Asked to categorize the Eagles, most fans and critics would probably label them country rock, which is understandable, because they have strong roots in that genre. Original bassist Randy Meisner came from Poco while original guitarist Bernie Leadon did time with the Flying Burrito Brothers and guitarist/vocalist Glenn Frey and vocalist/drummer Don Henley both worked […]
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By Jeff Burger When I saw Don McLean in concert some years ago, he introduced “American Pie” by mentioning that people often asked him what the song meant. “It means,” he noted after a pause, “that I never have to work again.” Bobbie Gentry could undoubtedly say the same thing about her brilliant “Ode to […]
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By Jeff Burger The Beatles—the November 1968 double LP that has been known from Day One as the White Album—occupies a place on many if not most fans’ lists of the group’s greatest recordings. That it is, but its new six-CD-plus-Blu-ray 50th Anniversary Special Edition is greater still. The first Beatles record to find the […]
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Lefty Frizzell arguably played almost as big a role in the development of modern country music as his friend Hank Williams. Nevertheless, he didn’t make it into the Country Music Hall of Fame until 1982 and, for reasons I’ve never quite figured out, he is not as well known or loved by the public today […]
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by Jeff Burger Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series began relatively modestly back in 1991, with a three-disc collection (labeled Volumes 1–3) that featured a grab bag of previously unreleased material recorded over nearly 30 years. Volume 4 didn’t appear until seven years later, but the pace has picked up considerably since then, with the releases becoming […]
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Even if you already own many of the earlier releases from which this material was drawn, you may want Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary for the tracks you’ve missed and the nine previously unavailable ones. And if you’re a folk fan who somehow doesn’t own any of the label’s material, you should definitely pick this up. Chances are, it won’t be the only Appleseed release on your shelf for long.
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Both Sides Now: Joni Mitchell Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 captures the singer performing many of her most celebrated early numbers before a huge audience—as many as 600,000 people. The Blu-ray’s title, borrowed from one of Mitchell’s best-known songs, is fitting, because the movie also shows both sides of the conflict that […]
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By Jeff Burger For many rock acts, 1968 was a year for exploring psychedelia and the outer limits of the studio. The Beatles took off on a Magical Mystery Tour, for example, while Jimi Hendrix served up the otherworldly guitar excursions of Electric Ladyland. But a few artists—most notably Bob Dylan, followed closely by his […]
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