Latest articles by Chris Roberts
Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks capture the right essence on True
Jon Anderson taps into spirit of Yes, aided by The Band Geeks and that bloke out of Blue Öyster Cult
Tim Bowness displays a stunning change of pace with Powder Dry
His voice is as mellifluous as ever – but with songs averaging around two minutes long, this dynamic album feels like a reset
Elvis Presley's Memphis recordings are immortal gold
Memphis is a mammoth, probably definitive set of Elvis Presley's Bluff City belters
The Police’s Synchronicity reissue: proof three men who grate on each other can retain chemistry
Tension-torn trio’s final studio album extended with fascination under-construction demo collection and energetic live show
The 40 greatest Yes songs, as voted by 50,000 Prog readers
When 50,000 Prog magazine readers voted on the band’s catalogue, the resulting chart contained a few surprises
55 years in, there’s a dependable charm to the moderate ambitions of Focus’ Focus 12
55 years in, there’s a dependable charm to the way Thijs Van Leer keeps his quartet’s ambitions moderate
The limitations and strange decisions of Procol Harum’s landmark debut album
Gary Brooker called it modern blues – but however you tag it, the proto-prog follow-up to blockbuster single A Whiter Shade Of Pale was everything he’d wanted it to be, almost
How Blondie’s Debbie Harry went from punk icon to rock survivor
In 2011, Blondie’s Debbie Harry sat down with Classic Rock to look back over her stellar career
“The avant-garde and the popular can run side by side”: Prefab Sprout's prog credentials
There are hints throughout the band’s catalogue, but cult album I Trawl The Megahertz, built from quotes found in broadcast media, is Exhibit A in the prog case
Bill Nelson just released two albums – and he has at least nine more coming up
Making the most of his freedom from the mainstream music industry, the 75-year-old Be Bop Deluxe mastermind says his health issues are making him work faster, not slower
In the late 1970s NASA asked Peter Gabriel if he'd like to go into space: Then the Shah of Iran was deposed
Peter Gabriel on his favourite films, how his dad invented on-demand TV, and the space adventure that nearly was
Most of Steven Wilson’s Record Store Day special, Harmonic Divergence, is north of solid
Most of this limited-edition vinyl-only reimagining of 2023’s The Harmony Codex is north of solid.
“I caved in and said: ‘Okay, I’ll put out Wuthering Heights, if only to teach you not to interfere with our choices’”: The decisions and coincidences that helped make Kate Bush a superstar
Signed around the same time as the Sex Pistols after David Gilmour mentored the 16-year-old’s “remarkable talent,” a durable paradox emerged
“Half streamlined, half baroque, it wasn’t for everybody – but it hits the spot now”: Gentle Giant’s The Missing Piece gets the Steven Wilson varnish
Side one gravitates to the new era of 1977, but side two reverts to prog. It’s a reminder of how unique the band always were
"The energy and buoyancy never sacrifice Elbow's innate knack for emotional impact": Elbow sound reinvigorated on Audio Vertigo
Ten albums in, Elbow continue to surprise
“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame fuelled that fire”: how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The Slider
The story behind T. Rex’s The Slider and underrated follow-up Tanx – two albums that sealed Marc Bolan as the king of glam rock
"Mercurial, contradictory, vaulting from throwaway garage-candy to high art concepts and back again": The 20 best solo songs by Lou Reed
Lou Reed's body of work grew from uncertain beginnings through a prolific and wildly diverse 70s surge and a late 80s revival
“As boldly baroque as anything The Moody Blues or The Nice had at that point constructed… but perhaps it hasn’t aged gracefully”: Procul Harum’s vinyl reissue of Shine On Brightly is still fascinating
Robin Trower’s dazzling contributions feel like they’re coming from another room on their second album, as they try to work out who they are
“A unique, sometimes unsettling experience… His baritone gives the songs a shade of unorthodoxy which goes beyond typical English hippie eccentricity”: Kevin Ayers’ Joy Of A Toy (Remastered Gatefold Vinyl Edition)
Syd Barrett’s contribution is absent in an edition that sticks religiously to 1969 template
“An underprized classic… with new mixes enhancing rather than simply fiddling with the original”: 50th anniversary version of Nektar’s Remember The Future
Fourth album features a bonkers storyline told through a single piece of music that ebbs and flows
“His advocacy for artificial intelligence is compelling… human, emotive and reassuring”: Mariusz Duda’s instrumental AFR AI D
Riverside man returns with solo album that opens channels with a potentially bright future
“Rock’n’roll is dead. It’s a toothless old woman. It’s really embarrassing”: how David Bowie turned his back on glam rock to make his ‘plastic soul’ masterpiece Young Americans
Drugs, madness and an ex-Beatle – the crazed story of David Bowie’s 1975 album Young Americans
“The world of music was going through some serious changes and we were not embracing them”: how Yes’s Going For The One and Tormato almost ended things for good
Punk rock, flying fruit and rollerskating accidents – how Yes went from triumph to disaster at the end of the 1970s
“With British crowds, it was: ‘We want Jon! Get Jon back!’ People were aggressive about it”: how Yes faced down the haters and made the classic Drama album
Replacing Jon Anderson and Rick Wakemen with Buggles duo Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes was controversial – but it resulted in one of their most underrated albums, Drama
