Author Archive

Album Review: Nick Lowe – Jesus of Cool: 30th Anniversary Edition

Nick Lowe had a growing (if still somewhat underground) reputation in 1979. As a producer — mostly for Stiff Records — he had worked the boards on stunning a number […]

Album Review: BB King and His Orchestra — Live

The opening sonic salvo of B.B. King Orchestra and His Orchestra Live might be jarring for longtime B.B. King listeners. A Vegasy revue number, “B.B.’s Theme” really has little to […]

Album Review: Jackdawg — s/t

Jackdawg is a heretofore unreleased one-off project from 1990. The group features Stu Cook from Creedence Clearwater Revival, plus John McFee and Keith Knudsen from the Doobie Brothers. The fifteen […]

Album Review: John Lee Hooker — Anthology: 50 Years

John Lee Hooker was never the smoothest of bluesmen. While he had no qualms about going electric (in fact nearly all of his celebrated work features electric guitar) he made […]

Album Review: Robyn Hitchcock — I Wanna Go Backwards

Quirky Cambridge England singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock has always followed his own twisted muse. Like some bastard son of Bob Dylan and Syd Barrett, Hitchcock has made a career of memorable […]

Album Review: Isaac Hayes — Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)

It’s with some trepidation that this reviewer plays an album called Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak). Had said album been credited to anyone other than the estimable Isaac Hayes, the disc […]

Album Review: The Grip Weeds — House of Vibes Revisited

The 1980s and 90s saw the rise of a rock subgenre/movement dubbed the “paisley underground.” Populated by groups who bowed at the altar of mid-period Beatles and the other finer […]

DVD Review: Emerson, Lake & Palmer — Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Released (or more accurately, repackaged and re-released) in 2009, this is actually a live performance of Emerson, Lake and Palmer dating from 1992. As such, it’s dated in a number […]

Album Review: Chris Darrow — Chris Darrow / Under My Own Disguise

In 1967 a west coast based group calling itself Kaleidoscope (no relation to the UK psych group of the same era) released their first album, Side Trips. That album is […]

Album Review: Rodney Dangerfield – Greatest Bits

Rodney Dangerfield is a cultural icon. Even those not overly familiar with his standup comedy work on television and in film would recognize his face. And his distinctive voice is […]