Advantages: Hummable Ballads Disadvantages: Too old fashioned for some
It is, of course, impossible to write anything at all about the 60s/70s group ProcolHarum without mentioning their fantastic song "A Whiter a Shade of Pale"...
...so I have mentioned it.
It is not on this album.
Right, on with the review in hand:
There are two versions of the album out there so be careful if, after reading this review, you feel inclined to part with your pennies.
The version of "A Salty Dog" I have has the following track list;
Side One: Homburg; She wandered through the garden fence; The milk of human kindness;The devil came from Kansas; A SALTY DOG; Magdalene my Regal Zonophone.
Side Two: Shine on Brightly; Boredom; Conquistador; Your own choice; Ramblin on; Pilgrim's progress.
It is the MFP (EMI) version with the serial number MFP 5277 Stereo.
A review of the other version, which is very ...
Advantages: Some fun stories Disadvantages: I'd read most of them in other collections
I've long been a fan of Neil Gaiman, as he is one of those writers who can mix the fantastical with the real and make it feel somehow natural. His writing has a kind of credibility that means when Neil Gaiman tells you something unbelievable, you start keeping half an eye out for it, just in case.
I've read most of Gaiman's novels and short story collections, but had never dipped into the writing he aims at a slightly younger audience. Given that his writing often makes me feel like a child again, I wasn't anticipating any major difference in his writing for the different audience, particularly in a collection of short stories.
That is exactly what I got, as "M is for Magic" is a collection of stories specially selected for the audience, but not written specifically for the audience. Indeed, of the eleven stories contained within ...
Advantages: Solidly written, psychedelic rock. Disadvantages: Not much variety.
the songs themselves. Many different melodic moods are covered on the album. Opener, 'Conquistador' (which became a hit single five years later, in an unusual turn of events), is a fast paced, urgent sounding number, with some very groovy organ and bass, whilst 'Mabel' and 'Good Captain Clack' are tongue in cheek, music-hall like numbers, with drunken vocals and cheeky piano, something that kept the band in tune with the psychedelic scene happening at that time. Elsewhere, the album covers classic blues ('Cerdes'), eerie drama (the awfully titled 'A Christmas Camel'), straight up rock'n'roll ('Kaleidoscope'), and the obligatory slow song, in the form of album closer 'Repent Walpurgis', a truly beautiful instrumental, with melancholy piano and organ lines backing improvised guitar. It's pretty melodramatic, but it's wonderful at the same time ...
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