Archive for April 12th, 2014

Vinyl

Jesse Winchester (1944-2014): An Appreciation

So, have all your passionate violins play a tune for a Tennessee kid … You May Also Like: Jeff Beck (1944-2023): An Appreciation Glen Campbell (1936-2017): An Appreciation Jim Pembroke, of Wigwam (1946-2021): An Appreciation

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One Track Mind: Dave Mason, “Dear Mr. Fantasy” from Future’s Past (2014)

Dave Mason has returned, after too long away, to his birthright in Traffic — but, interestingly, not from the typical nostaglic perspective. Instead, he’s reworked “Dear Mr. Fantasy” as a searing blues rumination, steering the psychedelic Traffic classic in a completely different direction. You May Also Like: Dave Mason, AprilRead More

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‘This is gonna be hard to believe’: Former frontman ignored Journey once Steve Perry took over

When Robert Fleischman, Journey’s pre-Steve Perry frontman, tells you he’s never looked back, he means it. Gone since 1977, Fleischman is preparing to release a new album having largely ignored his old band ever since. You May Also Like: How Journey Ended Its Underrated First Era With ‘Next’

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‘Pretty raw, and pretty fresh’: On the first-take genius of Stax stars like Otis Redding

The wonder, in listening to ageless sides from Stax Records stars like Otis Redding, was how often they came from one-take performances. Too, these songs were typically written just days, or even hours, beforehand. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary ConcertRead More

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Books: Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues, by John Wirt (2014)

Despite his sweeping influence — not to mention rollicking classics like the song that inspired this book title – Huey “Piano” Smith remains this endlessly enigmatic figure. An excerpt from John Wirt’s new comprehensive, first-ever biography, courtesy of LSU Press, takes us inside the moment when “Rocking Pneumonia and theRead More

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‘I hung on every note’: Happenstance led to Charlie Daniels’ collaboration with Bob Dylan

Charlie Daniels’ one of country music’s best-known outlaws, found a kindred spirit in Bob Dylan — a rebel who, Daniels says, refused “to do anything except what he felt like he did best.” They only met, however, because another sessions guitarist couldn’t make it. You May Also Like: How theRead More

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‘He seemed to have fallen in a rut’: Foreigner’s Mick Jones on a Paul McCartney collaboration that never happened

Long before he co-founded Foreigner, Mick Jones palled around with the Fab Four during the heady days of Beatlemania in 1964. Fast forward a decade, and he could be found working as a sideman on George Harrison’s Dark Horse album. Hopes to collaborate with Paul McCartney, however, have yet toRead More

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‘I have to listen to it instead’: Hall and Oates star can’t go for music in bed

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. It might not be the first question that you’d ask a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Then again, ask just about any other similarly recognized legend, and you might not get such a no-BS answer, either. You May Also Like: Why ‘AbandonedRead More

Vinyl

Chicken Diamond – My Name is Charles ‘Chicken’ Diamond (2014)

When I asked Chicken Diamond what’s the name of his upcoming record, he replied, “This is simply named: ‘My Name is Charles ‘Chicken’ Diamond’. Albert Ayler style.” You May Also Like: Chicken Diamond – Skeleton Coast (2018) Chicken Diamond – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (2016) Little Freddie KingRead More

(Cross the) Heartland: Pat Metheny, “Ozark” (1981)

(Cross the) Heartland: Pat Metheny, “Ozark” (1981)