We’d like to make the argument for those times when Sammy Hagar’s edition of Van Halen, affectionately known as Van Hagar, was pretty good.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to Wrecking Ball. For going on a year now, it’s been riding around with me in the car, never making it into the player. Why? I just can’t. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Its very name speaks to the old ways, and keeping them as they always were. And for a long time, maybe too long, that’s the way it’s been with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Until now. You May Also Like: The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Down in New Orleans addedRead More

For Mickey Thomas, a summer stop as part of the Raiding the Rock Vault series hosted by Asia’s John Payne is a kind of homecoming. The two singers know each other well, and share a bond having carried forward with established bands You May Also Like: Moody Blues’ Ray ThomasRead More

In years past, I’ve called this the “whack jazz” list and this time we’re going to call it “avant garde and experimental jazz,” but any music that goes too far outside the bounds of convention gets lumped into its own category. You May Also Like: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog –Read More

Of all people to be saddled with the abused tag “musician’s musician,” it fits Anna Waronker. The charming, challenging and lucid singer/songwriter has literally spent her life around musicians, beginning with her parents. You May Also Like: Anna Nalick, singer-songwriter: Something Else! Interview

Peaking at No. 21 on the national charts in the spring of 1970, “Little Green Bag” (Colassus Records) scores a bounty of brownie points for being one of the most enigmatic songs ever placed on plastic. You May Also Like: Ginger Baker (1939-2019): An Apprecation Jovian Tea, “Strange World” /Read More

Abigail Riccards has decamped to Chicago, where she continues to ply her trade as an intimate and involving singer — not to mention a respected educator. But time spent in New York, which exposed her to the work of Artsrides, still resonates. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Once in a while a major act known for creating some of the most melodious, listenable songs will shock us all and uncork a track that’s the polar opposite. The Beatles had their “Revolution 9,” Lou Reed had his Metal Machine Music and Pat Metheny his Zero Tolerance for Silence.Read More

It’s hot, it’s humid, it’s…almost July? Well, mid-year has once again snuck up on me. Time to recap the (fantastic) musical half-year that has apparently flown by. You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp Trio – ‘World Construct’ (2022) Matthew Shipp Trio – ‘New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz’ (2024)