Archive for February, 2022

How Journey Ended Its Underrated First Era With ‘Next’

How Journey Ended Its Underrated First Era With ‘Next’

Released 45 years ago this month, the powerful and pleasantly pompous ‘Next’ is Journey’s best pre-Steve Perry album.

HBO Max’s ‘Peacemaker’ and Glam Metal: Kiss Me Deadly

HBO Max’s ‘Peacemaker’ and Glam Metal: Kiss Me Deadly

‘Peacemaker’ probably would have been fun without the interesting musical choices, but its glam-metal soundtrack makes the HBO Max series so much better.

Jovian Tea, “Strange World” / “Red and Green Talking Machine” (2022): One Track Mind

Jovian Tea, “Strange World” / “Red and Green Talking Machine” (2022): One Track Mind

Jovian Tea’s new single is a masterstroke of paisley-powered whimsy, recalling a mingling between ‘Emotions’-era Pretty Things and early Pink Floyd.

Nels Cline + Ben Monder, Feb. 22, 2022: Shows I’ll Never Forget

Nels Cline + Ben Monder, Feb. 22, 2022: Shows I’ll Never Forget

Extraordinary music usually results when extraordinary musicians like Nels Cline and Ben Monder step out of their comfort zones and put themselves in challenging situations that gives them no other out but to lean on their innate sense of creativity.

Vinyl

King Crimson, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp + Others: My Top 10 Vinyl Spins

In 2021, my vinyl collection grew substantially — and for me, it’s evolved into a bit of an addiction.

FISHBLOT [Ryan Blotnick + Danny Fisher-Lochhead] – ‘small talk’ (2022)

FISHBLOT [Ryan Blotnick + Danny Fisher-Lochhead] – ‘small talk’ (2022)

FISHBLOT’s ‘small talk’ culls together music from Danny Fisher-Lochhead / Ryan Blotnick sessions that is easily relatable but impossible to categorize.

Dan Tedesco, alt-folk rocker: Something Else! Interview

Dan Tedesco, alt-folk rocker: Something Else! Interview

Self-proclaimed “alt-folk rock” songwriter Dan Tedesco joined Erik Ritland to discuss releasing albums “horizontally instead of vertically.”

John Mayall – ‘Road Show Blues’ (1980; 2022 reissue)

John Mayall – ‘Road Show Blues’ (1980; 2022 reissue)

Through it all, John Mayall resisted the commercial call and just played a mean, authentic and very defiant British boogie-rocking and heaven-sent blues.

Steely Dan, “A Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry” from ‘Northeast Corridor’ (2021): Steely Dan Sunday

Steely Dan, “A Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry” from ‘Northeast Corridor’ (2021): Steely Dan Sunday

Steely Dan closes the ‘Northeast Corridor’ live album with a genteel performance of a blues-jazz song Joe Williams made famous.

Gordon Grdina – ‘Oddly Enough: The Music of Tim Berne’ (2022)

Gordon Grdina – ‘Oddly Enough: The Music of Tim Berne’ (2022)

With ‘Oddly Enough,’ Gordon Grdina’s own stringed-based expedition into the works of one of current jazz’s most esoteric composers sheds yet more light on the character, shape and genius contained in these scores.