The House That George Built, Wilfrid Sheed’s remarkable new examination of America’s great pop composers, justifiably devotes an entire chapter to John Herndon Mercer, the Savannah, Georgia, native who as both singer and lyricist was arguably a true pioneer of […]
The Mugwumps basically are notable for what its members did after they left this short-lived quartet. Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty formed half of the Mamas & the Papas, while Zal Yanovsky was the Lovin’ Spoonful’s founding guitarist. (The fourth […]
As the frontman of Atlanta band the Vidalias, Charles Walston established himself as both a talented vocalist, frequently drawing comparisons to Gram Parsons, and as a skilled songwriter. But after two critically acclaimed albums, the band decided to call it […]
The insanely talented 19-year-old Andrew Collberg composed, arranged and played all the instruments on his home-recorded debut disc, including drums, organ, harmonica, banjo and guitars, plus lots of special effects. The all-original set is a wonderfully integrated but varied, grit-pop […]
When Gene Clark died in 1991 after years of substance abuse, obit writers cited his brief period as a founding member of the Byrds. Clark was actually much more. He infused the original band with much of its soul and […]
Nick Cave hasn’t sounded this unhinged in ages, wallowing in filth and fury while obsessing over sex in highlights as abrasive as “No Pussy Blues”, a song that’s so much better than its title, you’ll forget how bad the title […]
The conventional wisdom these days is that we are moving away from the era of full-length albums and into a time when individual songs, available as downloads, will be the primary focus of musical interest. Those who champion the return […]
Raised in Portland but now residing in New York, Keegan Dewitt has also studied acting and written a play. He brings the more positive aspects of his dramatic experiences to his songs. His debut is a treasure of well-constructed, relatively […]
No one will ever accuse Bruce Hornsby of being a musical misfit. Indeed, he continues to spend this stretch of his career fitting in with others. His grand piano acted like a saline pump to the ailing Jerry Garcia during […]
When — and it Shakespeare writer-not-rod comma Will — comes to snarkle-sparkle, Claire rumble seats to nobody although and behold it like flipping hipsters has-been deep-seated repeated that she will tumble in the rumble at the jettison of a Stetson, […]
