Remembering Jerry Reed, born on this day in 1937. —Ed. A guitar picker extraordinaire and redneck comedian whose songs could almost be called funky, the late Jerry “Alabama Wild Man” Reed is one of my favorite country artists. Me, I’d love him if he’d never cut anything but “East Bound and Down” (the theme song […]
Remembering Lee Scratch Perry, born on this date in 1936. —Ed. Of records, legendary Jamaican producer Lee “Scratch” Perry has released a ton; setting aside the singles and EPs, his non-compilation album total is hovering near 100, and for an artist outside the jazz realm, that’s a considerable achievement. Of course, the number of individuals […]
Remembering Paul Atkinson, born on this day in 1946. —Ed. With three enduring hit singles, the last of which derives from a classic album that’s as redolent of its era as any, The Zombies aren’t accurately classified as underrated, but it’s also right to say that the potential of much of their catalog went unfulfilled […]
Remembering Wilson Pickett, born on this day in 1941. —Ed. Hear ye hear ye: I am going to begin this review of Alabama native son Wilson Pickett’s 1969 LP Hey Jude by stating right off that the title cut is one of the most phenomenal songs ever recorded, and is in fact so great I […]
Celebrating Bill Frisell on his 74th birthday. —Ed. Michael Gibbs is a musician of many facets, chalking up credits as a composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and instrumentalist on trombone and keyboard. However, much of his adult life has been devoted to teaching, a role that contributed to a relatively trim discography and a fairly modest […]
Remembering Nat King Cole, born on this day in 1919. —Ed. Nat King Cole’s enduring renown derives from his skill as a vocalist, but he’s also arguably the most underrated of jazz’s great pianists. The seven CDs or ten LPs comprising Hittin’ The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) do a stellar job of highlighting Cole’s […]
Robert Christgau once wrote, in the midst of a think piece about one of California’s chief 1970s exports, “Another thing that interests me about the Eagles is that I hate them.” I hate them too, but what’s more interesting is that I hate them while liking (or even loving) some of their music, which seems […]
Remembering Lightnin’ Hopkins in advance of his birthdate tomorrow. —Ed. Lightnin’ Sam Hopkins remains one of the crucial figures in the annals of the blues. By extension, he recorded a ton, and owning all his music will require diligence and a seriously long shelf. However, there are a few albums that are a must even for […]
Remembering Phil Lesh in advance of his birthdate tomorrow. —Ed. How many Deadheads does it take to change a light bulb? Six hundred and one. One to score the acid, and the other six hundred to stare slackjawed at the dead bulb and say, “Looks lit to me, man.” I know, it’s a shitty joke, […]
Celebrating Greg Norton, born on this day in 1959. —Ed. Lookee here; I didn’t become the world’s foremost rock critic (in my mind, baby, in my mind!) by keeping my crackpot opinions to myself. No, I share them with everybody, because the way I look at it, why should I suffer for my art when […]
As The Fall’s constant fount of creativity, vocalist-songwriter Mark E. Smith has attained a rare position in the rock pantheon, with the man and his band exhaustively covered in print form. And so, the publication of Excavate! The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall might seem an inessential item. However, the objective of editors […]
One of the albums that John Lennon released with Yoko Ono that has become part of his official discography is Live Peace in Toronto, released in December of 1969. The live album recorded in Toronto in September of 1969 when The Beatles were still officially together is one of the few live documents of Lennon […]
Any discussion of ‘70s-era pop-rock is incomplete without due time spent on Blondie, and vinyl mavens unversed in their essence can play catch-up in one fell swoop with Universal’s box set of the six LPs from the group’s original run. As no-frills as its title, Blondie offers exact reproductions and absolutely nothing extra; the totality […]
Celebrating Mark Stein, born on this day in 1947. —Ed. To soak up Vanilla Fudge’s talent as song-interpreters the best route is their eponymous ’67 debut. A further understanding of them as a singles act is most appropriately gleaned through the Rhino compilation Psychedelic Sundae. If an immersion into the multifaceted positives and negatives of […]
On March 21 Elemental Music concludes the impressive string of reissues that constitutes the label’s Motown Sound Collection with a 180-gram edition of The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack, the groundbreaking Norman Whitfield-produced LP from 1970. It’s an appropriate finale for a series that has divided its focus between the classic Motown approach to pop R&B and […]
