Jeff Harford

Long player: Why Dobbyn resides in the subconscious

When exactly did Dave Dobbyn assume the mantle of nation's favourite son? Was it as early as 1979 when as a weedy pub-rocker he punched above his weight in Th' Dudes, forever engraving Be Mine...

Long player: Second album the Feat to acknowledge

Little Feat could and should have joined the ranks of the revered, mentioned in the same breath as the Band, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Doors. Trouble is, for every great record they made,...

Long player: Album sits in a wonderful state of flux

Unhalfbricking. Not a real word, more an attempt to find one that best describes something not yet fully formed. In its way, a perfect moniker for an album that dangles its feet off one platform in...

Long player: Wee gem from '80s still shines bright today

Through the early '80s and mid-'90s, The The would poke its head up, spit a little well-aimed invective, and slither back into relative obscurity. A quick change of wardrobe and personnel, and it...

Long player: Zevon was more than a werewolf of London

It would be a pity if Warren Zevon were only remembered for Werewolves Of London. Not that it's a bad song. In fact, it's a great song. One of many. The 1978 single, with its irresistible "...

Long player: Kate Bush gave it all in a moment or two

Few knew what to make of Kate Bush on first introduction. Had she not picked Wuthering Heights as her leadoff single, the job of pigeonholing might have been made a tad easier. But there she was,...

Long player: Incisive poignancy, exquisite suffering

The best of Simon and Garfunkel's music is unsettling stuff. Though couched the language of acoustic folk-rock and sung with measured control, it evokes unnamed sorrows and touches on fears that we...

Long player: Startlingly honest record of real-life emotions

Storyteller extraordinaire Nick Cave revels in the art of character creation. All manner of queer fish wander through his narratives, toting their life's baggage and ringing bells of warning...

Long player: Cars' smart move meant you had to love them

As a young fan of music in the late '70s, your job was to staunchly defend your chosen patch. Punks hated the dinosaur rockers, who in turn hated the pop nerds. That was, until the lines began to...

Long Player: The Spector of Christmas past

In the age of the single download, Jeff Harford rediscovers the album...

Long player: Walker eschewed pop for self expression

Scott Walker was transformed from heartthrob to leper by his decision to quit the Walker Brothers in 1967. In his own words, people did not want to touch him once they realised how determined he...

Long player: Great blues-influenced electric guitar vamping

Contractual obligation. Not the most inspiring of motivations for an artist, you might think. However, for rock's most inspirational guitarist it was strictly business that saw him commit some of...

Long player: Mayfield's solo debut paved way for Gaye

Curtis Mayfield's 1970 solo debut Curtis might not wear the greatest soul album title that Marvin Gaye's What's Going On has assumed, but without it Gaye might never have found his voice. ...

Long player: Heartwarming classics bring the outsider in

If you're looking for a tag to pin on Daniel Johnston, "outsider artist" is the one most commonly used. But delve into his work and you'll soon discover how eagerly he embraces pop...

LONG PLAYER: Fusion of punk with funk, Marxism with militarism

The climate during the heyday of the British post-punk movement was distinctly chilly. Serious young men with furrowed brows turned their collars to the wind, thrust their hands deep into...

Long Player: A stab at a musical monument

On October 21, 2003, Jennifer Chiba removed a knife from Elliott Smith's chest. The 34-year-old Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter then collapsed and died, bringing to a close a brief but...

Long Player: Jester turned dreamy lyrics into glam rock

Electric Warrior is the only glam rock album you need, and T. Rex the genre's sole essential band.

Long Player: Masterful ranting at a manageable pace

Few parents of the surly teens who marched off to performances by the Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols or Banshees in the late '70s would have imagined their rebellious offspring might be also taking in a little poetry of an evening.

Long Player: Here, there is time to pause and take stock

"The pause that refreshes", a slogan used by Coca-Cola back in the late 1920s, will take some beating.

Long Player: Retracing her steps to Butcher Hollow

When the coalminer's daughter from Butcher Hollow met the garage-rock guru from Detroit, the 40 years between them melted like a snowflake on a griddle. Loretta Lynn had a fan in Jack White, and it brought the best out in her.

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Jeff Harford