by S. Victor Aaron I always thought that the best covers are ones that takes a mediocre original and turns it into a genuinely good song. Such was the case when Atlanta roots rockers The Georgia Satellites took Ringo Starr’s hokey “Don’t Pass Me By” and gave it a swift,Read More
by Nick Deriso There was no reason to believe that the Rolling Stones, 30 years into their dangerously debauched rock career, would make anything worth a damn out of the 1990s. In fact, the preceding decade — one in which, by far, the Stones’ best new thing was actually aRead More
by Nick DeRiso “Come Together,” a concert first envisioned as a benefit to raise anti-violence awareness through the work of John Lennon, was scheduled to be held on Oct. 2, 2001, at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. Then came Sept. 11. This rangy event, featuring recorded snippetsRead More
NICK DERISO: “Whatever happened,” Van Morrison, erstwhile pop singer, old-soul blues gypsy, entertainer-slash-provocateur, sings here, “to the way it’s supposed to happen? And whatever happened to me?” Much, in fact, has happened. Morrison, it’s worth noting, could have settled in as a fixture on pop music’s hit-machine dead end afterRead More
“Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight,” from Paul McCartney’s collaborations as the Fireman, screams – literally – for attention.
Pink Floyd‘s A Momentary Lapse of Reason, alas, was no Dark Side of the Moon. Criticized then as now for being transitional and samey, though, it was far from the worst thing foisted on unsuspecting fans during the 1980s. You May Also Like: The Song That Made Pink Floyd’s ‘MomentaryRead More
When Ringo Starr recently announced that he wouldn’t be responding to any more fan mail, it occurred to me that he must be completely unaware of the disastrous foibles he’s unleashed on a loving but ultimately unwitting fanbase. Certainly likeable (at one time, anyway), Starr was and is a drive-byRead More
What better way to spend Halloween than with (as it’s lovingly referred to in the liner notes) “this thing“? “The Torture Never Stops” — a 24-song, two-hour blast of almost indescribably brilliant/crazy rock from an Oct. 31, 1981 concert by the equally brilliant/crazy Frank Zappa — affords us a uniqueRead More
That classic album rock group Heart never really left us, but lately the Wilson sisters have reconnected with what made it such a great band back in the seventies. The vintage sounding all-new CD Jupiters Darling (2004) and last year’s live DVD Dreamboat Annie Live meant that the “old” Heart—notRead More
A mere three days after the last Quickies, and here we are back already with another one. It just goes to show how the CD release pace quickens as we round the bend toward the holiday shopping season. With pockets getting emptying rapidly in the face of an economic Armageddon,Read More
