Music Reviews: Sad Daddy Ozark Shine plus Two Vintage Soul Albums This writer pays attention anytime the ultra-talented Melissa Carper’s name shows up, and it shows up often these days. The singer, songwriter, and upright bass player has been adding to her discography at a steady rate. She has also been recording with Kelly Willis […]
Sad Daddy – Ozark Shine Some city folk might find this corny, campy & too rural, but hey, listen to the words, listen to the picking, & the sincerity in their voices. This doesn’t need a tuxedo, this is the real thing, boots with no laces & tongues sticking out. It’s clever, humorous, & quite […]
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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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Music & Video Reviews: Rolling Stones’ Black and Blue Box Set, plus Robert Gordon with Link Wray, and Melissa Carper’s Christmas Album Just a few months shy of a half century after its release, the Rolling Stones’ Black and Blue is back in a “super deluxe” edition that includes four CDs (or five LPs) and […]
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Melissa Carper A Very Carper Christmas Putting together a Christmas album (a good one), particularly with new material, is a difficult needle to thread. Ideally, it needs to be original without being too divergent, sentimental but not sappy, and emotive but not treacly. And, even though she was initially hesitant to take on the project, […]
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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 […]
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Americana Highways 45 RPM 2025 (Reasons to Purchase Music) 2024 was a fantastic year for music and a shit year for pretty much everything else (November 5 still stings). Music, as it so dependably does, helped explain how we were feeling during the darkest of days, and knowing that you’ll be going to a show […]
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Film Eyes Pink Floyd Co-founder Syd Barrett Creativity and stardom often trigger or exacerbate mental illness and self-destruction. In the rock world, the list of casualties includes such names as the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones, 13th Floor Elevators’ Roky Erickson, folk singer Nick Drake, Derek & the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon, producers Phil Spector and […]
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WoodyFest 2024 – Part 3 WoodyFest 2024 Day 3 was a Hit After another soul filling afternoon and evening of music the previous day and a half or so, I was back in Okemah Saturday morning excited about what the day offered. The Saturday line-up is always a busy one, and with the weekend day, […]
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Melissa Carper – Borned In Ya For those who like grammatically correct stuff the LP name is from a quote from bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley: “I don’t think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya.” That’s good enough for me & Melissa Carper jumped on it like a rodeo gal jumps into […]
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