Articles by: Nick DeRiso

Vinyl

Paul McCartney and Wings – Band on the Run (1973, 2010 reissue)

Paul McCartney’s “Band on the Run” still represents the creative highpoint of his career away from the Beatles, nearly four decades later. So, to paraphrase a tune here, what’s the use in repackaging the thing again? Well, a brilliant remaster of the original tapes, which have always been a littleRead More

Vinyl

Otis Rush, "Live in Europe" (1993)

By Nick DeRiso Otis Rush is the star-crossed guitar god, always in the right place at the wrong time. Close but no rock star. That despite his role as a principal architect of the modern Chicago blues-guitar vernacular, and a memorably emotional style of singing that echoes some of theRead More

Vinyl

Something Else! sneak peek: Cassandra Wilson, with Ravi Coltrane, "Silver Moon" (2010)

Here’s a free mp3 download of Cassandra Wilson’s “Silver Moon,” a tune featuring saxophonist Ravi Coltrane from the forthcoming Blue Note recording Silver Pony. A hybrid live/studio album set for release on Nov. 9, Silver Pony features live songs from a European tour and studio work done at New Orleans’Read More

Vinyl

Christina Gaudet – Solid (2010)

By Nick DeRiso For all of her wandering, Allen Toussaint remains this touchstone for New Orleans-born vocalist Christina Gaudet. But Gaudet doesn’t let her lasting affinity for a hometown soul legend pigeonhole her wider ambitions on Solid, though it’s subtitled “Featuring new songs by Allen Toussaint.” She’s particularly adept atRead More

Vinyl

Download: Paul McCartney and Wings, "A Trip to Lagos" (2010)

Here’s a free download of “A Trip To Lagos,” part of a new re-release package for Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1973 smash “Band on the Run,” set for Nov. 2. McCartney personally supervised all aspects of this new reissue, with remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the sameRead More

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Gail Jhonson, "Do Something Else" (2010)

By Nick Deriso It’s no surprise that a performer who got her start working with funny funkster Morris Day settles into a lightly swinging keyboard groove from the first on “Do Something Else.” Why do anything else? After all, Gail Jhonson wrote the book on neo-soul piano. Literally: her publishedRead More

Vinyl

Jimi Hendrix – The Guitar Hero (2010): Movies

“The Guitar Hero” moves away from the tabloid side of the Jimi Hendrix myth, instead delving into the American guitarist’s sweeping impact on rock music and the instrument. That makes director Jon Brewer’s film not so much a biography, per se, as it is tone-poem love letter to Hendrix’s muse,Read More

Vinyl

Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter – Bourgeois Blues (1997)

Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was a man of sweeping appetites, for songs, for drink and for life. This made his music rugged and true, but also got him into his share of big trouble. Very big. Ledbetter, born on Jan. 29, 1885 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, La., wouldRead More

Vinyl

John Lennon – Double Fantasy: Stripped Down (2010)

With each layer of studio gimmickry that falls away, we hear more distinctly the way John Lennon was coming to terms with middle age.

Vinyl

Gimme Five: Forgotten jazz gems from Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Ron Carter/Jim Hall, Oliver Nelson and Nat Adderley

by Nick DeRiso Even a passing fan can purchase with some confidence the touchstone jazz recordings of the last century. But what next? How to explore deeper into the legacy? SomethingElse! is here to help, with an ongoing guide to what we like to call “if/then” jazz listening … IFRead More