Rock & Pop > K Rock & Pop

Advantages: Wouldnt know it was made 30 years ago
Disadvantages: Art Work

...press. At one stage in their early career, beginning on January 13th 1969, they were ear-marked to be the next Beatles. King Crimson did better; staying out of the public focus enabled them to create truly magnificent masterpieces. In the Court of the Crimson King, King Crimson's debut album, originally released in 1969 was to set the standards for progressive rock for the next decade. The distinctive cover art should not put anyone off; I don't ...
...around 8 or 9 minutes in length, this is a sit back and feel your spine tingle album. At points you will feel compelled to stand high upon your desk and sing with Greg Lake (lead vocalist), and at other moments you can do nothing but sit back and let the music guide you into an almost hypnotic state. 21st Century Schizoid Man the first track on the album, is hard hitting and starts with a impact. Expect large variety of instruments and some legendary ... Read review

Advantages: Cleverly written and beautifully crafted songs
Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea, but then, what is?

...album 'The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society'. So why didn't I recollect it? Well, it's the forgotten album, it got trampled underfoot in the rush to buy other albums from the autumn of that year, such as the Beatles' White Album, The Stones' 'Beggars Banquet', and Jimi Hendrix' 'Electric Ladyland'. The music was changing at the time, the flowers that grew so incredibly high were being crushed by the Street Fighting Man, Revolution ...
...~1 The Village Green Preservation Society Not the strongest of openers but it's pleasant enough and sets the tone for the rest of the album. A medium-paced pop song with a kind of summer groove. Harmonies throughout, lead singer Ray Davies misses the old values: " We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society God save the Mrs Mops and dear Old Mother Riley" ~2 Do You Remember Walter? A bouncing piano chord intro soon cascades into a Kinks-style ... Read review

Advantages: It's King Crimon - what more must I say?
Disadvantages: well, not really keen on Elephant Talk

There is something ethereal and occasionally ephemeral about music and to some it is as necessary as air and to others as good as superfluous. At times it moves us and at other times it leaves us cold. With Discipline my first listen occurred upon returning home from university and sitting at home in the front room with the CD on repeat and I thought “this is good but it’s rather repetitive.” At this point I was only a minor King Crimson fan and ...
...returned back to university and began to listen to Discipline once again only to wonder what planet I inhabited when I thought that Discipline sounded all the same. Suddenly the music flourished, it expanded; I came upon a moment of recognition. This was a great album and I was well and truly hooked. Discipline marked the first album for Crimson after a seven year hiatus, with a new singer-guitarist in the ever versatile and more than occasionally ... Read review

Advantages: Some good tunes
Disadvantages: Too full of itself

After Kiss struggled to regain their embarrassment of Dynasty with the equally wimpy Unmasked, they decided to have a sit down and a think. Unfortunately, they didn't think hard enough and decided to do this concept album, which may have worked for Rush, but not for Kiss. They were on the process of making their self-acclaimed 'heaviest album ever' demos when they ditched it in favour of the concept approach. This forced Ace to leave on musical ...
...Admittedly, there are some gems on the album - 'The Oath', 'Dark Light' and 'I' stand out as true Kiss classics, but the rest are fairly lack-lustre. It might have been interesting to see the planned movie that this 'soundtrack' would have come from, but seeing as Kiss looked quite ridiculous by now, maybe it was better they did not! Another consolation goes to Eric Carr, as it was his first studio album and he must have thought 'what is this I'm ... Read review

Advantages: A new style for old songs and a reunion
Disadvantages: Should be the full length of the original concert

After some 15 years, the original kings of rock and roll get together for a one-off concert. They are joined by the existing band members and at first sight, this does not seem to be a reunion at all. Peter and Ace come half way through and all hell erupts! Going through classic songs in the 'Unplugged' style adds a new twist to very old songs such as Comin' Home and Goin' Blind - both of which suffered from bad production on the original album. ... Read review