Lance Cowan is on a roll. A music publicist for decades, he only recently reinvented himself as a folk/Americana recording artist. But he has now issued three excellent albums in as many years, and the latest of these is arguably his best. Called The Air That You Breathe, it cements his reputation as an affecting […]
What music comes to mind when you think of rock and roll’s earliest years? For many people, the answer is probably the sort of material that signaled a major break from the overly polished, sanitized pop that previously dominated the charts—manic, upbeat rockers like Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” Elvis Presley’s “Hound […]
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NRBQ – Grooves In Orbit – Reissue For the uninitiated, this Kentucky band, formed in 1965, is miraculously still playing. OK, not with all the original members, but close enough. The spirit is still alive. Like the Grateful Dead, the band was known for its live performances, spontaneity, levity & endurance. It was also highly […]
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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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NRBQ at Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut Unique, quirky, college-rock band NRBQ tore it up at the Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut on Thursday, December 12, 2024, playing an impressive 32-song set. The band’s lyrically whimsical music, a rollicking multi-genre blend of everything from rockabilly to Beatles-influenced pop to improvisational Thelonious Monk-inspired jazz, […]
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NRBQ – Brass Tacks (reissue) There’s rock n’ roll & genre offshoots that explore intense subjects, some are simply dance tunes, some are rootsy with a drizzle of country & others are there to remind us that life is about having a good time. That’s where the music of the 58-year-strong NRBQ resides. They’re not a […]
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Skeeter Davis & NRBQ – She Sings, They Play I respect efforts like this when an artist from another era or genre teams with an unlikely group of musicians to create something eccentrically marvelous. The late Skeeter Davis (1931-2004) was a 60s pop singer who hit in 1962 with the sad but poignant “The End […]
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Music Reviews: Robert Earl Keen, Skeeter Davis with NRBQ, Damon Fowler, and the Black Watch Robert Earl Keen, Western Chill. One bit of good news for fans of Americana/folk singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen is that his retirement announcement early last year didn’t mean much more than—as his website put it—a decision to no longer be […]
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