Paul Collins keeps the power pop flame blazing It takes a great deal of self confidence to proclaim oneself "king of power pop," but given Paul Collins' seminal role in the Nerves, Breakaways and Beat, and his subsequent appearances solo and with the Paul Collins Band, his claim is as good as anyone's. While fellow Nerve/Breakaway Peter Case founded the rock 'n' soul Plimsouls, Collins refined his AM radio pop craft with the Beat; and as Case created a post-Plimsouls career as a folk-blues troubadour, Collins' dapplings of soul, blues and country always left [...]
Nineteenth century American songs sung in 1930s close harmony It's a mark of Stephen Foster's seminal place in American culture that the two songs opening this collection, "Oh Susanna" and "De Camptown Races," are known more as part of the musical landscape than a particular songwriter's creation. But those two, along with "Old Black Joe" and "Swanee River" are indeed part of Foster's catalog of American musical classics. "Oh Susanna" was his first commercially successful composition, and though written in Cincinnati, it became emblematic of the California gold rush of the mid-1800s. Within five [...]
One of folk music's greatest voices expands her horizons in 1966 After five folk albums, culminating in the superb Fifth Album in 1965, Judy Collins sought personal growth as an artist and broader synergy with the musical scenes developing around her. She'd already branched out from the traditional material of 1961's A Maid of Constant Sorrow and 1962's Golden Apples of the Sun (available as a two-fer ) to contemporary material penned by Dylan, Seeger, Paxton, Ochs and Farina, but she'd kept to a [...]
The Killer's original country sides for Sun Few remember that Jerry Lee Lewis' first recording for Sun was a 1956 cover of Ray Price's classic, "Crazy Arms." Lewis' country roots were largely overshadowed by the string of incendiary rock 'n' roll sides he recorded in the late 50s, and all but buried by the scandal that derailed his career in 1958. It wasn't until the mid-60s, at Smash Records, that Lewis once again found sustained commercial success, but this time on the country chart as a balladeer. His renewed popularity led then-Sun owner Shelby [...]
Prog-rock and boogie from the arena heartland of America The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an [...]
The rocking live side of REO Speedwagon The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist's live [...]
Long-lost stereo LP from obscure Florida '60s rock/folk-rock band The Clefs of Lavender Hill are an obscure mid-60s Florida four-piece built around the brother and sister guitar/vocal team of Travis and Coventry Fairchild (born Joseph and Lorraine Ximenes) and the rhythm section of Bill (bass) and Fred (drums) Moss. The B-side of their first single, "Stop! Get a Ticket," has long been a favorite of the garage-folk crowd, having appeared on the box set reissue of Nuggets , as well as Rock Artifacts 3 [...]
Judy Collins peaks as a folk singer By the time Judy Collins recorded this album in 1965, the traditional strains of the folk revival were losing steam. That same year Dylan released a side of electric tunes on Bringing it All Back Home and plugged in for his set at Newport. The Byrds released their debut album in June, and Simon and Garfunkel's 1964 acoustic debut album begat the electric augmentation of Sounds of Silence two years later. [...]
A singular vision of Hawaiian-tinged Canyon Country Those who know Courtney Jaye from her 2005 release on Island, Traveling Light , don't really know Courtney Jaye. A pleasant album with glossy production, an airbrushed cover and some memorable pop hooks, it propelled her into the pop mainstream, culminating with some film and television placements (including a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's " Who'll Stop the Rain "), and a performance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Not Conan or Letterman or Kimmel, but Leno, which tells you where her [...]
Spectacular cache of previously unreleased 1963 demo recordings The folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s produced its share of recorded artifacts, reproduced on tape, vinyl, CD and most recently MP3, but it also held tightly to the tradition of live performance and the transmission of songs from one wandering minstrel to the next. Phil Ochs recorded his own share of treasured LPs, including his 1964 debut All the News That's Fit to Sing and the seminal follow-up I Ain't Marching Anymore [...]
The Motor City Madman's hammer of the gods The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist's [...]
Nice collection of live tracks, including 7 previously unreleased The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an [...]
As President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP, Oscar®- and Grammy®-winning songwriter Paul Williams has taken to criticizing those who support interpretations or models of artistic control other than those promoted by his organization. In June, Williams lashed out at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and Creative Commons with a mistake-filled broadside whose accusations were quickly debunked. At the time, Lawrence Lessig (Harvard law professor, founding board member of CC, and former board member of EFF) invited Williams to discuss the issues in a public debate. A month [...]
Cool tribute to Loretta Lynn On last year's Sea of Tears [ review ], Eilen Jewell stepped up from folk and country sounds to electric twang. She dropped the fiddle and harmonica of her earlier releases and sang solo with a rockabilly-styled trio of guitar, bass and drums. That same trio format, with the thoroughly stellar Jerry Miller on guitar and pedal steel, is employed for this terrific salute to Loretta Lynn. The band plays blue and lightly rocking across a dozen covers, melding Jewell's jazz-tipped vocals with [...]
Rockin' sampler of Cheap Trick live tracks The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provide an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist's live [...]
Nice overview of Johnny Cash as a performer and entertainer The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provide an aficionado's snapshot of an artist's catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from [...]
Meditative acoustic-guitar solo from Two Gallants drummer Two Gallants' drummer Tyson Vogel shows off his skills as a guitarist with this mostly-instrumental solo debut. Unlike his group's lo-fi electro-acoustic punk-folk, Vogel's solo work is a great deal more meditative, shorn of Adam Stephens ragged, adrenaline-charged vocals and the crack and ringing of Vogel's own drums and cymbals. His acoustic guitar, which suggests Will Ackerman and John Fahey, is joined by guest players on violin, cello and vibraphone, but it's his own syncopated picking that gives the album its hypnotic core. The rare vocal of [...]
Ace power-popster Paul Collins (Nerves, Breakaways, Beat) has a new album coming out August 24th, humbly entitled King of Power Pop . To whet your appetite he's released the track "Do You Wanna Love Me" for download. Album review forthcoming here in August, but for now, enjoy this new track! MP3 | Do You Wanna Love Me Paul Collins' Home Page
Singer-songwriter covers influential singer-songwriters' songs Contemporary singer-songwriter Marc Cohn offers up an interesting concept album constructed from a dozen covers. The theme is an exploration of a year in which singer-songwriters really took flight, and music first hooked Cohn's soul. As he points out, it was also a year in which both singles and albums flourished commercially, with the latter creating space in which the former could play a bit longer and dig a bit deeper. His selections cover singer-songwriters Cat Stevens ("Wild World") and Van Morrison ("Into the Mystic), singer-songwriters who [...]
Rock-solid southern rock This Indiana-bred country-rock band is a real throwback to the southern rock of the 1970s. The quartet is looser, wilder, harder and seemingly less-calculated than redneck-rock acts like Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson, but they play to the same blue collar crowd. Their songs will strike a deep chord in a nation where political and business institutions seem to be at odds with the populace. The lead single, "Preachin' to the Choir," effectively expresses Joe Sixpack's pent-up frustration without resorting to the divisive tropes of talking-head politics. It doesn't pose [...]
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