“Blue Tip” is tensile and itchy then soaring and romantic — the closest this new record, the Cars’ first in 24 years, gets to approximating its own career-making mixture of Ric Ocasek’s weirdo aloofness and Benjamin Orr’s sun-drenched pop warmth. Orr, of course, passed in 2000 after a bout withRead More

Just as Mike and the Mechanics’ “The Living Years” reminds me of my father, there’s now a song that brings fond thoughts of my dear mother, to whom I dedicate this song. During this time of year, a lot of us reflect a lot on what our mother means toRead More

Saxophonist Walt Weiskopf’s first-ever in-concert recording Walt Weiskopf Quartet: Live, issued earlier in the month on Colorado-based Capri Records, is special in another personal way. You May Also Like: Walt Weiskopf European Quartet – ‘Diamonds and Other Jewels’ (2022) Walt Weiskopf – The Way You Say It (2016) Walt WeiskopfRead More

A new offering from Sade’s forthcoming 28-track two-disc ‘The Ultimate Collection’ turns every candle-lit romantic notion about her music on its ear.

South Carolina’s Stella by Starlight is an entertaining electropop amalgam of modern and distinctly old-school sounds, one part mixtape-from-your-dad’s-vinyl-collection and another part post-modern-hipster-songcraft. You May Also Like: Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker + Steve Hirsh – ‘Sparks’ (2022)

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis continue a stirringly offbeat musical dialogue begun with their 2008 release Two Men with the Blues, this time focusing on the music of Ray Charles. You May Also Like: Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis shared an uncanny chemistry on Two Men With the Blues WillieRead More

“Mississippi Mile,” a country-inflected blues, finds John Oates right up close, even as his band sets about making this rafter-rattling ruckus.

by Fred Phillips When Volbeat’s “Sad Man’s Tongue” comes blaring out of my speakers on a shuffle, I’m always happy, and I always hit repeat — usually a dozen times or so, at least. And I always think about how I nearly missed such a great song. You May AlsoRead More

Some people just have a gift for the odd twist of phrase that makes a song mean so much more than just a bunch of words or even just a mood. Bruce Cockburn, the Canadian sorta-Christian singer/songwriter is one such guy You May Also Like: The Immediate Family, “Cruel Twist”Read More

“In the darkness,” Jon Anderson sings on this haunting track, “there is always a song for you.” His road back to us has been dark, indeed You May Also Like: Jon Anderson, of Yes and Anderson Rabin Wakeman: Something Else! Interview The Solo Song Where Jon Anderson Finally Reclaimed HisRead More