Hi, good to meet you!
In LP, I explore the rock archives, blending the obvious with the obscure. Reviews, articles, and the LP>Playlist.
“As a major champion of the art of music writing without soundbite-sized straitjackets, this is a winner.”
Kris Needs, experienced and influential music writer
“If we want to resist a world of music dictated by AI, then we need to support our musical curators. Ian is one of them.”
Tony Fletcher, wordsmith and author of Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon
“Superb reviews of great artists and albums.”
Kal Hodgson (@jimmymook)
“Brilliant playlist. I’ll definitely be looking out for this weekly treat! Thanks for the effort and love you put into this.”
Bryan Padrick (@thebus)
The doors to the rock archives are opening wider all the time. What is worthy of having the dust blown off? Which bands are looking after their archive and which are neglecting the riches in their history? Which new releases are breathing life into vintage recordings?
Why LP?
The original albums were collections of 78 RPM records; the limited playing time on each side meant several discs were needed to record a whole symphony. When 331/3 RPM long players arrived as a collection of tracks, they were still called albums. Bands such as the Beatles began to explore the possibilities of 40 minutes of (almost) uninterrupted music. Now multi-disc SDE releases are the modern equivalents of the first 78 rpm albums. An LP can be a moving, fulfilling and exciting listen from first track to last or a compilation of demos, alternative versions, and rejected or live versions. And LPs can feed playlists, even if playlist culture sometimes dominates the longer listening experience.
Why me?
“I’ve always considered Ian a formidable musicologist.”
Brad Kyle, Front Row and Backstage
I have a lifelong interest in many genres of music. Writing about music deepens my appreciation, and I hope it will deepen your enjoyment of music too.
I’ve been a music obsessive since early childhood, when my older cousin introduced me to The Beatles and the Stones. I began to explore by listening to the radio, my friend’s record collections, and by hanging out at the local record shop (mostly Cloakes in Crawley). I’ve seen many great gigs, starting with The Who at Charlton in 1974.
The music I listen to most is made by bands and artists as diverse as Genesis, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Tanita Tikaram, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Philip Glass, Yes, King Crimson, Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, Big Big Train, Mike Oldfield … (STOP! – Ed.) – I keep my ears open to everything.
I’m an ex-owner of thousands of records, compact discs, a good number of mixtapes and a high-end hi-fi. I’ll post about the reason for being an ex-owner at some point. It’s quite a story.
My posts are carefully researched. As well as digging into the release in question, I’m often to be found with my eyes on a biography or a musicologist’s thoughts on the nature of music.
Elsewhere …
I review albums for The Progressive Aspect. A book, working title ‘Lifehouse by Pete Townshend’, is due for publication later in 2025 by Sonicbond Publishing. A Genesis project is germinating.
What to expect from ‘LP’ when you subscribe
A PAID subscription, whether annual or monthly, fosters a circular economy. Your sub supports my writing, and I use it to buy new music. There’s no paywall on my posts, but each post is the culmination of hours of work, so if you enjoyed reading the result, please join for at least a month if you can.
As a free subscriber, you’ll find that none of my posts are paywalled partway through. When I post exclusively for paid subscribers, you’ll receive an invitation for a seven-day free trial.
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“I love reading LP.”
Kevin Alexander
My aim is to deliver consistently high-quality writing. Subscribe to receive posts to your inbox. Please consider a paid subscription at just £4.00 per month to participate in a musical circular economy. I buy more music with your sub. Thank you!
Enjoy the music,
Ian
