Friday , June 12 2026

Alternative Rock

Music Reviews: The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, plus Dar Williams, Marshall Crenshaw, Wynonie Harris, West Texas Exiles, and Patton & Brokus

Peanut Butter Conspiracy

Formed from the ashes of a group called the Ashes (which included future Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden), the Peanut Butter Conspiracy dealt in frequently adventurous rock, much of which deserves more attention than it has received.

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Music Reviews: Anthologies from the Pale Fountains and the Kinks, plus the Feelies and Kissing Other Ppl

The Pale Fountains – The Complete Virgin Years

Perhaps the Pale Fountains will finally garner some notice following the appearance of a new four-CD box set devoted to Michael Head's critically acclaimed band, which formed in Liverpool in 1980 and split up in 1987.

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Book & Music Reviews: A Biography of Joe Meek, England’s Counterpart to Phil Spector; plus Bobby Lee Trammell, the Rain Parade, and Brian Wilson

Joe Meek

As Darryl W. Bullock writes in 'Love and Fury: The Life, Death and Legacy of Joe Meek,' the producer was a “pioneer, genius, maniac, naif…all of those things…and more.”

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Music Reviews: The Wandering Hearts, Willie Nile, Christopher Cross, Iron Horse, and the Black Watch

Wandering-Hearts-Deja-Vu

The Wandering Hearts do stick close enough to CSNY's 'Déjà vu' arrangements to give fans of the original album a bit of the feeling named in its title.

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Music Reviews: Gene and Eunice, J.M. Kearns, Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius, Michael Arbenz & Andy Sheppard, and Comet Gain

Gene and Eunice

Gene Wilson (aka Gene Forrest) and Eunice Levy, a married couple, scored several hits in the 1950s but dented the pop charts only once, with “Poco Loco.” But the songs collected here are almost uniformly excellent.

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Music & Film Reviews: ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii MCMLXXII’ (2025 Editions), plus Julee Cruise and Emma Wilson

Pink Floyd at Pompeii album cover detail

The visuals, which are as unusual as the music, contribute to the sense that you’ve entered some sort of LSD dreamworld.

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Book & Music Reviews: ‘Decade of Dissent: How 1960s Bob Dylan Changed the World,’ plus the Bongos & Robert Forster

Decade of Dissent

Can there really be anything more to say about Bob Dylan and his music? As it turns out, the answer is a qualified yes. Just don’t hold your breath awaiting major revelations.

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Music & Video Reviews: Badfinger’s Lost LP, plus Live Albums from Al Stewart, Translator, and Oregon

Badfinger--Head First

This new edition of Badfinger's 'Head First' employs the recently discovered master tapes, which have been newly mixed and mastered by Bob Jackson, the band’s only surviving member.

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Music Reviews: An Anthology Collects Hits from 1960, plus San Francisco Salsa, and CDs from Lance Cowan and Antonio Andrade

20th Anniversary Billboard

1960 is not exactly considered a peak year for popular music, and there's no shortage of drivel in this collection, but there are also dozens of great songs from the likes of Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles.

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