Latest articles by Chris Roberts
"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
“Polished so slickly it denies the friction which draws your ears in… once that fine film of funk is discerned, it can’t be undiscerned”: Steely Dan’s Aja remastered
1977 album’s new vinyl version illustrates duo’s obsessive perfectionism - and producer Gary Katz’s patience
“Keith Emerson said, ‘Why do I need to join Yes when I have ELP?’”: the story behind Yes’ delirious Relayer album
Rick Wakeman was out, new boy Patrick Moraz was in, and Yes were about to make their most underrated album of the 70s
“Chris and Jon often didn’t get on… I didn’t want to be the leader, but to be a strong voice on the team, brave enough to speak up”: Steve Howe learned to play peacemaker in Yes
Guitarist aimed “to be useful” in a band he believed had something to say
"It would be an obtuse listener who didn't grasp how splendid this record is": Steven Wilson's The Harmony Codex is a high-wire act that few artists could pull off
Solo album number seven The Harmony Codex finds Steven Wilson triumphing by not trying too hard
“I wouldn’t say I was angry, but I was definitely prone to ‘anger moments’… I would explode. The gear-trashing was the real thing”: How Muse took on the world and won
From the moment they started taking themselves seriously, the trio were convinced success would come their way – even as they became more out-there and ludicrous
Assault accusations, tax evasion charges: All this sits uncomfortably with our view of Sigur Rós as magic moon-faced elves. You can understand why they'd want to escape from reality
Sigur Rós's Átta: an album that quivers along a thin line between boring and beautiful
“I remember Nick Mason saying, ‘Pink Floyd is stopping… we’ll leave him to do the big outdoor concerts now!’” But Jean-Michel Jarre argues: “I want to contribute to tomorrow, not yesterday”
Pioneer’s life and times include predicting that electronic music would change the world by thinking “not in terms of notes, but as music that you do with sounds and noise”
“I just didn’t feel I could pull off the things Peter Gabriel did. I said: ‘I’ll give it a go but don’t expect me to wear costumes!’” Phil Collins’ first show as Genesis frontman
It took the revamped band months of worry off stage but just half an hour of fun on stage to secure their future in 1976
A beginner’s guide to Krautrock in five essential albums
The genre with the joke name that stuck: With a sonic imprint still discernible in all corners of music, these are five albums that tell the story of Krautrock
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: Album Of The Week Club review
The self-titled Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe is the album from the version of Yes that wasn’t technically Yes at all
"I do like a good yarn!" Rick Wakeman and Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
As he prepared to bring a live version of his classic solo album to the stage 40 years later, Rick Wakeman looked back on the epic Journey To The Centre Of Earth
"I was never a show off!" - Tony Banks in The Prog Interview
Prog sat down with Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks upon the release of his classical album Five to discuss his shift into classical music and his career in general
Steven Wilson: proof that the received wisdom of punk-versus-prog is bunkum
Music history's parameters have been redefined on this sublime four-CD/seven-LP/two-LP selection curated by Steven Wilson
Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything: an epic that's as swoony as it is cerebral
50th-anniversary Record Store Day box of peak Todd Rundgren album Something/Anything
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Somapolis: "Made with obvious love and drive..."
Not yet ratedSixth from enduringly eloquent art-rock artisans
