review Archive
30 Sep 2009
Album Review: Jim Duffy – Mood Lit
Pop-jazz. Jazz-pop. The labels are mere shorthand for a sort of music that’s tough to describe. The terms can often be applied in a pejorative sense, used to describe (and […]
29 Sep 2009
Album Review: The Smithereens Play Tommy
The Smithereens are well-known rock fans. Their unique, canny take on rock music is informed by everyone from the Four Freshmen (drummer Dennis Diken cites them as a large-looming influence) […]
24 Sep 2009
Album Review: The D.I.’s – Rare Cuts!
Note: the album is included as a bonus CD in the deluxe package of The Gears‘ Rockin’ at Ground Zero (reviewed below), but it deserves its own review. The 2009 […]
23 Sep 2009
Album Review: The Gears – Rockin’ at Ground Zero
Initially I had reservations about even spinning my review copy of Rockin’ at Ground Zero. While I wasn’t familiar with The Gears, I do know enough about the L.A. punk […]
18 Sep 2009
DVD Review: Muddy Waters Live at ChicagoFest
Muddy Waters Live at ChicagoFest is a 1981 performance of the master bluesman onstage. The concert — filmed at Chicago’s famous Navy Pier — features Muddy with his band and […]
14 Sep 2009
In the Warm Embrace of Ozric Tentacles
One of the most memorable lines in John Landis‘ film The Blues Brothers takes place when the band arrives at a roadhouse. Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) asks the proprietress, “What […]
10 Sep 2009
DVD Review: BB King Live in Africa ‘74
Presumably made up from outtakes from the filming of Leon Gast‘s When We Were Kings, B.B. King Live in Africa ’74 is a high-quality document of the master still near […]
09 Sep 2009
Turn Me On, Dead Man.
In honor of 09.09.09, the unofficial reboot of The Greatest Band The World Has Ever Known, here are NINE (of course) links to some Beatles-related features on this blog and […]
08 Sep 2009
DVD Review: Let Freedom Sing – How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement
Let Freedom Sing is a 2009 DVD documentary that surveys the American civil rights struggle. That’s been done before, certainly. But this film puts a unique, refreshing and fascinating spin […]
07 Sep 2009
DVD Review: Tim DeLaughter – Wee See
Tim DeLaughter is the endlessly creative front man and prime mover of The Polyphonic Spree, the feel-good orchestral-rock ensemble from Dallas TX. DeLaughter excels at a number of things; among […]