Like its predecessors, this latest compendium inevitably sounds as if it were designed for someone with multiple personalities.
Read More »Country and Americana
Music Reviews: Lucinda Williams’s ‘World’s Gone Wrong,’ plus Dave Miller
Williams attempts to find solace in music, but she can’t forget the world’s troubles, at least not on this album.
Read More »Music Reviews: ‘The Complete Trip’ Collects Psychedelia from England’s Orange Bicycle, plus David Huckfelt
To say that psych-pop group Orange Bicycle never established a trademark style would be an understatement.
Read More »Music Reviews: Fabulous Thunderbirds, plus Lester Young and Anthologies of Rockabilly and Appalachian Music
Not everything on these Fabulous Thunderbirds albums is fabulous, but Vaughan and Kim Wilson can be formidable singers and players, and, particularly on the early LPs, they and their bandmates delivered more than a few high-octane winners.
Read More »Charlie Doherty’s Top 20 Albums of 2025 (Brandi Carlile, Wet Leg, The Freight, Bruce Springsteen & More)
Long live rock and roll.
Read More »Music Reviews: An Anthology of Beatles Covers, Ward Hayden Interprets Springsteen, and a Record about Records
Among the many winners on this roller-coaster ride are soulful renditions of “Let It Be” by Aretha Franklin and “Hey, Jude” by Wilson Pickett, the latter with guitar by Duane Allman, and George Benson’s jazzified “You Never Give Me Your Money.”
Read More »Music & Video Reviews: Rolling Stones’ ‘Black and Blue’ Box Set, plus Robert Gordon with Link Wray, and Melissa Carper’s Christmas Album
Melissa Carper's 'A Very Carper Christmas' is the best Christmas album of 2025, and one of the very best so far in this century.
Read More »Music Reviews: ‘The Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story,’ plus Willie Nelson, Jeb Loy Nichols, and Jonathan Richman
Fans of mid-20th-century Southern music will likely recognize the name of the act for which Rich-R-Tone is most known: the Stanley Brothers, whose first 14 bluegrass recordings appeared on the label and are all included here.
Read More »Music & Film Reviews: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska ’82,’ plus Diane Hubka, the Kasambwe Brothers, and Terry Klein
What might well offer sufficient reason to fork over your money for this expanded edition are the live performances of 'Nebraska'’s songs, which are presented in the same order as on the original album and offered both on CD and as a film on Blu-ray.
Read More »Music Reviews: Françoise Hardy Reissues, plus Bill Scorzari, Rosy Nolan, and Jamie Granger
Hardy was popular throughout Europe, and a sensation in her native country, where she scored 11 Top 10 singles, nine Top 10 LPs, and numerous lesser hits. Folks in the U.S. now have a chance to hear some of what they’ve missed, thanks to a slew of reissues.
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