Frank Zappa was as prolific as he was idiosyncratic. He checked out of this life early—a victim of cancer at age 52—but before he did, he released some five-dozen albums. Another 40 or so have followed posthumously and there’s no end in sight. The latest entry is a two-CD set that preserves most of […]
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Jonathan Edwards – Right Where I Am Some may ask why did it take Jonathan Edwards so long to release new songs? But in truth he has. After his initial 1971 gold success with “Sunshine,” he went from Capricorn Records to Atco (Atlantic subsidiary) for 3 more LPs. Then to Warner/Reprise for 2 more. After […]
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K.C. Jones – Queen of the In-Between This 10-cut LP didn’t grab me as quickly as I thought it would. But as the CD spun more songs of substance began to reveal themselves. K.C. Jones , from Lafayette, LA is indeed a fine vocalist with a quirky tone as exceptional as Iris DeMent & Valerie […]
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Leslie Beia — Wallflower2021 If Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patsy Cline’s voices got together and had a baby, and that baby grew up singing harmonies, it would sound like Leslie Beia. Damn, this record is growing on me. To be perfectly honest, at first, I thought I needed a little more grit but upon the second […]
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Faye Webster – I Know I’m Funny haha With casual irony and nonchalance Faye Webster’s second album for Secretly Canadian, I Know I’m Funny haha, arrives with much the same soft punch and subtle humor that made Atlanta’s Millionaires Club an instant sensation. I Know I’m Funny haha finds Webster growing as a person focusing […]
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Jeremy James Meyer is the kind of songwriter that inspires other songwriters. His vocals are easy and his lyrics tell a story on par with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and other classic singer-songwriters. Alive and OK is Meyer’s second full-band album and it puts his songwriting prowess on full display. Throughout the album, Meyer explores themes of […]
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Van Dyke Parks Orchestrates Veronica Valerio: Only In America Solo En America EP Famous primarily for being a lyricist for some classic Beach Boys songs (“Heroes & Villains,” “Surf’s Up,” & part of “Sail On Sailor” among so many other songs), Van Dyke subsequently was signed to Warner Brothers & recorded some eccentric, idiosyncratic solo […]
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Tim Buckley – Merry-Go-Round At the Carousel – Live Recorded live at the Carousel Ballroom, SF, CA (June 1968), this 13-cut CD is an unvarnished historical artifact. Historical? Yeah – it captured a moment when 60s rock was still vital. By an artist who is basically under-rated as many were & later revered. Washington, DC […]
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I fell in love with Rickie Lee Jones a long time ago. I remember the exact moment. And no, it wasn’t when I heard “Chuck E.’s in Love” or the rest of her first album. It should have been. I just relistened to it, and it is the best début album by a female solo […]
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Jonathan Foster — Lantern Shade The name Jonathan Foster is a name not readily recognizable in Americana circles but, it should be. His latest release Lantern Shade invokes the vision of the proverbial itinerant troubadour singing songs about life as they see it. The ten track 42 minute and 59 second album is not short […]
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