pop Archive
24 Jun 2017
Saturday Bonus Post: Short-form Roundup
Now and then I receive an EP or even a single for potential review. In general those don’t make the cut, as I prefer to write about full-length albums that […]
08 Jun 2017
He’d Only Just Begun: Paul Williams and The Holy Mackerel (Part 2)
Continued from Part One … From a very early age, Williams had been greatly influenced by the Great American Songbook. He recalls that even as a child in Omaha, Nebraska, […]
07 Jun 2017
He’d Only Just Begun: Paul Williams and The Holy Mackerel (Part 1)
(Note: an edited version of this feature appeared previously in print in Goldmine Magazine.) In 1970, songwriter Paul Williams was catapulted to the top of the pop music world. Two […]
06 Jun 2017
A Johnny Mathis Playlist
To preview a Johnny Mathis concert, my editor at Salt Lake City Paper recently asked me to compile a playlist of the vocalist’s lesser-known tracks. This I did. The piece […]
05 Jun 2017
Album Review: The Moon and You — Endless Maria
With Endless Maria, Asheville NC duo The Moon and You proves that you can indeed have it both ways: this new collection of songs hits the sweet spot between bouncy […]
22 May 2017
The Zombies: A Half-century ‘Odessey’
During 1967’s so-called Summer of Love, the Zombies began recording what would be their defining work, the critically-acclaimed album Odessey and Oracle [sic]. But on its release, the record performed […]
19 May 2017
Capsule Reviews for May 2017, Part Two
The Lancashire Hustlers – Adventures (Steep Hill Music) This London duo – Brent Thorley and Ian Pakes – has clearly come of age on a steady diet of Magical Mystery […]
18 May 2017
Capsule Reviews for May 2017, Part One
Thank You, Friends (Concord Bicycle Music) I remember a time when seemingly nobody knew about Big Star; happily for me, that was about the time I found “new old stock” […]
16 May 2017
Points of Intersection: The Regina Spektor Interview
Note: parts of the following story appeared originally in separate features written for the Colorado Springs Independent and Stomp & Stammer. — bk On her seven studio albums – from […]
28 Apr 2017
Album Mini-review: Colin Hay — Fierce Mercy
File next to: Men at Work, David Gray, Paul Kelly Colin Hay long ago left behind the bouncy pop of Men at Work, though his solo releases are every bit […]