All Due Respect, SGT. PEPPER, Sir, but in 1967, it's the BASEMENT TAPES for Me
One Man's Opinion on the Rock & Roll Canon: Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums-#1
In 1967, through Sgt. Pepper's and The Basement Tapes, we see popular music going two distinct directions. The Beatles explored the unknown and Dylan and the Band kept it
"I've Got a Mind to Give Up Living"
Songs that become standards are like a rorschach test for a musician, and while working on my book Crossroads, which will focus on the interactions between the genres of blues and rock, it’s been both fun and instructive to listen to various versions of the same song. “I’ve
Lost Record of the Week: Neko Case, Furnace Room Lullaby
I think maybe I have an unfair advantage with this week’s album, and next week’s choice too (Corb Lund’s Horse Soldier Horse Soldier): I already know and love these artists. But somehow, there are albums that I never got around to listening to, and I keep the
Review: Honky Tonk Hustlas- South of Nashville
Located way south of Nashville, both geographically and musically, Alabama's Honky Tonk Hustlas is the type of band who knows how to keep tradition alive without being stuck in the past. Led by guitarist and vocalist T. Junior and making great use of the upright bass and fiddle,
Review: Robbie Robertson, How to Become a Clairvoyant
Originally published at Blogcritics.org
It has been more than ten years since Robbie Robertson, he of The Band, has put out a new record, but come April 5 that vacuum will be filled. He has a new album, How to Become a Clairvoyant, and it's a gem.
“South of the Border”: The Sexual Politics of Autry and Sinatra
I was listening to a Gene Autry record yesterday--by the way, if you don’t own any Autry recordings you should get your hands on some. I know I had heard him sing “South of the Border” (recorded in 1939) at some point, but I hadn’t thought too