Forgotten series: Phil Collins – Face Value (1981)

Face Value is a fulcrum for fans of both Phil Collins and the band he had just begun leading, Genesis. Thought of, if its thought of at all anymore, as a divorce record (thanks to its two hits, “I Missed Again” and “In the Air Tonight”), Face Value is something much different in the listening. Rather than wallowing in what [...]

Twinray – The Train You’re On (2010)

by Nick DeRiso Twinray has produced a cloud-parting blast of pop-rock buoyancy with The Train You’re On, recorded with producer/engineer Sean O’Keefe (Plain White T’s, Fallout Boy, Hawthorn Heights). Their endless enthusiasm informs both the subject matter, and the merry experimentation that propels the Chicago-based band’s genre-bending sound. “Do You Wanna Go,” a crisp rocker that opens The Train You’re [...]

Robert Hurst – Unrehurst, Volume 2 (2011)

by S. Victor Aaron Robert Hurst is a guy I remember being Wynton Marsalis’ bassist in the late 1980s, before performing in the same capacity for Branford’s Tonight Show band. From there, I don’t recall much. But that’s on me because in reality, Hurst has kept very busy: he’s served as a sideman for everyone from Lou Rawls to Keb’ [...]

Half Notes: Shawn Costantino – Waltz For Anne (2011)