Articles by: Nick DeRiso

Vinyl

Half Notes: David Gilmour – David Gilmour (1978)

Maybe because it’s the first Pink Floyd-related solo album I ever bought, but also because it came between two Roger Waters-heavy releases (Animals and then The Wall), this has always been a sleeper favorite for me. It’s a loose record, with some interesting instrumentals, never didactic — and anything butRead More

Vinyl

Pam Saulsby – The Full Measure of a Woman (2011)

Her album is populated with songs we’ve heard too often, sung in front of a band that’s bland and not engaging. It’s a lot for Pam Saulsby to overcome, but she does, and she does it with vigor. You May Also Like: Ella Fitzgerald, “Perdido” (1949): Appreciations Donna Deussen +Read More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Light in August, “Northern Lights” (2011)

From its first dramatic rat-a-tat, this undulating rhythm signature that plays off a driving acoustic riff, “Northern Lights” moves with a persistent ardor. Alex Wand’s vocal runs in tandem, even as the drums recede into the background, until he has finally, definitively captured the center of the song. It’s onlyRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Miles Davis – Doo Bop (1991)

Confession time: I still have a place in my heart for Miles Davis‘ oft-reviled last album Doo-Bop. Sure, taken as a hip hop album, it didn’t set any new standards. But taken as a jazz album looking to the future, it held lasting importance as the precursor to hybrid albumsRead More

Vinyl

Gimme Five: Toto’s Steve Lukather on "I Won’t Hold You Back," "99," "I’ll Be Over You"

On this special edition of Something Else! Reviews’ One Track Mind, we hand the reins over to Toto co-founder and legendary sessions guitarist Steve Lukather. He provides insight into “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “I’ll Be Over You,” You May Also Like: Toto’s Fahrenheit was more than the sumRead More

Vinyl

Steve Lukather, of Toto: Something Else! Interview

Steve Lukather discusses the complicated history of Toto’s lead singers, and why he still keeps a copy of ‘Meet the Beatles’ in heavy rotation – even today.

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Karrin Allyson, “April Come She Will” (2011)

Grammy-nominated singer and pianist Karrin Allyson starts “April Come She Will” in the same melancholy mood as the Simon and Garfunkel original, then pushes the tune into a gently swinging cadence. That rhythm, trickling along like a babbling brook, contrasts nicely with her wood-grained, country-inflected delivery of the lyric —Read More

Vinyl

Something Else! sneak peek: Aaron Comess, “Past, Present and Future” (2011)