Category Archives: Music

Steeleye Span’s Back in Line, and Lark in the Morning

Recording 101: How To Wreck A Good CD With Bad Production Well, damn it. I’ve just finished a complete listen to Steeleye Span’s 1986 Back In Line, and I’m cranky. Frankly, I want to take the producer out behind Maddy … Continue reading

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Richard Thompson’s all request show, Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California

Dear Richard, Please Will You Play…? Three shows, three settings, one happy woman Saturday night in Saratoga, California and for the third time in as many months, I’m gearing up to let an evening of music make me very, very … Continue reading

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SUSS’ Birds & Beasts

As much as it has depicted desert landscapes, the music of SUSS has essentially been inward looking. Reflective of the effects of those landscapes on the artist’s eye and ear. With their fifth full length release, the ambient country masters … Continue reading

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Kiki Valera’s Vacilón Santiaguero

It becomes clear early on that there’s something special going on with Kiki Valera’s Vacilón Santiaguero. Sure, it’s Son Cubano, the traditional acoustic call and response song form that is beloved worldwide thanks to the Buena Vista Social Club. But … Continue reading

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The Pogues Red Roses For Me, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, Peace & Love, Hell’s Ditch, Waiting for Herb, and Pogue Mahone

‘I’ve had a very, very happy life. If they stuck me in a box tomorrow I’d know I’ve had a bloody whale of a time. How many other people have made loads of money and done every drug under the … Continue reading

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Black 47’s On Fire

Mike Stiles wrote this review. Black 47 remains fronted by the peerless Larry Kirwan, who graces the earwaves with guitar when he’s not busy staging his eloquent vocals. The solid foundation of Thomas Hamlin (percussion) and Andrew Goodsight (bass, vocals) … Continue reading

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Black 47’s Black ’47, Black ’47 EP, Fire Of Freedom, Green Suede Shoes, Home of the Brave, Live in New York City, and Trouble in the Land

Time magazine said of Black 47: “Finally. Rock ‘n’ roll that means something again!” Bullocks, I say. If Black 47 was just a rock ‘n’ roll band, I wouldn’t be doing a comprehensive review of their albums. Black 47 is … Continue reading

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The Pogues’ Streams of Whiskey

Last night as I slept I dreamt I met with Behan I shook him by the hand and we passed the time of day When questioned on his views On the crux of life’s philosophies He had but these few … Continue reading

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Paul Brady’s The Liberty Tapes

Judith Gennett wrote this review. This is only in a limited sense a new album. The story goes that The Liberty Tapes were made of a legendary Paul Brady concert in 1978, using a domestic reel-to-reel and tape. Brady immediately … Continue reading

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Bluehorses’ Dragons Milk and Coal

Bluehorses are a five-piece band based in South Wales. They are comprised of Nic Waulker, drummer, songwriter, arranger and producer; Liz Prenderghast (“Liz), electric fiddle and effects; and Emma on traditional wood-bodied fiddle. Guitarist Martyn Standing plays everything from gentle … Continue reading

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