Songs From the Big Chair at 40
Sean MurphyForty years ago today: Songs from the Big Chair, one of the best albums (start to finish as great as any album of that decade got) of the '80s dropped.…
Let The Music Be Your Master: Physical Graffiti at 50
i. Let’s Get Physical You want to understand and appreciate how transcendentally great Led Zeppelin is? If I were to say: I’d like to pay tribute to their masterpiece, you could reasonably…
The Last Waltz, At Last: RIP, Garth Hudson
Every group (athletes, artists, executives) requires at least one MVP who is willing (and, often, needs) to cede the spotlight, be content to stay out of the fray, avoid the…
Sam Moore, RIP
Most of the obits will talk about "Soul Man" (as they should), but Sam & Dave dropped so many gems, many ripe for (re)discovery. As a young pup, my introduction…
2025: Focus on Sanity
Obviously I think the world would be a more enlightened, happy, and peaceful place if more folks listened to jazz, and I'm content to convert as many lost souls as…
Peter Sinfield, Prog Rock Visionary
There are few rock bands I've written about more than King Crimson (check it out here, here, here, and here -- and there's more if you need it: just Google…
Born in the U.S.A. at 40: The Boss Before, During, After
i. Before Deliver Me From Nowhere Perhaps because of what followed—the next album, the acclaim—Springsteen’s decision to make the ultimate lo-fi album seems even more prescient, appropriate, and perfect. If Darkness…
In the Garden of Eden: Doug Ingle, RIP
RIP to Doug Ingle, singer and organist on Iron Butterfly's epic (or insufferable -- and for my money these are not mutually exclusive) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," a song that for many young…
Like the Dew on Georgia Kudzu: Dickey Betts
A few quick thoughts on the passing of the amazing Dickey Betts. First, let's go to the (permanent) record: if this is the first item on your CV, you're a…
“The Way We Were” at 50, and David S. Ware
On This Day, 50 years ago: On February 2, 1974, a sweet, soft ballad by a 31-year-old Barbra Streisand knocks Beatle Ringo Starr down a notch on the Billboard Hot 100. Streisand’s…