1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – ELO Part 2’s Moment Of Truth
MATT KELLY has his sights on a record made by most of ELO (but minus Jeff Lynn) and he's in a vicious mood. What
Live shows from long ago… Racey
In one of his first live review assignments, GARY STEEL was surprised to find that novelty act Racey wasn’t as cack as he’d thought
Sharon O’Neill & Jon Stevens, Wellington Town Hall, 1980
GARY STEEL wrote this review for the Evening Post back in March 1980. It's not something he's proud of.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Robert Plant’s Shaken And Stirred
MATT KELLY saw Robert Plant as someone to trust to always do the right thing. That is, until he released this piece of unmitigated
An awful record that’s also great, and why: Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds
Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds stubbornly remains as bad as it is beautiful, writes GARY STEEL, who reveals its magic formula.
The best NZ album you never heard in your life – Spacesuit (1997)
In this occasional series, GARY STEEL pays tribute to lesser-known records that really rock. Today it's Spacesuit's turn.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #18 – Echo by Gracious
Reunion albums often suck but they're rarely as godawful as this egg-on-face progressive rock travesty, writes MATT KELLY.
The resurrection of The Body Electric – NZ’s first all-electronic band
GARY STEEL was there when Wellington synth-pop band The Body Electric’s ‘Pulsing’ took off in 1982. Here’s his take on the phenomenon.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before Your Hear – Paul Lekakis’s Tattoo It
The 'Boom Boom Let's Go Back To My Room' guy didn't even have one entertaining album in him, MATT KELLY discovers.
Ragnarok’s 1970s NZ space-rock masterpiece reassessed
Kiwi space-rock band Ragnarok’s 1975 debut has been rediscovered and reissued. GARY STEEL with an in-depth assessment.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #16 – Manic Street Preachers’ Resistance Is Futile
The Manic Street Preachers' depressing schtick gets well and truly tired on an album that MATT KELLY wished never existed.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #15 – Nicky Wire’s I Killed The Zeitgeist
Why did the Manic Street Preachers let Nicky Wire out to sing so horrendously on his solo disc? MATT KELLY can only sigh.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – The Fast Food Rockers’ diabetes-enhancer
MATT KELLY valiantly warns the unsuspecting music fan to stay away from the horrendous 2003 comeback of Stock (of Aitken Waterman).
Forty years ago… NZ post-punk band Rank And File
Back in 1982 GARY STEEL had a bit of a chat with Auckland post-punk group Rank And File.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – The Stranglers’ 10
The last gasp of the original Stranglers lineup, 10 is an execrable, lame and indefensibly weak way to bid adieu, writes MAT KELLY.
1001 albums you must die before you hear – The Stranglers’ Feline
The bad boys of rock'n'roll complete an appallingly swift transformation into a bad pop band on Feline writes MATT KELLY.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Florence Foster Jenkins
She sang so badly that people turned up in their droves to laugh at her sad attempts to "wow" New York. MATT KELLY on
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Pink Floyd’s The Endless River
MATT KELLY has a big soft spot for "the Floyd" but the group's studio epilogue is more like an endless death rattle.
Recordings reassessed: AGF – Words Are Missing (2008)
Every week GARY STEEL pulls another random album from his bulging shelves to cast a critical eye over. It's your turn, AGF!
I woke. Now I must just be.
This time last year singer-songwriter JOHN HANLON was in Auckland ICU with toxic shock and expected not to survive. Here's what happened next.
Authors
