Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums 2022By Bill Bentley Nicki Bluhm, Avondale Drive. This is a singer who has been making headway surely over the last decade, in bands with other artists and then fronting Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. Now that she has gone on her own and then moved to Nashville from San Francisco it […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: December 2022 (Part I) By Bill Bentley Johnny Adams, Only Want To Be With You. It is no accident that in his hometown of New Orleans soul singer extraordinaire Johnny Adams was lovingly called the Tan Canary. He enthused such a reverence from his many fans there that they could hardly contain themselves. […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: November 2022By Bill Bentley Art of Time Ensemble, Songs of Leonard Cohen Live. An artist like Leonard Cohen is like a walking advertisement for tribute albums. The Canadian wrote so many undeniable songs of greatness there’s a chance that the tributes will go on for decades. The Art of Time Ensemble is a […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: October 2022 By Bill Bentley Rory Block, Ain’t Nobody Worried. It’s become obvious that during the pandemic years a lot of musicians had a chance to slow down and figure out what it really is that makes their mojo work. For blues woman Rory Block, it’s the great songs of the ages, and […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: September 2022By Bill Bentley Dave Alvin, New Highway: Selected Lyrics, Poems, Prose, Essays, Eulogies and Blues. At this point in his long and rollercoaster ride of a career, there’s not much that Downey, California’s favorite son hasn’t done. From a blues-soaked early education in Los Angeles clubs, forming the Blasters in the late […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: July 2022By Bill Bentley Bhi Bhiman, I’ll Sleep When I’m Famous. “We might be helpless but we’ve got an open heart…” Those are the words that start this musical provocateur’s totally fascinating new album. Though Bhi Bhiman is originally from St. Louis, he really does sound like a captain of the entire universe. […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand June 2022By Bill Bentley Nicki Bluhm, Avondale Drive. Nicki Bluhm has been heading for making this album for many years. After other solo albums and some with Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers releases, Bluhm found herself at a crossroads. She had moved from San Francisco to Nashville alone, in many ways starting over […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: May 2022 By Bill Bentley Johnny Ray Daniels, Whatever You Need. When the higher powers of the music business make a man wait until he’s 76 years old to make his own first album, there isn’t much left to say except WHATEVER YOU NEED. That is the name of Johnny Ray Daniels’ soul-kicking […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: April 2022 By Bill Bentley The Americans, Stand True. Some bands have the perfect name. Like The Americans. One, it’s a true fact that the group is made up of Americans. But even more importantly, they have a sound that comes right out of the nation’s soul. There are no trickinations or shortcuts […]
Continue Reading
Bentley’s Bandstand: March 2022 By Bill Bentley Sarah Borges, Together Alone. There are certain modern troubadours who don’t back down. Ever. It’s just not in their nature. For the past 20 years, Sarah Borges is one of those perennial pushers who write and record songs of high import, and then take to the endless highway […]
Continue Reading
