James Booker’s tortured ingenuity was never given its due, partly because he mixed such a dizzying degree of elements into his sound and partly because of his legendary erraticisms. You May Also Like: Inside the naming of Booker T. and the MGs’ ‘Green Onions’ : ‘The stinking-est music I’ve everRead More

Steve Cropper, the ace producer and sideman at Stax Records, ended up playing with most every one he’d ever admired over the years — except for one person You May Also Like: Steve Cropper on the Black Crowes’ cover of ‘Hard to Handle’ : ‘They threw it off time byRead More

When Justin Timberlake returned earlier this year with The 20/20 Experience, one of music’s greatest showmen displayed his unflustered allure and delivered 70-plus minutes of “supper club experience complete with plenty of bubbly.” You May Also Like: ‘The Terry Kath Experience’ (2017): Movies The Near Jazz Experience with Adrian SherwoodRead More

For guitarist Steve Cropper, an intuitive sense of things served him well. Twice, when it came to legendary riffs on what would become legendary Stax songs, he simply did what came naturally. You May Also Like: No related posts.

The Electric Lady is, in Janelle Monáe’s words, “this glowing Technicolor woman.” A totem of sorts, the vision of the titular force behind her second full-length record drives every ounce You May Also Like: Neal Schon, “Lady M” from Vortex (2015): One Track Mind Michael Leonhart Orchestra – ‘The PaintedRead More

At the Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois: As the entire crowd bounced up and down, hands in the air, one thing was clear: only Earth Wind and Fire could turn the Chicago Theatre into one huge dance floor. You May Also Like: Maurice White (1941-2016): Five Great Earth Wind and FireRead More

The Lorraine Motel, refurbished now as the National Civil Rights Museum, has become a cultural touchstone in the wake of Martin Luther King’s murder. But that Memphis landmark holds another place of historical significance. You May Also Like: Steve Cropper on the Beatles’ flirtation with Stax: ‘Didn’t happen for aRead More

If you haven’t been blessed to stumble into a New Orleans gig from Tom McDermott, then the forthcoming Bamboula compilation — overseen by Van Dyke Parks — is your chance to get caught up. You May Also Like: Michael McDermott – Willow Springs (2016) The Westies – Six on theRead More

Old-line Hall and Oates fans who may been less interested in John Oates’ more overtly country-inflected side trips of late, take heart: “Pushing a Rock Uphill” finds him returning to a tangy R&B vibe. You May Also Like: John Oates on the thing he hates most about Hall and Oates:Read More

Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs, the new collaboration between Elvis Costello and the Roots, is the 30th studio album in Costello’s long, unrelenting, and continually reinvented career. You May Also Like: Elvis Costello’s ‘The Delivery Man’ Once Again Resisted the Urge to Look Back Night Songs by Elvis Costello,Read More