Category Archives: Music

Monsters of Folk’s Monsters of Folk

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of … well, old music. As in, music from my own youth. It’s been a little hard to avoid, actually, what with the two big releases of the summer — Neil Young’s Archives, … Continue reading

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Ilgi’s Isakas Nakts Dziesmas

A new CD from this Latvian folk-rock band is always a cause for celebration. This is the first release we’ve received from Ilgi since we wrote our omnibus review of the band’s rather extensive oeuvre two years ago. As was … Continue reading

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Art Tatum’s Piano Starts Here

Craig Clarke contributed this review. Jazz pianist Art Tatum, more than 50 years after his death, still has the power to impress new listeners and wow even the most accomplished pianists. Largely self-taught, Tatum’s style was so original and his … Continue reading

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Exene Cervenka’s Somewhere Gone

Poet, artist, spoken-word performer, creative writer, musician and singer, Exene Cervenka is a well-rounded performer and artist. Her first gig, of course, was with the L.A. punk band X, which started in the 1970s and remains active today, doing nearly annual … Continue reading

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Shemekia Copeland’s Never Going Back

Never Going Back is Shemekia Copeland’s first release on Telarc Blues, but her fifth album all told. She is the daughter of blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland, and she got her start at 16 years of age, opening for … Continue reading

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Little Richard’s The Rill Thing, King of Rock and Roll, and The Second Coming

If you only know Little Richard from his preening, queening, prancing appearances on late-night talk shows over the past few years, these three CDs are going to surprise you. If, on the other hand, you know him from his mind-blowing, … Continue reading

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Genticorum’s La Bibournoise and Le Vent du Nord’s Mesdames et Messieurs!

Genticorum plays Quebecois music that displays its connections to Celtic folk music more than most, due largely to the presence of flute on many tunes. This young trio features Pascal Gemme on fiddle, feet and vocals, Alexandre Moulin de Grosbois-Garand … Continue reading

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Buckwheat Zydeco’s Lay Your Burden Down

I thought I had given up on zydeco. I discovered it in the late 1980s in the person of Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco. Also at about that time, I was fortunate to see in concert some superb zydeco … Continue reading

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Chris Darrow’s Chris Darrow / Under My Own Disguise

I have been reading Chris Darrow’s name on records from my collection for 40 years. Originally a part of the legendary Kaleidoscope (a favourite of Jimmy Page’s), Darrow has appeared on albums by James Taylor, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Hoyt … Continue reading

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Blackmore’s Night’s Secret Voyage

By way of full disclosure, I should start by admitting that I am GMR’s resident monster fan of Blackmore’s Night. It would take a bad album of epic proportions, so stunning in its badness as to send music lovers worldwide … Continue reading

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