Archive for April, 2015

Vinyl

Tommy Roe – Greatest Hits (1993): On Second Thought

Tommy Roe created pure and natural pop rock songs that were fun to sing along with, dance to, or simply make people feel good.

Which Yardbirds guitarist was better? Ritchie Blackmore decides: 'He doesn’t have many ideas'

Which Yardbirds guitarist was better? Ritchie Blackmore decides: ‘He doesn’t have many ideas’

The Yardbirds once boasted two legends in Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Ritchie Blackmore, of Deep Purple and Rainbow, put their talents in perspective.

David Bowie's Let's Dance illustrated the durability of Chic's hitmaking sound

David Bowie’s Let’s Dance illustrated the durability of Chic’s hitmaking sound

Credit David Bowie for understanding how to cast his latest iteration. But also Chic for having the goods to make that nascent vision a reality.

Vinyl

Circus, “Stop Wait and Listen / I Need Your Love” (1972): One Track Mind

Had this been Circus’ lone contribution they would still inspire awe – since “Stop Wait and Listen” is truly one of the greatest singles of all time.

Vinyl

Albatre, Cactus Truck + Dead Neanderthals – The New Wave of Dutch Heavy Jazz (2015)

If this terrific collaboration between Dutch jazz heavies is ‘The New Wave of Dutch Heavy Jazz,’ then let the waves roll over us.

Vinyl

The Moody Blues’ John Lodge, “10,000 Light Years Ago” (2015): One Track Mind

John Lodge displays a welcome willingness to build a bridge to the future from a well-known foundation of the Moody Blues’ past.

Vinyl

Fleetwood Mac’s overlong Say You Will sorely missed Christine McVie

Christine McVie’s absence from ‘Say You Will,’ released this week in 2003, left Fleetwood Mac critically unbalanced. They could have used an editor, too.

Daryl Hall on how MTV ruined a huge Hall and Oates hit: 'It was really, really frustrating'

Daryl Hall on how MTV ruined a huge Hall and Oates hit: ‘It was really, really frustrating’

Though they came of age in the singer-songwriter 1970s, Hall and Oates found their biggest successes in the video-obsessed decade that followed.

Vinyl

Sonny Landreth, “Bound by the Blues” (2015): One Track Mind

Sonny Landreth reminds us just how important the blues is, as both foundation and (maybe most importantly) as launching pad.

Vinyl

Gary Burton in Nashville: 1960’s Tennessee Firebird was a fusion album like no other

Gary Burton’s country-jazz experiment ‘Tennessee Firebird’ broke every rule. He joins Tom Wilmeth to discuss a gutsy decision to record in Nashville.