A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
THIS hymn has a delightful freshness and innocence about it, which is perhaps not surprising as it was written by a schoolboy. This was the 15-year-old John Milton (1608-1674) when … Continue readingLet Us, With a Gladsome Mind
One of the Welsh wizard’s most beautiful songs, and that’s saying something.
ACCORDING to music legend, Jimi Hendrix was once asked on TV what it was like to be the greatest rock guitarist in the world. He allegedly replied: ‘I don’t know, … Continue readingThe glory of Rory
For a while I dismissed Aimee Mann as just another rock chick, but there is so much more to her than that. This is from her excellent 1999 album Bachelor … Continue readingAimee Mann: Red Vines
Nowhere near sentimental enough in my view. From his 2016 debut album Behind This Guitar, which also features Alison Krauss.
THE German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) completed his only piano concerto in 1845. It was premiered in Dresden with his wife Clara as the soloist. I wonder if this work … Continue readingSchumann Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op 54
From the most excellent 1987 album In My Tribe.
Irresistible lament for a cuckolded friend from the 1975 LP Unrequited.
With one of the most distinctive openings in pop, this was written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick. It was recorded by The Drifters in 1964, reaching No 4 in … Continue readingThe Drifters: Under the Boardwalk
After yesterday’s Bridget song, another oldster curiosity: The Skunk reprising his guitar work on the track from Steely Dan’s 1974 classic Pretzel Logic at an awards ceremony 42 years later. … Continue readingSkunk Baxter: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number