Lil Andy -Hezekiah Procter-Front Cover

Music Reviews: Li’l Andy, Galen & Paul, Jorma Kaukonen, Keturah, the Ironsides, and Andy Hedges

Li’l Andy, The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930). Well, here’s a novel idea—both figuratively and literally: Montreal-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Li’l Andy penned a novel about an early-20th-century folk, country, and jug band musician from North Carolina he called “Hezekiah Procter.” Andy also put himself in the shoes of that character to write […]

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Paul Simon's Seven Psalms

Music Reviews: Paul Simon’s ‘Seven Psalms,’ plus Wild Carnation, Iron Horse, Eddie Cochran, Hudspeth & Taylor, and Michael Jerome Browne

Paul Simon’s Seven Psalms, his first album since 2018’s In the Blue Light, isn’t quite like anything he has done before. For starters, it’s more prayer than pop, more meditative than melodic, and it is subdued enough to make even songs like “America” and “The Only Living Boy in New York” seem sprightly by comparison. […]

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Stephen Stills - Live-At-Berkely

Music Reviews: Stephen Stills, plus a Willie Nelson Tribute, Taj Mahal, the Rifters, Arwen Lewis, Mulo Francel, and Chet Baker

In a mere five-year period leading up to mid-1971, Stephen Stills built quite the resume. In 1966, he co-founded the great Buffalo Springfield and wrote what became its best-known song, “For What It’s Worth.” Two years later, he appeared with Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield on the hit Super Session album and co-founded the ultra-successful […]

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Grooves & Cuts

Grooves & Cuts April 2023

Grooves & Cuts April 2023 – By John Apice Pat Boone & Ann-Margret – Octogenarian New Music Two peculiar releases were recently made available & I’m not certain why or what the motive was except for generating nostalgia with the added benefit of income. As talented as both artists have been throughout their careers — […]

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Blood Sweat & Tears

Music Reviews: Blood, Sweat & Tears, plus Sir Douglas Quintet, Marc Jordan, Esther Rose, Muddy Waters, and Eddie Money

Blood, Sweat & Tears garnered some attention with its February 1968 debut album, Child Is Father to the Man, but the jazz-rock group really took off after the release that December of its eponymous sophomore LP. That record, on which Canadian vocalist David Clayton-Thomas replaced Al Kooper, topped U.S. charts, sold millions of copies, and […]

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The Vogues--

Music Reviews: The Vogues, Cowboy Dave, Julie Christensen, Fruit Bats, Adam Klein, Arkansauce, and Charlie Parker

The Vogues, Cowboy Dave, Julie Christensen, Fruit Bats, Adam Klein, Arkansauce, and Charlie Parker The 1960s were a golden era for pop vocal groups, with acts like the Four Seasons, the Association, and the Mamas and Papas riding the charts. All those outfits still garner attention but the Vogues…not so much, probably because they scored […]

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Darlene Love-Live 1982

Music & Film Reviews: Early Rockers Darlene Love, Dion, Clyde McPhatter, & Charlie Feathers

Early Rockers Darlene Love, Dion, Clyde McPhatter, & Charlie Feathers This month has witnessed the rerelease of music from four important voices from rock’s early days. Let’s start with Darlene Love, whose Live 1982—a vinyl album from 1985—just debuted on CD and standard-definition DVD. Love, one of Phil Spector’s greatest vocalists, was a one-woman hit […]

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