Archive for November, 2015

Yes, “I’ve Seen All Good People” from The Yes Album (1971): YESterdays

Yes, “I’ve Seen All Good People” from The Yes Album (1971): YESterdays

Yes’ “I’ve Seen All Good People” uses a number of elements not commonly found in rock. But it all comes together to form an unlikely masterpiece.

Vinyl

A side-stage Svengali, Allen Toussaint found musical salvation in Katrina

Allen Toussaint, who has died at 77, was always content to work behind the scenes – until a devastating storm swept him from New Orleans.

Vinyl

Mose Allison – American Legend, Live In California (2015)

Mose Allison’s ‘American Legend, Live In California’ reminds us that we’re lucky to have him because he’s the first and the last of the line.

Vinyl

Aram Bajakian – Music Inspired By ‘The Color of Pomegranates’ (2015)

As a subversive within the musical realm, Aram Bajakian connected with a subversive director and like the film, effectively said much without any words at all.

Vinyl

Erik Friedlander – Oscalypso (2015)

For ‘Oscalypso’, Erik Friedlander makes the case for cello as a lead jazz instrument the same way his hero Oscar Pettiford once did.

Vinyl

Michael Hedges – Aerial Boundaries (1985, 2015 SACD remaster)

Michael Hedges did nothing less than bring the acoustic guitar into the New Age realm and completely conquer it within the space of this record.

John Oates has never abandoned Hall and Oates’ classic Luncheonette: ‘The best album we ever made’

John Oates has never abandoned Hall and Oates’ classic Luncheonette: ‘The best album we ever made’

The rootsy realism of Hall and Oates’ ‘Abandoned Luncheonette,’ released on Nov. 3, 1973, is a source of inspiration for John Oates, too.

Toto, “Gift With a Golden Gun” from Turn Back (1981): Toto Tuesdays

Toto, “Gift With a Golden Gun” from Turn Back (1981): Toto Tuesdays

Toto aimed for a streamlined feel on ‘Turn Back,’ and this opening track is a competent – though not exactly perfect – execution of that strategy.

Vinyl

‘1974: The Promotion Man – New York City,’ by Dave Morrell (2015): Books

Dave Morrell paints a vivid picture of the 1970s music business, punctuated by memorable hangs with musical idols like John Lennon and Ron Wood.

Vinyl

ELO’s Jeff Lynne on his career-changing introduction to George Harrison: ‘It was like a dream come true’

Jeff Lynne, the Electric Light Orchestra frontman, had met old friend Dave Edmunds for dinner when George Harrison’s name suddenly came up.