Category Archives: Music

Eric Brace & Peter Cooper’s Master Sessions, Peter Cooper’s The Lloyd Green Album, Eric Brace & Last Train Home’s Six Songs EP, and various artists’ East Nashville, Vol. 3

There is so much beautiful music on these CDs, especially the first two, that it’s hard to know where to start. The names on the albums belong to Eric Brace and Peter Cooper. (Earlier in 2009 they collaborated on an … Continue reading

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Various artists’ From The Land of Ice And Snow: The Songs of Led Zeppelin

There’s no denying that Led Zeppelin is one of the most popular and influential bands of the rock era. It’s staggering to merely ponder the number of garage bands that were put together because some suburban kids loved Led Zep. … Continue reading

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Jeff Beck’s Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott’s

Jeff Beck. Guitar icon. I don’t really know what else to say about him. He’s been the most creative, most humble guitar genius that’s come along. And when I mention him to people these days they say, “Jeff Beck? Who’s … Continue reading

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Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks’ Texas Sheiks

Sometimes the best music is made when friends get together and play their favorite old songs. That’s what happened when Geoff Muldaur pulled together a one-off group he dubbed Texas Sheiks. It started as a way to help Texas singer-songwriter-guitarist … Continue reading

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Richmond Fontaine’s We Used to Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River

Between 2007’s melancholy western geography lesson Thirteen Cities and this year’s Richmond Fontaine release, Willy Vlautin’s mother died, and he broke his arm and couldn’t play guitar for a while. When he healed enough to play, he went into a … Continue reading

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Isaac Hayes’s Hot Buttered Soul

Craig Clarke contributed this review. Music legend Isaac Hayes began his career as a session musician and songwriter for Stax Records. (He and partner David Porter wrote “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’ ” for Sam and Dave.) Hayes’s … Continue reading

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Tori Amos’s Live at Montreux, 1991-1992 (CD/DVD set)

Once upon a time, back in the late ’60s or early ’70s, someone used a camera at just the right moment. Pure serendipity, as lucky as it gets: David Crosby’s house in L.A., Joni Mitchell with a guitar, playing and … Continue reading

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Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ The Complete Liberty Singles

Gary Lewis, son of “King of Comedy” and Rat Pack member Jerry, had a string of hits and an even larger string of singles in the early to mid 1960s that have mostly been forgotten. But if you were around … Continue reading

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Frank Turner’s Love, Ire & Song

Frank Turner is a rabble-rousing folk-rocker who blends old-school ideals with 21st century sensibilities. This quick-witted, silver-tongued Brit combines the social conscience and wit of Woody Guthrie, the wry populism of Billy Bragg and the anthemic melodies and fist-pumping choruses … Continue reading

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Jay & the Americans’ The Complete United Artists Singles, and Jan & Dean’s The Complete Liberty Singles

Jan & Dean. Jay & the Americans. What do these two acts have in common? Apart from the fact that Collectors’ Choice has just issued collections entitled The Complete … Singles the two groups are linked by a very successful … Continue reading

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