review Archive
07 Feb 2011
Album Review: Jefferson Airplane – We Have Ignition
By November 1966 the Jefferson Airplane were on a definite trajectory toward the top of their game. Grace Slick had joined about six weeks earlier — replacing Signe Anderson — […]
04 Feb 2011
Album Review: Frank Sinatra – Best of Vegas
In 2008 Rhino released the box set Sinatra: Vegas, a collection of five separate concerts by The Voice. Each show got a disc: November 1961 at the Sands; early ’66 […]
03 Feb 2011
Album Review: Robin Trower – The Playful Heart
Unless you’re a serious fan of the man’s work, chances are good that your exposure to new music from Robin Trower has been minimal these last, oh, two or three […]
02 Feb 2011
Album Review: North Atlantic Oscillation – Grappling Hooks
Much of what passes for “modern rock” these days is pretty weak tea. The majority of bands working in that 21st century idiom draw inspiration (and I use that word […]
01 Feb 2011
Album Review: Jakko M. Jakszyk – The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
Jakko M. Jakszyk has an impressive musical pedigree, and is highly regarded in progressive rock circles. Perhaps most notably in a career filled with highlights, Jakszyk served as lead guitarist […]
31 Jan 2011
Album Review: The Mixtures – Stompin’ at the Rainbow
There’s long been a school of thought that pushed the notion that rock nearly died in the late fifties. The argument goes something like this: Buddy Holly died in the […]
28 Jan 2011
Album Review: King Crimson – Islands (40th Anniversary Edition)
From the album’s opening strains of “featured player” Harry Miller’s string bass, it’s clear that Islands is going to be quite a different affair from its predecessors. Released in 1971, […]
26 Jan 2011
DVD Review: Insurgentes
Steven Wilson is a man with a lot on his mind. The peripatetic and almost impossibly prolific composer/musician has his hand in a myriad of musical projects: Porcupine Tree, solo […]
20 Jan 2011
Album Review: Ray Charles – Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters
During his lifetime, Ray Charles released something like sixty albums of original material; that doesn’t begin to include hundreds of compilations, posthumous releases, guest spots, reissues and the like. With […]
19 Jan 2011
Album Review: Agents of Mercy – Dramarama
Swedish quintet Agents of Mercy’s album Dramarama occupies that curious yet sweet spot between progressive rock and pop-rock. The group’s sonic approach draws on the usual suspects, but if they […]