vinyl Archive
17 May 2022
Album Review: Jeannie C. Riley — Harper Valley P.T.A.
I’ve gone on about this idea before, but it never ceases to fascinate me, so I’ll mention it again. Those of us of a certain age — boomers, I guess […]
16 May 2022
Album Review: Detective — s/t
By the mid 1970s, having one’s own boutique record label was a symbol of Having Arrived. The Beatles started it all with Apple, and within a few years, The Moody […]
08 May 2022
Album Review: Various — Always Memphis Rock and Roll
For me, the Black & Wyatt Records label is a trademark of quality. Since its launch in 2018, the Memphis label has sought to bring interesting and outside-the-box music to […]
14 Apr 2022
Album Review: Pepper Adams – Live at Room at the Top
To date, my familiarity to the work of saxophonist and composer Pepper Adams has been minimal. I discovered and enjoyed a 2014 vinyl reissue of Bethlehem Records’ 1960 release Motor […]
13 Apr 2022
Album Review: The Jars — Make Love Not War
My new book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave explores the story of the Bay Area independent record label and the nearly 30 artists – […]
12 Apr 2022
Album Review: Bill Evans — Inner Spirit
A week’s worth of coverage of new vinyl releases continues with the second of two archival releases from a jazz giant. Bill Evans played Buenos Aires in 1973, and a […]
11 Apr 2022
Album Review: Bill Evans – Morning Glory
A week’s worth of coverage of new vinyl releases kicks off with a vintage recording. Bill Evans earned fame for his work with Miles Davis, and went on to an […]
06 Feb 2022
Album Review: Chris Lujan & Electric Butter — The Real Thing
A couple of months ago, I wrote a Metro Silicon Valley feature about Raza del Soul, a California record label dedicated to preserving old (and celebrating new) Chicano soul music. […]
13 Jan 2022
Boxed Set Review: Fuzztones Salute the Greats
For decades now, The Fuzztones have been doing the important work of keeping the garage punk flame burning. Originally a New York City aggregation, the band led by Rudi Protrudi […]
20 Dec 2021
Album Review: Popol Vuh – Vol. 2: Acoustic & Ambient Spheres
In 2019, BMG put together a boxed set of five important albums by krautrock/ambient group Popol Vuh. The Essential Album Collection Vol. 1 featured vinyl re-pressings of Affenstunde (1970), 1972’s […]