Under-appreciated Music

10 Underappreciated Music Acts You Need to Hear

Back in 2020, this column featured 16 folk, pop, and rock artists and bands that deserve wide acclaim but have attracted only cult followings. Here are 10 more. Bobby Charles The late Bobby Charles was a gifted singer who also wrote many memorable songs, including “The Jealous Kind” (Ray Charles, Delbert McClinton, etc.) and “Walking […]

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Beach Boys cover

Music Reviews: Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights,’ plus Teddy Thompson and Crow and Gazelle

Relatively few albums warrant expansion into box sets that deconstruct their development with alternate takes and mixes, outtakes, and demos. But if any LP merits such treatment, it’s the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson’s 1966 masterpiece, which is widely and deservedly regarded as one of the half dozen or so best albums of the […]

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REVIEW: Abigail Lapell Sings Her Way to Motherhood, plus a Rockabilly Anthology

Abigail Lapell Sings Her Way to Motherhood, plus a Rockabilly Anthology Sometimes a whisper can pack more punch than a shout. Witness, for example, the music of Nick Drake—or the similarly understated folk recordings of Abigail Lapell, whose atmospheric work might also occasionally remind you of Pentangle, Fairport Convention, or early Donovan. The Toronto-based singer, […]

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21 Stupendous Big Box Sets for Music Fans

You’ve heard of Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill? This writer would rather talk about big, beautiful box sets. Here (listed alphabetically, by artist) are 21 of popular music’s most spectacular gargantuan anthologies, each featuring 10 or more discs. Mildred Bailey, The Complete Columbia Recordings of Mildred Bailey (2000, 10 CDs). You’re probably wondering who the […]

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Steve Forbert

Music Reviews: Steve Forbert, Andy Hedges, Dwight + Nicole, a Rockabilly Anthology, and George Usher

Steve Forbert’s 2015 album, Compromised, has recently been remastered and reissued with a new title, a new mix, a new bonus track, and a few musical embellishments. Now called The Things That I See, the set features strong material and complementary backup from a talented quartet that includes NRBQ co-founder Joey Spampinato (bass) and Spampinato’s […]

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Beach Boys-We Gotta Groove

Music Reviews: The Beach Boys’ ‘We Gotta Groove,’ plus The Third Mind’s ‘Spellbinder!’

In 1978, 11 years after psychological problems caused Brian Wilson to begin withdrawing from music-making, the Beach Boys recorded a Mike Love song called “Brian’s Back.”  The track didn’t surface until 1979 (as a single’s B side) and wasn’t widely heard until two decades later, but even if it had been released immediately, the message […]

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