book Archive
10 Jul 2014
Book Review: One Way Out
The members of The Allman Brothers Band – and there have been many – tend to think of themselves as a jazz band. The onstage interplay owes, they argue convincingly, […]
27 Jun 2014
Book Review: Power Pop Prime, Vol. 3
Powerpop fans are in some ways like metal fans. They – or shall I say we – are hardcore fanatics of a narrow slice of the pop music spectrum, and […]
26 Jun 2014
Book Review: Bob Dylan, American Troubadour
Allow me to begin with some relevant disclosure: I’m much more a “music guy” than a “lyrics guy.” I can know the words to a song – sing along with […]
29 May 2014
Book Review: Joe Meek’s Bold Techniques
People like sensational stories. It’s an unfortunate fact, because the public’s focus on the superficial and lurid often obscures a deeper, nuanced story beneath. Barry Cleveland is not one of […]
27 May 2014
Book Review: Huey “Piano” Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues
One need not dig very deep into the collected history of popular music to discover tales of artists who’ve been ripped off, gotten the short end of the stick, been […]
09 Apr 2014
Book Review: The Evolution of Mann
Lately I’ve been mulling the age-old question: what makes a bandwagon-jumper? Pop music’s history is filled with examples of bands and solo artists who have adopted stylistic u-turns in a […]
13 Mar 2014
Book Review: Experiencing Jazz
As part of my expanding odyssey of discovering the art form called jazz, I bought a book in December 2012, a title called Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning […]
08 Jan 2014
Book Review: Lunar Notes
Lunar Notes is not a Great Book, nor do the requisite few hours spent with it reveal anything that suggests the author’s intention that it be so. What it is […]
13 Dec 2013
Book Review: Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Imagine that you’ve just sauntered into a dimly-lit if friendly- vibed barroom. You’ve positioned yourself at a barstool and settled in to enjoy a leisurely drink to cap off a […]
04 Dec 2013
Funny You Should Mention It: Howard Kaylan’s Shell Shocked (Part Three)
Continued from Part Two… Bill Kopp: One area you didn’t spend a lot of time on was the studio sessions. You didn’t avoid them, for sure, but neither did you […]