By Jeff Burger In the liner notes to a posthumous anthology called No Big Surprise, Steve Goodman’s widow Nancy wrote that he “wanted to live as normal a life as possible, only he had to live it as fast as he could.” That he did, writing, performing, and recording a ton of eclectic music prior […]
I stopped taking the word “complete” seriously after I shelled out big bucks for the 10-CD Complete Hank Williams in 1998, only to discover a flood of material from him that the box didn’t include. First, I encountered the two-disc Health & Happiness Shows, which had been issued five years earlier; then came such albums […]
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The Rolling Stones have been mining their extensive vaults consistently of late, most recently to unearth such gems as an expanded version of Rock & Roll Circus and 50th anniversary editions of Beggars Banquet and Their Satanic Majesties Request. Now comes Bridges to Bremen, which delivers a 1998 concert from Bremen, Germany. The gig took place […]
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After growing up poor with 11 brothers and sisters in Arkansas and learning to play a $4 Sears guitar, Glen Campbell headed for the West Coast and rapidly turned himself into a musical Zelig. He worked with the Champs (albeit not on their big 1958 hit, “Tequila”) and a lot with Ricky Nelson. He contributed frequently […]
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By Jeff Burger On first listen, Western Stars sounds like nothing Bruce Springsteen has ever done before. On second listen, though, you start to hear connections to the catalog. And by the third listen, you’re probably in love. Springsteen’s 19th album—his first studio release since 2014 and his first record of all-new original material since […]
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By Jeff Burger “Wait a minute,” you might think, after hearing about The Rolling Thunder Review: The 1975 Live Recordings. “Didn’t Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series already devote a volume to that concert tour?” Yup, and the very first paragraph of the liner notes for this new package concedes that the earlier one collected “what we […]
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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 […]
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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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