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Jerry Gilbert

Jerry Gilbert

Jerry Gilbert worked as a staff writer on Melody Maker in 1969 (specialising in folk and blues) before joining the founding team of Sounds (1970-74), where he was deputy editor. He later wrote regularly for media as diverse as Zigzag, Midweek and the Daily Mirror, later starting the first dance trade magazine Disco International in 1976 and LIVE! in 1991. In recent years he has operated mostly in the leisure hospitality and entertainment technology trade sectors, penning monthly columns for both Night and Theme magazines.

146 articles

List of articles in the library

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Mississippi Fred McDowell: Church House, Farnham

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

"I'M NOT a rock and roll singer. The only way you make me rock is by putting me in a rockin' chair. But if you ...

Champion Jack Dupree, Albert King, The Robert Patterson Singers, Otis Spann, The Stars of Faith: Albert King, Otis Spann et al: American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

JOHN LEE HOOKER'S absence from the American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival was without the consequence that at first seemed likely when the tour opened ...

The Groundhogs, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf, The Groundhogs: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

THERE WAS nothing new about Chester Burnett's routine at the Marquee Club on Thursday, but the Wolf, nearing the end of his third British tour, ...

T. Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex: Rex is Reborn

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

TYRANNOSAURUS REX has survived its transplant operation and is already back in circulation. A little heavier for its absence but still breathing fire and breeding ...

Taj Mahal: Giant Step/De Old Folks At Home (CBS Direction S 8-63820, S 8-63821)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

Mixed bag from Taj ...

Keef Hartley, John Mayall: John Mayall, Keef Hartley: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

JOHN MAYALL must have fell like the father figure of British blues at the Albert Hall on Thursday as he surveyed Henry Lowther and Keef ...

Thelma Houston: Meet Thelma, the 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' girl

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

THIS TIME Thelma Houston did make it. ...

Joni Mitchell: Joni Still Feels The Pull Of The Country

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

CANADIAN FOLK singer Joni Mitchell this week denied rumours that she would be retiring after her Royal Festival Hall concert on January 17th. ...

Joni Mitchell: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

A triumph for Joni ...

Magna Carta, Pentangle: Pentangle, Magna Carta: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

SUNDAY'S LYCEUM played host to two reputable acoustic groups, Pentangle and Magna Carta. Which is great if you join the hard core of enthusiasts at ...

Roger Whittaker: Roger And The Ten Minute Hit

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

IT IS always rewarding for a British artist to strike a first chart success on home territory, particularly after winning so much acclaim in Europe ...

Fairport Convention: Hampstead Country Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

DAVE SWARBRICK recovered from a neck operation three days earlier to fiddle the audience literally off their feet, when Fairport Convention celebrated a triumphant return ...

Memphis Slim: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

MEMPHIS SLIM would have played on all night had he not been due back in Paris earlier the following morning. For when the American pianist's ...

Mike Cooper and the bottleneck revival

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

MIKE COOPER, who has, in recent years, revived interest in the bottleneck and knifestyle of playing, uses two 1930s National steel guitars, as well as ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: The Angel, Godalming

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

ARTHUR "BIG BOY" CRUDUP finally made it to the Angel, Godalming, on Sunday, where he was due to appear on the opening night of his ...

John and Beverley Martyn, John Martyn: Is John Martyn Still A Folk Singer Or Not?

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

THIS IS A TOTALLY irrelevant question, and one which I'm glad I didn't bother to ask. For in this age of musical categories, John draws ...

Love

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

ARTHUR LEE, mastermind and founder member of American west coast group Love, seemed surprised when I suggested that the band had faded into oblivion after ...

John and Beverley Martyn: Stormbringer (Island ILPS 9113)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

Are you ready for the stormbringer ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: The original rock and roller

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

ARTHUR "BIG Boy" Crudup, the man responsible for firing Elvis Presley into one of the biggest crazes of all time, has been recording for over ...

The Liverpool Scene, Andy Roberts: Back to poetry for Liverpool Scene

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

ONE OF the worst group hang ups is the premonition of having to play on stage according to audience expectations rather than choice. The alternative ...

Taj Mahal: Still One Of The Hardest Rockers

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

A FANFARE of trumpets would have greeted Taj Mahal if the artist's British reception had been judged on his success. Instead he was quietly willing ...

Eric Clapton, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf: Wolf Gathers His Flock In London

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

WHEN THE early 1960s gave birth to the R&B boom in Britain, it was artists like Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters ...

Shuggie Otis: Here Comes Shuggie Otis (CBS)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

IF SHUGGIE Otis is this good midway through his teens, what's he going to mature into? ...

Atomic Rooster: More Respect For The Rock Organ

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 October 1970

VINCENT CRANE, ambitious leader of Atomic Rooster, firmly believes that the full potential of the organ has yet to be exploited within a rock concept. ...

Elton John, Fotheringay: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Penny Valentine, Sounds, 10 October 1970

PUTTING ELTON John second billing to Fotheringay at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night was a taste of mistaken booking if ever there was ...

Son House (part 1): Living King of the Delta

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 October 1970

IT WAS the final day of 
Eddie "Son" House's 
final sortie away from 
America. Outside, the
 rain was pouring
 down; inside the car 
sat Son, ...

The Band: Stage Fright (Capitol)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 October 1970

WHEN YOU hear the term country/rock, you immediately think of Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Levon Helm, collectively The Band. For ...

Atomic Rooster: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

ATOMIC ROOSTER are still a sadly underrated group, and perhaps their personnel changes have had a lot to do with that. Well news for the ...

Fairport Convention, Roger Ruskin Spear, Allan Taylor: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

FAIRPORTS ALMOST LOSE IT TO ALLAN ...

Muddy Waters: The Man Who Urbanised The Blues

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

TOP CHICAGO bluesman Muddy Waters, still crippled from a car crash nine months ago, will be wearing a smile when he returns to England in ...

Son House (part 2): Robert Johnson Overshadowed Son and the Whole Delta

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

SINCE 1966 Son House had only recorded once, a very poor performance for Roots which had failed to capture any of the emotion and lyricism ...

Hawkwind: When It Comes To Mind-Blowing, Hawkwind Are Really Into It

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

HAWKWIND MAY not be the world's most affluent group, or the world's most successful group, but they are certainly one of the most mind-blowing. ...

B.B. King: Indianola Mississippi Seeds (Probe SPBA6255)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

HOW TIMES have changed. Gone is the harsh strident guitar of the early '50s which characterised the sound of B.B. and influenced many. Of course ...

Homesick James: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

A LARGE and somewhat over enthusiastic audience saw Homesick James with Grizelda at the 100 Club on Tuesday last week, and spurred the delighted old ...

Homesick James: Homesick Finds a Home From Home

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

HOMESICK JAMES is a likeable faintly extrovert character whose first British visit seems to have made a mockery of his nickname. For homesickness seemed to ...

James Taylor, Matthews' Southern Comfort: Palladium, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

THE CLUMSY, gangling, instantly lovable James Taylor conquered the London Palladium and made his eventual return to England a triumphant one on Sunday. ...

Marshall Hooks & Co.: Hooks — determined to reach the top

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

MANY BLUES singers arrive from the States in a storm of publicity and a considerable reputation, but then fail to justify themselves — either because ...

Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers, Vol II (CBS 64102)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

THE LEGENDARY Robert Johnson showed up at the ARC Field Studios five times between November 1936 and June 1937, cutting a mere 29 sides in ...

Michael Chapman: Window (Harvest SHVL 786)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 December 1970

ON ONE hearing, there's little on this album which can be related to either the Rainmaker or Fully Qualified Survivor albums. It is generally less ...

Ian Matthews

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1971

BACK FROM a promotional tour of the States, Ian Matthews sat in a West End Wimpy Bar pondering his next move. He knows precisely what ...

Family: In the Talk-In: Charlie Whitney

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1971

FAMILY GUITARIST Charlie Whitney had just returned to his Notting Hill home after a stint in the north of England. ...

John Renbourn, Pentangle: Pentangle/John Renbourn

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1971

DECEMBER, ASIDE from its obvious festive revelries, has also been notable for the temporary withdrawal of the Pentangle. In the meekest possible way they have ...

Nick Drake: Bryter Layter

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 March 1971

I GET THE FEELING that only a Joe Boyd-Paul Harris alliance could have produced such a superb album as this. And once again a great ...

Nick Drake: Something else for Nick? An interview with Nick Drake

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 March 1971

NICK DRAKE IS A SHY, INTROVERTED folk singer who is not usually known to speak unless it is absolutely necessary. But Nick is not the ...

Anne Briggs: Feasting Off The Open Roads...

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 April 1971

ANNE BRIGGS' way of life can be compressed into a romantic conjunction of cast iron clichés; but the odds on her future survival would probably ...

Clover: Forty Niner (Liberty)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1 May 1971

IF CLOVER'S first album on Liberty was good, then this follow up is fantastic. The material is a rich variety of country music which brings ...

James Taylor: Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon (Warner Reprise)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1 May 1971

GOOD OLD predictable James has done it again. He offers not the slightest hint of surprise on his new album, and as expected he has ...

Cat Stevens: Guildford Civic Hall

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 5 June 1971

FOR THE SECOND time in a week the Guildford Civic Hall audience remained deceptively cool until just before the end of the concert. ...

Robert Johnson: Unravelling the Legend of Robert Johnson

Retrospective by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 June 1971

JERRY GILBERT looks at Robert Johnson, greatest of the Delta bluesmen ...

Taj Mahal: The Real Thing (CBS)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 July 1971

FOR SOME reason it all seems to have gone wrong for Taj Mahal. ...

Mighty Baby: A Jug Of Love (Blue Hori­zon)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 30 October 1971

MIGHTY BABY have been around for an awful long time, and owing to contractual problems which have re­stricted their recording activities, they have very little ...

Pentangle: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 30 October 1971

FOR A NUMBER of reasons Pentangle's Albert Hall concert last week was disappointing and when they brought their final number 'Pentangling' to a limp conclusion ...

Ralph McTell: You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here (Famous)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 30 October 1971

RALPH'S FANS have had a long wait for the release of his fourth album – but the wait has been well worthwhile for this is ...

Buffy Sainte-Marie, Loudon Wainwright III: Guildhall, Cambridge

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 6 November 1971

WHEN ALL the dust had finally settled, Buffy Sainte-Marie conducted her Sunday evensong within the precincts of Cambridge's Guildhall with grace and poise. ...

Lindisfarne: It's Tyne Time

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 18 December 1971

"No, we'll never work as hard as this again. It's killing the magic. And it's not doing us much good either" - Si Cowe, guitarist, ...

Gallagher & Lyle: Give The Boys A Break

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1972

Well, Blackheath Wanderers Sports Club wasn’t quite the venue I had in mind for obtaining the first signs of a sun tan this summer, but ...

Mark-Almond: Mark/Almond

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1972

JON MARK sits outside his local in Wimbledon, quietly supping a pint. The sun is hot and bar strangely quiet in the unusual absence of ...

The Strawbs' Dave Cousins

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 January 1972

Can you talk, first of all, about the early days of the Strawbs, how you came together and so on. ...

Poco, Richie Furay: Poco: Interview with Richie Furay

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 February 1972

RICHIE FURAY has been one of the guardian angels of rock music over the past five years, coming to the fore in 1969 when he ...

Atomic Rooster: See Studio, Walldorf, Germany

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 26 February 1972

Rooster storm through Germany ...

Randy Newman: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 18 March 1972

NEWMAN GIVING HIS ALL ...

The Groundhogs: Tony McPhee At The Talk-In

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 18 March 1972

A FRESHLY cropped Tony McPhee arrived at United Artists offices at some ridiculous hour in the morning, borne out by the fact that Mac was ...

Nick Drake: Pink Moon

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 25 March 1972

ISLAND APPEARED to have forgotten about Nick Drake until he ambled into the offices one day and presented them with this album. No one knew ...

Rory Gallagher: Travelling Full Circle

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 May 1972

RORY GALLAGHER admitted this week, that his new year European tour had been a tremendous morale booster.... reinforcing old favourites like 'Laundromat' and 'Sinner Boy' ...

Al Stewart: The Poetic Man Tells Of His Love

Report by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 May 1972

THE FACT that the rock public generally seem to be adamant in their appraisal of Al Stewart is a definite sign for the good; for ...

Lindisfarne: Alan Hull

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 27 May 1972

LINDISFARNE'S MERCURIAL rise to fame in the past year has done little to alter the outlook of their chief songwriter, James Alan Hull. Hully remains ...

Canned Heat

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1 July 1972

THE drive out to Topanga Canyon from Hollywood along Sunset is quite a heady experience in itself and when Bob "The Bear" Hite is there ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Fred McDowell: Unspoiled Master

Obituary by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 July 1972

Tribute by Jerry Gilbert ...

Lindisfarne: Dingly Dell — A track by track review

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 29 July 1972

"WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT A TITLE — the album doesn't need a title because the music says it all," Alan Hull declared as Lindisfarne put ...

Genesis Doing The Foxtrot

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 9 September 1972

PETER GABRIEL – slightly eccentric or acute schizophrenic? He cycles to Island Studios to begin a day's work on the new Genesis album, and unpacks ...

The Band: Rock of Ages (Capitol SABB- 11045) *Import

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 9 September 1972

THOSE NEW Year Academy Concerts may have heralded in the new year but as the Band crossed the great divide between 1971 and 1972 onstage ...

Genesis: Foxtrot (Charisma)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 30 September 1972

"HAVE YOU GOT a copy of the new album yet?", Mike Rutherford inquired meekly as Genesis prepared to go onstage at the Marquee last week. ...

Flying Burrito Brothers: After The Burritos

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Let It Rock, October 1972

BY THE TIME rhythm guitarist Gram Parsons left the Byrds shortly after the release of their monumental Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album, country-rock had become ...

Lindisfarne: A Special Report

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 7 October 1972

"FIVE CRATES OF Brown ale and a crate of Guinness please." Twelve quid across the bar to a landlord shaking his head in disbelief, and ...

Genesis: Peter Gabriel

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 4 November 1972

WERE YOU and Tony Banks the prime instigators of the original Genesis back at Charterhouse School? ...

Bill Withers: Making Music Till He Drops

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 18 November 1972

THE QUEST for that intangible magic with which so few of us are blessed, can often entail a very long journey indeed. And whilst Bill ...

The Kinks, Lindisfarne: Kennedy Centre, Washington DC

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 18 November 1972

ON THEIR day the Kinks are one of the most compelling bands in Britain, and the most uncomplimentary appraisal is that Ray Davies has probably ...

Harry Chapin: I've Been Around The World Long Enough To Realise That It's Not All Down To Dollars And Cents

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 25 November 1972

AN AMERICAN-style interview generally means a rap over the breakfast table and it was under such circumstances that I met Harry Chapin at the Westbury ...

Tear Gas: Alex Harvey & Tear Gas: Greyhound, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 December 1972

BY THE TIME the crowds began to gather at the Greyhound last Thursday, Alex Harvey was well into a dynamic rendering of the blues. ...

Doobie Brothers: The Doobies’ Little Gem

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 December 1972

LAST YEAR, when the Doobie Brothers made their recording debut with Warner Brothers, there was little reaction either at the time of the release of ...

Loggins & Messina: They’re Havin’ A Good Time: Loggins & Messina

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, Spring 1972

THE KENNY Loggins/Jim Messina band is the best thing to emerge from LA in years. Their recent Stateside tour with Delaney & Bonnie took audiences ...

Sandy Denny: Sandy Brings Out The Tears

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1973

"SANDY DENNY really draws ‘em out", exclaimed Al Stewart, surveying the sea of well-known faces who had assemble at the Howff to see Britain’s number ...

Steeleye Span

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 6 January 1973

SINCE THE formation of the first traditional, electric folk supergroup, to lump together every possible stigmatic cliché that was attached to them, Steeleye Span have ...

Pentangle: The End

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 January 1973

1973’s NEW BROOM struck its first death blow last week when the on-off rumors of Pentangle’s long-pending split seemed finally to be confirmed. ...

Genesis: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 3 March 1973

ENTERING NEWCASTLE'S City Hall these days is like shaking hands with an old friend. Peter Gabriel wishing that his metaphysical fantasies could suddenly become reality ...

Gallagher & Lyle

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 7 March 1973

THEY SAY that Scotsmen never return home once they've arrived in London, but in the case of Bernie Gallagher and Graham Lyle, they find their ...

Lindisfarne: Alan Hull: Playing In The Band

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 March 1973

ALAN HULL, who has led Lindisfarne a stormy path across the other side of the world, is back in Barnet – the Mecca of the ...

The Eagles: Eagles Make It Easy

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 March 1973

THE EAGLES, who have got more mileage out of their debut album than most bands can reasonably expect, are set to make their first live ...

Duffy Power: Duffy Power (GSF GS502)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 March 1973

IF THIS is the album I think it is, it's been kicking around for an awful long time. It's still contemporary Duffy, though — not ...

Todd Rundgren: A Wizard, A True Star (Bearsville)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 14 April 1973

A MAZE. A truly amazing album. That might well have been the subtitle of this latest excursion into the land of magic from henna-haired hero ...

The Groundhogs: Mac’s Home Cooking: The Groundhogs

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 5 May 1973

DO-IT-YOURSELF man Tony McPhee stands among the debris of a still-unfinished studio at his home in Haverhill, Suffolk. ...

Steeleye Span: Parcel Of Rogues (Chrysalis CHR 1046)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 5 May 1973

THERE ARE a number of reasons why this album is almost impossible to review, and all pertain to the element of isolation in which Steeleye ...

Paul Simon

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 May 1973

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is the title of Paul Simon’s new solo album, and last week he was in New York to talk about the ...

Bill Withers: Live At Carnegie Hall (A&M)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 9 June 1973

FIRST TIME I saw Bill Withers live he was appearing at the huge Louisiana State Fair in Baton Rouge to a matter of about 20,000 ...

Bruce Springsteen: Springsteen's Bar Blues Are Over

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 9 June 1973

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN is the new Bob Dylan. No, really? He's spent his life down, and comparatively out, in Asbury Park, New Jersey, cooking up some ...

Steeleye Span: The Steeleye Span Talk-In

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 23 June 1973

STEELEYE HAVE JUST added a drummer for the first time since the band formed. Can you explain how this came about? ...

Alan Hull: Pipedream (Charisma)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Let It Rock, July 1973

THERE WAS NO justification for prolonging the life of Lindisfarne Mark One while it suppressed the primal scream of Alan Hull. ...

Freddie King: The Cannonball Blows Into Town

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 28 July 1973

WHEN THE Texas Cannonball blows into town it's quite an event, and when he's only in for a couple of days then everybody wants to ...

The Strawbs: Jacks Out For The Strawbs

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, August 1973

THE BEST, and possibly only, way of breaking in a new band is to retreat into the country, converge on the local inn and set ...

Barclay James Harvest: Waiting For The Cherry Harvest

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 4 August 1973

A COUPLE of years ago I chanced to review an album by a band which transformed a flirting relationship into something of a commitment. The ...

Aj Webber: Straight From The Heart

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 1 September 1973

AJ WEBBER is neither to be confused with dustbin Dylanologist A.J. Webberman nor with British bumpkin Adge Cutler, although like the Adge she comes from ...

Sandy Denny in the Talk-In

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 8 September 1973

SANDY DENNY and Trevor Lucas were at their Fulham flat watching the test match when I arrived to tape the talk-in. England’s terrible plight was ...

Elton John: Starship Trouper

Report by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 15 September 1973

THE DAY Starship One landed in Hollywood it effused a trace of the old redolence and affaced just a little of the Hollywood myth. The ...

Don McLean: Eye On The Future, Ear In The Past: Don McLean

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 September 1973

DON McLEAN took a deep breath and launched into a long qualification of his next album — how one cycle was complete and how his ...

Poco: One Of The Great Mysteries Of Rock

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 29 September 1973

Five years and six albums after they formed Poco remain one of the great mysteries of rock and roll – a band who have lurked ...

The Strawbs: Ripe Strawbs

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 November 1973

THE STRAWBS are at last beginning to mature into the kind of band that does justice to the eminence of the musicians involved. "Come down ...

Rick Derringer: All American: Rick Derringer

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 15 December 1973

RICK ZEHRINGER, one time leader of the McCoys, is now better known as Rick Derringer, the All American Boy. Through his work with Johnny and ...

Steeleye Span: Maddy Prior in the Talk-In

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 15 December 1973

WITHIN THE precincts of Warwick Castle a BBC Outside Broadcast team were attempting to film the second Steeleye TV show in their peregrinations around famous ...

Poco's Rebirth

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 December 1973

POCO’S TIM Schmitt and Paul Cotton were asked whether Richie Furay would have the band to play on the same bill as Loggins & Messina, ...

Taj Mahal: Taj: Thinking The Blues

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 December 1973

TAJ MAHAL was dressed in full regalia when we arrived at his hotel room in Manhattan, and the room revealed signs that he and his ...

Loggins & Messina: Kenny Loggins (With Jim Messina Sittin' In) Talkin' 'Bout…

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, January 1974

WHERE BETTER to interview Kenny Loggins and Jimmy Messina that in the crowded restaurant of a good old Holiday Inn, with piped music from the ...

Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers: Marquee, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 January 1974

CHILLI WILLI are quite possibly the band that I spent most of 1973 searching in vain for. They have been together just a year and ...

The Pointer Sisters: Pointer Sisters: Rainbow Room, Biba, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 26 January 1974

IF YOU'RE still able to get tickets for any of the Pointer Sisters' concerts I strongly advise you to invest in them. At an LA ...

Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons: Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (Warner Bros. MS 2171, Import)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 February 1974

THEY SAY this isn't as good as GP and hopes have been expressed that Gram Parsons has left a legacy of more recorded material. Well ...

Renaissance: A New Life for Renaissance

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, March 1974

IT’S FOUR years since the first Renaissance album came out. It was a memorable week as I recall Island issuing that and Fairport Convention’s Liege ...

Cat Stevens: The Patterns Of A Chocolate Man

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 12 March 1974

With an almost regimental sense of routine, Cat Stevens is back in England rehearsing for his first tour in eighteen months. ...

Bruce Springsteen

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 March 1974

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN was confined to the boardwalk life on New Jersey. He lived over a drug store "in all the craziness of downtown", prayed for ...

Charlie Rich: Behind Closed Doors (CBS KE32247)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 March 1974

THIS ALBUM comes over-stamped with the words "Award Winner! Best album of the year! Male vocalist of the year! Best single of the year!" And ...

Paul Butterfield's Better Days: It All Comes Back (Bearsville K44517)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 March 1974

AS A FAN of most of the music that's been going on in Woodstock, the formation of Better Days looked like the perfect solution. ...

Art Garfunkel, Simon & Garfunkel: Art Garfunkel: Artie Gets His Feet Wet

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 30 March 1974

Jerry Gilbert talks to Art Garfunkel and finds out his future plans ...

The Strawbs: An interview with Dave Cousins

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 April 1974

DAVE COUSINS is one of the few musicians whom one can interview repeatedly and always come back with a fresh slant or a new revelation. ...

Buzzy Linhart: Pussycats Can Go Far (ATCO SD 7044)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 4 May 1974

POOR OLD Buzzy. So long as he stayed part of that New York trip, I always felt he had a chance — with the inspiration ...

Richard and Linda Thompson: I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Island ILPS 9266)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 4 May 1974

Richard and Linda put on the shine ...

Bruce Springsteen: It's Hard to be a Saint in the City

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, August 1974

ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO ...

Poco: The World Still Hasn’t Caught Up With Poco

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, September 1974

WHEN GEORGE GRAHAM, THE quiet member of Poco, opined that a hit single would really get Poco away as far back as the Summer of ...

John Sebastian

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, December 1974

THE ACTIVITIES OF John B. Sebastian post-Woodstock haven't so much been a mystery as mystifying. ...

Loggins & Messina, Poco: Loggins & Messina: Mother Lode; Poco: Cantamos

Review by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, January 1975

INITIALLY THE main difference between these two progeny of the Buffalo Springfield is one of sophistication. While Poco strive desperately to recapture past glories, Loggins ...

Biff Rose: The Half Live Adventures Of Biff Rose

Retrospective by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, January 1975

"My use of words is just some antics..." A chronoligical analysis of Biff Rose's albums ...

Alan Hull, Lindisfarne: The Lindisfarne Saga

Retrospective by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, March 1975

THREE YEARS AGO it seemed like the end of an era. ...

Poco: Head Over Heels

Review by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, August 1975

ZIGZAG HAS FALLEN into the habit of reviewing Poco albums with trepidation. With each new Poco release Andy Childs, an old Poco buff himself, passes ...

The Humblebums, Gerry Rafferty, Stealers Wheel: The Gerry Rafferty Interview

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, August 1975

GERRY RAFFERTY rarely comes up in interviews, seldom works on the road and is in London even less often. And yet when it comes to ...

Richard and Linda Thompson: Richard & Linda Thompson: Hokey Pokey

Review by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, September 1975

THE SINGULAR most remarkable aspect of this album is its manifestation of Richard Thompson's capacity to absorb. And if that sounds a long winded way ...

The Strawbs: Ten Years of the Strawbs: From Donegan to Dali in Five Easy Stages

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, September 1975

THROUGH A ten-year period that has seen them frequently under-rated, and a time when they probably least deserved it the subject of mass adulation, the ...

The Groundhogs: Tony McPhee: Prisoner In His Own Castle?

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, September 1975

Jerry Gilbert looks at Tony McPhee’s decision to split the Groundhogs. ...

Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run (Columbia import)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 September 1975

THE VISIONARIES and rock and roll prophets who predicted that this album would be the making of Bruce Springsteen may have noted that while their ...

The Strawbs: Ten Years Of The Strawbs – Part Two 1970-1975

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, October 1975

THE STRAWBS were the first band to really find commercial success from within a folk environment. Dave Cousins was always clever in his adaptations of ...

Poco: Keep On Trying

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 4 October 1975

THE SUDDEN relaunch of Poco has kicked up some pretty weird conversations and ironies. For few former Poco buffs are willing to believe that Head ...

Barclay James Harvest: Who Reaped Barclay James’ harvest?

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 8 November 1975

After seven years with a sizeable reputation and a loyal following, Barclay James Harvest still haven’t made any money. ...

Man: The Twelfth Man

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 6 December 1975

HEADLEY GRANGE is an unimposing place, rambling, but not overly large and possessing none of the characteristics that make for a manor, stately home, or ...

Steeleye Span: The Folk Who Plugged In

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 6 December 1975

NOW WE are six was a title conveniently borrowed from A. A. Milne to acknowledge that in 1973 Steeleye Span had finally decided to add ...

Leo Kottke: The ZigZag Interview: Leo Kottke

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, January 1976

I'VE ALWAYS dreaded starting so called in depth interviews with 'Go back to your earliest recollections etc and in the case of Leo Kottke I ...

Great Speckled Bird: The Great Speckled Bird Flies Alone

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 24 January 1976

THE GREAT Speckled Bird, Canada's most underrated and misjudged supergroup, lives. The original band with Amos Garrett, Buddy Cage and so on have long gone ...

Loudon Wainwright III

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, February 1976

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT'S biggest paradox is his insistence that his values and lifestyle are no different from any man in the street: but his eccentricities are ...

The Rowan Brothers: The Rowans

Review by Jerry Gilbert, ZigZag, February 1976

THE ROWAN BROS. have variously been described as the greatest thing since the Beatles (J. Garcia in Rolling Stone) and Clive Davis's Biggest Mistake. A ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Sisters In Song

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 April 1976

UNTIL DEMAND forced them to issue that classic Maria Muldaur album two years ago Warner Bros. had always shown a marked reluctance to promote its ...

Gerry Rafferty: Right Down the Line

Sleeve notes by Jerry Gilbert, EMI USA Records, 1989

THE SHADOW OF melancholy now seemed to rise like a weight from Gerry Rafferty's shoulders. 'Baker Street' was an instant smash and he went on ...

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