Category: Music

In 2000, The Beatles collected all of their number one singles and put them into a satisfying collection called 1. It contained 27 classic tracks that encompassed their productive 1962-1970 years before internal strife led them all onto more or less lucrative but completely satisfying solo careers. If you’re a Beatles fan, there is more...

Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color. Bless whoever threw all the goofer dust into the fried grits, because on their sophomore album it sure sounds like the Alabama Shakes set their chickens free. There is such a wild freedom of expression that no way will anyone ever mistake this rootsy band again as more of the...

I focus most of my reviews on the albums that will be of the widest interest, which generally means well-known artists. However, I also want to direct attention to some of the less-prominent performers who seem deserving of the spotlight. Here are capsule reviews of new albums from some of the ones who’ve impressed me...

This column is like the title says — its intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the ’60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to and get the same buzz from nowadaze. iTunes was the answer for me in 2003 and...

If you’re a serious Fleetwood Mac fan, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the early 1970s version of the group—the one that gave us albums like Bare Trees and Heroes Are Hard to Find before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham came aboard and helped turn them into superstars. You may also know of the even earlier version...

I first heard/saw Tracy on a Prestige album — a label normally reserved for jazzers, hence my immediate interest in a gal who looked to be in her early 20s but sang like a woman from the early 1920s. Turns out she was a bluesy folker and her voice made an immediate dent in the...

Bob Dylan, Shadows in the Night. It’s obviously late in the evening when Bob Dylan brings out the Great American Songbook. The moon is full, the stars are shining, and the sky is darker than blue. Still, Dylan zeroes in on some of the greatest ballads ever written, with names like Irving Berlin, Rodgers and...

When I’m on the road or in deep production, sometimes I can’t get a column done on time. To prevent quality loss, I thought I’d go back to our first year (2011) and republish some of the better music that didn’t reach the readership we have now. I apologize to the original readers who are...

Kristin Andreassen, Gondolier. Beginning the year with an inspired singer-songwriter who, among many flights of fancy, wishes her childhood pet dog had been a horse, seems like a good way to get the party started. Kristin Andreassen’s first onstage experiences may have been as a professional clogger in Annapolis, Maryland, but it was clear from...

Hello, my favorite listeners! I wrote 47 columns this year and these were the 25 most talked about tracks in the emails and comments I received from all of you. It makes an interesting list as some of the music is NOT FROM 2014 — but was included in this year’s columns. This is where...