revisiting the blasters' marie, marie
Back in the early eighties when I ran a record store on Wilshire in Santa Monica, my morning ritual for a couple years was to drop the needle on side one of this album at full volume as I turned the key and opened the doors. There was no other
The New Young Fogies: Documenting a New Generation of Old-Time
Released a few months ago, The New Young Fogies, vol. 1, is a compilation album of field recordings from a new generation of Appalachian old-time players. It's also a pure delight. About time someone took it on themselves to document some of the younger old-time musicians in the
CD Review - Brandi Carlile "Bear Creek"
It’d be nice if Brandi Carlile would go ahead and jump the fence into country territory instead of straddling it. Based on her performance on her latest, Bear Creek, she’s a hell of a lot easier to listen to than 99 percent of the all hat and no
American Aquarium - Burn.Flicker.Die
Ye and indeed Ha! Alt-Country has just spawned another great group
With a vocalist that spits out the lyrics, two gnarly guitars, a rhythm section that is as tight as a ducks bum and songs that are so honest, most groups can only dream of writing them, American Aquarium have
Eric Bibb / Habib Koite : Brothers In Bamako CD Review
“It’s my first visit to West Africa, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna feel like comin’ home,” Eric Bibb sings on his latest, Brothers in Bamako, a collaboration with Malian Habib Koite. It’s a great matchup: Bibb’s warm, buttery, soulful vocals fused with Koite’s
A Conversation with Noel Paul Stookey
If anyone has taken the title of Dylan's classic song, "Forever Young" to heart, it's Noel Paul Stookey. For the last 50 years he has been best known as Paul of the popular folk trio, Peter, Paul & Mary. In a recent phone conversation,