Category Archives: Music

Mary Gauthier’s Rifles & Rosary Beads

Mary Gauthier has made a name for herself by writing and singing intense narrative songs that draw on her own life. And what a life it has been. Growing up an orphan in New Orleans, she has battled substance abuse … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Mary Gauthier’s Rifles & Rosary Beads

Iona’s A Celebration of Twenty

The phrase “world music” has come to be associated in my mind with a certain sound, which can basically be summed up as too much soprano sax and too many cutesy penny whistles. (I admit, I can be something of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Iona’s A Celebration of Twenty

Joep Bor’s The Raga Guide

As with most people of my generation, I was first exposed to “Indian” music by The Beatles. When George Harrison got interested in Eastern religion, philosophy and music, it started showing up in the group’s songs, starting with the sitar-guitar … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Joep Bor’s The Raga Guide

Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett’s Irish Folk, Trad And Blues: A Secret History

Liz Milner penned this review. Irish Folk, Trad And Blues is a sprawling, overcrowded, rush-hour subway car of a book that piles on more eccentric musicians, frenetic booze-ups and unscrupulous music industry types than my brain could keep track of. … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett’s Irish Folk, Trad And Blues: A Secret History

Various Artists’ Gamelan of Central Java XV: Returning Minimalism: In Nem

The subtitle of this disc, “Returning Minimalism,” denotes a key fact about twentieth-century American minimalism: it makes extensive use of the formal elements of gamelan. The circular structures, repetitive melodies, intricate rhythms, and incremental modulations of tone are all hallmarks … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Various Artists’ Gamelan of Central Java XV: Returning Minimalism: In Nem

Carl Fleischauer & Neil V. Rosenberg’s Bluegrass Odyssey / Tom Ewing’s The Bill Monroe Reader / Wayne Erbsen’s Log Cabin Pioneers

I hear a voice out in the darkness It mourns and whispers through the pines I know it’s my sweetheart a-calling I hear her through the walls of time. Bill Monroe (quoted in Bluegrass Odyssey) I’m writing this in the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Music | Comments Off on Carl Fleischauer & Neil V. Rosenberg’s Bluegrass Odyssey / Tom Ewing’s The Bill Monroe Reader / Wayne Erbsen’s Log Cabin Pioneers

John Fahey’s How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life

Chris Woods penned this review. I first heard John Fahey’s music way back in the ’60’s. His early music albums were not generally available here in the UK then, I think there was just one which came out on Vanguard, … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on John Fahey’s How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life

Baba Zula’s XX

My favorite musical discovery of 2017 was Turkish psychedelia. Who knew this was even a thing? Well, obviously lots of people, but maybe not so many in the U.S.A. I first tumbled onto it with the reissue of many of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Baba Zula’s XX

Jord’s Vaylan Virrassa

Judith Gennett penned this review. Vaylan Virassa means “in the flow of the river.” The river here is the Torne, at the border between Finland and Sweden, the zipper in the jeans of Scandinavia that extends north from the top … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Jord’s Vaylan Virrassa

Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Beethoven’s Last Night

It’s the spring of 1827, and in Vienna, Ludvig von Beethoven has just completed his Tenth Symphony, which is to stand forever as his masterpiece, his last and greatest work. As he revels in the triumph of such an accomplishment, … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Beethoven’s Last Night