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

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”

Van Der Graaf Generator in 1974

“Our contemporaries had numbers that got people up on their feet cheering. We didn’t… We wondered if A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers was the way to go. I thought, ‘We can’t even play this!’”: Van der Graaf Generator’s struggle through the 70s

By Sid Smith published

Keyboardist Hugh Banton on deciding not to emulate Keith Emerson’s stage persona, how he got the band signed, and why it took him so long to accept the “prog” label

Zopp

“I think the appeal was that it was just a very spacey and very unusual sound world for me." How the classic Canterbury sound inspired young UK proggers Zopp

By Sid Smith published

How Zopp, masterminded by young UK prog musician Ryan Stevenson, are making. areal impact with second album Dominion

Baker Gurvitz Army - Neon Lights the Broadcasts 1975

“Ginger Baker stamps, thumps and whacks his personality into these numbers… he sounds a bit confused and well-lubricated, much to the evident, if a little strained, amusement of his bandmates”: Baker Gurvitz Army’s Neon Lights: The Broadcasts 1975

By Sid Smith published

They own the stage in collection of five live performances which will please old campaigners and new recruits alike

a portrait of theo travis

“I suppose what’s different is me. I’ve done a lot of exploring, particularly with Robert Fripp… Working with him was very easy, which doesn’t sit well with a lot of the public’s perceptions of him!” Theo Travis looks back

By Sid Smith published

He’s worked with Soft Machine, Steven Wilson, The Tangent, Gong and more – but the saxophonist and flautist still has one collaborator on his bucket list

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