On Good Friday I flew to Chicago as a belated birthday present, courtesy of the long suffering Mrs Smudge who knew I'd always wanted to taste the jazz & blues scene there, and British Airways got the weekend off to a cracking start without even knowing it...

There was some good music in their audio selection, including a section of Essential Albums which included FYP! So we were barely airborne before I was doing The Strand (from a seated position, of course; 50 year old men are sad enough without aisle dancing being needed!) and drinks had been served before we got stuck into Beauty Queen... 40 minutes later and I was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat!

It must be years since I listened to Roxy through headphones, but the instrument separation was surprisingly good, even through the cheap BA travel "cans", and it really reminded me how essential TGPT is to the Roxy sound; just like Led Zep needed Bonzo and The Who never being quite the same without Moon The Loon. The final couple of minutes or so of the FYP title track still make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck...

Oh, and Chicago's worth a visit too!

Nice post Smudge!!!

Trans-Atlantic plane rides provide an interesting opportunity to listen to old favorites and also explore new releases... On a recent such flight I didn't get to chose any Roxy or BF, but I did get a chance to hear Dylan's "Widmark Demos" that were recorded back in '62-'63 and include some of the earliest versions of classics like "Hard Rain..." Even with the background roar of the airplane the power of Dylan was undeniable. Unfortunately, most of the other albums made available were dreck like "Best of" alums by Aerosmith and the Eagles. Ugh.