Articles by: Nick DeRiso

John Oates, "Mississippi Mile" (2011): One Track Mind

John Oates, “Mississippi Mile” (2011): One Track Mind

“Mississippi Mile,” a country-inflected blues, finds John Oates right up close, even as his band sets about making this rafter-rattling ruckus.

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Deep Cuts: Sting, "Island of Souls" (1991)

“The Soul Cages,” a Sting album about boyhood grief, remains this strangely powerful if demanding narrative, one with textured song structures and densely emotional themes. Its triumph comes right away, though, on the opener “Island of Souls” — a compellingly dark, perfectly conceived tale of a riveter’s son whose dreamRead More

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Jon Anderson on Yes’ “Roundabout,” “Gates of Delirium” + others: Gimme Five

Jon Anderson, co-founder and former long-time vocalist of the legendary progressive rock band Yes, shares unique insights into some of his more memorable tracks.

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Jon Anderson, former Yes frontman: Something Else! Interview

After a difficult bout with respiratory problems, Jon Anderson has returned with a furious creativity

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Tom Levin – Tooth and Claw (2011)

We find no uncluttered answers on Tom Levin’s sumptuous, vaguely fatalistic Tooth and Claw. In fact, oftentimes the questions themselves for this former New Music Weekly Awards AC male artist of the year are almost unbearable. You May Also Like: No related posts.

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Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (2011)

Paul Simon’s new record, his first since 2006’s dense Brian Eno-collaboration Surprise, is a career-spanning, sometimes duskily ruminative, quirk-splashed triumph — simultaneously bold in its constructions and timeless in its themes. You May Also Like: How ‘Paul Simon’ Set the Template for a Career of Dizzying Musical Exploration

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Karl Grambo and the Roadhouse Redeemers – Bedrooms, Bars and Bibles (2011)

Karl Grambo and the Roadhouse Redeemers have a rollicking, greasy good time on Bedrooms, Bars and Bibles. The only complaint is that the party, which clocks in at just eight songs, ends so quickly. Grambo opens with “I Was There,” featuring this grinding, grumpy riff and a gravelly, insistent voiceRead More

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Gimme Five: Orrin Evans on "Captain Black," "Commitment," "Jena 6," others

On this special edition of Something Else! Reviews’ One Track Mind, we hand the reins over to Orrin Evans You May Also Like: Bill Evans – Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017)

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Something Else! Interview: Orrin Evans, jazz pianist, composer and bandleader

Orrin Evans arrived amidst a wave of new jazz performers in the early 1990s. Unlike many of those young lions, however, he managed to bob up from that era’s ultimately empty retro-conservatism. You May Also Like: Johannes Wallmann, jazz pianist and bandleader: Something Else! Interview Bill Evans – Time Remembered,Read More

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One Track Mind: Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, "23-24-11" (2010)

“In the darkness,” Jon Anderson sings on this haunting track, “there is always a song for you.” His road back to us has been dark, indeed You May Also Like: Jon Anderson, of Yes and Anderson Rabin Wakeman: Something Else! Interview The Solo Song Where Jon Anderson Finally Reclaimed HisRead More