rock beat Archive
03 Jul 2017
Album Review: Paul Butterfield — Live New York 1970
A blues vocalist and harmonica player extraordinaire, Paul Butterfield is most fondly remembered for his time leading the Butterfield Blues Band, an exemplar of the successful hybridization of electric jazz […]
26 Dec 2016
Best Music of 2016: Reissue/archival Releases
I love new music, but I’m also attuned to keeping up with the latest in reissues and archival releases. Sometimes those feature some of my favorite artists; other times they […]
29 Feb 2016
Album Review: Arthur Lee / Love — Coming Through to You: The Live Recordings (1970-2004)
With the (both critically and commercially) belated realization by the music world-at-large that Love‘s 1967 album Forever Changes is a classic came an unfortunate misconception. That was the idea that […]
07 Oct 2015
Bill Dahl and I Discuss “Groove & Grind: Rare Soul ’63-’73”
From a critical perspective, there’s not a whole lot to be said or written about Groove & Grind: Rare Soul ’63 – ’73. One either gets it, or doesn’t. Suffice […]
15 Jan 2015
Album Review: Black & Blue – The Laff Records Collection
A new 4CD collection of vintage comedy records, Black & Blue: The Laff Records Collection exemplifies the abbreviation NSFW (“Not Safe for Work”). The low-budget stand-up comedy records (usually but […]
17 Oct 2014
Album Review: Halloween Nuggets
Halloween’s coming: October 31 is a mere two weeks away. Personally, it’s my favorite holiday: for several years I lived on one of my city’s busiest residential streets, the go-to […]
16 Jun 2014
Album Review: The “5” Royales – Soul & Swagger
There are a select few acts in musical history that didn’t sell a ton of records, yet exerted influence far beyond what their chart action might suggest. Among the most […]
23 Dec 2013
Best of 2013: Reissues/Archival Releases
It’s that time, again: the time of year when I coast to the New Year’s finish line and post a string of best-of lists. It’s not simply a place-holding exercise; […]
29 Aug 2013
Album Review: Magic Sam and Shakey Jake — Live at Sylvio’s
Maybe you don’t know who Magic Sam is. With a moniker like that, you might guess he’s a character from Willie Dixon‘s “Wang Dang Doodle.” But the blues guitarist born […]
30 Jul 2013
Album Review: Faye Richmonde — For Men Only
Though neither of my dear, sweet parents could ever carry a tune in the proverbial bucket, there was plenty of music in the Kopp household as I was growing up. […]
- 1
- 2