What do the following artists have in common: Rickie Lee Jones, Natalie Merchant, Lori Mckenna, The Sundays, Bjork, Kate Bush, Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams? Each one, on first listen, made the rest of my world momentarily drop away. This is no joke. Of course, the first would have beenRead More

It’s the emptying of a soul on a personal level. Or is it the soul of a nation, pleading to its citizenry? You May Also Like: Night Songs by Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, others: Odd Couples Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’

Imagine towns both small and large, all across a country. Their essence has been drained by “progress” and blind greed You May Also Like: Rob Meany with Terramara, “Dreamer in Dreamland” (2023): One Track Mind

Against a backdrop of a slow waltz toward disappointment and death comes a familiar story — that of a man trying to scratch out a living any way he can. The emotion is amplified with great subtlety by some swelling horns You May Also Like: Jack Bruce and Robin TrowerRead More

Today’s Wrecking Ball preview is “Shackled And Drawn,” stream provided by Rolling Stone magazine. You May Also Like: Boz Scaggs + Duane Allman, “Loan Me a Dime” (1969): One Track Mind

If I was to make up a list of my favorite guitar players (and, thus, exposing myself to the Internet scourge known as GuitarFan™: You know the type. They blurt out things like “Where’s Slash?!!” and “Dimebag!” — think of it as a kind of Rock ‘n’ Roll Tourette’s) thenRead More

It has been announced that tracks from Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming album Wrecking Ball will be streamed from various sites, one new song per day. Today sees the release of “Easy Money,” streaming at the News page at Backstreets.com. You May Also Like: No related posts.

The themes of struggle and redemption are so strong on Darkness that on every song I want to say that this song is the album’s emotional center. The reality is that each and every song get their fair share of the responsibility. You May Also Like: Night Songs by ElvisRead More

For years and years, Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation was the record I went to when the mood struck for some ugly & hypnotic guitar. Dirty now sits in that spot. Actually, it’s the second disc of the deluxe-edition set from 2003: full of b-sides and, more important, a ton ofRead More

David S. Ware felt it was time to focus on his abilities as a composer. As he puts it: “I didn’t want to make another quartet album with everybody blowing. You May Also Like: David S. Ware & Matthew Shipp Duo – Live In Sant’Anna Arresi, 2004 (2016) Caterpillar QuartetRead More