Sign in Become a member

Henry Carrigan

THE READING ROOM: Jane Eisner’s, 'Carole King: She Made the Earth Move'

THE READING ROOM: Jane Eisner’s, 'Carole King: She Made the Earth Move'

Carole King’s A Natural Woman (2012) remains one of the best music memoirs ever published. While many artists fill page after page with bawdy and salacious episodes on the road, in the motel room, on stage, and in the studio, King instead offers a measured and candid look back

THE READING ROOM: Muscle Shoals’ Hey Day Shines in New Book, ‘Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story, 1951-1985’

THE READING ROOM: Muscle Shoals’ Hey Day Shines in New Book, ‘Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story, 1951-1985’

From the 1960s through the 1980s, hip-shaking soul, funky rock, and soaring pop blared out of a tiny little corner in rural northwest Alabama. Muscle Shoals—part of the Quad Cities area that also includes Sheffield, Florence, and Tuscumbia—gained a reputation for the studios that defined a Southern soul

THE READING ROOM: The Best Music Books of 2025

THE READING ROOM: The Best Music Books of 2025

As the end of the year rolls around, so do the “best-of” lists. Overall, 2025 has been a good year for music books, with several outstanding biographies and autobiographies as well as some thoughtful critical analyses of music history. There is a book for everyone on this list of favorite

ALBUM REVIEW: Amy Speace Delivers on Emotional New Album, 'The Blue Rock Sessions'

ALBUM REVIEW: Amy Speace Delivers on Emotional New Album, 'The Blue Rock Sessions'

Over the summer, Amy Speace did a weeklong songwriting residency at the Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio in Wimberly, Texas. During the week, she had access to a recording studio for three hours with engineer Hayes Howard. She emerged from that collaboration with the sparsely arranged songs on her

THE READING ROOM: The Dead’s Epic Wall of Sound in Minute, Exquisite Detail on Brian Anderson’s ‘Loud and Clear’

THE READING ROOM: The Dead’s Epic Wall of Sound in Minute, Exquisite Detail on Brian Anderson’s ‘Loud and Clear’

Once upon a time, the Grateful Dead hung out in trees, dropping acid, and leading bands of Merry Pranksters dreamily along that golden road to eternal devotion. The darlings of psychedelic rock—or the pioneers of space bluegrass—the Dead opened their shows to the faithful: dancers with faraway eyes

ALBUM REVIEW: Tommy Talton Rides Again in ‘Seven Levels’

ALBUM REVIEW: Tommy Talton Rides Again in ‘Seven Levels’

Guitarist and songwriter Tommy Talton died on December 28, 2023. Fortunately for us, he and his band had gathered at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia, in April 2022 to lay down seven tracks that became his final recordings, now collected on Seven Levels. These songs feature Talton’s never-miss-a-note intimate

THE READING ROOM: Six Fall and Holiday Music Books To Read

THE READING ROOM: Six Fall and Holiday Music Books To Read

Fall is the big season for book publishers when they release books in large print with aspirations for low returns and blockbuster sales. Publishers also have the holidays in mind, and they’re hopeful that buyers will purchase a big biography or tell-it-all autobiography or gripping thriller for the friend