I’ll admit right now that I’m not the world’s greatest appreciator of soul or classic R&B. I’m certainly not against the idea of sitting in the sun with the sound of Ray Charles or Sam Cooke floating over the airwaves to provide a soothing accompaniment to my chilled out repose, I’m just saying it was never the focal point of my attention when developing my nascent musical taste. As a crass generalisation, middle-class English kids tend to gravitate towards rock in its myriad forms, and even then, that’s only as a small rebellion against the perceived tyranny of Radio 3 and Classic FM.
The joy of being a hi-fi journalist, of course, is that you’re exposed to a far greater spectrum of musical genres than you would be in most other professions. Co-workers, readers, engineers and even other journos will recommend winning tracks or simply expose you to their own particular preferences at hi-fi shows or during product briefings. Each brings something new to the table, even if I’ve had quite enough of Billie Eilish and Dire Straits for one lifetime, thank you very much.
