real gone music Archive
29 Jan 2016
Hundred-word Reviews January 2016: Compilations
This week-long run of quick reviews wraps up today with looks at five excellent compilation albums. King Curtis – The Complete Atco Singles Real Gone Music swings for the fences with this, a three-CD set that collects all of the saxophonist’s 64 a- and b-sides released on the Atlantic subsidiary (plus two unreleased tracks). Randy
26 Jan 2016
Hundred-word Reviews January 2016: Reissues
Today’s collection of hundred-word reviews focuses on recent reissues of note. Uriah Heep – Totally Driven I’m not going to try to tell you that the turn of the 21st century was Uriah Heep‘s finest hour. Their high point was in the early 1970s, around the time of Demons and Wizards and The Magician’s Birthday
07 Sep 2015
Hundred-word Reviews for September, Part 6 of 8
Today I take quick looks at excellent reissue and compilation releases from three labels that excel at that kind of thing: Omnivore Recordings, Light in the Attic and Real Gone Music. Low Down Original Motion Picture Soundtrack The 2014 film tells the story of jazz pianist Joe Albany and his (ultimately unsuccessful) attempts to break
18 Jun 2015
Album Review: Craig Fuller / Eric Kaz
There’s always a place for solid, midtempo, soft-rock. Or at least there was one before what passes for country music co-opted the style, watered it down and called it modern country (or, heaven forfend, bro country). For a time in the mid to late 1970s, artists like Pure Prairie League, post-prog Ambrosia, Ace, Michael Martin
21 May 2015
Album Review: Shanti — Shanti
At this stage in the game, nobody’s sure who developed the genre (or, much less, coined the phrase) “world music.” And a definitive explanation for what is and isn’t world music remains elusive. But to paraphrase the Supreme Court justice, I know it when I hear it. Some strong candidates for early pioneers in what
13 May 2015
Hundred Word Reviews for May 2015, Part 8
Today, it’s five more capsule reviews. It’s great stuff all, dating from the 1970s. Stories – Stories Untold: The Very Best of Stories The, um, story of Stories in inextricably tied up with that of the Left Banke (“Walk Away Renee”). The music on this set from Real Gone Music draws not only for the
11 May 2015
Hundred Word Reviews for May 2015, Part 6
Last week I presented 25 capsule reviews; 100 words each, these were quick critical looks at new CD (and vinyl) releases. This week, I dive into the pile of reissue/compilation CDs that have been crowding my office. Don’t mistake my relative brevity for mild praise; all of the discs reviewed deserve attention. Chuck Berry –
03 Apr 2015
Rick Wakeman, Cannonball Adderley, and Me
Today I’m going to indulge in a brief change of pace. I’d like to tell you about a pair of reissues with which I am involved. I won’t be reviewing either title – what would be the point? – but suffice to say that if I didn’t think they are superb albums, I wouldn’t have
06 Mar 2015
Hundred Word Reviews for March 2015, Part 5
For the final entry in this run of hundred-word reviews, I take quick looks at some rare and/or reissued music. I think it’s all worth your time. TV Eyes – TV Eyes TV Eyes was a 90s alternapop supergroup. Jason Falkner has a stunningly high quality catalog of his own. Roger Manning was a prime
05 Mar 2015
Hundred Word Reviews for March 2015, Part 4
Prog, jazz, blues: there’s something for most musical tastes in today’s roundup of hundred-word reviews. Mark Wingfield – Proof of Light If there’s a common raison d’être among the varied acts signed to Leonardo Pavkovic‘s MoonJune label, it’s to explore the sweet spot at which jazz and rock convene. Wingfield’s disc features a trio format