, interviewed
Krautrock pioneer Irmin Schmidt talks to Graeme Thomson about taking risks, playing badly and ignoring the Brits
‘My voice is a curse’: Gary Numan interviewed
Steve Morris talks to Gary Numan about luck, plane-spotting and Asperger’s
The Byrds without the drugs: Teenage Fanclub's Endless Arcade reviewed
Grade: B– Advancing age has smoothed the edges of Bellshill’s finest lads, once — back in the early 1990s —…
‘I’m not interested in moral purity’: St Vincent interviewed
Michael Hann talks to St Vincent about Sheena Easton, Stalin and performing in five-inch heels
Josquin changed musical history – why don't we hear more of him?
Stepping into the Sistine Chapel, the choir loft is probably the last thing you’d notice. ‘Loft’ is, frankly, a stretch…
Tom Jones is as nuanced a vocalist as Ian Paisley
Grade: C Revisionism has been extraordinarily kind to Tom Jones, ever since he barked his way through Prince’s ‘Kiss’ with…
Demi Lovato makes Taylor Swift resemble Dostoevsky
Grade: Z If you wish to experience the full hideousness of Now, of our current age, condensed into one awful…
In Chet Baker's albums you can hear America’s romantic self-image curdling
The thing to remember about Chet Baker, an old acquaintance says of the errant jazz musician in Deep In A…
'I like upsetting people': Steven Wilson interviewed
Michael Hann talks to the cult rock star Steven Wilson about why it’s harder to write a pop song than prog
The two composers who defined British cinema also wrote inspired operas
It’s my new lockdown ritual. Switch on the telly, cue up the menu and scroll down to where the vintage…
From bad joke to 21st-century classic: the best recordings of Korngold’s Violin Concerto
Erich Korngold was what you might call an early adopter. As a child prodigy in Habsburg Vienna, he’d astonished the…
A criminally underrated songwriter: Matthew Sweet’s Catspaw reviewed
Grade: A– The early 1990s were a lovely time for rock music: Beck, Sparklehorse, Sugar, Green on Red and Royal…
Proudly ridiculous and wholly glorious: KLF's Solid State Logik reviewed
Grade: A What a miracle the KLF were: an elaborate practical joke at the expense of the music industry, seemingly…
'We knew there was greatness in these songs': Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks interviewed
Graeme Thomson talks to Steve Diggle, front man of Buzzcocks, about orgasms, boredom and Pete Shelley
Hear the greatest Parsifal of our time sing like a Muppet: Jonas Kaufmann’s Christmas album reviewed
In classical music circles, Christmas arrives with the overture to Handel’s Messiah. Or so they’ll tell you. In truth, festivities…
Make Status Quo sound like Stockhausen: AC/DC's Power Up reviewed
Grade: C The fear is this: you’re wearing a leather jacket and hipster jeans and think you look cool, but…
