Famous Album Covers: "Fallen Angel" - Uriah Heep  

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Fallen Angel is the 12th album released by British rock band Uriah Heep in 1978. The ever-evolving story of Uriah Heep found them exploring a more commercial vein than usual on this 1978 release. Fallen Angel reached #186 in the US but in Germany the band was at the height of their popularity.

The album was originally released in a gatefold-sleeve, opening in the vertical- rather than the customary horizonatal-axis. The lyrics were printed on the LP-liner. The artwork was licenced from artist Chris Achilleos, although there seems to have been some alteration to the bodice: the breasts are not so exposed on the original. Whether this was done by Achilleos himself, or even with his approval, is currently unclear. Achilleos' website lists the original artwork as missing (Wiki).

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Music Dictionary - Brit Rock  

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British rock and roll, or Brit rock, was born out of the influence of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from the United States, but added a new drive and urgency, exporting the music back and widening the audience for black R & B in the U.S. as well as spreading the gospel world wide. Much of what has made rock music unique, in its ability to unite audiences and adapt new influences, came from British bands in the late 50s and rock groups in the early 60s.

The genre gathers several other rock wings, as Great Britain was and still is one of the countries with indefinite resource for music, especially rock music. Therefore rock&roll, canterbury sound, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, folk rock found their success in the UK in the '60, but with a different beat and sound, adapted to the local prefferences and styles. The glm rock in the '70s and punk rock in the '80s represents brit rock in the post-hippie era.

Many of the more recent successful forms, subgenres, and artists of rock and pop music have originated or found their greatest success in the UK. Major stars of the 1960s and '70s ranging from Eric Clapton to Peter Gabriel moved on from rock bands to great success as solo performers. In the early 1980s, the sound of synth pop typified much British rock music ranging from chart hits to off the radar works. Alternative rock played an important role in the UK in the development of the british music apart from the influences from USA.

In Britain today, the terms of "pop" and "rock" are still more closely associated with each other than in the United States, where due to prejudice and musical history "pop" usually denotes only a solo artist, often female, seen to represent a tradition outside the province of guitar based music or with a very wide popularity. Thus, in the UK a band such as Radiohead might be characterized as pop, to denote their synth based sound and often populist appeal, while in the United States they might be categorized as rock, most likely as "alternative rock", for their "authentic," sometimes dark lyrics, perhaps for being white and male, and certainly for appealing to the type of people seen to listen to critic-sanctioned indie rock bands, rather than "superficial pop" music.

This is Radiohead with the hit "You"


Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan  

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Bob Dylan wrote this song as it is in fact a very simple performance with meaningfull lyrics. It was originally released in 1969 on his album Nashville Skyline. The words of the song are sung by Dylan in a low, soft-sounding voice instead of his familiar high-pitched nasal-sounding voice. Dylan credited his "new" voice to quitting smoking before recording the song, but some unreleased bootleg tapes from the early '60s reveal that this was an aspect of his vocal persona that he had actually possessed since at least that time.

Released as a single in July of 1969, it became one of Dylan's biggest US Pop chart hits, peaking at number seven. The single did even better on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the number five spot. It is often performed live by Dylan, and was included on the Hard Rain and Before the Flood albums. It also appears on his quintuple-platinum Greatest Hits, Volume II album, as well as on compilations Biograph and The Essential Bob Dylan (Wiki).

Dylan wrote this for the 1969 movie Midnight Cowboy. Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'," which was released the year before, was chosen for the theme song instead.

Many radio stations refused to play this simply because of the use of the word "lay" in the title, assuming it referred to sex (i.e. "get laid"). Despite the accusation of being "Sexually Titled", Dylan denied any sexual terminology. (SongFacts)

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Oasis - Wonderwall  

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Wonderwall was the first single Oasis released in the US, and is their biggest hit in that country. The album is the second-best selling in British history. The best selling album in UK history is Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles.

The general consensus was that this song is about Noel Gallagher's then girlfriend Meg Matthews, who is compared with a schoolboy's wall to which posters of footballers and Pop stars are attached. Noel later married then divorced Meg Matthews. However, according to Q magazines 1001 Best Songs Ever, this was not about Matthews. Noel is quoted as saying, "The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it. And how do you tell your Mrs. it's not about her once she's read it is? It's about an imaginary friend who's going to come and save you from yourself."

Others say that The concept of the "Wonderwall" is based on a '60s film called Wonderwall - from Psychedelia to Surrealism, starring Jane Birkin. She lives next door to a man who becomes fascinated with her,so he slowly makes holes in his wall so he can watch her through it. This is the "Wonderwall." Also there are some voices stating that the music is based on Wonderwall Music, an instrumental album George Harrison wrote for the movie Wonderwall in 1968. This was the first solo album released by any of The Beatles.

Initially Noel wanted to sing this song, but he gave his brother Liam Gallagher the choice, and Noel ended up singing "Don't Look Back In Anger." What sounds like a cello was played on a Mellotron tape-playback keyboard, although the video features shows someone playing the cello. At live shows Noel plays his acoustic guitar on a Fender Telecaster. It's one of the few songs where he uses a Fender guitar rather than a Gibson.

In an interview conducted in Australia around the time of the release of Be Here Now, when asked which 3 songs he would like to be remembered for, Noel immediately responded with "Live Forever" and "Wonderwall" and then proceeded to list several others, including "Champagne Supernova," "Magic Pie" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol."

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April - Deep Purple  

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April is a very complex music composition bringing toghether elements from symphonic, acoustic, rock in one piece of what is going to be called progresive rock.

This is part from 1969 album "Deep Purple". This is a record that even those who aren't Deep Purple fans can listen to two or three times in one sitting -- but then, this wasn't much like any other album that the group ever issued. Actually, Deep Purple was highly prized for many years by fans of progressive rock, and for good reason.

"April," a three-part suite with orchestral accompaniment, is overall a match for such similar efforts by the Nice as the "Five Bridges Suite," and gets extra points for crediting its audience with the patience for a relatively long, moody developmental section and for including a serious orchestral interlude that does more than feature a pretty tune, exploiting the timbre of various instruments as well as the characteristics of the full ensemble. (All Music Guide)

A Ritchie Blackmore/Jon Lord composition, the first section is played solely by Lord and Blackmore; Lord plays piano and organ; Blackmore plays electric and acoustic guitars. The second section, orchestrated by Lord, uses flutes, clarinets, a string section and other instruments; the third section adds vocals. As the band wrote in the liner notes, "As a whole we hope April hangs together as a personal evocation of a beautiful, but sad (to us) month." (Songfacts)

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