CATEGORIES

California Dreamin'

Taylor's chief designer, president and CEO, Andy Powers, talks us through the choice of body woods for the AD12e

Forgotten Gems

Our obsession with PAF humbuckers and Fender single coils means many pickup designs from the 50s and 60s have long been lost

Hold The Line

Alex Bishop takes extra special care to \"measure twice and cut once\" in the crucial task of neck joining

'Bear Necessities

Jamie Dickson asks Stuart Robson of Sunbear Pickups for advice on getting more from your magnets

ΤΟΝΕ HEAVEN

Sounding great on guitar is about bringing together two things - gear and the player - in such a way that the expressive potential of both is maximised. In the following pages, both top tone-techs and players tell you how to unite gear and technique to reach sonic nirvana...

Tones Behind The Tracks

Blazing instrumentalist Vinnie Moore found himself inspired to include vocals on a solo project for the first time with his latest album

THE ΜΑΝ FROM UTOPIA

A mercurial six-string psychonaut, Kavus Torabi wields his Jazzmaster in some of Britain's most out-there bands, from fronting Gong to sharing stages with Steve Hillage and former snooker champion Steve Davis. We join him on his quest to find musical Utopia...

TOM VERLAINE 1949-2023

Following the death of Television's new wave icon in January, producer and influential ex-Bush guitarist Nigel Pulsford pays a personal tribute

Brand Awareness

Neville Marten recalls moments when his gear, no matter how fantastic its pedigree, was not quite enough to impress certain onlookers

DAVID CROSBY 1941-2023

As the architect of two 60s supergroups - and spokesman for the peace and love generation - David Crosby will be remembered for his contribution to the counterculture, not the darkness in his life

Top Ten

Gibson expands its Maestro pedal range to double digits with five new analogue offerings

33½ minutes with...Francis Rossi

"Quo's last record got 3.5m streams... which is apparently fuck-all"

Everything Under The Sun: The Dark Side Of The Moon at 50

Pink Floyd's eighth studio album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, is one of the cornerstones of modern music., capturing a band at their peak, honing and refining the experimentation of their recent past into linear progressive pop songs. Haunted by the spectre of their absent leader Syd Barrett, and bewildered by the rituals of adulthood, Roger Waters wrote of ageing, war, religion, avarice and lunacy in a manner so recognisable that it has resonated down the ages. As for its artwork, nestling just behind Sgt Pepper's bass drum, the prism on the album's cover is one of the most iconic in rock. The icing on the VCS 3, Waters' vision would be nothing without the textures provided by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the album, issued originally on 1 March 1973, Mike Barnes and Jo Kendall explore this classic from new angles, from the live shows that shaped the record to the music press reaction. They meet the young woman behind the lens on tour, and assess the album's impact on the next generation. And Stefano Tarquini and Joe Geesin provide expert discographical detail...

Jeff Beck: 1944-2023

Just how good he sounded in his seventies was made clear by his last album, 18

Obsession?

Record collectors can cop flak for their passion. But if more people understood the psychology of record collecting, might they cut we collectors more slack?, asks Tim Jones

David Crosby: 1941-2023

"When I started writing things like Guinnevere, I began to hit my stride"

Alan Parsons – "It Was Pure Convenience"

So Alan Parsons tells Jo Kendall, looking back on the opportunity that took him from EMI lab lackey to Abbey Road engineering icon. But his production work with The Beatles, Hollies, Pink Floyd, Pilot, Al Stewart, Ambrosia and more wasn't the end of the story. When Parsons met musician and producer Eric Woolfson, his creativity translated into the enormously successful Alan Parsons Project, and a long-lasting solo career to sit alongside his Art & Science Of Sound Recording educational programme and occasional forays as not just a technical wizard, but a real life one, too. Oh, oh, oh, it's magic, you know...

DAVID QUANTICK LIKES

To write a column for Record Collector. Yay He's gonna dress you up in his love

MACON BLACK

Ian McCann plays old sounds to new ears

Diggin' For GOLD

Our regular look at the more arcane corners of record collecting. Includes Label Of Love

MUSIC TO VISIT

Bob Stanley carries pop's baggage everywhere.  In search of the King's forgotten 45s.

AUTEUR TO AUTHOR

Luke Haines writes the shuk out of rock'n'roll Cale'n'arty

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

Attack Mode

Nottingham duo broaden their musical horizons without losing their edge on masterful 12th.

Living Doll

Sam Brown, the singer-songwriter behind 1989 Top 5 hit (and attendant LP of the same title) Stop!, is back with a new album despite having lost the ability to sing in 2007. She tells Charles Donovan how she managed it.

Flashback

With a 17-album retrospective on the shelves, Daryl Easlea catches up with Leee John, the flamboyant leader of glossy 80s pop-soul act Imagination whose camp aesthetic shouldn't preclude their entry to the post-Chic pantheon.

The Collector

Retired plumber Stephen George tells us, \"My aunt first encouraged me to collect records 62 years ago and I never stopped.

Of The Highest Disorder

Parenthood and politics interweave with ace pop as a revered talent re-engages.

Flights Of Fancy

Frenchman's expansive ninth album wistfully yearns for the 20th century.