omnivore recordings Archive
04 Sep 2021
Album Review: Explorer Tapes
As someone who follows such things – and as such ought to know better – I nevertheless continue to be amazed whenever I learn about a promising act that recorded […]
23 Aug 2021
Album Review: Alex Chilton — Boogie Shoes
If there’s such a thing as an obscure legend, Alex Chilton is one. While he was in fact the lead singer in a popular ‘60s pop group (Box Tops) and […]
15 Aug 2021
Album Review: Laura Nyro — Go Find the Moon
Standing in sharp contrast to the sharp and seasoned performer of 1994 found on Trees of the Ages is the Laura Nyro heard on Go Find the Moon: The Audition […]
14 Aug 2021
Album Review: Laura Nyro — Trees of the Ages
Laura Nyro was a talent of staggering dimensions. Not only was the New York singer-songwriter possessed of a preternatural ability to write enduing melodies – many of which were hits […]
13 Aug 2021
Album Review: Mumps — Rock & Roll This, Rock & Roll That
American pop culture consumers of a certain age (aka television viewers) will recall An American Family, a groundbreaking PBS documentary series that first aired in 1973. Setting aside the fact […]
02 May 2021
Album Review: Peggy Lee — Something Wonderful
A casual listener might only be able to name “Fever” – and possibly “Is That All There Is” – but Peggy Lee scored a lengthy run of hit singles. The […]
29 Apr 2021
Album Reviews: ‘Richard Pryor’ and ‘Craps (After Hours)’
Comedy albums are unique in the album world. Unlike music, for most listeners, they’re a one-and-done affair. You may well have bought Robin Williams’ Reality: What a Concept when it […]
04 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 3 of 3)
Continued from Part Two… Parks recalls a visit to a friend in rural Virginia, nearly 2500 miles due East from southern California. “I went past, Galax, where the Old Fiddlers […]
03 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 2 of 3)
Continued from Part One… Parks recalls how the germ of the project came about in or around 1990. “I had a piano exercise, and it was fun for me,” he […]
02 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 1 of 3)
Though he never sought the role – nor does he wear it comfortably – Van Dyke Parks is something of a cult figure in music. An idiosyncratic musical storyteller of […]