reissue Archive
31 May 2023
Album Review: Marshall Crenshaw (s/t)
Music is a powerful emotional trigger. It’s widely understood that we commonly associate specific songs with distinct memories, and that connection between the two increases the vivid quality of the […]
24 May 2023
Album Review: The Satyrs – Don’t Be Surprised
The point has been made often – and by many writers besides and before myself – that in the wake of the success of British Invasion bands like the Beatles, […]
08 May 2023
Hundred Word Reviews, May 2023: Vinyl!
Me, I dig vinyl. I’m happy to sidestep arguments concerning sound quality versus their digital counterparts; while CDs and even streaming have their place, I prefer the tactile, participatory experience […]
05 May 2023
Album Review: World Party — Egyptology
World Party’s fourth album was also its best. Karl Wallinger’s skillful distillation of his influences – a dazzling grab-bag that included Sly Stone, Van Morrison and the Beatles as mere […]
25 Mar 2023
Album Review: Peggy Lee — Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown North Dakota
If you were a rock fan in 1972, chances are good that you had no use for so-called “easy listening” music. That was the stuff your parents and their uncool […]
23 Feb 2023
Hundred Word Reviews, February 2023, Part Four
In the last few days I’ve covered new releases; now it’s time for quick looks at five reissue/archival releases of note. APB – Something to Believe In I will admit […]
13 Feb 2023
Album Review: Humble Pie — I Need a Star in My Life
Hard rocking Humble Pie enjoyed its well-deserved heyday in the very early 1970s; as fine as their studio albums could be it was on their live set Performance: Rockin’ the […]
12 Feb 2023
Album Review: Bruce Licher — Exploratorium
Bruce Licher is guitarist in post-punk band Savage Republic; that L.A.-based group has flown well under the commercial radar. But they came to my attention years ago when I read […]
16 Jan 2023
Joel Selvin and ‘Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History’
In 1998, Joel Selvin was well into his third decade as pop music critic/journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle; he had also authored several books. But his 1998 book, Sly […]
06 Jan 2023
Nick Mason: Demystifying Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… An Alleged Answer to Punk If only because it was released in 1977, Pink Floyd’s Animals is often hailed as the group’s answer (or reaction) to […]