50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Five
Sean Murphy10. Material: Hallucination Engine Speaking of Bill Laswell, if any single artist can be said to suffer from being too good, and too productive, it’s him. He is music’s quintessential…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Four
20. Rashanim: Shalosh Shalosh showcases Jon Madof’s infectious surf guitar attack, but also represents an ever-evolving compositional prowess. This effort boasts several acoustic guitar tracks that retain the intensity of the electric…
Wagner at 200 or, Get Your Götterdämmerung On (Revisited)
Or, If Loving Wagner is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Reich. (More on one of the most complex and controversial composers ever, who was born 200 years ago today,…
Pet Sounds: The Kind of World Where We Belong (Revisited)
5/16/66. A day that changed music, forever, for the better. A case could, and probably should, be made that we ought to refer to rock music as "BP" and "AP"…
Ray Manzarek: The Key to the Doors (Revisited)
When it comes to this great American band’s legacy, the best thing about the Doors is also the worst thing about the Doors: Jim Morrison. Blessed with one of the…
This Week in Music, 1983 (Revisited)
I don't know what you were up to but I was partying like it was 1983. Due to the miracles of technology, we can see precisely how I was living,…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Three
30. Santana: Caravanserai Abraxas gets most of the recognition, even though Santana III is better. (The less said about Supernatural, the better.) Yet not enough people name-check Caravanserai, which is…
Never One for Striped Trousers: Talking Shop with Steve Howe
Rock gods typically fall into two distinct camps: the ones who live off heroic deeds of yesteryear and the ones who plug along, pushing themselves because they can’t live any…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Two
40. Aram Bajakian: There Were Flowers Also in Hell Who is Aram Bajakian? He’s been on the road with both Lou Reed (RIP) and Diana Krall. Let me repeat that:…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part One
NO SELF-RESPECTING writer should ever undertake the process of making a list lightly. As we all know, lists are ultimately trivial, subjective and practically a provocation inviting rebuttals, questions and…