Meet the New Year…
2021 In Review and the FabricationsHQ Roll of Honour
2021 In Review and the FabricationsHQ Roll of Honour
“Yeah, meet the new year… same as the old year…”
With lyrical paraphrasing apologies to Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend, the above line is a fitting if unfortunate summation of how 2021 pretty much continued along the pandemic path of 2020, morphing into one elongated 24 month period interspersed with lockdowns, shutdowns and not a lot of upside.
Musically, there was an evident continuation of that theme through lack of gigs, music events and/ or tours, most of which were scuppered before they began.
While that is now slowly changing (albeit 2022 has started very much as 2021 ended) at time of this writing it’s clear that, depending on what part of the UK you are in, there will be as many cancellations (through necessity, the number of playing-it-safe punters and health & safety protocols) as announcements, through at least the first few months of 2022.
What such pandemic ridden and globally divisive times have reinforced however is that music is a positive and unifying force; at troubling times such as these it’s even more vital to have music in our lives and speakers or ear-phones of choice – whether you be singing your broken heart/ bawling your eyes out to Adele’s latest magnum opus (more on which later), tapping a foot to a country-folk tune or head-banging it big time to your favourite rock or metal release.
But it’s also an avenue for that aforementioned divisiveness, as Eric Clapton found out to his outspoken cost and many a friendship, including his once blues-buddy tight relationship with Robert Cray.
Beyond opinions on health and safety governance it was interesting to note the continuing and indeed ever-growing divisiveness within fan-bases of acts & artists that are now legacy bands in their twilight years, in 'one-last-time' reunion mode or playing the decades-old hits/ back catalogue tours; in some cases all three.
The focal (and vocal) point of such split views last year was undoubtedly Genesis and their much touted Last Domino? world tour (inevitably cut short at one point by a COVID case within the ranks).
Said shows were welcomed with ticket buying love & adoration from the faithful and cries of "you couldn't pay me enough!" from those who would rather not hear or see a detuned Genesis and a desperately struggling and seated Phil Collins, as uncomfortable physically as he was vocally (frailty of voice and constantly singing behind the beat).
That comments ranged from the supportive (if eyebrow raising) Francis Dunnery statement of "we should all support Genesis… I don’t care if they wheel them all out in oxygen masks" to the many who said they couldn’t watch parts of the tour rehearsal documentary without cringing, tells you how split opinion was, and remains; it's also a strong indicator of the heated Yay and Nay debates that abound for so many of the years-later reunions, nostalgia shows or pension top-up tours (delete as appropriate).
In terms of music at very the top of the commercially lucrative chart tree (and a gazillion and eleventy-seven album sales in first week of release), the mega-hitters all came out swinging one after the other, offering their own musical antidote (or audio poison, depending on preference & taste) to beating the Pandemic blues.
The aforementioned Miss Adkins delivered her new album 30 to such Oprah-chat hype and An Audience With fanfare it’s a wonder there was any airplay or TV time left for any of the others to get a look in.
But we jest of course; there’s always time for an Ed Sheeran release (unsurprisingly second biggest 2021 seller after Adele) and a forty-years on ABBA/ album reunion (unsurprisingly third biggest seller after Adele).
Adele’s album wasn’t quite as full of downtempo angst as may have been anticipated (small mercies etc.) but when it hit a low (keyed ballad) it did so in spectacular style.
If you immediately open with the line "I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart" you’re not going to then break in to ‘Bring Me Sunshine.’
Similarly a six-and-a-half minute slow gospel / R&B affected number featuring recorded messages of Adele (sometimes in sniffling tears) and her young son isn’t so much dramatic as disturbing; equally painful was 'To Be loved,' the most maudlin piano and vocal song of the entire year.
With lyrical paraphrasing apologies to Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend, the above line is a fitting if unfortunate summation of how 2021 pretty much continued along the pandemic path of 2020, morphing into one elongated 24 month period interspersed with lockdowns, shutdowns and not a lot of upside.
Musically, there was an evident continuation of that theme through lack of gigs, music events and/ or tours, most of which were scuppered before they began.
While that is now slowly changing (albeit 2022 has started very much as 2021 ended) at time of this writing it’s clear that, depending on what part of the UK you are in, there will be as many cancellations (through necessity, the number of playing-it-safe punters and health & safety protocols) as announcements, through at least the first few months of 2022.
What such pandemic ridden and globally divisive times have reinforced however is that music is a positive and unifying force; at troubling times such as these it’s even more vital to have music in our lives and speakers or ear-phones of choice – whether you be singing your broken heart/ bawling your eyes out to Adele’s latest magnum opus (more on which later), tapping a foot to a country-folk tune or head-banging it big time to your favourite rock or metal release.
But it’s also an avenue for that aforementioned divisiveness, as Eric Clapton found out to his outspoken cost and many a friendship, including his once blues-buddy tight relationship with Robert Cray.
Beyond opinions on health and safety governance it was interesting to note the continuing and indeed ever-growing divisiveness within fan-bases of acts & artists that are now legacy bands in their twilight years, in 'one-last-time' reunion mode or playing the decades-old hits/ back catalogue tours; in some cases all three.
The focal (and vocal) point of such split views last year was undoubtedly Genesis and their much touted Last Domino? world tour (inevitably cut short at one point by a COVID case within the ranks).
Said shows were welcomed with ticket buying love & adoration from the faithful and cries of "you couldn't pay me enough!" from those who would rather not hear or see a detuned Genesis and a desperately struggling and seated Phil Collins, as uncomfortable physically as he was vocally (frailty of voice and constantly singing behind the beat).
That comments ranged from the supportive (if eyebrow raising) Francis Dunnery statement of "we should all support Genesis… I don’t care if they wheel them all out in oxygen masks" to the many who said they couldn’t watch parts of the tour rehearsal documentary without cringing, tells you how split opinion was, and remains; it's also a strong indicator of the heated Yay and Nay debates that abound for so many of the years-later reunions, nostalgia shows or pension top-up tours (delete as appropriate).
In terms of music at very the top of the commercially lucrative chart tree (and a gazillion and eleventy-seven album sales in first week of release), the mega-hitters all came out swinging one after the other, offering their own musical antidote (or audio poison, depending on preference & taste) to beating the Pandemic blues.
The aforementioned Miss Adkins delivered her new album 30 to such Oprah-chat hype and An Audience With fanfare it’s a wonder there was any airplay or TV time left for any of the others to get a look in.
But we jest of course; there’s always time for an Ed Sheeran release (unsurprisingly second biggest 2021 seller after Adele) and a forty-years on ABBA/ album reunion (unsurprisingly third biggest seller after Adele).
Adele’s album wasn’t quite as full of downtempo angst as may have been anticipated (small mercies etc.) but when it hit a low (keyed ballad) it did so in spectacular style.
If you immediately open with the line "I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart" you’re not going to then break in to ‘Bring Me Sunshine.’
Similarly a six-and-a-half minute slow gospel / R&B affected number featuring recorded messages of Adele (sometimes in sniffling tears) and her young son isn’t so much dramatic as disturbing; equally painful was 'To Be loved,' the most maudlin piano and vocal song of the entire year.
ABBA returned to save the world and failed; Adele returned to take over the world and succeeded
ABBA sadly proved that sometimes you really can’t go back; impeccable production and perfectly pitched vocals with clear phrasing and precise enunciation (take vocal note Miss Adkins) from the 70+ years young Agnetha and Anni-Frid, yes, but a lacklustre collection of songs that flattered to deceive.
The November released Voyage also offered up an inevitable Christmas song, ‘Little Things’ (although all band royalties from the song go to UNICEF, so kudos).
ABBA's festive ditty also included a dodgy lyrical section via a line aimed not at the Crimble kids but the “dear old friend” of the family, as the mother sings of a possible morning trade-off: "You’d consider bringing me a breakfast tray, but there’s a price." Not so much Benny Andersson as Benny Hill.
So painfully twee was 'Little Things' that it made the FabricationsHQ 12 Days of Crimble cringe-list (which you do not want to be checking twice); it sat among other chestnuts that should have been roasted on an open fire including Steve Perry’s morose version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ (Crosby it isn’t), the horrendous and ill-advised hip-hop pop-pap of ‘It Was a Masked Christmas’ by Jimmy Fallon, Ariana Grande & Megan Thee Stallion and the list topping ‘Merry Christmas’ by Mr Ed of Sheerancester and Sir Reg of Dwightshire.
The latter offering was so bad that our Elton couldn’t be arsed learning the lyrics, as can clearly be seen in the accompanying video (it also looks like they used the waxwork version of Elton – and why a Warning wasn't slapped on said video for the boy Sheeran's cross-dress cavorting is anyone's guess).
And who could forget Gary Barlow (trust me, we’ve tried) and 'How Christmas is Supposed to Be,' his ‘domestic love and hate’ hoot with Sheridan Smith (oh, such festive fun!).
Gary Barsinger's The Dream Of Christmas album, from which said single was lifted, was so heinously bad we couldn’t even stomach savaging it on FabricationsHQ, although we did manage to hold our lunches down long enough to tear his previous album, Music Played By Humans, a new one.
Suffice to say his faux-crooner swing collection of primarily Crimble covers only helped showcase how cringe-awful Sir Gary Taxes For Barlow is when he tries to croon or swing it up – he murdered so many Christmas classics on this turkey platter he should be given a life sentence.
Further proof of his criminal activity was evidenced in
his natural 'TV celeb' domain, while smarming it up on the Christmas edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
Following his appearance the show, via the BBC feedback site, was inundated with complaints about how embarrassing and bad “lounge singer Gary Barlow” was. Well, don't say we didn't warn you.
But such record breaking artists are not really a part of FabricationsHQ’s musical modus operandi.
While many a big name/ musician/ artist across many a genre does get page space or namecheck coverage (and you just got review summaries of ABBA and Adele's albums (you’re welcome), although not Ed Sheeran’s – we do have standards), the site remains focussed on support and passionate promotion for those who need, merit and deserve the wider-audience exposure, from Celtic/ folk and roots music artists to progressive metal and jazz-fusion outfits, and most points in between.
And that brings us to not just to the more serious aspect of this article but one of the very few positives to come from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns – the opportunity and time that afforded many a genuinely artistic and creative composer, musician and/ or band to record and release not just very good or great albums but truly exceptional ones.
Such a scenario was seen or predicted by a number of folks in or around music, including Dan Reed (who will be fully Network'ed again later this year) when, in conversation with FabricationsHQ at the top of 2021, stated "imagine the number of great albums that are going to be coming out by the end of this year!”
Well Brother Dan, you were right; I hope you heard and enjoyed as many as we did.
As regards the very best of what was a veritable feast of excellent releases in 2021, stellar session guitarist and composer Lyle Workman’s fully orchestrated instrumental tour-de-force Uncommon Measures didn’t just knock it beyond the walls of Abbey Road Studio 1 where he recorded the orchestration, but right out the park.
As classical in form as it was jazz-fusion in shape, Uncommon Measures was and is a truly epic work; a marriage of compositional strength, musical creativity and virtuosity.
The November released Voyage also offered up an inevitable Christmas song, ‘Little Things’ (although all band royalties from the song go to UNICEF, so kudos).
ABBA's festive ditty also included a dodgy lyrical section via a line aimed not at the Crimble kids but the “dear old friend” of the family, as the mother sings of a possible morning trade-off: "You’d consider bringing me a breakfast tray, but there’s a price." Not so much Benny Andersson as Benny Hill.
So painfully twee was 'Little Things' that it made the FabricationsHQ 12 Days of Crimble cringe-list (which you do not want to be checking twice); it sat among other chestnuts that should have been roasted on an open fire including Steve Perry’s morose version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ (Crosby it isn’t), the horrendous and ill-advised hip-hop pop-pap of ‘It Was a Masked Christmas’ by Jimmy Fallon, Ariana Grande & Megan Thee Stallion and the list topping ‘Merry Christmas’ by Mr Ed of Sheerancester and Sir Reg of Dwightshire.
The latter offering was so bad that our Elton couldn’t be arsed learning the lyrics, as can clearly be seen in the accompanying video (it also looks like they used the waxwork version of Elton – and why a Warning wasn't slapped on said video for the boy Sheeran's cross-dress cavorting is anyone's guess).
And who could forget Gary Barlow (trust me, we’ve tried) and 'How Christmas is Supposed to Be,' his ‘domestic love and hate’ hoot with Sheridan Smith (oh, such festive fun!).
Gary Barsinger's The Dream Of Christmas album, from which said single was lifted, was so heinously bad we couldn’t even stomach savaging it on FabricationsHQ, although we did manage to hold our lunches down long enough to tear his previous album, Music Played By Humans, a new one.
Suffice to say his faux-crooner swing collection of primarily Crimble covers only helped showcase how cringe-awful Sir Gary Taxes For Barlow is when he tries to croon or swing it up – he murdered so many Christmas classics on this turkey platter he should be given a life sentence.
Further proof of his criminal activity was evidenced in
his natural 'TV celeb' domain, while smarming it up on the Christmas edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
Following his appearance the show, via the BBC feedback site, was inundated with complaints about how embarrassing and bad “lounge singer Gary Barlow” was. Well, don't say we didn't warn you.
But such record breaking artists are not really a part of FabricationsHQ’s musical modus operandi.
While many a big name/ musician/ artist across many a genre does get page space or namecheck coverage (and you just got review summaries of ABBA and Adele's albums (you’re welcome), although not Ed Sheeran’s – we do have standards), the site remains focussed on support and passionate promotion for those who need, merit and deserve the wider-audience exposure, from Celtic/ folk and roots music artists to progressive metal and jazz-fusion outfits, and most points in between.
And that brings us to not just to the more serious aspect of this article but one of the very few positives to come from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns – the opportunity and time that afforded many a genuinely artistic and creative composer, musician and/ or band to record and release not just very good or great albums but truly exceptional ones.
Such a scenario was seen or predicted by a number of folks in or around music, including Dan Reed (who will be fully Network'ed again later this year) when, in conversation with FabricationsHQ at the top of 2021, stated "imagine the number of great albums that are going to be coming out by the end of this year!”
Well Brother Dan, you were right; I hope you heard and enjoyed as many as we did.
As regards the very best of what was a veritable feast of excellent releases in 2021, stellar session guitarist and composer Lyle Workman’s fully orchestrated instrumental tour-de-force Uncommon Measures didn’t just knock it beyond the walls of Abbey Road Studio 1 where he recorded the orchestration, but right out the park.
As classical in form as it was jazz-fusion in shape, Uncommon Measures was and is a truly epic work; a marriage of compositional strength, musical creativity and virtuosity.
Not far behind in the ear-catching instrumental stakes was another virtuoso of the six-string, Jeff Kollman, and his more rock orientated/ fusion album East of Heaven.
In more ambient instrumental stylings, atmospheric-progressive duo The Blackheart Orchestra delivered "album between albums" project Mute; an impressive reworking of some of the best songs from their first three albums, the results are almost cinematic/ soundtrack in feel.
One of the most adventurous rock/ metal releases of 2021 was the multi-faceted Songs For The Apocalypse by Jason Bieler and the Baron Von Bielski Orchestra; another outstanding album, it was matched in breadth of creative styles by the stone cold bonkers but brilliant Promise of a Life by Swedish power-pop/ theatrical rock trio Reach.
For true artistic expressiveness with not a thought for commercial gain (and sadly one of the most overlooked and underappreciated releases of 2021) listen no further than to Canon Under Flowers by emotively-styled soundscape guitarist Eddie Tatton.
The album also has a gorgeous sound, courtesy of production assistance (and mixing & mastering) from Wayne Proctor, who also lays down the percussive grooves throughout.
Wayne Proctor was also responsible (co-producer, mixing & mastering) for the expansive sound of another outstanding 2021 release, Recipe For Change, the third album from the always musically adventurous The Mentulls (who mix progressive tendencies with rock, blues and pop).
Lockdown live events and performances were, understandably, a big part of music life in 2021.
Out of a large number of excellent shows, home-gig events and full-stage performances honourable mention must go to The Damn Truth and their Now Or Nowhere Record Release Experiment, Todd Rundgren’s Clearly Human Virtual Tour shows and Australian keyboard maestro Lachy Doley’s Studios 301 Sessions.
The latter, a full ensemble band performance, saw deserved release as a CD & Digital album shortly after its broadcast.
In more ambient instrumental stylings, atmospheric-progressive duo The Blackheart Orchestra delivered "album between albums" project Mute; an impressive reworking of some of the best songs from their first three albums, the results are almost cinematic/ soundtrack in feel.
One of the most adventurous rock/ metal releases of 2021 was the multi-faceted Songs For The Apocalypse by Jason Bieler and the Baron Von Bielski Orchestra; another outstanding album, it was matched in breadth of creative styles by the stone cold bonkers but brilliant Promise of a Life by Swedish power-pop/ theatrical rock trio Reach.
For true artistic expressiveness with not a thought for commercial gain (and sadly one of the most overlooked and underappreciated releases of 2021) listen no further than to Canon Under Flowers by emotively-styled soundscape guitarist Eddie Tatton.
The album also has a gorgeous sound, courtesy of production assistance (and mixing & mastering) from Wayne Proctor, who also lays down the percussive grooves throughout.
Wayne Proctor was also responsible (co-producer, mixing & mastering) for the expansive sound of another outstanding 2021 release, Recipe For Change, the third album from the always musically adventurous The Mentulls (who mix progressive tendencies with rock, blues and pop).
Lockdown live events and performances were, understandably, a big part of music life in 2021.
Out of a large number of excellent shows, home-gig events and full-stage performances honourable mention must go to The Damn Truth and their Now Or Nowhere Record Release Experiment, Todd Rundgren’s Clearly Human Virtual Tour shows and Australian keyboard maestro Lachy Doley’s Studios 301 Sessions.
The latter, a full ensemble band performance, saw deserved release as a CD & Digital album shortly after its broadcast.
Blues is now such an all-encompassing genre with a broad musical spectrum (including soul, funk, psychedelic, trad. blues and the more contemporary) that it’s almost impossible and indeed unfair to attempt to categorise at least 50% of the bands or artists ploughing such blues-hewed furrows.
In terms of more traditional blues/ blues-rock however it was a pleasure to hear Bernie Marsden deliver not one but two high-quality blues standards/ covers albums in an ongoing series (which he talked to FabricationsHQ about at the end of last year) and The Reverend Billy F Gibbons getting down, dirty and blues gritty on his latest, and best, solo album, Hardware.
By wider blues breadth contrast, the multi-styled Kaleidoscope (which mixed 60s and 70s styled soul with funk and conceptually themed blues) by the Mark Pontin Group, was another 2021 highlight.
Mark Pontin also managed to get a dig in at what sells (or what doesn’t) with the song 'This Will Never Be a Hit Now,' a cleverly conceived swipe at the over-hyped, marketable commodities that reign supreme over musical creativity – or, as Mr Pontin so astutely put it in pre-release press for Kaleidoscope, "it’s all about how much money you spend that determines success."
While not 100% true 100% of the time, it is an accurate statement as regards wannabe acts who pay for pricey, saturation PR coverage but have little substance (or songs) to back it up.
Said acts & artists tend to be highly conspicuous on Social Media and associated Ad pages, along with bought and paid for rock radio airplay rotation and support slots (it’s not what you know, but who you know).
Equally however they are conspicuous by their absence on FabricationsHQ, where there is zero tolerance for self-aggrandisement, whether musically or promotionally.
That said there are plenty of good, hard working and genuinely talented bands out there, many of whom only aspire to having that first gig, song, single or album reviewed, without favour, by the more respected side of the music media (by that we mean those that don't continually cite everything that comes there way as "awesome" or "flawless" or play the Ingratiating card at every opportunity).
Among the ones to watch are Reading-based alt-rockers Crooked Shapes who, on their self-titled debut album, cleverly combined both old/ classic and new/ contemporary rock worlds.
Also on the up and coming radar are London based The Five Points Gang, who sport many a musical influence within their "dirty blues sound," as heard to fine effect on debut album Wanted.
Skinny Knowledge, based around singer-songwriter
multi-instrumentalist Andy L Smooth, are described as
"alt-rockers from Bournemouth" but as debut album Don’t Turn Out The Lights highlighted, they also know how to deliver big, anthemic crowd-pleasers.
Then there's gritty rock-pop quintet Bastette, fronted by vocalist & songwriter Caroline Kenyon; the band took a sonically vibrant, electro-rock step forward with second EP Exposed.
Perhaps most surprising, in terms of maturity shown (albeit with plenty of space to grow) was the self-titled debut album from Bolton based rock-metal quartet Unknown Refuge; four years in the making, it’s hard to grasp the band were still in their teenage years as the album was being completed.
In terms of more traditional blues/ blues-rock however it was a pleasure to hear Bernie Marsden deliver not one but two high-quality blues standards/ covers albums in an ongoing series (which he talked to FabricationsHQ about at the end of last year) and The Reverend Billy F Gibbons getting down, dirty and blues gritty on his latest, and best, solo album, Hardware.
By wider blues breadth contrast, the multi-styled Kaleidoscope (which mixed 60s and 70s styled soul with funk and conceptually themed blues) by the Mark Pontin Group, was another 2021 highlight.
Mark Pontin also managed to get a dig in at what sells (or what doesn’t) with the song 'This Will Never Be a Hit Now,' a cleverly conceived swipe at the over-hyped, marketable commodities that reign supreme over musical creativity – or, as Mr Pontin so astutely put it in pre-release press for Kaleidoscope, "it’s all about how much money you spend that determines success."
While not 100% true 100% of the time, it is an accurate statement as regards wannabe acts who pay for pricey, saturation PR coverage but have little substance (or songs) to back it up.
Said acts & artists tend to be highly conspicuous on Social Media and associated Ad pages, along with bought and paid for rock radio airplay rotation and support slots (it’s not what you know, but who you know).
Equally however they are conspicuous by their absence on FabricationsHQ, where there is zero tolerance for self-aggrandisement, whether musically or promotionally.
That said there are plenty of good, hard working and genuinely talented bands out there, many of whom only aspire to having that first gig, song, single or album reviewed, without favour, by the more respected side of the music media (by that we mean those that don't continually cite everything that comes there way as "awesome" or "flawless" or play the Ingratiating card at every opportunity).
Among the ones to watch are Reading-based alt-rockers Crooked Shapes who, on their self-titled debut album, cleverly combined both old/ classic and new/ contemporary rock worlds.
Also on the up and coming radar are London based The Five Points Gang, who sport many a musical influence within their "dirty blues sound," as heard to fine effect on debut album Wanted.
Skinny Knowledge, based around singer-songwriter
multi-instrumentalist Andy L Smooth, are described as
"alt-rockers from Bournemouth" but as debut album Don’t Turn Out The Lights highlighted, they also know how to deliver big, anthemic crowd-pleasers.
Then there's gritty rock-pop quintet Bastette, fronted by vocalist & songwriter Caroline Kenyon; the band took a sonically vibrant, electro-rock step forward with second EP Exposed.
Perhaps most surprising, in terms of maturity shown (albeit with plenty of space to grow) was the self-titled debut album from Bolton based rock-metal quartet Unknown Refuge; four years in the making, it’s hard to grasp the band were still in their teenage years as the album was being completed.
Photo by Tim P. Whitby/ Gettty Images
But every youthful Yin has an older Yang – for every first press release there’s a final curtain call for the ever growing number of elder statesmen and women of rock, pop, metal, blues, jazz, music production, broadcast radio et al who sadly pass each musical year.
There were far too many losses last year to mention (close to a thousand, according to official ‘significant contribution’ sources) but the Roll of 2021 Honour Passed included Phil Spector, Gerry Marsden, Don Everly, Dusty Hill, Charlie Watts, Graham Edge, Michael Nesmith and the legend that was, and remains, Stephen Sondheim.
Genius is a word used too often and incorrectly, but it most certainly applied to Stephen Joshua Sondheim
(9 Tony Awards; 8 Grammy Awards; Academy Award; Pulitzer Prize; Laurence Olivier Award).
Many cite him as a genius of the musical theatre world; he certainly reinvented & reimagined the American musical (taking it beyond its traditional boundaries in terms of composition, complexity and subject matter).
But he was, more simply, one the finest music composers of any era; his songs were full of complex rhythmic ideas, sophisticated melodies and inherently clever lyricism, from darker subject matter to razor sharp wit and love in all its forms, from the joyous to the unrequited.
As a personal aside I can’t not mention the passing of British rock musician and singer John Miles, who we lost in December 2021.
Known for his work with Tina Turner and The Alan Parsons Project, among others, and a recurring feature role in the Night Of The Proms concert series since 1985, those of an age or penchant for classy, well written rock and melodic-pop will fondly recall his singles and excellent solo albums of the 70s, many of which were progressively shaped (as a further aside his 80s and early 90s releases deserved much more attention).
And, of course, one John Miles song in particular, more relevant now that at any time in the past or since its 45 year old birth...
There were far too many losses last year to mention (close to a thousand, according to official ‘significant contribution’ sources) but the Roll of 2021 Honour Passed included Phil Spector, Gerry Marsden, Don Everly, Dusty Hill, Charlie Watts, Graham Edge, Michael Nesmith and the legend that was, and remains, Stephen Sondheim.
Genius is a word used too often and incorrectly, but it most certainly applied to Stephen Joshua Sondheim
(9 Tony Awards; 8 Grammy Awards; Academy Award; Pulitzer Prize; Laurence Olivier Award).
Many cite him as a genius of the musical theatre world; he certainly reinvented & reimagined the American musical (taking it beyond its traditional boundaries in terms of composition, complexity and subject matter).
But he was, more simply, one the finest music composers of any era; his songs were full of complex rhythmic ideas, sophisticated melodies and inherently clever lyricism, from darker subject matter to razor sharp wit and love in all its forms, from the joyous to the unrequited.
As a personal aside I can’t not mention the passing of British rock musician and singer John Miles, who we lost in December 2021.
Known for his work with Tina Turner and The Alan Parsons Project, among others, and a recurring feature role in the Night Of The Proms concert series since 1985, those of an age or penchant for classy, well written rock and melodic-pop will fondly recall his singles and excellent solo albums of the 70s, many of which were progressively shaped (as a further aside his 80s and early 90s releases deserved much more attention).
And, of course, one John Miles song in particular, more relevant now that at any time in the past or since its 45 year old birth...
Thanks for all the music, John.
Here's to a better 2022 and may Art and Artistry, in all its forms, continue to fight against the tidal wave of mediocrity.
Ross Muir & Nelson McFarlane
2021 In Review
January 2022
FabricationsHQ 2021 Roll of Honour
Album of the Year: Lyle Workman - Uncommon Measures
Blues based Album of the Year: Mark Pontin Group - Kaleidoscope
Blues Rock Album of the Year: Billy F Gibbons - Hardware
Classic Rock Album of the Year: Cheap Trick - In Another World
Contemporary Rock Album of the Year: Wayward Sons - Even Up the Score
Debut Album of the Year: Mason Hill - Against the Wall
Instrumental Album (Rock) of the Year: Jeff Kollman - East of Heaven
Instrumental Album (Ambient/ Atmospheric) of the Year: The Blackheart Orchestra - Mute
Instrumental Album (Jazz/ Fusion) of the Year: Pat Metheny - Side Eye NYC
Lockdown Live Album of the Year: Lachy Doley - Studios 301 Sessions
Melodic Rock Album of the Year: VEGA - Anarchy And Unity
Metal Album of the Year: Inner Stream - Stain the Sea
On-line/ Lockdown event of the Year: The Damn Truth - Now Or Nowhere Record Release Experiment
Progressive Metal Album of the Year Turbulence - Frontal
Progressive Album of the Year: Lifesigns - Altitude
Roots/ Americana Album of the Year: Malcolm Holcombe - Tricks of the Trade
Rock-Metal Album of the Year: Jason Bieler - Songs For the Apocalypse
Singer-songwriter Album of the Year: Ava - Wildflower
Supplemental Awards
"Artistic Expression over Commercial Gain" Award: Eddie Tatton - Canon Under Flowers
"Ones to Watch": Bastette; Crooked Shapes; Five Points Gang; Skinny Knowledge; Unknown Refuge
"Stone Cold Bonkers but Brilliant" Award: Reach - The Promise of a Life
"The Ego Has Landed" Award: Gary Barlow
Here's to a better 2022 and may Art and Artistry, in all its forms, continue to fight against the tidal wave of mediocrity.
Ross Muir & Nelson McFarlane
2021 In Review
January 2022
FabricationsHQ 2021 Roll of Honour
Album of the Year: Lyle Workman - Uncommon Measures
Blues based Album of the Year: Mark Pontin Group - Kaleidoscope
Blues Rock Album of the Year: Billy F Gibbons - Hardware
Classic Rock Album of the Year: Cheap Trick - In Another World
Contemporary Rock Album of the Year: Wayward Sons - Even Up the Score
Debut Album of the Year: Mason Hill - Against the Wall
Instrumental Album (Rock) of the Year: Jeff Kollman - East of Heaven
Instrumental Album (Ambient/ Atmospheric) of the Year: The Blackheart Orchestra - Mute
Instrumental Album (Jazz/ Fusion) of the Year: Pat Metheny - Side Eye NYC
Lockdown Live Album of the Year: Lachy Doley - Studios 301 Sessions
Melodic Rock Album of the Year: VEGA - Anarchy And Unity
Metal Album of the Year: Inner Stream - Stain the Sea
On-line/ Lockdown event of the Year: The Damn Truth - Now Or Nowhere Record Release Experiment
Progressive Metal Album of the Year Turbulence - Frontal
Progressive Album of the Year: Lifesigns - Altitude
Roots/ Americana Album of the Year: Malcolm Holcombe - Tricks of the Trade
Rock-Metal Album of the Year: Jason Bieler - Songs For the Apocalypse
Singer-songwriter Album of the Year: Ava - Wildflower
Supplemental Awards
"Artistic Expression over Commercial Gain" Award: Eddie Tatton - Canon Under Flowers
"Ones to Watch": Bastette; Crooked Shapes; Five Points Gang; Skinny Knowledge; Unknown Refuge
"Stone Cold Bonkers but Brilliant" Award: Reach - The Promise of a Life
"The Ego Has Landed" Award: Gary Barlow