Bluegrass is wrongfully stereotyped as a traditional music with more than a little hayseed in its ears. Perhaps this stereotype grows out of its early emergence from its own source material, which was then emphasized by its use in television […]
I would have guessed that at least a few live performances of the Who’s famous, nearly 50-year-old rock opera would have been preserved on disc well before now. As it turns out, not only is that not the case but […]
Reviewing Raul Midón’s “sensational set” in New York in 2008, The New York Times said the singer-songwriter “suggested a three-way fusion of Stevie Wonder, Bobby McFerrin and José Feliciano.” So I ask Midón, who just released a new album, Bad […]
I had him on my short list. After Leonard Cohen left the building I did a quick mental survey of who was still standing from the generation right before my own and Chuck Berry, along with Little Richard and Jerry […]
It happened in June of 1967, before Woodstock and Altamont. The Beatles were still a band that had four singles in the top ten. Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits was released and it landed on the charts behind the Monkees, the […]
David Courtney put another feather in his cap in October when he became the first British songwriter to receive the prestigious Tsarskoselskaya Art Award in Russia. The award, given to Courtney for his composing and production work on Russian artist […]
Andy “Thunderclap” Newman died on March 30, aged 73. When I mentioned this to my colleagues at work, there was a universal “Who?”. Not what a musician would want, but Newman would probably have been delighted when, after I played […]
On Any Trouble’s new double album, Present Tense, longtime fans “will recognize our typical hallmarks — jangly guitars, melody, mostly uptempo tunes,” bandleader Clive Gregson says. “It’s perhaps a bit more reflective and mature [than previous albums] in the writing […]
The local library was holding their annual used book sale, and although I’m trying to thin my own herd of paper and ink, it seemed like it might be a good way to kill a little time. My hope was […]
Over the last few years, some of the biggest bands in rock history have been celebrating milestone anniversaries. 2012 found The Rolling Stones celebrating 50 years as a band, while The Who followed suit in 2013. Finally, 2015 found the […]
