Rick Bayles

Book review: Iain Matthews “Thro’ My Eyes” (Route Publishing, 2018)

October 5, 2018 Rick Bayles 0

If there was an award for the role of Godfather of Americana in the UK, serious consideration would have to go to Iain Matthews as a deserving nominee. An early member of Fairport Convention, recruited for […]

Neilson Hubbard “Cumberland Island” (Proper Records, 2018)

September 14, 2018 Rick Bayles 0

Chances are, if you look up the term “world weary,” the name Neilson Hubbard would feature somewhere in the definition. There are times, on his latest album ‘Cumberland Island,’ that he makes someone like Leonard Cohen sound […]

Ned Collette “Old Chestnut” (It Records, 2018)

September 10, 2018 Rick Bayles 0

On first listening to this album it sounded like a collection of songs where you wait a long time for something to happen and not a lot does. But this is an album that rewards repeated […]

Picnic Area “No Country For Young Men” (Limefield, 2018)

August 16, 2018 Rick Bayles 0

‘No Country For Young Men’ is the third album from Mancunian alt-country rockers Picnic Area – and it’s a good one. Writing in the shadow of Brexit and the rise of Trump has given this band […]

The Pinkerton Raid “Where The Wild Spirits Fly” (Independent, 2018)

August 3, 2018 Rick Bayles 0

Hailing from Durham in North Carolina ‘The Pinkerton Raid’ (great name!) produce an Indie/Americana sound based around the writing of the band’s frontman, Jesse James DeConto. This is their fourth full-length album and is based on […]

RE: What are you listening to at the moment?
@andyshort Yes, it makes a refreshing change from artis...
By Peter Thompson , 1 day ago
RE: My First Record Player
I had a Rotel amp and turntable too until the buttons s...
By Andy Short , 2 days ago
RE: What are you listening to at the moment?
@peterthompson When Ryan Adams string breaks during Bar...
By Andy Short , 2 days ago
World Party - Private Revolution
Oh Karl - you left us much too soon. word on the street...
By deviouspdv , 4 days ago
RE: What are you listening to at the moment?
Little Feat - Time Loves a Hero (vinyl) XTC - English...
By Peter Thompson , 5 days ago
David Allan Coe (9/6/1939 - 4/29/2026)
David Allan Coe was certainly a controversial figure, b...
By Joe Nathan , 5 days ago
RE: Versions!
You know those songs that you know and that song become...
By Paul Villers , 6 days ago
RE: My First Record Player
I don't remember the brand of my first record player sa...
By Paul Villers , 6 days ago
Beverley Martyn
I see that Beverley Martyn has died which is sad. I rat...
By Paul Villers , 7 days ago

Cover artwork for Amy Melissen and Lee Stivers' album Something Tells Me Everything Will Be Alright

Amy Melissen & Lee Stivers “Something Tells Me Everything Will Be Alright”

May 5, 2026 0

Homage as an access point into the musical canon. It’s almost essential for artists at the start of their musical journeys to rely heavily on the compositions of admired musicians. Whatever elements resonate more deeply are […]

For the Sake of the Song: Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez “Him Who Saved Me”

May 5, 2026 1

A few weeks ago, James Wesley Voight, otherwise known as Chip Taylor, died. He is best known for writing classics such as Wild Thing and Angel of the Morning; however, the songs he wrote for and […]

Uni Boys “Uni Boys”

May 5, 2026 0

Power pop déjà vu, delivered with infectious youthful exuberance. Forty years ago, New Musical Express journalist David Quantick suggested that pop culture was becoming increasingly self-referential, to the point of exhaustion, ultimately predicting that “pop would […]

Articles by Rick Bayles