Fotheringay -Fotheringay 2
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Fotheringay — Fotheringay 2 | DeRank™: 0,00

The album "that never was" by Fotheringay, which Jerry Donahue has resurrected from oblivion thirty-eight years after its conception (in that same year 1970) and its aborted realization. In the end, this reborn "Chapter 2" of Fotheringay, which has obviously been completed with various "on-site 2008" adjustments by Donahue to finish what was left incomplete, recovering the old vocal tracks of Denny from back then, is merely a breath shy of the first. In terms of songs and performances, it’s truly a beautiful album: giving more space to traditional music (the fabulous electric folk of "Eppie Moray", to name one, when Sandy's voice joins in at the end...) some covers (the usual Zimmie, the Strawbs when Sandy was one of them, etc.) and only two tracks composed by Denny, which later ended up on his stunning solo debut: "Late November" and "John the Gun," the latter being the only one 100% completed during the original sessions and thus 100% "Fotheringay," which, for me, is the masterpiece of this album. A testament to Denny's talent as an arranger, composer, and singer-songwriter: the verses, which seem a modern song of the ancient English tradition, lead into a choral refrain of epic folk, dabble in the electric renewal of Donahue's guitar, and then out pops a sax solo (!) that is pure originality in that genre (played by Donahue's father, a jazz saxophonist). A masterpiece, from someone who was, for far too short a time, truly great among the greats. more
Fotheringay -Fotheringay
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Fotheringay — Fotheringay | DeRank™: 0,00

Among Sandy Denny's albums, I place this one just slightly below the works of the Convention and her two wonderful early solo efforts, but we are still on high levels, indeed. This first (and only, for many years at least) album of the new band led by Sandy and Trevor Lucas is a beautiful record. We are in the realm of folk-rock with electro-acoustic ballads that range from typically British-folk tones to those typical of American folk-rock (like the inevitable Dylan cover or "Ballad of Ned Kelly," which nonetheless has its own Englishness in Lucas's voice), well arranged, with splendid vocal harmonies in addition to Sandy's superb lead vocals. At times, the melodic Englishness and the inspirations from across the ocean (the early Joni Mitchell, contemporary to her, is a clear influence on at least a couple of Denny's songs) are one and the same. Some songs, with their British-influenced folk-rock, are not far from the path that her friend Thompson, Riccardino, would take shortly after. Many tracks, particularly the beautiful, intimate, and emotional folk ballads, are penned by Sandy Denny (wonders like "The Sea," "Nothing More," or "Winter Winds," etc.), while the rest are handled by Lucas (or collaboratively, as in the beautiful "Peace in the End") or consist of rare and excellent covers (I mention the splendid electric folk of "The Way I Feel" by Gordon Lightfoot). Inevitably, the peak arrives at the end with the typical British traditional, a chilling rendition of "Banks of the Nile." more
Fotheringay -Essen 1970
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Fotheringay — Essen 1970 | DeRank™: 0,00

It could have been a rare live document of Fotheringay, but unfortunately the recording quality in "Asshole mode" makes it an inevitably subpar product, leaving no chance to truly enjoy the band's great repertoire. The best part is Sandy Denny joking about her terrible German; it's also the part that sounds the best, mind you. For example, you can sense some great performances of "Nothing More" or even "John the Gun," but with this audio quality, you have to take it on faith. To listen to a nice live show, with a decent recording quality, from Fotheringay, you have to go for the one in Rotterdam included in the collection "Nothing More." more
Family -A Song For Me
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Family — A Song For Me | DeRank™: 8,79

After the two previous masterpieces, at the dawn of the 1970s, the acclaimed company Chapman-Whitney, accompanied by the loyal Rob Townsend on drums, gifts us with another excellent album, despite the dual lineup changes (John Weider and John Palmer, the very skilled multi-instrumentalists, replacing Grech and King). For me, it’s a stunning album, perhaps not as wild and utterly uncategorizable as the debut, but still very varied and rich in ideas, insights, and spine-tingling performances. Palmer's acquisition is superb. "Wheels" remains the masterpiece of this third album, not so much for the majestic instrumental performance of the band, which is not particularly superior to those of the other tracks, but for Chappo’s interpretation, which I find absolutely sublime. more
Fabrizio De André -Non Al Denaro Non All'Amore Né Al Cielo
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Just over half an hour of pure emotion. The finest Faber of the '70s. more
Fabrizio De André -Fabrizio De André in concerto vol.2
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Beautiful like the first volume, of course. The pieces taken from "Rimini" flow smoothly and work well played with PFM (especially "Sally"), while "Verranno a chiederti del nostro amore" guarantees chills. In general, the same reasoning applies as for the first volume: it's a truly nice feeling, but it doesn't particularly improve the rearranged songs, for instance in the last two tracks (a real return to 1970 in an updated version, considering that De André's "backin' band" for these two pieces is the same that played sbarbatella almost 10 years prior to the studio album); the rocking version of "Il Testamento di Tito" is cool (also because the song would be stunning with any arrangement) but, in my opinion, with these new clothes it doesn't fully capture the phenomenal expressive power of the more bare version of "La Buona Novella." more
Woody Allen -Radio Days
Martello
Martello

Woody Allen — Radio Days | DeRank™: 2,79

"Time passes, but it leaves its marks." more
Azealia Banks
MatteoPaolino29
MatteoPaolino29

Azealia Banks | DeRank™: 0,00

Azealia Banks is, without a doubt, a great artist.
In light of a turbulent temperament, prone to heated discussions, aggressive fights, impulsive outbursts, and opinions that often fall short of being merely questionable, it is equally important to highlight her equally striking artistic caliber.
The New York rapper possesses an absolute musical "vision," extremely interesting ideas and hybridizations, and an eclecticism that is never trivial.
In her masterpiece "Broke with Expensive Taste," she skillfully blends, in a sort of schizophrenic trip, experimental Hip Hop with House music, Electronic with R&B, Funk with Dance, while also drawing on influences from Punk, EDM, Jazz, and Caribbean music.
The cutting edge of her rhymes is fierce, biting, hammering, and "rude": much like the artist herself. more
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators
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Solo project of Saul Hudson, known as "Slash," alongside Myles Kennedy, the powerful voice of Alter Bridge, and the Conspirators. Strong and evocative, they have become a staple of the metal scene. more
Erredieffe
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luckystar

Erredieffe | DeRank™: 0,00

god pig more
Elton John -Tumbleweed Connection
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Elton John — Tumbleweed Connection | DeRank™: 8,47

After a promising debut and a beautiful second album, the crescendo culminates with this splendid record, along with the subsequent one (and Captain Fantastic a few years later), forming the pinnacle of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's career. 10 songs—10 gems, a compact, perfect album that follows a single thematic-expressive thread and makes its 10 songs a unified corpus that crosses the frontier of the beloved American West, with the music of "The Band" as the main protective spirit and source of inspiration to look up to, a journey through Americana, perfect pop, piano rock, country/country-rock/folk, and splashes of soul-gospel chorale from the two English boys. With the special touch of giving space to the authorship of a "protégé" like Lesley Duncan (a backing vocalist on the records of that period) with her "Love Song." "Burn Down the Mission," his definitive piano rock, "Talking Old Soldiers," one of his three most beautiful songs. Oh, and in a couple of songs, on the backing vocals, there’s even Dusty Springfield. more
Elton John -Too Low For Zero
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Elton John — Too Low For Zero | DeRank™: 0,00

Actually, I only save the title track. A terrible comeback for the Elton John Band as a whole, a pile of bland and meaningless pop mixed with all the other bland and meaningless pop John produced during those years; some songs are slightly better, but still pointless, but the absolute champion of garbage is "Kiss the Bride," brr... The title track is a nice song, though. Moreover, the push towards typically eighties pop sounds, in the worst sense of the term, doesn't help. It's bad, but it's also true that he has done worse in the following years. more
Elton John -The Fox
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Elton John — The Fox | DeRank™: 0,00

Overall, it's a nice album, certainly the most respectable of his terrible '80s. I even feel like calling the title track a beautiful song, and there are a few other fun, decent ones. There's the 11-minute "suite," which aims to echo the grandeur of "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" on The Yellow Brick Road, and for half of it, the instrumental part is quite lovely, before unfortunately turning into a piece of crap. more
Fontaines D.C.
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nonnulla

Fontaines D.C. | DeRank™: 0,00

They come from Ireland but they’re not U2, luckily... more
Meghan Trainor
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Yftcfuf

Meghan Trainor | DeRank™: 0,00

A subpar version and Puttantours'one by Michela Giraud (from top to bottom they are identical, damn donkey!) more
Woody Allen -A Midsummer Night's Sex Commedy
Martello
Little comedy, too sexy. If it was none of that and just six characters messing around in nature, I would have liked it. more
Elton John -Empty Sky
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Elton John — Empty Sky | DeRank™: 2,47

A good debut, featuring young Reginaldo who enjoys himself with his youthful style (later refined with the second beautiful self-titled album) that encompasses both his classical studies (and the arrangements with flute—which we will never find again in his songs—harpsichord, strings, are direct examples) as well as his passions for R&B, soul, blues, and American song genres in general, infused with touches of British refinement and an extraordinary melodic taste that will define his fortunes, always accompanied by his loyal friend and lyricist Bernardo Taupin. Far from the glitzy global superstar he would later become, John was at the time a creator of very refined pop, serious, melancholic although already with more lively folk/country/rock’n’roll flashes and songs that seem like a trial version of those that would soon appear on albums like "Tumbleweed Connection" (like "Western Ford Gateway"). The album is enjoyable overall, but at least three songs stand out: "Val-Hala," "Hymn 2000," and the first great classic ballad (but with the sound of a harpsichord) that is quintessentially eltonjohniana— "Skyline Pigeon." more