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

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

Robert Fripp holding a guitar

“My discipline is doing what needs to be done, whether you like it or not… Robert decides what to do and Fripp has to go and do it”: How to survive over 50 years of King Crimson, by the only person who’s been there

By Sid Smith published

Serious leader of a prog behemoth, hugely influential guitarist, half of the Toyah & Robert party band… who is the real Robert Fripp? He offers some tantalising hints

Roxy Music

“They’d been to university, they had bank accounts; two of them were teachers; they had a car; they’d got a bank loan to buy a PA!”: Phil Manzanera always knew Roxy Music were going to make it

By Sid Smith published

Guitarist who failed his first audition recalls making 1972 debut album for just £5,000

Eddie Jobson

“I’m 16 and they were my heroes… They started to laugh because I was also playing the echo parts. I didn’t know they were a special effect”: Obsessive attention to detail was always Eddie Jobson’s superpower

By Sid Smith published

From a backstage performance for Curved Air to being dragged onstage by Frank Zappa and out-complicating King Crimson, the UK violinist has managed to ignore distractions from making music

King Crimson sitting on an area of grass, 1969

"All of a sudden we play at blinding speed and unbearable intensity, and everyone starts to take notice and stand up": How King Crimson got started

By Sid Smith published

Recorded in just 10 days in 1969, King Crimson’s iconic In The Court Of The Crimson King has been called “the true point at which progressive rock was born”. We look at the making of a landmark album

Danny Thompson

“When I drank, I was going to be the best drinker in the bar, or take the most drugs or whatever. When I did give up the drink I was going to be the best at that:” The bottom-end drive that made Danny Thompson’s name

By Sid Smith published

Rejecting criticism from those who wondered why he bothered playing folk music, the always-in-demand bassist’s attitude led to experiences with John Martyn, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Tim Buckley and many others

Van der Graaf Generator - Still Life and Vital

“One doesn’t so much listen as feel it deep in the bones… their stark inventiveness and originality remain outstanding”: Van der Graaf Generator’s Still Life and Vital reissues

By Sid Smith published

1976 studio album and 1978 live double album return from era of new momentum for Peter Hammill and co

King Crimson

“We were really screwing with the system, removing applause from live tracks to sound like studio tracks – the exact opposite of what people do today”: How King Crimson made stealth live album Starless And Bible Black

By Sid Smith published

King Crimson’s 1974 ”excruciating, teeth-pullingly difficult” album Starless And Bible Black sowed the seeds of their looming breakup

Photograph of Judge Smith in front of a painting

“We were making very peculiar music not particularly well played. We got a record contract because the record companies thought, ‘We better get weird’”: Inside the mind of Judge Smith, the man who named Van der Graaf Generator

By Sid Smith published

Inspired by the work of bandmate Peter Hammill and Frank Zappa, Smith aimed never to sound like them – and after working on large ensemble pieces and stage musicals, admitted he’d quite like to “just roll in with a guitar”