review Archive
30 Aug 2020
Album Review: Franck L. Goldwasser – Sweet Little Black Spider
The 1980s were not a rich era for the blues. But the decade wasn’t without highlights. Artists like Joe Louis Walker and Arthur Adams were prominent on the scene. And […]
29 Aug 2020
DVD Review: Rolling Stone: Life and Death of Brian Jones
Sometimes I cringe a bit when learning that there’s been made a new film purporting to explore a notorious scandal or controversy of the past. There’s a very high likelihood […]
23 Aug 2020
Album Review: King Solomon Hicks – Harlem
Opening with Leon Russell’s “I’d Rather Be Blind” underscores the point that King Solomon Hicks is no blues purist. His reading of the song – first cut by Freddie King […]
22 Aug 2020
Album Review: Bill Kirchen – The Proper Years
What to make of possible hyperbole? When I read that Bill Kirchen is known as “The Titan of the Telecaster,” I wasn’t at all sure what to think. At first […]
20 Aug 2020
Album Review: Martin Denny — Exotic Moog
Introduced in the middle 1960s, Dr. Robert A. Moog’s invention – the Moog Modular synthesizer – changed the musical landscape. Groundbreaking releases like Switched on Bach made it plain that […]
18 Aug 2020
Yes’ ‘Drama’ at 40: A Critical Look Back at the Band’s Most Controversial LP
It’s accepted conventional wisdom now that the 1980s were a tough time for progressive rock. The subgenre enjoyed its heyday – commercially and critically – beginning in the very late […]
17 Aug 2020
Ben Folds Five’s Debut at 25
In 1997, Ben Folds Five’s second album, Whatever and Ever Amen took the charts by storm. By ’90s measures as unlikely an act as could be imagined, the North Carolina-based […]
16 Aug 2020
Album Review: Big Bill Broonzy — The Midnight Special
Big Bill Broonzy’s musical influence is incalculable. And even though he recorded prolifically, a new archival release is an important addition to his body of work. A solo acoustic performance, […]
12 Aug 2020
Album Review: ‘Rolling Stone: Life and Death of Brian Jones’ Soundtrack
There are at least three categories of film soundtrack albums. One is a collection of songs, scores, cues and the like, often by a single composer/artist, music created expressly for […]
11 Aug 2020
Album Review: Various Artists — Saving for a Custom Van
Grammy Award-winner Adam Schlesinger died on April 1 of complications from COVID-19. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist gained fame for his work as a member of power pop band Fountains […]