By Jeff Burger Sometimes it’s difficult to believe that an entire half century has passed since the 1960s. Other times—such as when you watch the frequently surreal Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film–that decade can seem even further in the past than it actually is. In a 1970 Rolling Stone article that is reprinted […]
by Jeff Burger If you listen to oldies radio or are simply getting old, you probably know of Shirley & Lee as the duo who scored a 1956 Top 20 pop hit (and R&B chart-topper) with “Let the Good Times Roll.” The song appears on countless compilations and is now regarded as a classic of […]
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Back in 1993, Bruce Springsteen guitarist Little Steven—who cofounded Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes in the mid 70s—teamed up with Southside to perform an acoustic benefit concert that aired on New York radio. The show, which embraced several of their best-known originals as well as a long menu of well-chosen covers, featured Asbury Jukes guitarist Bobby […]
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By Jeff Burger A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Spirit of Radio, a box set of Bob Dylan interviews and performances dating from as long ago as 1962. Those were early days indeed for the former Mr. Zimmerman, but another collection turns the clock back even further: Carnegie Chapter Hall, which originally appeared […]
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By Jeff Burger Think time machines are the stuff of science fiction? Then you probably haven’t heard the new 60-track Losing Touch with My Mind: Psychedelia in Britain 1986–1990. Like its companion, last year’s 64-track Another Splash of Colour: New Psychedelia in Britain 1980–1985, this collection will speedily carry you back to the late 1960s. The bands on the three-CD anthology—one of […]
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By Jeff Burger Music certainly provides pleasure, but it can do much more than that, as a new four-CD box set reminds us. Called The Social Power of Music, it aims to explore how this art form “brings together communities in the United States and beyond in protest, worship, and celebration.” The compilers had […]
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By Jeff Burger I’m obviously not the only Buddy Holly fan who wonders how much he could have achieved if an Iowa airplane crash hadn’t prematurely ended his career in February 1959. He was just 22 when he died; and though he had been pursuing music professionally for only about four years, he had already produced […]
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by Jeff Burger The first two discs of the Rolling Stones’ new three-CD Honk collect highlights from nearly five decades of the group’s catalog, starting with 1971’s Sticky Fingers and continuing through 2016’s Blue and Lonesome, an album of blues covers. (The ABKCO label controls the group’s work from the 1960s, which is why you’ll […]
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By Jeff Burger The Spirit of Radio collects three CDs’ worth of Bob Dylan’s seminal early radio performances and interviews. Especially considering that these recordings are more than half a century old, the sound quality is excellent. The CDs, which include informative liner notes, have been available separately and together in the past but have […]
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By Jeff Burger The latest installment of Legacy Recordings’ Van Morrison reissue project finds the label turning its attention to 1997’s The Healing Game, which followed a pair of jazz-oriented side trips. When originally released, the album garnered some lukewarm reviews and made it to only number 32 on the U.S. Billboard chart. This three-CD […]
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