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9
Album Review

Dr John: Things Happen That Way

Read "Things Happen That Way" reviewed by Chris May


Interviewing the late Dr John aka The Night Tripper aka Dr John Creaux aka Mac Rebennack was a pleasure. Witty, erudite and b.s. free, he was reliably good copy. On one occasion he was an hour late and obviously, totally and spectacularly off his face. “If I nod out," he said, “kick me on the shin." The doctor was in... and out. Things Happen That Way has turned out to be Dr John's last recorded studio album, ...

6
Album Review

Samantha Fish: Kill Or Be Kind

Read "Kill Or Be Kind" reviewed by Doug Collette


Wielding her guitar as she adopts a saucy blonde bombshell pose, the image Samantha Fish projects on the cover of her Rounder Records debut would mean next to nothing if the music inside didn't deliver a similarly striking impact. Recorded at largely at Royal Studios in Memphis and another two sites in New Orleans, the woman's excursion into the roots of r&b, soul and blues supplements a fully-formed style as a guitarist and vocalist that even blues icon Buddy Guy ...

1
Album Review

Gregg Allman: Southern Blood

Read "Southern Blood" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Music made at the end is always necessary listening. It may not be the best, prettiest, most, but it is obligatory if, for no other reason, as a final act of respect for the artist. Examples of compelling music made at the end of an artist's life are manifold. From classical composition, late Mozart, in particular his Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 (1791--composed three months before his death), not to mention his Requiem, K. 626 (1791--unfinished at the ...

4
Album Review

Bobby Rush: Porcupine Meat

Read "Porcupine Meat" reviewed by James Nadal


They don't call Bobby Rush the King of the Chitlin' Circuit for nothing. With an extraordinary discography, and legendary status as an enthusiastic live performer, Rush was recognized in 2015 with a fifty year, retrospective box set, titled “Chicken Heads," by Omnivore Recordings. Returning to his home state of Louisiana, and recorded in New Orleans, the octogenarian singer stays true to his southern funky blues style on Porcupine Meat, his debut release for Rounder Records. Rush is also ...

11
Album Review

Madeleine Peyroux: Keep Me In Your Heart For A While: The Best Of Madeleine Peyroux

Read "Keep Me In Your Heart For A While: The Best Of Madeleine Peyroux" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Vocalist and composer Madeleine Peyroux has a stylistic reach well beyond that of jazz. Her only peer in this respect is Nora Jones. True, she has a great fascination with Billie Holiday, but she has managed to assimilate this influence into her own presence and parlay it into the para-jazz realm with intelligent programming and song choice. These have been the hallmark of Peyroux's art over her six recordings. Peyroux's music is beautifully crafted and organic with ...

4
Album Review

Tom Jones: Spirit in the Room, Deluxe Edition

Read "Spirit in the Room, Deluxe Edition" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


The Rolling Stones celebrate 50 years as a band, resting on their well earned laurels while British peer Tom Jones continues to reinvent himself with the edgy and soulful sequel to his successful 2010 release Praise and Blame (Island Records). “What's New Pussycat?" and “It's Not Unusual" seem as far away as the Hubble Telescope's deep space images. Jones, who mined much of the same American vernacular as the late Johnny Cash on his previous recording, spreads his musical net ...

5
Extended Analysis

Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective

Read "Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


If a musical note has a soul, Duane Allman could slide up to it and hold it beneath a Coricidin bottle in a tremolo seizure of sonic perfection until it screamed. Whether it is the whiplash introduction to “Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" or the most perfect electric blues performance recorded on “One Way Out," Allman had a certain radioactive intuition that translated into fire, grace and passion. Like Schubert, Allman made hay while the sun was shining, ...

4
Extended Analysis

JD McPherson: Signs and Signifiers

Read "JD McPherson: Signs and Signifiers" reviewed by John Coltelli


There is an often told tale of a NASA time capsule sent to the dark regions of outer space in late 1977. The capsule, intended to be discovered by beings light years away, was festooned with various sounds that would give a clue as to life on mother earth; the rustling of leaves, the sound of water flowing gently over a riverbed, a baby's cry, or the clackety racket of internal combustion engines. Also included were quartets from Bach, symphonies ...

5
Album Review

The Soul Rebels: Unlock Your Mind

Read "Unlock Your Mind" reviewed by Wade Luquet


The evolution of the New Orleans brass band continues with each generation and its latest transformation can be heard in Unlock Your Mind by The Soul Rebels. The work of these eight young Crescent City natives is progressive, rhythmic and addictive. It is also highly reflective of their early exposure to New Orleans beats heard in their neighborhoods and high school marching bands with dance rhythms backing powerful horns. The syncopated beat is held down by the rhythm section that ...

12
Album Review

Bela Fleck & The Marcus Roberts Trio: Across The Imaginary Divide

Read "Across The Imaginary Divide" reviewed by Doug Collette


Across The Imaginary Divide, the collaboration between banjoist Béla Fleck and The Marcus Roberts Trio, is as adventurous as its title suggests. And the fruit of these four musicians' labor is as seamless as their approach is fearless.The opening moments of “Some Roads Lead Home" demonstrate that the modesty with which the foursome interacts does not belie their skills. There is no showboating, as Fleck's acoustic instrument gives way to pianist Roberts' and their fluidity carries over to ...


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