A large and lavish box set devoted to one of John Lennon’s least favorably reviewed periods might seem ill-advised, and in some ways it is. But Lennon lovers will find interesting material in the new Power to the People, and even casual fans will discover some pleasures here. The collection, which Sean Ono Lennon […]
Jac Holzman Presents Dylan’s Circle features folk, rock, and blues performances compiled by Elektra Records founder Holzman and Ted Olson, who previously produced such notable albums as Tell It to Me: Revisiting the Johnson City Sessions and On Top of Old Smoky: New Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music. As Olson writes in the booklet that accompanies […]
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Frank Zappa’s Cheaper Than Cheep, plus Janis Ian, Christian Parker, Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed, and Big Love Car Wash Frank Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention, were riding high in June 1974. They’d just completed a 10th-anniversary tour and, only three months earlier, had released Apostrophe (’), their first and only Top 10 album. […]
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Music Reviews: Frank Zappa Expanded ‘Apostrophe (’),’ plus Mike Montrey Band, Kevin Gordon, Rebecca Frazier, Guy Davis, and Mac Leaphart Frank Zappa isn’t a name you’d ordinarily associate with hit-making, but this esoteric artist did occasionally flirt with commercial success, most notably on 1974’s Apostrophe (’). The album climbed to No. 10—his best showing ever—and […]
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Music Reviews: A ‘Girl Group’ Anthology, Grateful Dead’s Expanded ‘From the Mars Hotel,’ Frank Zappa & the Mothers’ ‘Whisky a Go Go 1968,’ and More A Joe Meek “Girl Group’ Anthology Unearths Some Gems The late rock and pop producer Joe Meek, who is widely regarded as England’s answer to Phil Spector, masterminded many British […]
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A 50th-Anniversary Edition of Frank Zappa’s ‘Over-nite Sensation’ Over-nite Sensation, which first appeared in 1973, ranks among Frank Zappa’s most significant and accessible releases up to that point. The record wasn’t quite what its title suggested, but it did give Zappa his first gold record and one of the biggest chart successes of his […]
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Barclay James Harvest, the British progressive rock outfit, delivered some of its most innovative and accessible work on Once Again. An FM radio and dorm-room favorite when it first appeared in 1971, it has just been reissued as a deluxe box set. Like the group’s other early albums, this sophomore release incorporates a full orchestra […]
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A Treasure Trove from the Carter Family No collection of essential country or folk music would be complete without a large sampling of material from the Carter Family, whose work helped to define and popularize these genres. The original lineup of this groundbreaking outfit consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sara Carter; her husband […]
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Frank Sinatra’s Forgotten Gem For Watertown, his 1970 concept album on the Reprise label, Frank Sinatra took a gamble. While his earlier solo LPs all found him working with mainstream pop songwriters, he filled Watertown with numbers produced and co-written by Bob Gaudio of the rock group the Four Seasons. Gaudio—whose composing credits include such […]
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