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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 18h

Done and dispatched, an autumnal themed top ten which will be coming soon...
@lionunicorn.bsky.social #topten #autumn #classicalbums #folk #jazz #britishmusic #writingcommunity #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 2d

Remembering guitarist Mel Brown, born OTD 1939. As well as backing Bobby Bland, Etta James and Johnny Otis he made several albums for ABC Impulse! and was a member of the house band at Antone's Night Club in Austin for many years. A wonderful player, with a rich, deep tone.
#musicsky #blues #jazz

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 2d

"Jo Jones, an elegant, swinging dude, always had a style of his own. When he was with us, you could hear him, feel him — everything was right there." - Count Basie
Remembering one of the greatest ever drummers, the impeccable Papa Jo Jones, born OTD 1911 in Chicago
#jazzsky #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 4d

Led Zeppelin III was released OTD in 1970. Conceived in a remote cottage in Snowdonia, it is one of the great records that came from the era of bands 'getting it together in the country'. Read about Zep 3 and other albums made in that fashion here: @lionunicorn.bsky.social 👇
#musicsky #ledzeppelin

Top 10: Getting it together in the country

Fleetwood Mac, Gong, Paul Weller… they’re all in BEN FINLAY’s guide to getting it together in the country.

thelionandunicorn.com

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 4d

#nowplaying OTD in 1972 Freddie Hubbard recorded the first of two sessions for what was to become the album 'Sky Dive', released in Jan 73. It featured CTI alumni Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Hubert Laws & George Benson, who notably plays some great guitar, particularly on 'Povo'
#jazzsky #musicsky

Povo

YouTube video by Freddie Hubbard - Topic

www.youtube.com

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 6d

'Your sound is in your hands as much as anything. It's the way you pick, and the way you hold the guitar, more than it is the amp or the guitar you use.'
One of the best ever quotes about guitar playing.
Remembering the great Stevie Ray Vaughan, born OTD 1954 in Dallas, Texas, & gone far too soon.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 7d

#nowplaying Recorded #OTD in 1961 at Van Gelder Studios (released in Jan '62) 'Mosaic' by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, featuring:
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Curtis Fuller – trombone
Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
Cedar Walton – piano
Jymie Merritt – bass
Art Blakey – drums
Deep joy.
#jazzsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 7d

2, It was photographed by Storm Thorgeson in a field outside of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire (Oddly enough, Potters Bar was home to my parents before I arrived...)
#musicsky #pinkfloyd #classicalbums #progrock #cassettes

Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 7d

1, Calling all old 'heads'... released on this day in 1970, Pink Floyd's first number one album, 'Atom Heart Mother'.
This is the cover of the cassette copy that I remember owning as a teenager.
The artwork is by Hipgnosis, the name of the cow Lulubelle the third.
#pinkfloyd #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 8d

Remembering a true legend of the blues and one of its greatest guitarists - 'The Iceman', Mr Albert Collins, born OTD in 1932 in Leona, Texas. I saw him play live twice in London in the early 90s and will never forget it. What a tone, what a performer...
#blues #musicsky

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Reposted by Ben Finlay

Lion & Unicorn @lionunicorn.bsky.social · 8d

"Now it is autumn again; the people are all coming back. The recess of summer is over…"
One of the great novels of the 1970s, Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man, is 50 years ago this autumn.
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/09/27/t...

The (rest is) History, Man

BEN FINLAY celebrates 50 years of Malcom Bradbury’s satire of fashionable left politics.

thelionandunicorn.com

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 8d

missed out Buddy's birthdate - it should read 'OTD 1917'

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 9d

"I never believed in a set routine. It should depend on how you feel, because you play what you feel..."
Remembering the great Buddy Rich, born OTD in Brooklyn.
#jazzsky #musicsky #drums #bigband

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 11d

"The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change..."
(possibly) released OTD in 1973 (some sources state 5th October), 'Selling England by the Pound' by Genesis, which lyrically included themes of English romanticism whilst also lamenting its decline.
#musicsky #genesis #classicalbum

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 11d

Impeccable choice!

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 11d

Some excellent charity shop/library finds today.
#books #literature #library

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12d

“If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell…” Bill Evans
Remembering one of the greatest ever jazz pianists, Bud Powell, born OTD 1924 in Harlem...
#jazzsky #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12d

*New Article*
"Now it is autumn again..."
As Malcolm Bradbury's novel The History Man turns 50, I've written a piece celebrating this great satire of radical leftism and fashionable politics in academia.
#thehistoryman @lionunicorn.bsky.social #writingcommunity

The (rest is) History, Man

BEN FINLAY celebrates 50 years of Malcom Bradbury’s satire of fashionable left politics.

thelionandunicorn.com

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12d

Released on this date in 1969
#TheBeatles #AbbeyRoad #musicsky #classicalbums

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 13d

Prog rock on rollers... As the 50th anniversary edition of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is out today, here's Genesis taking a break from working on it in the grounds of Headley Grange, Hampshire, June 1974.
#genesis #musicsky #prog #vinylcommunity #thelambliesdownonbroadway

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 14d

Dmitri Shostakovich was born 25 September 1906.
When I was studying A Level history, I wrote an essay on the arts under Stalin and became very taken with Shostakovich, particularly this magnificent work.
#musicsky #classical

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8

YouTube video by Classical Music11

www.youtube.com

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 14d

Farewell to double bass master Danny Thompson. From Alexis Korner to founding Pentangle, to John Martyn and to thousands of gigs and sessions he was the most soulful and funny of musicians. I was lucky to see him on several different occasions with John Martyn and memorably with Richard Thompson.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 16d

Also released OTD in 1970, 'Idlewild South', the second album by the Allman Brothers Band...
#allmanbrothers #musicsky #classicalbums

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 16d

Released OTD 1970, 'Abraxas', the second album by Santana. The cover is from the painting 'Annunciation' from 1961 by artist Mati Klarwein. Klarwein also created the cover designs for Bitches Brew (1969) & Live-Evil (1971) by Miles Davis.
#musicsky #Abraxas #Santana #classicalbums #vinylcommunity

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 16d

Remembering a true telecaster master and a big influence, the one and only Roy Buchanan, born OTD 1939 in Ozark, Arkansas and gone far too soon...
#musicsky #blues #telecaster #roybuchanan

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