r&b Archive
31 Jul 2020
Album Reviews: Five from the Coed Record Label
Doo-wop – or r&b vocal, if you prefer – is an important part of the rock and roll story. The style began just after World War II, and doo-wop enjoyed […]
21 Jul 2020
Album Review: Swingadelic — Bluesville
The point at which big band vocal jazz and r&b meets is one I enjoy exploring. And so, too, does the aggregation known as Swingadelic. On the New York City […]
10 Jul 2020
Album Review: Jimmy Sweeney — Without You
Another in the (happily and) seemingly endless stream of unearthed gems, Jimmy Sweeney’s Without You is a collection of songs by a singer who was all but unknown. His claim […]
18 Jun 2020
Album Review: Nat Turner Rebellion – Laugh to Keep From Crying
I’ve written of similar observations before; here I am doing it once again. It amazes me to no end that so many years after the fact, never-before-heard recordings surface, and […]
20 May 2020
Before the (Family) Stone Age: The Viscaynes (Part Three)
Continued from Part Two … One afternoon soon thereafter, Chuck Gebhardt found himself mowing the very same lawn. “Next thing I knew, a limo pulled up, and my mom got […]
19 May 2020
Before the (Family) Stone Age: The Viscaynes (Part Two)
Continued from Part One … Belying his eventual reputation as an erratic personality, the young Sly Stone was considered an engaging fellow. “He was a great guy,” Gebhardt says. In […]
18 May 2020
Before the (Family) Stone Age: The Viscaynes (Part One)
An edited version of this feature appeared previously in Goldmine Magazine. The music and career of Sly Stone and his group The Family Stone is well known. What’s less explored […]
09 May 2020
Ryan RnB Barber: Can’t Hold Him Down
Ryan RnB Barber is one of the busiest musicians in Western North Carolina. He does it all: singing, rapping, songwriting, producing and arranging. And he stays busy with several bands […]
15 Mar 2020
30 Days Out, March 2020 #2: Sister Ivy, Graham Nash, Wham Bam Bowie Band, Eilen Jewell
UPDATE March 17: It looks as if all live shows are canceled for the foreseeable future. Please support these and other artists by buying their music online, viewing (and paying […]
27 Jan 2020
Hundred-word Reviews for January 2020
Every so often – pretty often, in fact – I find a stack of CDs has accumulated on my desk. They’ve made the cut as albums deemed worthy of sharing […]