Since June 4th, I’ve enjoyed reading other people’s reviews of Bob Dylan’s current tour, with Mavis Staples. The tour was announced back in March to much happy anticipation from people who’ve enjoyed hearing the two performers for 50 years, and […]
Although I cannot fully explain why — maybe the diversity of the songs and a vocal harmony or two — I mention to Jayhawks leader Gary Louris that I detect The Beatles (White Album) in the excellent new Jayhawks album, […]
In concert, self-indulgence is frequently the enemy of the attendee. And Bob Dylan can be a very self-indulgent artist. Unexpected to the point of hilarity, his last two albums have featured wall-to-wall covers of Frank Sinatra, a musician diametrically opposed […]
My record collection was once filled with so many great bands who formed in the 1960s and 1970s that some got short shrift. My mistake. Then, a few years ago, I finally went to see Savoy Brown for the first […]
Early this month, Amanda Palmer announced a new record, You Got Me Singing, that she has made with her father, Jack Palmer. Amanda — a founding member of the Dresden Dolls, leader of the Grand Theft Orchestra, singer-songwriter, performer, and writer — seems to […]
I feel a bit ridiculous dialing Judy Collins’s phone number in Manhattan for an interview. I presume she has been asked every question imaginable during her long, distinguished career in the music business, and I’m guessing that — like a […]
It’s unfortunately happened to too many talented musicians. They release record after record and get good reviews, but — for reasons sometimes unexplainable — the albums don’t sell. Consider Dirk Hamilton, who released four albums on big labels — two […]
Hey, everybody. Time to stop thinking you can figure out Bob Dylan’s next move. Haven’t the past fifty years taught us anything on that front? His new record, Fallen Angels, continues in the rich and all-American vein of the one […]
Every art form goes through periods of intense transformation as artists discover new avenues and new methods to express themselves through the medium. Television is currently experiencing such a revolution, driven in part by advancements in streaming technology and the […]
In my continuing effort to highlight DJs from all over the world, I present Rolf Hierath from Germany. He is a big Johnny Cash fan and does no less then three weekly radio shows. Bill Frater: Where and when did you […]
