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

Magma - Une Histoire de Mekanik

“Do seven versions of one piece border on overkill? Resolutely and resoundingly no”: Magma’s Une Histoire De Mekanïk - 50 Years Of Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

By Sid Smith published

Anniversary box set may not be cheap, but it’s immensely satisfying

Pink Fairies in 1972

“We played for practically 24 hours. When somebody got too tired, somebody else would take over. It was a functional, practical thing to enable the band to play for ever!” When the Pink Fairies and Hawkwind became a single band

By Sid Smith published

Pushed together by accident, two pioneering acts of the psychedelic era made the most of it

Hedvig Mollestad

“I was seven months pregnant. The doctor said I couldn’t travel but I explained that I was going to be playing with John McLaughlin… she said, ‘Okay, well you have to go!’” Hedvig Mollestad started out feeling like a failure

By Sid Smith published

From a challenging start where she couldn’t play be-bop to delivering improv music that’s favourably compared with King Crimson, she’s taken every opportunity to progress

Yes in 1973

“As hard as it was, and it was hard, nobody wanted to bottle out. We just knew we had a big landscape we could explore”: How Tales From Topographic Oceans became the most arduous project in Yes’ history

By Sid Smith published

Used as a byword for musical over-indulgence, 1973 album fought its creators every step of the way – right down to its master tapes nearly being crushed by a bus

David Sancious

"It’s like an ocean of music, of experience and concept and feelings." Inside the musical mind of David Sancious

By Sid Smith published

A one-time member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Peter Gabriel collaborator, David Sancious discusses his Eyes Wide Open album

Talk Talk

King Crimson and Can were among their go-to inspirations – but in the new romantic era, Talk Talk couldn’t admit it

By Sid Smith published

Steve Hogarth, Tim Bowness, Richard Barbieri and others speak up for the band’s prog credentials

Frank Zappa Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary

“He may be lauded by some as a genius, but without this team’s heavy lifting, these pieces might fail”: Frank Zappa’s Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Edition

By Sid Smith published

Five-disc, 88-track set proves his music lasts - even if many of his lyrics don’t

John Renbourn

Pentangle got a bit of stick and still does... but music is about putting ideas together and understanding them, not making sounds you think are trendy”: Why John Renbourn always stood up to the purists

By Sid Smith published

Kicked out of art school, he embarked on an accidental career in baroque prog and folk jazz - and regarded himself as a lucky winner

Soft Machine

“Playing the second-ever single alongside brand-new compositions brings a degree of eccentricity that’s important to Soft Machine”: The new line-up’s new album Other Doors

By Sid Smith published

Canterbury mainstays enter a new era without late drummer John Marshall and retired bassist Roy Babbington

Tim Buckley - Lorca

“Otherworldly, intensely powerful and sometimes baffling… the product of an artist they no longer recognised”: Tim Buckley’s Lorca

By Sid Smith published

1970 album contained more progressive elements than his label wanted from a sensitive hippie troubadour

David Sylvian - Samadhisound 2003-2014: Do You Know Me Now?

“Unsettling - not exactly made for repeat listening but more occasional contemplation, like a book of poetry”: David Sylvian’s Samadhisound 2003-2014: Do You Know Me Now?

By Sid Smith published

Box set illustrates an apparent disappearing act over a decade

Soft Machine

“I’ve been very lucky throughout my life as a player." Soft Machine drummer John Marshall remembered

By Sid Smith published

Prog writer Sid Smith pays tribute to former Soft Machine drummer John Marshall, who died over the weekend, aged 82

David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name

“Experimental tunings, daring approaches to form and a genuine improvisational sensibility”: David Crosby’s proggiest album, made against the odds

By Sid Smith published

Debut solo release If I Could Only Remember My Name proved he could stand on his own

Soft Machine

"There’ll always be questions like, ‘What’s going on with Mike Ratledge?’ Or a question about Robert Wyatt." Soft Machine on life in the new millennium

By Sid Smith published

In 2015 Soft Machine dropped the 'legacy' tag and threw themselves headlong into being the Canterbury legends, Hidden Details was their first album under the new/old monicker

Segments of the sleeves of five underrated prog album

The most underrated albums by 10 major prog bands

By Classic Rock published

Showing a little love for the overlooked classics by prog giants Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and more

the Blue Nile's A Walk Across the Rooftops

Haunting tunes from the head and heart, The Blue Nile's A Walk Across The Rooftops defies easy categorisation.

By Sid Smith published

In praise of The Blue Nile's 1984 album, A Walk Across The Rooftops

Richard Wright's Wet Dream album

Recorded between the gruelling Animals tour and the psycho-drama that was The Wall, the sentiments Richard Wright expressed in Wet Dream could apply to Pink Floyd as much as to his disintegrating marriage...

By Sid Smith published

Richard Wright's Wet Dream album: The Pink Floyd keyboardist’s underrated solo debut remixed

Gntle Giant's Interview album sleeve

40-odd years on, Gentle Giant's 1976 album Interview remains an object lesson in risk-taking

By Sid Smith published

Gentle Giant's 1976 album In'terview (2023 Steven Wilson remix) – reviewed

Soft Machine

“Pop music didn’t offer enough open space for improvisation… there was no way we were going to play a tune the same way twice”: How Soft Machine pioneered the Canterbury scene

By Sid Smith published

By the time debut album The Soft Machine was released in 1968, they’d already split up - but its impact changed everything

Rock In Opposition

Everything you wanted to know about Rock In Opposition but were too afraid to ask

By Sid Smith published

Check out our RIO playlist and discover some gems from this oft-ignored sub-genre of prog

Canterbury Playlist

The ultimate Canterbury Scene playlist

By Sid Smith published

Enter a world of Caravan, Soft Machine, Egg, Gilgamesh, Matching Mole and more

Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin

“Some people would want me to just be playing jazz-rock in a pub somewhere!" Dave Stewart refuses to bow to fan expectations

By Sid Smith published

Former Egg/Hatfied & The North/National Health man Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin discuss their musical legacy

The Fierce And The Dead

The Fierce & The Dead - News From The Invisible World: "Taut songs with glorious, air-punching choruses."

By Sid Smith published

Not yet rated

Prog faves The Fierce And The Dead are in fine voice on fourth album.

Joe Walsh - The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get

“Joe Walsh branched out – a genuine progressive instinct at work”: when future Eagles icon went prog with The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get

By Sid Smith published

1973 album carries flavours of Genesis and the Beatles, helped on its way by a gift from Pete Townshend

Alan White

A life well lived: remembering the late Alan White

By Sid Smith published

Prog writer Sid Smith pays tribute to the former John Lennon and Yes drummer Alan White, who sadly died in 2022