Four recent deaths in the world of rock and pop

Mark Randall Volman (19 April, 1947 – September 5, 2025) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band the Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie, where he used the pseudonym Flo (The Phlorescent Leech). Volman also became a stand-out figure upon joining Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention. I knew of him through his work with T Rex.

 

Richard "Rick" Davies (22 July 1944 – September 6, 2025) was an English musician best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was the band's only constant member and wrote or co-wrote songs including "Goodbye Stranger", "My Kind of Lady", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He was known for his rhythmic blues piano solos, jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics. I was not abig Supertramp fan but Breakfast in America, Dreaming, Logical Song, etc, wormed their way into my psyche.

 

Nicholas "Nicky" Dominick Ryan (14 July 1946 – September 10 2025) was an Irish music producer, recording engineer and manager best known as the longtime business and recording partner for the singer, songwriter and musician Enya alongside his wife, poet and lyricist Roma Ryan. Born and raised in Dublin, Ryan gained initial recognition in the 1970s and 1980s for his work with several artists including Gary Moore, Planxty, Christy Moore and Clannad.

Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; 18 February 1939 – September 10, 2025) and Sidney Thomas Boyce (1939 – 1994) were an American duo of singer-songwriters. In addition to three top-40 hits as artists, the duo is well known for its songwriting for the Monkees.

10 Songs with Latin lyrics

These pop songs all have Latin words

1. Gaudete (Steeleye Span)
2. Gloria (U2)
3. Benedictus (Simon & Garfunkel)
4. O Caritas (Cat Stevens)
5. Pie Jesu (Sarah Brightman)
6. Ave Maria (Leslie Garret, Amanda Thomson)
7. Round goes the gossip (Focus)
8. Pax Deorum and Tempus Vernum (Enya)
9. Afer Ventus and Cursum perficio (Enya)
10. Regina caeli, O filii et filiae (Sinéad O'Connor)

365 Albums 330-345

1. Hymns - Lullabies Page CXVI 2012*
2. And Winter came Enya 2008
3. Drive the cold winter away Horslips 1985
4. Christmas Variations Rick Wakeman 2000*
5. The Jethro Tull Christmas Album Jethro Tull 2003
6. Music per la Notte de Natale Thijs v Leer, Louis van Dijk, Rogier van Otterloo 1976*
7. We Three kings The Roches 1990
8. Chris Squire's Swiss Choir Chris Squire 2007
9. The Christmas Album Keith Emerson 1999
10. December The Moody Blues 2003
11. The Dawn of Grace Sixpence None the Richer 2008
12. While Mortals Sleep Kate Rusby 2011
13. Kerst met Thijs van Leer en Elly Ameling in de Grote Kerk Te Monickendam Thijs v Leer & Elly Ameling 1979* 
14. Carols & Capers Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band 1991
15. A Tapestry of Carols Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band 1986

365 Albums 286-300

1. Crises Mike Oldfield 1983
2. Five Miles Out Mike Oldfield 1980
3. Tyger Tangerine Dream 1987
4. 10000 Clowns Jan Akkerman 1997
5. Short Stories Tall Tales Horslips 1980
6. Horslips and the Ulster Orchestra Live at the Waterfront Belfast 2011
7. Geluckig is het land Thijs van Leer, Louis van Dijk & Rogier van Otterloo 1980
8. Rubycon Tangerine Dream 1975
9. Le Parc Tangerine Dream 1985
10. Amarantine Enya 2005
11. The Belfast Gigs Horslips 1980
12. Pergamon (Quichotte) Tangerine Dream 1980
13. Canyon Dreams Tangerine Dream 1991
14. Earth Moving Mike Oldfield 1989
15. Sunshower Joachim Kühn Band 1978

365 Albums 241-255

1. Enya Enya (The Celts) 1987
2. Bayou Country Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969
3. Musical Melody Thijs van Leer 1994 *
4. Bookends Simon & Garfunkel 1968
5. Puccini's Cafe Jan Akkerman 1993
6. Goblin's Club Tangerine Dream 1996
7. Booster Tangerine Dream 2008
8. Crossroads Tracy Chapman 1989
9. Focus 8 Focus 2004
10. Heartware Original Jan Akkerman 1987
11. Heartware remastered Jan Akkerman 1998
12. Focus 9 Focus 2006
13. Ekseption '78 Ekseption 1978
14. Ship of Memories Focus 1976
15. Close Beauty Jan Akkerman

365 Albums 181-195

1. Renaissance Thijs van Leer 1986* 
2. Watermark Enya 1988 
3. Ghost Kate Rusby 2014
4. New beginning Tracy Chapman 1995 
5. O my love! Thijs van Leer 1975 
6. My people were fair ... Tyrannosaurus Rex 1968 
7. Minor Details Jan Akkerman 2011 
8. Presence Chuck Loeb 2007
9. alterum Julie Fowlis 2017 
10. Meditation Tony Soctt ft Jan Akkerman 1977
11. Force Majeure Tangerine Dream 1978 
12. Albedo 0.39 Vangelis 1976 
13. Sergeant Pepper The Beatles 1967
14. A Day Without Rain Enya 2000
15. Piano Portraits Rick Wakeman 2017*

365 Albums 121-135

1. Jan Akkerman 3 Jan Akkerman 1979 
2. Modern Vampires of the City Vampire Weekend 2013
3. Poland Tangerine Dream 1984
4. Cosmo's Factory Creedence Clearwater Revival 1970
5. Violunar Kagermann 1992
6. Tangram Tangerine Dream 1980
7. Adrenalin Rush Gareth Pearson 2006
8. Oceanic Vangelis 1997
9. All that you can't leave behind U2 2000
10. The Memory of Trees Enya 1995
11. Noise of Art Jan Akkerman 1990
12. Hymns III Page CXVI 2010*
13. Beyond the Storm Edgar Froese 1995
14. Happy to meet - Sorry to part Horslips 1972
15. Rubber Soul The Beatles 1965

365 Albums 16-30

1. Graceland Paul Simon 1986
2. Laser Love After the Fire 1979
3. Book of Invasions Horslips 1976
4. The Slider T Rex 1972
5. Philosophers, poets and kings Kate Rusby 2019
6. New York City The Peter Malick Group ft Norah Jones 2003
7. Angel on the mantlepiece Charles O'Connor 1999*
8. Solitude Standing Suzanne Vega 1987
9. Shepherd Moons Enya 1991
10. Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon & Garfunkel 1969
11. Play to Win Gabrielle 2004
12. China Vangelis 1979
13. Cyril Cyril Havermans 1973
14. Hyperborea Tangerine Dream 1983
15. The Race for Space Public Service Broadcasting 2015

(* Suitable for Sunday playing IMHO)

10 Great Acts from the Eighties

The eighties was not really my era but I can think of 10 acts that cut it for me

1. U2
2. OMD
3. Big Country
4. Yazoo
5. Enya
6. Sade
7. Clannad
8. The Jam
9. Eurythmics
10. Pretenders

10 Female Artists on my ipod

There's a bit of a thing about women in music again I notice. Good excuse to give you a list of ten of my favourites.

1. Gabrielle
2. Blondie
3. Norah Jones
4. Sade
5. Julie Fowlis
6. Kate Rusby
7. Enya
8. Tracy Chapman
9. Joan Armatrading
10. Bojoura

10 Winter Songs

These are not really Christmas songs but winter ones.
To hear them go here.
1. River Joni Mitchell 
2. Winter time Kayak
3. Winterborn lyric Jan Akkerman
4. Drive the cold winter away Horslips/Kate Rusby
5. The throat of winter Tyrannosaurus Rex
6. Midwinter night Tangerine Dream
7. Trains and winter rains Enya 
8. Flight of the snow goose Camel
9. Winter time love The Doors/Bojoura
10. Hazy shade of winter Simon and Garfunkel/Bangles

IWD Four videos

Retro Album of the Week 10 - Shepherd Moons

Shepherd Moons by Enya 1991

This album was a massive follow up to the first distinctively Enya album Watermark. Although the whole thing has the Enya sound, there is some variety. Lothlorien and No holly for Miss Quinn are instrumentals, the latter featuring only the piano. The track Shepherd Moons is also an instrumental but does feature Enya's voice. Caribbean Blue is classic Enya with a beat and Book of Days is similar. Ebudae is chanted and has an ethnic Native American sound, Evacuee features a rain sound effect and a brass band. Marble Halls and How can I keep from singing are covers of a sort, the first being a Victorian Music Hall favourite and the latter a Shaker hymn. Smaointe is in Irish and is almost an acapella piece except for the Uillean pipe solo. Afer Ventus is in Latin and features perhaps more multi-layered voices than any other track on the album. The Irish and Latin and Gregorian influences are perhaps the most easily discernible but Lord of the Rings and the New Age movement are clearly represented. No holly for Miss Quinn is clearly inspired by a story by the quaint modern writer whose pen-name is Miss Read. Perhaps it is the calming precision craftsmanship that makes this such a satisfying album.

Nollaig Shona Daoibh

My heading (NO-Lihg HO-nuh JEEV) means "You [pl] have a Happy Christmas." - a bit early I know but Enya has a new album And winter came. I'd no't known it was coming but I was in Tesco the other night and saw it and bought it as an early Christmas present for my dad to give me (!thanks dad!). The next night I heard the lady herself on Frontrow (listen again).#

There is nothing new here really (though we hear an electric guitar by Pat Farrell on one track, which must be a first or was there one on the Celts album?) but an Enya album is an Enya album and they are obviously all different to some extent. The association with Christmas and snow works well for me. I so liked Amid the snow on the last album. Indeed that whole album was headed in the direction where this one has ended up.

So we start with the title track - similar to other solo piano Enya pieces (Lothlorien, Memory of Trees, etc).* Then comes Journey of the angels, a pleasant modern carol. White is in the winter night (a single) is in the jaunty Enya genre and is a more secular celebration of Christmas with references to mistletoe, holly, skating, snow, children, candlelight, a choir singing glory, etc and the almost obligatory moon and stars.

The fourth track is a hymn often associated with Christmas O come, O come, Immanuel. I've always loved it. Inevitably she breaks into Latin. The whole thing is well done. She finishes with a new version of Silent night in Irish Oíche Chiún using the same choral style.

Track 5, Trains and winter rains (another single) is atmospheric and ends with a nod to the Christ child and the line "And in the sky, the star alone". Dreams are more precious is another modern carol. The secularising tendency is stronger here with its follow your dreams message. Perhaps the strongest track on the album Last time by moonlight is a nostalgic love song mentioning Enya staples - snow and moonlight. Magic! The later Stars and midnight blue is in the same vein but sadder and musically less successful.

One toy soldier is ostensibly a traditional secular Christmas piece, complete with bells (resisitance to their use elsewhere shows great self-restraint). May be there's more going on here as a broken heart manages to cope with the superficial joy of Christmas cheer. The spirit of Christmas past is a simpler call to cheer up as "Tomorrow will be Christmas Day". The penultimate CD track My! My! How time flies is another jaunty piece, perhaps the most interesting lyrically, though how Neil Armstrong and Isaac Newton end up being referenced with Tchaikovski, the Beatles, Elvis and B B King I don't know. I'd thought "a king who's still in the news" was a Christ reference rather than an Elvis one. Apparently it is a tribute to an Irish guitarist called Jimmy Faulkner.

The i-tunes and Japanese editions have a bonus track Miraculum in Latin which uses the One toy soldier melody and appears to reference her previous hit Sail away (Vela).~

So a bit sentimental and safe I guess but great fun.

#Wikipedia says it's been trialed since September! It was released November 7.

*Wikipedia says it's a reworking of Midnight Blue (B side of Wild Child 2001). Knew I'd heard it somewhere. Is Stars and Midnight Blue drawing on the same source?

~Wikipedia says it marks the 20th anniversary of the Watermark album

Holiday Gem 08

8. The magic of the night by Enya is one of several bonus tracks on certain special Christmas versions of the 2006 album Amarantine. This is one of four tracks still available on i-tunes that line up with Oiche Chiun (an Irish version of Silent Night also on i-tunes - her sister Moya Brennan does the same track elsewhere) to form Enya's Christmas output. This and Christmas Secret are originals. Enya works to a certain formula and these songs all work if you are willing to accept that. I must confess that it is difficult to take We wish you a Merry Christmas wholly seriously, especially when she sings 'We want some figgy pudding' in such earnest tones! She talks about the songs here. Here she makes reference to the joy of snow as a child. Perhaps her best 'Christmas' song is the marvellously evocative Amid the falling snow on Amarantine (How I remember sleepless nights When we would read by candlelight And on the windowpane outside A new world made of snow A million feathers falling down A million stars that touch the ground So many secrets to be found Amid the falling snow, etc). The track does occur with the other five I notice on an American Collector's CD illustrated here Sounds of the Season.