There was an article out this past week by Steven Hyden at the Onion A.V. website entitled How long does it take to “get” an album? Interesting stuff. I’m not sure I agree with the whole “professional critic” vs. “regular person” deal, but I can see Mr. Hyden’s point whenRead More

Here was Billy Joel: talented, confident and getting ready to bust out into superstardom.

by Nick DeRiso Though not the hoped-for third-act triumph, Ella and Oscar still has its enduring charms. See, Oscar Peterson, a hard-banging piano genius as bluesy as he was inventive, should have made the perfect foil for Ella Fitzgerald on this stripped-down date, set for reissue on March 15 byRead More

by Something Else Reviews There are TV themes you remember. “All In The Family,” with its way-back talk of President Hoover and LaSalle cars. Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams cooing together, “What would we do, baby, without us?” Bars where everybody knows your name. Fat Albert and the Junkyard Band’sRead More

Photo from Todd Rundgren’s MySpace page by Something Else Reviews Todd Rundgren has announced five spring concerts, during which he will perform a pair of albums in their entirety, Todd and Healing. The first-ever live stagings of these two releases, held in September of last year, found Rundgren on stageRead More

by Something Else Reviews It’s true, as Randy Newman once impishly sang, they were six fine English boys who knew each other in Birmingham. After that, things got tricky for the Electric Light Orchestra. Despite an impressive string of 1970s hits, they became an easy target. People knocked the strings.Read More

“Naw man, don’t buy that record, the rest of the album is no good,” said the long-haired, moustached guy at the record store. I had just heard Billy Thorpe’s “Children of the Sun” on the local album-rock radio station and I just knew that the long player of the sameRead More

Photo from petergabriel.com by Something Else Reviews Anybody who names his first four solo recordings after himself is going to require some deciphering, right? We’re here to help with a five-song spin through Peter Gabriel’s solo career, featuring both charting favorites and a few forgotten gems.             “HERE COMES THE FLOOD”Read More

by Something Else Reviews In many ways, television is a technological wonder these days, what with remote controls, digital signals and DVRs. But, for those who fell in love with the old-school opening theme, it’s not all gravy. Today, you’re more likely to simply see the word LOST charging towardRead More

by Nick DeRiso The truth is, she never really left me. We would ride around, listening to eight-track tapes – or else pull a stereo speaker outside and swing on the back porch – then sing. We listened to Elton John, me and Mom. “They say Spain is pretty,” IRead More