Latest articles by Sid Smith
When Andy Mackay took Roxy Music tracks on a new journey
The Roxy Music saxophonist reflects back on an eclectic career...
“Qualities of grandeur come across as unpretentious and grounded”: Remembering Sandy Denny
Tragically silenced at 31, she only had a decade to demonstrate her talents – but her persona and performances remain indelible after more than 40 years
How No-Man learned to confound their expectations without offending each other
Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson’s mutual respect and passion has kept their art-pop collaboration alive – despite the constant distractions of their other projects
‘Flamenco motifs, fancy footwork and an over-the-top macho swagger”: Carmen’s The Albums
Three-disc retrospective illustrates the promise of a mid-70s band supported by David Bowie and Tony Visconti
“Robert decides what to do and Fripp has to go and do it”: How to survive King Crimson
Serious leader of a prog behemoth, hugely influential guitarist, half of the Toyah & Robert party band… who is the real Robert Fripp? He offers some tantalising hints
Phil Manzanera knew Roxy Music were going to make it when they made debut album for £5,000
Guitarist who failed his first audition recalls making 1972 debut album for just £5,000
Obsessive attention to detail has always been Eddie Jobson’s superpower
From a backstage performance for Curved Air to being dragged onstage by Frank Zappa and out-complicating King Crimson, the UK violinist has managed to ignore distractions from making music
"All of a sudden we play at blinding speed and unbearable intensity, and everyone starts to take notice and stand up": How King Crimson got started
Recorded in just 10 days in 1969, King Crimson’s iconic In The Court Of The Crimson King has been called “the true point at which progressive rock was born”. We look at the making of a landmark album
“When I drank, I was going to be the best drinker in the bar, or take the most drugs or whatever. When I did give up the drink I was going to be the best at that:” The bottom-end drive that made Danny Thompson’s name
Rejecting criticism from those who wondered why he bothered playing folk music, the always-in-demand bassist’s attitude led to experiences with John Martyn, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Tim Buckley and many others
“One doesn’t so much listen as feel it deep in the bones… their stark inventiveness and originality remain outstanding”: Van der Graaf Generator’s Still Life and Vital reissues
1976 studio album and 1978 live double album return from era of new momentum for Peter Hammill and co
“We were really screwing with the system, removing applause from live tracks to sound like studio tracks – the exact opposite of what people do today”: How King Crimson made stealth live album Starless And Bible Black
King Crimson’s 1974 ”excruciating, teeth-pullingly difficult” album Starless And Bible Black sowed the seeds of their looming breakup
“We were making very peculiar music not particularly well played. We got a record contract because the record companies thought, ‘We better get weird’”: Inside the mind of Judge Smith, the man who named Van der Graaf Generator
Inspired by the work of bandmate Peter Hammill and Frank Zappa, Smith aimed never to sound like them – and after working on large ensemble pieces and stage musicals, admitted he’d quite like to “just roll in with a guitar”
“Our contemporaries had numbers that got people up on their feet cheering. We didn’t… We wondered if A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers was the way to go. I thought, ‘We can’t even play this!’”: Van der Graaf Generator’s struggle through the 70s
Keyboardist Hugh Banton on deciding not to emulate Keith Emerson’s stage persona, how he got the band signed, and why it took him so long to accept the “prog” label
“I think the appeal was that it was just a very spacey and very unusual sound world for me." How the classic Canterbury sound inspired young UK proggers Zopp
How Zopp, masterminded by young UK prog musician Ryan Stevenson, are making. areal impact with second album Dominion
“Ginger Baker stamps, thumps and whacks his personality into these numbers… he sounds a bit confused and well-lubricated, much to the evident, if a little strained, amusement of his bandmates”: Baker Gurvitz Army’s Neon Lights: The Broadcasts 1975
They own the stage in collection of five live performances which will please old campaigners and new recruits alike
“I suppose what’s different is me. I’ve done a lot of exploring, particularly with Robert Fripp… Working with him was very easy, which doesn’t sit well with a lot of the public’s perceptions of him!” Theo Travis looks back
He’s worked with Soft Machine, Steven Wilson, The Tangent, Gong and more – but the saxophonist and flautist still has one collaborator on his bucket list
“Do seven versions of one piece border on overkill? Resolutely and resoundingly no”: Magma’s Une Histoire De Mekanïk - 50 Years Of Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
Anniversary box set may not be cheap, but it’s immensely satisfying
“We played for practically 24 hours. When somebody got too tired, somebody else would take over. It was a functional, practical thing to enable the band to play for ever!” When the Pink Fairies and Hawkwind became a single band
Pushed together by accident, two pioneering acts of the psychedelic era made the most of it
“I was seven months pregnant. The doctor said I couldn’t travel but I explained that I was going to be playing with John McLaughlin… she said, ‘Okay, well you have to go!’” Hedvig Mollestad started out feeling like a failure
From a challenging start where she couldn’t play be-bop to delivering improv music that’s favourably compared with King Crimson, she’s taken every opportunity to progress
“As hard as it was, and it was hard, nobody wanted to bottle out. We just knew we had a big landscape we could explore”: How Tales From Topographic Oceans became the most arduous project in Yes’ history
Used as a byword for musical over-indulgence, 1973 album fought its creators every step of the way – right down to its master tapes nearly being crushed by a bus
"It’s like an ocean of music, of experience and concept and feelings." Inside the musical mind of David Sancious
A one-time member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Peter Gabriel collaborator, David Sancious discusses his Eyes Wide Open album
King Crimson and Can were among their go-to inspirations – but in the new romantic era, Talk Talk couldn’t admit it
Steve Hogarth, Tim Bowness, Richard Barbieri and others speak up for the band’s prog credentials
“He may be lauded by some as a genius, but without this team’s heavy lifting, these pieces might fail”: Frank Zappa’s Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Edition
Five-disc, 88-track set proves his music lasts - even if many of his lyrics don’t
Pentangle got a bit of stick and still does... but music is about putting ideas together and understanding them, not making sounds you think are trendy”: Why John Renbourn always stood up to the purists
Kicked out of art school, he embarked on an accidental career in baroque prog and folk jazz - and regarded himself as a lucky winner
