Amos Lee Celebrates Songs and ‘Singular’ Talent of Lucinda Williams
Amos Lee’s relationship with Lucinda Williams was personal even before he got to meet her.
He first heard her songs, mostly from her then-new Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, on radio station WXPN in Philadelphia, just as he was starting to write songs himself. But he hesitates to
ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘Dirt on My Diamonds,’ Kenny Wayne Shepherd Puts Out a Blues Buffet
It's been a while since Kenny Wayne Shepherd was a child prodigy. In 1995, at age 18, Shepherd's debut, Ledbetter Heights, sold half a million copies, and the follow-up, 1997’s Trouble Is ..., earned him a Grammy nod. Now 46, Shepherd has a thick folio of
ALBUM REVIEW: Dolly Parton’s Got the Glitz, But ‘Rockstar’ Doesn’t Shine
Let’s get this out of the way first: Dolly Parton is no rock singer. Her vocal register lacks the depth and range to reach down into her gut for snarling growls or to modulate into a ringing falsetto. She sings with a crystalline purity that’s well suited to
ALBUM REVIEW: Along for the Ride on John Vincent III’s ‘Songs for the Canyon’
Sometimes a sketch is enough.
John Vincent III’s “More than Alive” is little more than acoustic guitar and gentle vocals. There’s a little fretless bass here, some effected guitar ambience there, but the song itself is as sparse as the Texas road it takes place upon and as
ALBUM REVIEW: Luther Dickinson Makes ‘Magic Music’ For the Entire Family
North Mississippi Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson isn't climbing any rural hills on his latest outing, Magic Music for Family Folk. It's billed as a kids album, but the content here is for children of all ages.
It's a real family affair, with Dickinson'
THE READING ROOM: Jeff Tweedy Preaches the Power of Songs
With World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music, Jeff Tweedy completes a trilogy of meditative books that offer windows into his life, his songwriting, and, now, his deeply personal take on how songs shape a life.
In 2018, Tweedy conducted readers on