03 Mar 2011
Book Review: Richie Unterberger – Won’t Get Fooled Again
More than a hundred years ago Prussian statesman Otto Von Bismarck said “Laws are like sausages: it is better not to see them being made.” In a general sense this […]
28 Dec 2022
It Came from Asheville! WNC Garage Rock in the ’60s, Part Three: The Ron-De-Voos
Trip of the imagination Music historians trace the origins of psychedelic folk (or “freak folk”) back to 1964, when The Holy Modal Rounders gigged around New York City’s Lower East […]
30 Nov 2022
Book Review: The Who: Concert Memories from the Classic Years, 1964 to 1976
Author: Edoardo Genzolini Schiffer Publishing 2022, 306 pp. $59.99 (and well worth it) In the third decade of the 21st century, it’s challenging to come up with a book that […]
24 Feb 2022
Album Review: The Left Banke – Strangers on a Train
When the terms “baroque pop” or “baroque rock” come up in conversation, discussion of The Left Banke is assuredly to follow. While the group scored only a few hits – […]
21 Dec 2021
Hundred-word Reviews for December 2021: Archival Releases
This has been a good year for archival and reissue releases. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a roundup of those, so here’s one to help bring the […]
16 Jan 2019
No Way Out: The Curious Case of The Chocolate Watchband (Part Three)
Continued from Part Two… “I can’t think of too many bands that manage to build a reputation through as small a body of work,” says Palao. “When anybody looks at […]
04 May 2018
Album Review: The Rising Storm — Calm Before…
A bunch of prep school boys put together a rock band in 1965. Big deal, right? American teens (mostly but not exclusively males) did that all over the USA in […]
26 Dec 2016
Best Music of 2016: Reissue/archival Releases
I love new music, but I’m also attuned to keeping up with the latest in reissues and archival releases. Sometimes those feature some of my favorite artists; other times they […]
15 Nov 2016
A Belated Hello to “Farewell Aldebaran”
In 1969 a husband-and-wife duo made a record that sounded little like anything either had done previously. Judy Henske was a critically-acclaimed folk singer with an impressive range; after performing […]
15 Dec 2015
Album Review: Chris Knox – Seizure
I have a lot for which to thank Richie Unterberger. Reading the renowned music journalist’s 1998 book – the first of several – Unknown Legends of Rock’n’Roll introduced me to […]