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…
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…
Most popular Who album? No. Most important Who album? No. Most influential Who album? No. Best Who album? Definitely. More: Best album of the ‘70s? Probably. More? Best rock album, ever?…
When it comes to The Band, I've always been inflexible in my opinion that their best work was entirely a team effort, the sum greater than the considerable brilliance of…
Jim Morrison took his last bath on July 3, 1971 in Paris. R.I.P. Lizard King. (I wrote, in what most normal people would consider painful detail, about The Doors in…
Not sure if anyone was dedicated to being that guy as long or at the same level as David Crosby: decades being that guy: band killer, friendship ender, high-end harmonizer,…
As impossible at it is to believe Jeff Beck has died (aged 78), it’s just as difficult to fathom that he was with us in the first place. If you’re…
There are so many musicians I admire, a smaller circle I adore, a smaller one still I revere, and a relative handful I’m grateful for. Artists whose work has changed…
8/4/1967: It was 55 years ago, today. With any discussion of 1967 (in general) and The Summer of Love (in particular) Sgt. Pepper soaks up so much (oh so much)…
Prog rock (in general) and the Moody Blues (in particular) needed that guy, and Graeme Edge was that guy. His spoken word was exactly what that era demanded, distilling the…
Sean Murphy