wateroftyne

…nice to see a vaguely bitter post in the comments from Jonathan King on the Chris Charlesworth link above. Ha ha.

Looks like it…! Full disclosure - the author is a good friend of mine (no freebies though - I bought my copy with my own cash monies). We can all be thankful there’s a Strat book out there now, and it’s a good’un. I always think it after I’ve read books from this era, but… what a time to be alive. Gutted I missed it.

Lindisfarne & Genesis, really, Can't comment on CC's contribution, but it's certainly very readable.

Hey gang I’ve just finished reading this marvellous new book about Tony Stratton Smith, a remarkable and secretive chap. Well worth a few hours of your time, even if you just have a passing interest… https://www.waterstones.com/book/strat/chris-groom/chris-charlesworth/9781912782611

The Handbox melts my heart.

Spot on, that.

Mixed feelings on this one. It was only a matter of time before someone pointed out PiU's similarity to Subterranean Homesick Blues, so he took the best option and 'fessed up. See also Zeppelin, Cream, and decades' worth of folk & blues etc. Having said that, I do think there are legitimate cases where more unique melodies have clearly been pinched. But I'll let the legal eagles worry about all that.

...and Joni asked him out to lunch, so he's basically better than any of us at anything.

This is the only P/J(ish) config that's worked for me so far. The bridge pickup is passive but is warm and fat, and can easily keep up with the P.

Rick’s fab. His enthusiasm is infectious.

The content of those videos has moved on over the years (how can you explain what makes a song great to someone who doesn’t think the song is great?) - they’re just song teardowns, and I find them compelling. I like Rick.

They used to put out a special edition Closet Classic Pro every year. My first Maruszczyk Jake came about because I had mad GAS for the 2011 (see below), but I couldn't afford one, so I specc'd it from Adrian instead. The 2012 was similar but in Oly white. When they announced the 2013, I thought it was horrid.

Handbox. Leave it flat, off you go.

As much as I adore ‘em, Neil’s lyrics missed more than hit IMO. Having said that, as clunky as Limelight is, he was being brutally honest.

Glad it’s sorted!

I suspect a Daniel O’Donnell revival is just around the corner.

…who’s probably on the ‘To cancel’ list anyway, given his history 😄

To be fair, when we’re listening to music we’re largely excluding deaf people.

My goodness.. if that's how you feel, don't ever join a folk band. The lyrics to half of those tunes will give you nightmares.

Oh yes - that’s a classic cover. Forgot that one. Good record, too - starting to get into that one.

Unexpected...?

The only thing that could top some of these is if someone like, I dunno, Charlie Drake made a record with Peter Gabriel, Sandy Denny, Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, Percy Jones and Keith Tippett. Oh, wait...

It was Proclamation that started the ball rolling, specifically the brilliant fan video that I clicked on by accident. I was, like, ‘what the hell’s this??’, and off I went. Enjoyed The Power and the Glory (even the title track which I don’t think the band are very keen on) and getting into Free Hand at the moment. Terrible album sleeves though (apart from The Power and the Glory which is mint). Quite looking forward to getting into the later years. The unpopular stuff is always interesting…