Sid Smith

Sid Smith

Sid's feature articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications including Prog, Classic Rock, Record Collector, Q, Mojo and Uncut. 

A full-time freelance writer with hundreds of sleevenotes and essays for both indie and major record labels to his credit, his book, In The Court Of King Crimson, an acclaimed biography of King Crimson, was substantially revised and expanded in 2019 to coincide with the band’s 50th Anniversary. Alongside appearances on radio and TV, he has lectured on jazz and progressive music in the UK and Europe.  

A resident of Whitley Bay in north-east England, he spends far too much time posting photographs of LPs he's listening to on Twitter and Facebook.

Articles by: Sid Smith

Bill Bruford

“With deference to everybody in Beat, my function is to amuse myself and hopefully you. I can’t do music from 45 years ago”: Why Bill Bruford demoted himself from the King Crimson, Yes and Genesis league

By Sid Smith published

Bill Bruford retired in 2009 and later sold most of his equipment to Tool’s Danny Carey. Then he found he wasn’t finished on stage – and he’s come back re-energised

Daevid Allen

“Gong’s appeal? Not becoming too commercially successful”: Daevid Allen bade a grateful farewell with I See You – but he still believed in the future

By Sid Smith published

Months before his death from cancer, he encapsulated his unique vision in a forward-looking album, then left others to continue his work

Peter Sinfield

“I don’t think he ever got over being fired from King Crimson… but he went on to bigger, more financially successful things”: Peter Sinfield, the prog poet who gave voices to ELP, Roxy Music and many others

By Sid Smith published

Lyricist, art director, producer and all-round creative who aimed to enlighten, provoke or stir died in November 2024 without being fully aware of what he’d achieved

Brian Gulland and the 1974 line-up of Yes

“We were whisked off in a limo and I joined them on their Learjet. I overslept in Jon’s hotel suite because they’d been very generous with spliffs”: My 39 days as a cosmic brother of Yes, by Gryphon’s Brian Gulland

By Sid Smith published

He once gatecrashed Chris Squire’s dressing room because he knew nothing about concerts. Later, when his own band were at their proggiest, he took everything he could out of opening on Yes’ Relayer tour of 1974

Jamie Muir

"He was such an interesting man. A funny combination of intensity and craziness." King Crimson's Jamie Muir remembered...

By Sid Smith published

King Crimson biographer and Prog writer Sid Smith pays tribute to percussionist Jamie Muir, who died this weekend, aged 82

Peter Gabriel

“Things come more difficult to him than to anyone I’ve ever met…he doesn’t con himself into thinking he knows what he’s doing”: Peter Gabriel, in the words of his collaborators and admirers

By Sid Smith published

Robert Fripp, Ian Anderson, Steven Wilson, Martin Scorsese, Mike Portnoy, Tom Morello, Trevor Rabin and many others share their thoughts on the Progfather

Mike Ratledge

"Behind those dark glasses and unsmiling visage, he presented an inscrutable presence." Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge remembered

By Sid Smith published

Prog writer Sid Smith pays tribute to the former Soft Machine founder and keyboard player Mike Ratledge, who sadly died after a short illness, aged 81

Soft Machine – Softs

“The dynamic twists and thoughtful depths of the mix suggest these pieces aren’t so much produced as dramatised”: Soft Machine’s Softs vinyl remaster

By Sid Smith published

John Etheridge’s arrival adds a harder, defined edge to the band’s 1976 album

David Crosby – If I Could Only Remember My Name

“Wordless vocals wail around the memory of his lost love, manifesting a grief too terrible to put into words”: David Crosby’s solo debut proved his prog credentials

By Sid Smith published

If I Could Only Remember My Name, created during a challenging time in the folk rock icon’s life, demonstrated joy in artistic freedom as he pushed boundaries to prove his uniqueness

Strawbs

“We’d been paying Rick Wakeman £25 a week and Yes offered him £100… We had his son Oliver with us for a while, and he left for Yes too!” Dave Cousins and the life and times of Strawbs

By Sid Smith published

Prog veteran recalls connecting with Sandy Denny, his band’s attempt to fire him, being loved by Led Zeppelin, why they’ve never had a Steven Wilson remix, the “albatross” of Part Of The Union and the unreleased, more political version

Ian Anderson

“Ian’s flute solo got stretched out… Martin Barre and I would sit and play cards on stage, with a pot of tea. He had no clue what was happening”: Former Jethro Tull members share their favourite moments

By Sid Smith published

Mick Abrahams, Clive Bunker, Jeffrey Hammond, Peter John Vettese and Tony Iommi recall what they learned from – or what they did to – band leader Ian Anderson

A press shot of a formal horse

“I realised this music is what influenced the stuff I’d been listening to – Pink Floyd, Genesis and so on”: Ben Short saved a Stravinsky album from a skip, and A Formal Horse was the result

By Sid Smith published

The avant-rockers released debut album Here Comes A Man From The Council With A Flamethrower in 2019, when their guitarist-vocalist told Prog how they took their time and finally got there

“Vangelis was always going to play off the cuff – which would have been wonderful, but we’re not a jazz group!” How Yes struggled to move on without Rick Wakeman then scored a victory with Relayer, in their own words

By Sid Smith published

The band suffered a few false starts before delivering a triumph with a daring album that explored a new kind of energy

Elephant9

“Massive. Exploring. Space travel.” After ELP’s Tarkus inspired the purchase of a Hammond organ, Elephant9 have defined and refined their experimental sound with help from across the Norwegian music scene

By Sid Smith published

Latest album Mythical River has artistic tributaries including John Paul Jones, Motorpsycho, Hedvig Mollestad Trio, Dungen, Red Kite – and also coffee

Kevin Ayers - All This Crazy Gift Of Time

“An absolute delight… the radio sessions and live sets are completely priceless”: Kevin Ayers’ All This Crazy Gift Of Time box set

By Sid Smith published

Lavish 10-disc package celebrates the Canterbury legend, with hard work done to deliver contemporary commentary and revitalize his 1970 Hyde Park show

Steve Howe - Guitarscape

“Curiously retro, reminiscent of Vangelis… these tunes are mostly short and to the point”: Steve Howe’s Guitarscape

By Sid Smith published

Inspired by a new synth, the Yes veteran has created something of a taster showreel in his latest outing with son Dylan

King Crimson - Red

“It was extremely hard to deal with. But if you impose incredibly hard obstacles to making something, and people stay in the room, you might just get there”: The radical neutrality that gave birth to King Crimson’s Red

By Sid Smith published

Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, John Wetton and guests struggled to deliver the 1974 album that, for many years, remained severely underrated

“We were torn between trying to make it big and making our music more crossover, but failing… that happened because we became conscious of what we were doing”: The Power And The Glory signalled the beginning of the end for Gentle Giant

By Sid Smith published

They’d reasserted themselves after a line-up change and enjoyed the results – but the surprisingly polarised response to their sixth album led them to start second-guessing their own work.

King Crimson

“Even with tensions rife, this music showcases the breathtaking musical telepathy they’d developed”: The best King Crimson songs of the 1970s

By Sid Smith published

They were only around for half of the decade before splitting – but left an indelible mark with six albums of bold, visionary work

King Crimson

“All I can remember was Robert Fripp giving up completely, saying, ‘There’s no hope’”: King Crimson’s torturous journey through fourth album Islands – and its 30-year fallout

By Sid Smith published

How King Crimson fractured, regrouped and fractured again as they made 1971 album Islands

Dave Bainbridge

“We found out Robert Fripp listened to our music while soaking in the bath, so we asked him to play”: Dave Bainbridge on the life and times of Iona

By Sid Smith published

Guitarist, keyboardist, Strawbs and Lifesigns member on splitting with Troy Donockley, guilty pleasures with a Minimoog, and why ‘Christian rock’ label was inaccurate

Andy Mackay

“I’m not a classical composer… but with a 16-piece orchestra you get a big lift that you can’t reproduce on anything else”: When Andy Mackay took Roxy Music tracks on a new journey

By Sid Smith published

The Roxy Music saxophonist reflects back on an eclectic career...

Sandy Denny

“There are qualities of grandeur and flight in her music, yet it comes across as totally unpretentious and emotionally grounded”: Remembering Sandy Denny

By Sid Smith published

Tragically silenced at 31, she only had a decade to demonstrate her talents – but her persona and performances remain indelible after more than 40 years

No-Man

“Our failure got us dropped by our label, manager and publisher – and led to us rediscovering what we really wanted to do musically”: How No-Man learned to confound their expectations without offending each other

By Sid Smith published

Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson’s mutual respect and passion has kept their art-pop collaboration alive – despite the constant distractions of their other projects

Carmen – the Albums

“Decent material, often trampled by shoehorning in flamenco motifs, fancy footwork and an over-the-top macho swagger”: Carmen’s The Albums collection

By Sid Smith published

Three-disc retrospective illustrates the promise of a mid-70s band supported by David Bowie and Tony Visconti