You’ll have little difficulty in finding jazz recordings that seek to transform popular songs into standards. That’s been part and parcel of the tradition from the very beginning. More unusual, however, is someone like saxophonist Miguel Zenon, who so personalizes the shopworn idea on Alama Adentro. Each of the tunesRead More

The best pop songs are about more than their surface allures — the hook, the voice, maybe the lyric. The best pop songs are bound up both in simplicity and mystery, bringing you over a ridge to these stunning emotional vistas, even as you are still trying to get theRead More

Canned Heat, the doomed boogie-blues revivalists, only made a lone appearance at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. Yet they still managed some star-crossed magic. You May Also Like: William Shatner and Canned Heat, “Let’s Work Together” (2020): One Track Mind

Tommy Keene is still making what sounds like lost power pop gems from decades back, except they are brand new. You May Also Like: Tommy James and the Shondells – Cellophane Symphony (1969): Forgotten Series The Doughboys – ‘Running For Covers’ (2019) The Click Beetles – ‘Pop Fossil’ (2020)

Random Touch, perfectly named, is an accidental neo-prog music collective. Even better, they’ve issued a double album called Tributary, a 23-track, two-hour project, that — again, perfectly named — couldn’t be further from the mainstream. Comprised of found sounds and improvisational asides on whatever instrument is at hand, Random TouchRead More

Rockpile (maybe the first neoclassicist rockers?) opened the door for every throwback moment of the coming decade — not to mention new wave. Yet this late 1970s-era rockabillying power-pop supergroup came and went so quickly, they rarely get their due. You May Also Like: For ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Meeting GeorgeRead More

Mike Zito’s new release Greyhound moves with impressive force between acoustic story songs, and these grinding, hellhound-chased blues-rock numbers. You May Also Like: Mike Zito – First Class Life (2018) Mike Zito – ‘Resurrection’ (2021) Mike Zito – ‘Blue Room’ (1998, 2018 reissue)

An unexpected valedictory on a gone-too-soon talent, Rory Gallagher’s blues-rocking 1990 release Fresh Evidence reemerges today as part of a sweeping reissue project by Eagle Records that focuses on Gallagher’s late-period work. You May Also Like: Liam Gallagher – As You Were vs. Noel Gallagher – Who Built the Moon?Read More

We’ve raved before about the thrilling pyrotechnic brilliance of Alex Machacek, one of the most exciting new voices in fusion guitar right now. You May Also Like: Nick Finzer, “Waking Up” from ‘Dreams, Visions, Illusions’ (2023): One Track Mind

You remember the Spin Doctors, right? A group of shaggy hairs who shot to superstardom as part of the whole tie-dyed H.O.R.D.E. of neohippies making fun-rock back in the 1990s. You May Also Like: Zig Zag Power Trio, Aaron Comess, Sofia Trio + Others: Five for the Road Five Must-HearRead More