Archive for August, 2011

Vinyl

Half Notes: Bryan Carter – Enchantment (2011)

The young man pictured on the CD cover looks barely out of his teens and in fact it’s the picture of a twenty-year-old Bryan Carter, and drummer and composer out of Chicago and a junior a Juilliard at the time of the album’s recording last December. But everything else aboutRead More

Vinyl

Rockpile – Live at Montreux 1980 (2011)

Rockpile (maybe the first neoclassicist rockers?) opened the door for every throwback moment of the coming decade — not to mention new wave. Yet this late 1970s-era rockabillying power-pop supergroup came and went so quickly, they rarely get their due. You May Also Like: For ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Meeting GeorgeRead More

Vinyl

Mike Zito – Greyhound (2011)

Mike Zito’s new release Greyhound moves with impressive force between acoustic story songs, and these grinding, hellhound-chased blues-rock numbers. You May Also Like: Mike Zito – First Class Life (2018) Mike Zito – ‘Resurrection’ (2021) Mike Zito – ‘Blue Room’ (1998, 2018 reissue)

Vinyl

Half Notes: King's X: XV (2008)

by Tom Johnson X equals 10 and V equals 5. So that’s 10 to the tenth power times 5 … carry the 1 … whatever. It’s higher math, but this was, believe it or not, the group’s 15th album. I’m going out on a limb here — I can’t imagineRead More

Vinyl

Skip Heller – Homegoing (2002)

by Mark Saleski Artists deserving wider recognition. You see this kind of thing all the time in music polls. And do they ever gain wider recognition? Not usually. You May Also Like: Vertical Horizon – ‘The Lost Mile’ (2018) The Bangles, Dream Syndicate + Others – ‘3 X 4’ (2019)

Vinyl

Half Notes: Eugene Marlow's Heritage Ensemble – A Fresh Take (2011)

Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble’s follow-up to last year’s Celebrations CD is also its predecessor. Let me explain. Marlow’s first Heritage Ensemble record, Making The Music Our Own (2006) was Marlow’s first stab at making a record of modern, multicultural takes on old Hebraic (Jewish) music. Since that album was recorded,Read More

Vinyl

Rory Gallagher – Fresh Evidence (1990, 2011 reissue)

An unexpected valedictory on a gone-too-soon talent, Rory Gallagher’s blues-rocking 1990 release Fresh Evidence reemerges today as part of a sweeping reissue project by Eagle Records that focuses on Gallagher’s late-period work. You May Also Like: Liam Gallagher – As You Were vs. Noel Gallagher – Who Built the Moon?Read More

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Alex Machacek, "Very Sad" (2011)

We’ve raved before about the thrilling pyrotechnic brilliance of Alex Machacek, one of the most exciting new voices in fusion guitar right now. You May Also Like: Nick Finzer, “Waking Up” from ‘Dreams, Visions, Illusions’ (2023): One Track Mind

Vinyl

Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch (2005)

by Mark Saleski Call me easily amused, by I’m a sucker for a girl who accompanies herself at the piano by whackin’ a chair with a drumstick. That was how Regina Spektor sang the sassy “Poor Little Rich Boy.” One hand for piano chords, the other for abusing a woodenRead More

Vinyl

Woody Witt – Pots and Kettles (2011)

If you’re a jazz fan in the Houston, Texas, area, you’ve surely heard of saxophonist Woody Witt. A tireless music educator around town, the manager and artistic director of one of Houston’s few jazz clubs, and a recording artist in his own right, Witt has a long list of credentialsRead More