The bitter end of the Beatles? The flip side of the “Let It Be” single begs to differ.

by Pico So a couple of years ago we saluted the national shopping holiday called Black Friday with some musings about a 1975 Steely Dan song of the same name. This time, we’re going to mark the occasion with another ditty by the Boys From Bard (Walter Becker and DonaldRead More

Today is a day for giving thanks for something or another, and everyone knows what Sly Stone is grateful for. And believe me, I was intent on making this One Track Mind about a 1969 hit for the Family Stone that pretty much set the template for ’70’s funk, butRead More

A massive reissue project from Apple Records had me digging back through the old Billy Preston sides. None is more titanically funky, and lastingly influential, than “Outa-Space,” with its grease-fire groove and afro-shaking new clavinet sound. “Outa-Space” is not to be confused with his similarly named No. 4 hit ofRead More

By Nick Deriso It’s no surprise that a performer who got her start working with funny funkster Morris Day settles into a lightly swinging keyboard groove from the first on “Do Something Else.” Why do anything else? After all, Gail Jhonson wrote the book on neo-soul piano. Literally: her publishedRead More

by S. Victor Aaron I don’t pay a great deal of attention to what other jazz critics say about records as I probably should; chalk it up to laziness, I suppose. But even my lazy ass couldn’t help but notice all the interest in media circles buzzing around guitarist MaryRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Love ’em or hate ’em, Styx was part of many an American boy’s soundtrack of the late 70s and early 80s. When I think of arena rock, the first two bands I think of are Journey and Styx; both bands encapsulated everything that was good andRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When we last visited a George Benson recording, it was about his remake of the still fresh-out-the-oven Abbey Road. Fast forward seven years later, to 1976: Benson had just ended his long and artistically successful stint with CTI Records, having been enticed back to the majorsRead More

The Doobie Brothers return with the same rich blend of acoustic and electric guitars, the strutting rhythm and those sumptuous backing vocals.

photo by Johan Eriksson by Mark Saleski There are so many ways we discover music: from a film soundtrack, the radio (Internet, satellite, earthbound), word of mouth, advertising. Most of these can be thought of as happy accidents. Is there such a thing as an “unhappy accident”? This is theRead More