Strange Days Art Gallery & Craft Shop

13/09/2026

No direction this Sunday, the playlist was started with an aimless flip through and a "Yoinks, I ain't listened to that in quite a while" with Ten Wheel Drive , American band - what is it with these Yank bands with almost a baker's dozen members - anyway, picked up by the Polydor label on their first venture into the wilds across the pond. Lead songstress Genya Raven was compared to Janis Joplin, Genya also had a tendency to tear her top off and let it all hang out... Tuxedomoon, American experimental/postpunk, who's ethos was "..to not sound like anyone else", described by one critic as "...a sort of goth for people who've actually done the reading before class" - that works for me. Of course then, my state of mind went on to choose Crass just for the sheer anarchy of it all...😃👹. Chucked in Curved Air's "Second Album" for some equilibrium of some kind... Lovely day outside, may cloud over later...

12/09/2026

So I've started painting again, pure experimentation at this stage, warming up mental stretches as it were...

12/09/2026

Captain's log, stardate Saturday 12th, on acquiring a couple of gems from the local this week we have proceeded to compile today's album selection with vim and vigor. We'll commense in the orbit of one Al Stewart ( immediately I sense a theme, one of which was not my intention, but, such is the nature of the universe), his 3rd album "Zero She Flies" - which is a term for piloting an aircraft through a dense fog, it was misty this morning, another co-incidence - I have grown to like Al, his lyrical storytelling is really quite remarkable. Jeff Beck's first solo album after his Yardbirds stint, though the line up did become the Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart ( there it is) on vocals, Ron Wood on bass, Mick Waller on drums. "Truth" is touted as a precursor to the hard rock of Led Zeppelin etc of a few years later. Rod Stewart's first album "An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down" - I have the U.S. version, the Yanks weren't keen on the title nor the cover art of a crusty old gent chasing children. Raw rootsy rock before old Rod started thinking he was sexy. The first album from Jethro Tull - "This Was" more blues based rock before they morphed into one of the most successful prog bands in history. Then the first album by Journey, who starred out more proggy than their later radio friendly AOR. Strange Days, exploring what ever, when ever, where ever some bloke's probably gone before...

06/09/2026

A Midlands Sunday - misty, drizzle, a bit chilly so pull up a chair and huddle round folks for today's journey to more proggy delights... Camel's 'Moonmadness' ( I think I still prefer Snow Goose, this comes a close 2nd), Mike Batt, 'cos 'Ride to Agadir' on this is epic, Gravy Train's magnificent 'Ballad of a Peaceful Man'. From Renaissance, a woefully underated band with the beautiful vocals of Annie Haslam, I've chosen the Novella album. Then some Jade Warrior with 'Last Autumn's Dreams' - always incredible album art on their albums. Then Kate Bush, who I've always been a massive fan of, her superb 'Never For Ever' album - 'Babooshka', 'Army Dreamers' and the wonderful 'Breathing'...

05/09/2026

That week flew by, landscaping, fire fighting, power cuts and fuel going through the roof. Time to put feet up and chill here at Strange Days. So, USA psychedelia... Nazz, Tod Rundgren's late 60's take on British psychedelia, Rhinoceros, an unfortunately not well received "supergroup" put together by Elektra Records, Iron Butterfly - of course - with the infamous InAdaGaVida. Touch, their only release, a worthy pre prog contender. Vanilla Fudge, a band who albums seem to crop up in crates and bargain bins but are - prolly just too weird for most. Good Thunder, definitely prog from a USA perspective, again, their sole album release, got this 'un from Khaya records this week and a worthy purchase...Pull in, don't be shy 😎 I have some odds and sods, records, CD's, books n stuff to sell.

30/08/2026

Sunday soliliques, or some such...Anyway, I came over all groggy, again, this morn so.. some Bo Hanson, Swedish progger, a lighter start to the day. Steve Hackett, ex Genesis ( left them before they went all top 20 radio friendly). Steve Howe, on his solo album whilst sojourning from Yes for a bit. Peter Hammill, brilliant. Then I'll amp it up a bit with Hawkwind's aptly named 'Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music' one of my favourite Hawkwind albums. And then, the Stranglers, with ' La Folie' , I love em, equally loved and hated by punkers 'cos, in fact they were more prog than punk, which sorted out the real punks from the posers 😉. So, nowt to do, pop around, grab a brew from t' bistro, sit in the sun ( or the stoep) ...and listen.

29/08/2026

The weekend is all of a sudden here and I had nuffink in mind for today's Strange Days playlist so I bunged together a mix of stuff I currently like and stuff I ain't heard from a while ( and probably forgotten that I like). 'Course goes without saying that Wakeman's '6 Wives' is an eternal classic to me and probably the only 'link' here as he features on Al Stewart's 1972 album 'Orange' a current fave of mine. Wakeman states that Stewart's track 'The News From Spain' is one of his all time favourites. We have Georges Moustaki's live album 'Bobino 70' , an Egyptian/French singer songwriter in the Chanson genre, also wrote songs for Piaf and Francois Hardy. Ian Mathews' - ' If You Saw Through My Eyes' , Ian was a founder member of Fairport Convention. A bit o' balance by bunging in Magazine and Simple Minds to remind me how great post punk really is, 'Real to Real Cacophony' being Minds second album where they start experimenting with some Kraurock sensibilities several albums before they went all stadium rocky ( and crap)....

23/08/2026

I try to plan these album playlists but my mercurial mind changes like the wind and what I had in mind changes on awakening the following day, so today is a bit of planned and then some.. .If there is any theme, as such, it is because each of these albums features a definite fusion of genres, and some are linked. The Nice, their 3rd and final album before Keith Emerson formed ELP, an intriguing mash of classical, jazz and rock, a format which would shortly be labelled 'prog', or 'progessive rock'. Pentangle, a band I probably listen to most to recently (along with Incredible String Band) a wonderful fusion of classic English folk and jazz. Emerson, Lake & Palmers first album, certainly a prog classic. Refugee, and band comprised of two former members of Nice, and Patrick Moraz who went on to join Yes after this album as a replacement to Rick Wakeman on their Relayer album. Leo Kotke is an guitarist I've found rather interesting who's unique style, guitar wise and lyrically draws on jazz, country, slide and other picking styles. And the final album by Incredible String Band, who's albums range from wacky to insanely wacky pot pouries of folk, psychedelia, jazz and experimental meanderings... So, grab a pint from the Bistro, pop in, sit in the sun and chill...

22/08/2026

22/08/2026

Spring into the weekend...