RIP Clive Burr

Clive Burr, Iron Maiden's drummer from 1979 to 1982, died Tuesday at the age of 56. Burr suffered from Multiple Sclerosis during the last two decades of his life, a cruel irony for a man who distinguished himself through his physical power and dexterity.

Steve Harris: “This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time.”

Bruce Dickinson: “I first met Clive when he was leaving Samson and joining Iron Maiden. He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full. Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence. This is a terribly sad day and all our thoughts are with Mimi and the family.”

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Ripely Pine

Ripely Pine is 23 year-old Aly Spaltro's first studio album, but she'd recorded a handful of lo-fi albums starting in her teens. These recordings display a rare confidence, an approach beholden to nobody in particular and a preponderance of ideas, but are stronger conceptually than in execution. They are the sound of Spaltro finding her voice and honing her craft, and the reason Ripely Pine sounds like an audacious third studio album by an established artist.

Spaltro wrote many of the songs while still in her teens, and there are drafts of some of them among her early recordings, but she already had a knack for striking imagery, such as leprosy on the moon's surface tainting its glow. Although she played many of the instruments herself, she's taken advantage of having extra personnel and hasn't skimped on arrangements. Strings elevate some songs to a level just shy of operatic, while mariachi horns turn "Aubergine" into a song that is at once jaunty and harrowing. Songs that were made to rock, such as "Bird Balloons" do exactly that - in fact, Ripely Pine is primarily a rock album, albeit one made by someone with a folk singer's heart.

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow