by S. Victor Aaron Love ’em or hate ’em, Styx was part of many an American boy’s soundtrack of the late 70s and early 80s. When I think of arena rock, the first two bands I think of are Journey and Styx; both bands encapsulated everything that was good andRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When we last visited a George Benson recording, it was about his remake of the still fresh-out-the-oven Abbey Road. Fast forward seven years later, to 1976: Benson had just ended his long and artistically successful stint with CTI Records, having been enticed back to the majorsRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When I lived in a college dormitory, a guy down the hall from me turned me on to this ECM record Silent Feet by Eberhard Weber. The two long tracks and the one even longer track were entrancing to me, like going on this audial odyssey.Read More

by Mark Saleski A friend of mine, who is just beginning to dip his toe into the pool of jazz, asked me if I thought he was “ready” for Bitches Brew. That’s a tricky question, no matter who is doing the asking. The generic answer, suitable for use in nearlyRead More

by Nick DeRiso Several of Muddy Waters‘ great sidemen — Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and Otis Spann — appear on the loose and funky “Southside Blues Jam,” originally issued by Chicago’s Delmark Records. Funny, for all their marquee value, Wells and Guy — Buddy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana —Read More

by Nick DeRiso Led Zeppelin wasn’t always this thundering, then nimble, amalgamation. The band’s first album had, on its surface, only a copycat kind of appeal. Recorded over just 30 hours, these songs were presented in the same way Zeppelin would have done them on stage at the time —Read More

By Mark Saleski. It’s funny how ideas can get to bouncin’ around in your head. I mentioned this week’s PGA Championship tournament to a co-worker and after a little discussion about Tiger/Phil/Etc., I turned back to my computers. By then, I was a little distracted. OK, so I’m easily distracted.Read More

by Pico Yesterday, singer/songwriter Bobby Hebb passed away at age 72 after losing a battle with lung cancer. Maybe the name isn’t familiar to you, but his #2 hit song from 1966 “Sunny” should be. Aside from his original version, it was covered by Cher, Georgie Fame and Stanley TurrentineRead More

by S. Victor Aaron As the sixties turned into the seventies, soul, like rock, got tougher and edgier. In 1971 alone, Sly Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Gil Scott-Heron‘s Pieces Of A Man raised the stakes in R&B that was serious, far-reaching andRead More

‘The Köln Concert’ still sounds as fresh and honest as it did when Keith Jarrett composed these songs in front of a live audience.