Tag Archives: rock and roll

John Hiatt’s The Tiki Bar is Open

John Hiatt has done it again. The Tiki Bar is Open is a rocking followup worthy of last year’s Grammy-nominated, folky Crossing Muddy Waters. In 1987, Hiatt made what was at the time the record of his career, the soulful … Continue reading

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Rosie Flores’s Speed of Sound

Rosie Flores rose to prominence as the rockabilly queen of the roots-rock and alternative country scene in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, although she’s been playing in bands since the ’60s. The 50-year-old San Antonio native shows she can still … Continue reading

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Irma Thomas’s If You Want it Come and Get it

When you think of soul music, you may think of Motown or Memphis, but New Orleans also shares in America’s soul heritage. And Irma Thomas is the Big Easy’s number one soul diva, the Queen of New Orleans Soul. After … Continue reading

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The Holy Modal Rounders & Friends’ I Make a Wish for a Potato

The Holy Modal Rounders have been making musical mischief and mayhem for just about 40 years now. In lieu of the comprehensive box set that I think they deserve, the good folks at Rounder (who named their label after the … Continue reading

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Sleepy LaBeef’s Rockabilly Blues

Big Earl Sellar penned this review. Sleepy LaBeef was the last artist that the original Sun Records (of Elvis fame) promoted in the 1950s. Bridging the gap between Presley and Chuck Berry, LaBeef continues to be the real bridge between … Continue reading

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Jimmy LaFave’s Texoma

Jimmy LaFave proves that rock ‘n’ roll still lives with this collection of blues, ballads and rootsy rockers. Texoma evokes the windswept, dusty border country where Texas and Oklahoma meet, in LaFave’s gritty tenor vocals, in his spare, Texas-style blues … Continue reading

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The Holy Modal Rounders’ Too Much Fun!

The Holy Modal Rounders’ new disc scares my dog. Now, ol’ Agnes Of Dog puts up with a lot, from Richard Thompson to Social Distortion, bagpipes to ragas to blasting guitar, with nary a whimper. Well, she does whine a … Continue reading

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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band’s Trout Mask Replica

The avant garde of one generation is often the mainstream of future generations. Thus, Yoko Ono’s ululations of the Sixties influence The B-52s’ warbling in the Eighties; Velvet Underground’s dark, jagged art-rock informs punk and postpunk bands too numerous to … Continue reading

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The Clumsy Lovers’ Barnburner

The Clumsy Lovers play raucous, uptempo Celtic-based rock with all kinds of Pacific Rim influences. Based in the Vancouver, B.C., area, the Lovers incorporate Californian and Hawaiian folk-rock, reggae and ska into their lively musical brew. The band writes much … Continue reading

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Elvis Presley’s Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Evolution of Elvis Presley

The Louisiana Hayride was one of the best things that ever happened to Elvis Presley. Sure, Sam Phillips and his Sun Studio gave him his first break, and yes, he had played the Grand Ole Opry (once) before his Hayride … Continue reading

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