"Fans of Curtis Heckwolf will find muc..." more

"Fans of Curtis Heckwolf will find much to admire here." less

"Sometimes it's impossible to euphemis..." more

"Sometimes it's impossible to euphemise or put a spin (sic) on a record: you have to say that it's schidt pure and simple. The presence of Pink Floyd's Brian May doesn't help." less

"The mystery here is not why these rec..." more

"The mystery here is not why these recordings were overlooked when they were released in 1977; it's why anybody is bothering with them now." less

"If you get only one Barclay James Har..." more

"If you get only one Barclay James Harvest tribute album, it may as well be this one. Has a few heavy hitters on board, most notably Steve Howe, the quondam Moody Blues/Blodwyn Pig keyboard wizard." less

"Britain's answer to Beaver & Krause."

"Nao queremos mais."

"Still very much the emmerdeur."

"More Emmerdale than emmerdeur. The na..." more

"More Emmerdale than emmerdeur. The name's familiar from somewhere. Are any of his hits on this collection? If I say that they're all there, will anybody notice if they're not? Come to think of it, did he actually have any hits? Is there anybody out there who could actually name a Lloyd Cole track? Now AL Lloyd is another matter entirely." less

"Possibly the first band to have an en..." more

"Possibly the first band to have an entire continent named after it." less

"Probably one of the first bands to ha..." more

"Probably one of the first bands to have an entire continent named after it." less

"For a band that many (including me) h..." more

"For a band that many (including me) have never knowingly heard, Phish have received some serious accolades. First they get a Ben & Jerry flavour named after them; then a selection of their choons gets rearranged by one of the premier chamber-music outfits of our time. Yes, it's the Vitamins!" less

"Like Iggy Pop's membrum virile, Ian A..." more

"Like Iggy Pop's membrum virile, Ian Anderson's flute has to get whipped out at strategic points in a performance or the fans go home disappointed. Their seventy-odd years in the business have taught Tull to respect their audience's wishes, so there's no lack of tooting on this set, though a little more rooting might not have gone amiss. Still, nobody can deny that this is a Tull album de facto as well as de jure." less

"John Otway has a sense of humour, it ..." more

"John Otway has a sense of humour, it would seem. This is a quality that he shares with, inter alia, Jim 'Nick Nick' Davidson." less

"On the evidence of this record, Johnn..." more

"On the evidence of this record, Johnny hates not only jazz but any music that attempts to engage the listener or hold her interest in any way." less

"The record is disposable, but the tit..." more

"The record is disposable, but the title guarantees hours of fun. Is the "watching" of the title a participle? If yes, it should be followed by a comma. (By the way, the idea of a sun that watches is an intriguing one.) If "watching" is a gerund, then the verb it governs should, of course, be uninflected: the title should read "Watching the Sun Go Down"." less

"The G-Man sets Latin texts. Ecce (G-)..." more

"The G-Man sets Latin texts. Ecce (G-)homo." less

"The original Expanding Waistline. At ..." more

"The original Expanding Waistline. At 61, the quondam Spandau frontman delivers the record that he has always promised to make." less

"The idea of a karaoke version of 'Twe..." more

"The idea of a karaoke version of 'Twenty-First Century Schizoid Man' is sufficiently enticing to win this compilation a place in the list. But what's stopping the Vitamin Quartet from tackling the Crimso oeuvre?" less

"In what kind of state do you have to ..." more

"In what kind of state do you have to be before you even consider living through a record like this? And in what kind of state will it leave you?" less

"Kenny runs the voodoo down."

"The Floyd get the remix that they des..." more

"The Floyd get the remix that they deserve." less

"On a good day, Keane can outclass eve..." more

"On a good day, Keane can outclass even Travis or the Patrol; and on a very good day they're up there with the 'Play." less

"Lives up to the title."

"Musica di cuore."

"Until you've heard this version of "S..." more

"Until you've heard this version of "Stasera mi butto", you've never heard "Stasera mi butto". It's that simple." less

""There is no Prophet without honour e..." more

""There is no Prophet without honour except in his own country."" less

"The soul of a man, and not just any o..." more

"The soul of a man, and not just any old man either." less

"The Singing Dustman at his best."

"I WAS that soldier."

"A useful introduction to a sprawling ..." more

"A useful introduction to a sprawling oeuvre." less

"At the height of their powers, which ..." more

"At the height of their powers, which is just where this live set catches them, these guys can make even fellow jazz avantgardists Shakatak sound tame." less

"Sonic wossname."

"This swings in the way that Coldplay ..." more

"This swings in the way that Coldplay swing." less

"Dripping in cosmicity. One of their b..." more

"Dripping in cosmicity. One of their best, according to those in the know." less

"Apparently Stevie here is two songs s..." more

"Apparently Stevie here is two songs short of a full album. Well, less is more, and you can have too much of a good thing. And so on." less

"Muss es sein?"

"Ja, es muss sein."

"If anybody's going to take on the Flo..." more

"If anybody's going to take on the Floyd at their own game, it's the Shads." less

"With his punishing work-rate, young L..." more

"With his punishing work-rate, young Lev Nikolaevich could be forgiven for sending out a body-double to deliver some of his live shows. After all, that clown make-up can hide a lot. But the punters go to see Lev because they want to hear that voice, and that voice is something that can't be faked. Hear it in action here." less

"A solo show from the quondam Aerosmit..." more

"A solo show from the quondam Aerosmith frontman. There's no "Pearl's a Singer" or "I've Got the Music in Me", but all the other hits are very much present and correct." less

"Some of Sufjan's best work is on this..." more

"Some of Sufjan's best work is on this collection." less

"Schidt-kicker with a noir twist."

"It's a shame that no enterprising fac..." more

"It's a shame that no enterprising face on London's pubrock scene of 1976/77 had the foresight to record Jesse Hector's outfit live. But in the absence of a live recording, this is better than nothing. Not much better, mind." less

"When this man covers a song, it stays..." more

"When this man covers a song, it stays covered. It's a shame that his disturbing account of Lorraine Ellison's "Stay with Me, Baby" isn't included here, but this collection is perfect in every other respect." less

"A typically generous act of commemora..." more

"A typically generous act of commemoration by one of the brightest stars in pop's current firmament. What Johnny B has done here is to rescue from semi-oblivion the songbook of Elton John. Elton who? Ask your parents. Better still, ask your grandparents." less

"and the Counties."

"Bob Dylan receives the ultimate accol..." more

"Bob Dylan receives the ultimate accolade: The King records one of his songs ("To Make You Feel My Love")." less

"Une pipe pour Sir Andrew."

"This is one seasonal offering that ev..." more

"This is one seasonal offering that even I, hardened humbugger that I am, find it impossible to, you know, GET OUT OF MY LIFE." less

"An unlikely pairing: the EastEnders a..." more

"An unlikely pairing: the EastEnders actor and quondam comic teams up with the bard of Metroland. Would Miss Joan Hunter Dunn approve? Indubitably." less

"A must for Curtis Heckwolf fans."

"No single volume can hope to give you..." more

"No single volume can hope to give you the full juice on the Lace, but this succeeds better than most." less

"The Wirral has never been the same si..." more

"The Wirral has never been the same since Mr Kershaw came to town." less

"The Cosmic Hairdressers get Hellenize..." more

"The Cosmic Hairdressers get Hellenized! Theirs is no disgrace." less