Archive for December, 2011
Ray Charles And Betty Carter, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
In 1960, following the pop success of “What’d I Say,” Ray Charles signed a new record deal with ABC-Paramount. A new five-volume box set, Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles, from Concord Music Group covers this era, which followed his productive years at Atlantic Records. Charles’ post-”What’d I Say” career can be characterized by an [...]
Seth Swirsky
(Photo: Songwriter Seth Swirsky with Ringo Starr) As the sole writer of the classic “Love Is a Beautiful Thing,” recorded by Al Green and several others, and a co-writer of hits by Taylor Dayne (“Tell It to My Heart”), Michael McDonald (“Tear It Up”) and more, Seth Swirsky has bragging rights to a lot of [...]
Great Quotations: Gillian Welch
“Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while. It’s this very unhurried world. It’s fairly quiet, it’s contemplative, but it can be quite panoramic. I think people think interesting thoughts at our shows, and they go rather deeply into [...]
“Balls In The Bottom” – A Q&A With Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman left The Rolling Stones in 1992. He was one of the five founding members — along with Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Ian Stewart. (Drummer Charlie Watts didn’t join until 1963.) In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jagger said of the current incarnation of the Stones (which includes Ron [...]
Song Premiere: Crushed Stars, “Brighter Now”
Meet Crushed Stars, if you haven’t met them already. Publications like Pitchfork and The L.A. Times have slung heavy praise at frontman Todd Gautreau’s wine-stained voice and evocative songwriting. Crushed Stars’ new album, In The Bright Rain, is due in March. Preview the album track “Brighter Now” below — you may hear some Murmur-era R.E.M. [...]
Billy Burnette: From Fleetwood Mac To Dylan To The Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
Born into a family of esteemed songwriters, Billy Burnette – whose father and uncle were two thirds of influential ‘50s rockabilly group The Rock and Roll Trio – has written songs for everyone from Roy Orbison and Tammy Wynette to Alan Jackson and Faith Hill. After years touring alongside Bob Dylan and John Fogerty, the [...]
Short Takes: James McCartney, Little Willies, Neil Diamond And More
Stew & the Negro Problem Making It (TNP) Rating: Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that an African American who names his band The Negro Problem would title a song “Black Men Ski” but Stew (Mark Stewart) has never done things the easy way. On this, his ninth release, he and ex-partner Heidi Rodewald trade vocals [...]
Ken Will Morton: Contenders
Ken Will Morton Contenders [Ghostmeat] Rating: Ken Will Morton recorded his sixth album, Contenders, in the most laid back way possible. He spent a day or two at producer Russ Hallauer’s studio in Athens, Georgia, where he sang and strummed a few songs, usually doing no more than one or two takes. Afterwards, members of [...]
Track Review: Radiohead, “The Daily Mail”
“The lunatics have taken over the asylum,” sings Thom Yorke in “The Daily Mail,” the latest studio recording from Radiohead. He read the news today, oh boy… and none of it is good. The song begins as a moody piano ballad, but the melody and chords keeps shifting, setting up an ending that explodes like [...]
Trampled By Turtles Ramble On
How would the story have turned out if the tortoise was actually faster than the hare? The progressive string quintet Trampled by Turtles (TxT) make a case for the alternate version. The band’s firebrand blend of bluegrass, punk and alt-country delivered with such speed and virtuosity suggests that the tortoise would’ve won the race either [...]
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