So many great records to rave about…and so little time to rave. Last year I started a new tradition with a “just one more list before we’re done with lists” kind of list. You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver – The Art Of The Improv Trio,Read More

Every one has had their individual say, made their choices, argued the point. Now, it’s time for consensus ruling from the bench: Here is The Official™ Top 10 for 2013 from Something Else! You May Also Like: How Black Sabbath’s Self-Titled Debut Invented a New Genre of Music How RobbenRead More

I certainly don’t claim to be any sort of expert on country music. I’m a metal kid from the sticks who was reintroduced to my country roots through Johnny Cash’s resurgence in the early 1990s. You May Also Like: Shooter Jennings – ‘Shooter’ (2018) How Loretta Lynn Broke the CountryRead More

Any time my year-end list starts with more than 20 candidates, it’s been a pretty metal year for me. That was the case for 2013 You May Also Like: Why Black Sabbath Went Out on a High Note With ’13’

Never mind that our readers’ top pick for 2013 was actually published on December 27, 2011. It’s part of a trend involving a certain mop-topped bunch. You May Also Like: How ‘Let It Be … Naked’ Led to Our New Understanding of the Beatles’ End

Old lions — namely Wayne Shorter, Boz Scaggs and James Cotton — certainly roared in 2013, putting out some of the most vital, present music of their careers. You May Also Like: Jerry Granelli, feat. Bill Frisell and Robben Ford – Dance Hall (2017) Boz Scaggs – Out Of TheRead More

Somehow, I ended up with a fair amount of country-ish material on this year’s list. How did that happen? You May Also Like: How Black Country Communion’s Debut Brought Back ’70s-Style Hard Rock Elvis Costello’s ‘The Delivery Man’ Once Again Resisted the Urge to Look Back Why Black Sabbath’s TonyRead More

I used to call this the “whack jazz” (or is that “wack” jazz?) list, but I found that term to be too restrictive for what’s being presented below. You May Also Like: Harrison Bankhead and Paul de Jong – ‘Freedom’ (2020) Bobby Kapp + Matthew Shipp – Cactus (2016) DavidRead More

The Band is revealed in all of its muscular, almost (but never completely) out-of-control on-stage glory — bolstered, in a meeting of musical worlds, by these stabbing horn charts from Allen Toussaint. You May Also Like: Jethro Tull – ‘The Zealot Gene’ (2022)

People like to make that joke about jazz not being dead — no, it just smells funny; har, har … oh, so clever — or they cling to the belief that nothing new has happened You May Also Like: Bill Frisell’s Timeless ‘Live’ Opened Up a New Musical World forRead More