Articles by: Nick DeRiso

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Solomon King – Medicine (2011)

Over the course of the striking, stripped-down Medicine, former Detroit autoworker Solomon King returns to that moment when the blues moved inexorably away from the uplift that defined gospel music, and ultimately toward rock ‘n’ roll and then hip hop. You May Also Like: How B.B. King Left Us WithRead More

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One Track Mind: Richard Nelson Large Ensemble, "Strive" (2011)

In most big bands, the guitarist functions as nothing more than a member of an expanded rhythm section — and for a while it seems like Richard Nelson (even though it’s his band, and all) had fallen into the same role on his forthcoming album You May Also Like: HenryRead More

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Gonzalo Rubalcaba – Fe’ … Faith (2011)

Intense and beautiful, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s new Fe’ … Faith, is this meditative wonder. Like the earth making its inevitable yearly circle, Rubalcaba returns time after time to themes and thoughts — but never approaches things exactly the same twice. You May Also Like: Susie Blue and the LonesomeRead More

Bill Champlin on 'Hard Habit to Break' 'After the Love Has Gone' + others: Gimme Five

Bill Champlin on ‘Hard Habit to Break’ ‘After the Love Has Gone’ + others: Gimme Five

Bill Champlin discusses his contributions to Chicago, working with Toto, and how lounge-singer Robert Goulet almost got one of his gigs.

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Bill Champlin, formerly of Chicago: Something Else! Interview

Bill Champlin, who co-founded the Bay Area’s Sons of Champlin, is perhaps best known for a nearly three-decade tenure in Chicago.

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Something Else! sneak peek: Paul McCartney, "Coming Up" (remastered audio stream)

To get you ready for the Concord Music Group’s deluxe June 14 reissue of Paul McCartney’s 1970 solo debut McCartney as well as 1980’s McCartney II, here’s a new remastered audio stream of “Coming Up” You May Also Like: Paul McCartney, “Check My Machine” (1980): One Track Mind

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One Track Mind: ANT-BEE, featuring Peter Banks, "Endless Journey" (2011)

“Endless Journey,” a thrilling little space-rock number by ANT-BEE, begins appropriately enough: With a countdown and then a rocket launch. The unmistakable tone of Peter Banks’ guitar floats by next You May Also Like: Flash [Featuring Yes Co-Founder Peter Banks] – ‘In the USA Live 1972-73’ (2022) Robbie Dupree, Chicago,Read More

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Kevin Godley, co-founder of 10cc: Something Else! Interview

Kevin Godley talks about 10cc, Creme and Gouldman, his lost musical experiment with the Gizmo, and the dangers of working as a video director.

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Half Notes: Jessie Marquez, "La Herida (The Wound)" (2011)

Listening, you’d be hard pressed to place Jessie Marquez, a sensual American singer with Cuban roots, anywhere near her hometown of Eugene, Ore. There is something so otherworldly, so richly textured, so intimate and humid and spicy about tracks like “La Herida.” Written by Gustavo Rodriguez, this redemptive tune isRead More

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Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011): An Appreciation

Musician and street poet Gil Scott-Heron, best known for “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” died today. Cause of death was not immediately known; he was 62. Scott-Heron started out at the dawn of the 1970s as a jazz-inclined R&B singer and spoken-word performer, a rapper years before the genreRead More