a musical history – by Terence Ruffle

Like I’m sure many other Beach Boys fans did, I eagerly awaited the reissue of “Pacific Ocean Blue” by Dennis Wilson. I’ve had a very clean copy on Mini disc, taken from an original pristine 1977 cassette tape, for a number of years. I love the album, the songs, and I love Carl Wilson’s backing vocals.

This music is of course unmistakably the work of a Beach Boy. But certainly a sight more left field. And of course Dennis has this strangely Gothic, Operatic slant on certain songs (see “Cuddle up” as an example prior to POB) which fascinates me. [Read more →]

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I believe I’ve seen the Ramones in excess of 27 times. I simply can’t comprehend that Joey, Johnny and, my personal favourite Dee Dee, are dead. If I had to choose just one band to take to heaven, a desert Island, or where ever, it would be Da Brudders, hands down. To say they totally rock out would be a massive understatement! Johnny’s guitar, Joey (and Dee Dee’s) vocals, the lyrics, the simple nursery rhyme-like fluidity of the song. The sunny, Beach Boys type melodies, the melancholic tunes, the raw aggressive more-punk-than-the-rest songs. But most of all, that adrenalin, amphetamine charged raw power. [Read more →]

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The first big gig I remember going to was at the Oval cricket ground, on the 30th of September, 1972.

The main attraction for me was Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP). My dear old mate Barn was fanatical about them and I’d bought “Pictures at an exhibition” myself, which I thought was rather dark, and rocked in an odd kind of manner.

The cover images of the “Tarkus” were all it took to convince me I should attend. When we walked into the Oval, either side of the stage there were what initially looked like huge images of the tarkus. But they were actually full sized models of tarkuses. They were almost as big as the p.a. stacks – which were about the size of a house! It seemed like a comic book prog rock wet dream!

[Read more →]

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