John Oates' Change of Seasons
In his often entertaining, sometimes flat-as-pavement new memoir, Change of Seasons, John Oates energetically delivers a portrait of an artist as a man in search, superficially at least, of himself. Oates displays his typical manic energy in these pages as he jumps from his childhood and youth in New York
Sun Ra and NRBQ
Sun Ra----Singles---The Definitive 45s Collection 1952-1991: 63 tracks, a lot more than the one on the Evidence label (this is on Strut), and from the original masters, while at least some of the Evidence collection was from the low-budget 7" vinyls. Sounds great, and while the guest singers (who
Songs of the Mystic
This is the second installment in a continuing series each St. Patrick’s Day, using modern and traditional Irish music to explore Irish history (the first entry, Songs of Hunger, can be found here). Artists featured in this article include Van Morrison, Alison Krauss, The Chieftains, Enya, and The Pogues.
Dave Rowe--- Maine's Modern Folk Troubadour
Perhaps I should clarify. Modern folk to me is the era of The Kingston Trio and Peter Paul & Mary and Pete Seeger. At one time, the folkies ruled the roost. I know because I have been alive that long. Dave Rowe knows because his father, Tom Rowe, was a
Riding the Mystery Train with Tim Rakel
It's time to give a special nod to all the wonderful community — mostly volunteer — radio stations across the U.S. Many of these stations have no outside network feeds, just an eclectic mix of music shows, entirely locally programmed. St. Louis' KDHX is one of those stations,
'In the Ground' by the Gibson Brothers Soars
The Gibson Brothers' new recording, In the Ground from Rounder Records, stands out for its musicality, meaningfulness, and structure. Like a sophisticated classical song cycle, each song stands alone, but as a part of the greater whole each encompasses the Gibson Brothers' lives and experience, taking on a