The Possum would have turned 90 today.  To mark the day, I'll suggest a live album, Back in the Saddle (Live: 1979) . It is an interesting LP. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on it. George seems to be playing at Gilley's in Houston....as Mickey gets several mentions.  It says "1979", but that may not be right. Lorrie Morgan is in the band, singing backup and the Tammy parts, but he wasn't with George until 1981-83. In 1979, however, she was married to Jones Boy Ron Gaddis, so the date could be accurate. George introduces " He Stopped Loving Her Today " as a song he always likes to play when he's in Houston, The audience responds with enthusiasm and recognition, but George cut that one in 1979 and didn't release it until 1980.  It is not a concert, per se, because the audience fades in at the beginning of most songs and then fades out at the end. The recordings seem to be genuinely live, though. There is some feedback that creeps...

Lennon's Imagine tuns 50 today. He had released " Power to the People " in March. Ringo had released " It Don't Come Easy " - produced by George - in April. Paul and Linda put out  Ram  in May. George's only studio output for 1971 was the " Bangla Desh " single in July, as he devoted most of his time first to production and then to preparations for the benefit concerts. Had the Beatles still been a band, they would have had enough material for a quality album, Ramagine . It is a solid one, with three or four tracks still garnering airplay in the classic rock format. For the sake of variety, we'll use the first take of Imagine. It has a different mix, with a more prominent harmonium. We'll also include the All Things Must Pass out take, " I Live For You ". At the risk of alienating fans of Wings Wild Life , we won't include any of its tracks here, as the album didn't come out till December. It would have been a pret...

In January of 1974, Phil Manzanera finished recording his first solo album, Diamond Head . He also got his old group, Quiet Sun, together to record Mainstream , an album of songs they'd written before he joined Roxy Music. That's a good friend for you. After the release of those two albums, Roxy put out Siren . A breakthrough single led to a successful tour of the US and, in 1976, the band went on hiatus. Bryan Ferry issued some solo albums, and -by some accounts - peddled ascots and fashion advice to New Romantics in Camden market. Phil put together a band. There was Eno - who handled some of the vocals on Diamond Head and had done some production work on Mainstream - on keyboards, guitar, and vocals; Quiet Sun bassist, Bill MacCormick; the soon to be ubiquitous Simon Phillips on drums; Francis Monkman on piano and clavinet; and Lloyd Watson on slide guitar and vocals. They played three shows. The last, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London took place 45 years ago this evening. I...