by S. Victor Aaron Last month Al Green released a new album, Lay It Down, which I’d recommend to any fan of pure, old-school soul. Later this month Chicago’s Stone Of Sisyphus, originally record in 1993, will finally be officially released. But twenty years even before that was taped, bothRead More

by Pico One in a while, you come across a musician who so effectively cobbles together a wide range of styles so effortlessly you swear you’ve heard it somewhere before…but you can’t quite put a finger on it. New York City born and bred troubadour K.J. Denhert is one ofRead More

by Pico Doyle Bramhall II has been around so much fame and combined with his songwriting and guitar talents, it’s downright shocking that he hadn’t become more than an underground hero himself. But, man, what a résumé. The son of drummer and Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborator Doyle Bramhall, Doyle TheRead More

by Pico When Julian Lennon unfurled his debut Valotte back in 1984 about four years following his father’s untimely death, it gave John Lennon fans hope that the offspring could pick up where his Dad left off. We know now that the expectations were unrealistic and try as he mightRead More

I’ve got a problem but it’s the good kind of problem. There’s a backlog of CD’s sitting on my desk deserving of some shout-outs. So much so, it make take two or more additional “Quickies” to clear off this stack. With just a little time for writing at the momentRead More

Less anthematic, in the way of his work with The Who, than it is reflective and frank, Pete Townshend convincingly argues the case for middle-aged rock with “Slit Skirts.” That the gap between the extroversion of his band recordings and the smaller joys of his solo stuff was already disappearingRead More

by Pico Readers of this site are going to think that we are celebrating Father’s Day two months early because for the second time in as many days, a talented offspring of a famous father is getting the spotlight. Charlie Haden’s daughter Petra never aspired to fill her dad’s hugeRead More

by S. Victor Aaron The lead singer and guitar player plays in an electric blues band in Atlanta. The bass player is in New York as one third of the premier acid jazz band of the last ten years. You might say that these guys form a musical odd couple.Read More

NICK DERISO: Produced by an actual working-class hero, touching listeners across every genre and making its case well away from the witheringly bright lights of the Sun Records myth, I’d argue that this record was when rock and roll finally came into its own. Written by legendary Frank Sinatra producerRead More

A late period gem from a couple of old hippies you probably thought had self-destructed in a drug-induced haze years ago. Not hardly. It seems like every time you turn around, Graham Nash and David Crosby are touring in one configuration or another. Oftentimes, it’s with their erstwhile partner StephenRead More