Surely you need some payment too? (or a second income stream). I want authors to make some money so they can afford to keep on writing books.

Does using a Kindle count as not reading a book?

I'm not sure. I've met kind, generous people who hardly ever read. One I'm thinking of used to say that he'd never read a book that wasn't a technical manual. All kids read some at school, so my friend never read by choice. There are well read people who are bastards.

Thin Lizzy, Lynrd Skynrd, Wishbone Ash, and the guitars are great. In their funkier moments they even channel the Jackson Five. Mdou Moctar adds a fine solo on one track. The energy never flags. This record is a lot of fun.

I can start on 2025 now.

Be glad, for the song has no ending.

helps out a bit. The last song "Those Damn Roches" is about families that sing specifically & in general. There's a verse about her own family & her kids all help out. Sheer Mag are not trying to get back to the 60s, they're a SEVENTIES band really. Those bands with multiple lead guitarists 4/

& Richard Thompson & they're demoing their new songs you think "oh no. I can't do that." Then you go solo & meet professional song writers & she realised "oh, I can do THAT." The songs are clever, often witty. She's right,. She can do it. The guest singers are all well chosen. The old man 3/

Linda Thompson doesn't sing at all on her latest. Apparently her voice really has sung it's last. She wrote all the songs & got friends to sing them. Hence the title & the cover art. She's a good songwriter. She says the problem is that when your hanging with Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, The ISB 2/

Mdou Moctar is one of the most overt guitar heroes to emerge from the Sahel region & filed under "desert blues". There's real fire in his playing, and even though he's not singing in English you get a message. There's not always a back beat but it rocks. /end

for Beth Gibbons album. It's full of woody textures, lots of strings & acoustic guitars. There's no mistaking the quality. The songs are sad, but hopeful too. The playing & arrangements support the songs well. Gibbons vocals are not virtuosic & unembellished, but she sells the songs. Good record 2/

majority of musicians. Let's give thanks that somehow they keep going, keep on putting colour & richness in our lives. /end

and notices. She ended up in the red. When she asked how this happened she was told that's normal now.

Gartland knew the next career step was a US tour. She got the invite, good venues. All good to build her profile. She ran the number & knew she was going to lose on the tour.

It's hard for the 3/

and a sense of motion here. It's a more *kinetic* album, though it could still only be one singer delivering this.

What these artists have in common is that their careers illustrate how perilous the contemporary music business is. Aftab toured this album, sold out, sold merch, got good responses 2/

Word.

I was thinking last night that this smells a lot like Iraq & WMD

I bought the Bill Orcutt because of a review. Otherwise I have little idea. He's been around a long time & has been prolific. This may not be typical: all instrumental & all acoustic. He has a great touch on the guitar with a ringing tone. Interesting compositions & great skills take us home /end

The Jesus Bolt seem not to have got loads of reviews. There's no justice in this business. Their 2nd album is full of great ideas & smart execution. They have range too, from near folk to roaring guitars. You can say that for many great 60s bands. Or PJ Harvey who they can remind us of a little 2/

so he too wrote a batch of songs, then got colleagues to add their parts working remotely. The result is a very good album. One of those albums that has lots of variety - from electro to desert blues - but also hangs together as a satisfying whole. Recommended. /end

doesn't do it just because he can) and intriguing, satisfying compositions, including his arrangement of a North African folk tune. The Arabic touches that leaven the music add to the experience.
Wonderboom guitarist Martin Scholfield got stuck at home, but he has a home studio, as so many do 6/

album each week. Always recent releases. And there's so many of them that he is never short of something to spotlight. Which is good news.
Jazz guitarist Rob Luft got stuck in Egypt, moved to a small village and soaked up the local music. This album is full of great playing (he can shred, but 5/