Search Results for: Graded on a Curve

Graded on a Curve:
Lady Gaga,
“Poker Face”

Celebrating Lady Gaga, born on this day in 1986. —Ed. I’ll be the first to admit I sold Lady Gaga short when she detonated like a hyper-sexualized glitter bomb on the pop scene with her 2008 debut LP The Fame. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta sounded like a brazen Madonna copycat to me, and if there’s […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
High Llamas,
Hey Panda

Hey Panda, the new release from the enduring English outfit the High Llamas, is an immersion and distension of contemporary pop music from a man, one Sean O’Hagan, long known for reinvigorating sounds from the past. But with strong songwriting and a respectful approach at its core, the endeavor succeeds with flying colors. The earned […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Yusef Lateef,
Eastern Sounds

There are certain jazz albums that transcend the genre and become timeless classics. Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef is one of those albums. It is a stirring, meditative musical excursion of sound, that could be considered a precursor of world music, or even a more nuanced, textured, and varied early new age recording, without the […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Ron Carter,
Where?

Today, bassist-cellist-composer-bandleader Ron Carter is described without overstatement as a jazz ambassador, but flash back to the early 1960s and he was but one of many skilled young players on the scene. As talent attracts talent, Carter’s debut album Where? is as notable for its sidemen as it is for spotlighting an artist destined for […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Aerosmith,
Toys in the Attic

Celebrating Steven Tyler on his 76th birthday. —Ed. Back in the day I went back on forth on Boston Very Baked Beans like a yoyo–liked ‘em in high school, loathed ‘em in college, then did what any sane person would do and put ‘em out of mind altogether. “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” didn’t exactly […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Creation Rebel,
High Above Harlesden 1978–2023

The UK-based dub behemoth Creation Rebel returned last year with Hostile Environment, an album as pleasurable to the ear as it was an unexpected development. Smartly sustaining the positive energy, the On-U Sound label is releasing High Above Harlesden 1978–2023 as a 6CD boxset and digital download, plus corresponding vinyl reissues of the group’s debut […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Elton John,
Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road

Celebrating Elton John on his 77th birthday. —Ed. “Ridicule,” said Oscar Wilde, “is the tribute paid to genius by mediocrities.” Such would seem to be the case with one Sir Elton Hercules John. Esteemed critic Robert Christgau once wrote him off as a “puling phony,” while Charles Shaar Murray dismissed him as “Elton Schmelton.” Even […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blood Sweat & Tears 3

Does anybody out there actually LIKE Blood, Sweat & Tears? I mean, is it even POSSIBLE? Actually I know it’s possible because my friend Rick Piel likes them, openly admits it, and I’m doing my best to forgive him. Then again, what’s NOT to like about them? The bloviating brass? The rearguard horn arrangements of […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Lee Scratch Perry,
Rainford

Remembering Lee Scratch Perry in advance of his birthdate tomorrow. —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 […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Outer World,
“Who Does the Music Love?”

Outer World is the new project of Kenneth Close and Tracy Wilson, the couple previously noted as half of the Richmond, VA outfit Positive No. “Who Does the Music Love?” is Outer World’s debut, a 7-song mini-LP joining myriad other releases that were shaped by the COVID era, but with a particularly negative impact in […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Wilson Pickett,
Hey Jude

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 […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
White Witch,
A Spiritual Greeting

Here’s a joke for ya: What do you call a glam rock band coming out of Florida in the early seventies? Deceased. Because as everybody knows Gator Country was Southern Rock territory, the natural-born stomping grounds of the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Outlaws and a slew of lesser lights. And if there was […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Lightnin’ Hopkins,
Lightnin’ Hopkins

Remembering Lightnin’ Hopkins, born on this day in 1912. —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 […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Dredd Foole & The Din,
Songs in Heat

Mission of Burma were one of the best (and most abrasive) bands to emerge from post-punk Boston, and it’s a crying shame that their career was cut obscenely short in 1983 as a result of vocalist/ guitarist Roger Miller’s tinnitus. They left behind a 1981 EP and a 1982 full-length, and that would be all […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with Shirley Scott, Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen

Remembering Shirley Scott, born on this day in 1934. —Ed. Credited to tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with organist Shirley Scott, Craft Recordings’ 4LP/4CD/digital set Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums offers 23 tracks cut during three 1958 sessions recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and first released as three separate […]

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment
  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


  • Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text
  • Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text