Louis Cole “F It Up” (2018)
Giving literal meaning to the term "home studio," Louis Cole's unusual full band was as funky as he was foul-mouthed.... Read More
The Doors “L’America” (1971)
The Doors burst into my world like a supernova for but a few magical years, much like the incredibly brief lifespan of the band itself, which disintegrated with the exceedingly predictable death of iconic frontman Jim Morrison of, well, that depends on who or what you believe... Read More
ZZ Top “Blue Jean Blues” (1975)
..This is Billy Gibbons putting on a blues guitar clinic, of restraint and intensity. He’s not exactly holding back but he’s not showing off either. It’s all tone and feel, with attention to every note and lick, and the perfect intention..... Read More
Elvis Costello “Accidents Will Happen” (1979)
Elvis Costello has been a lot of things in his astounding forty-years-and-counting musical career: post-punk prototype, new wave renegade, encyclopedic musical raconteur, image-bending iconoclast, standards revivalist, acerbic pop culture polemicist, hook-mastering marvel, and whip-smart wordsmith. What he has never been is sloppy. So whether it was a quirk of his songwriting style, or a subtle...... Read More
Whitney Rose “In A Rut” (2020)
“Don’t ask me how I got this way / Oh, that’s asking too much” cries Whitney Rose amidst the whirlwind chorus as she rattles off the title line ‘I’m In A Rut’ an appropriately repetitive 28 total times. Only her delivery is so rapid-fire, gaps collapsed between the few words and syllables..... Read More
Pink Floyd “Great Gig In The Sky” (1973)
One of the best-known songs on what remains the longest charting album in rock music history features none of the band’s four members, has no words, and spotlights only a session singer who initially turned down the gig to attend a Chuck Berry concert..... Read More
The Godfathers “Birth, School, Work, Death” (1988)
..The Godfathers, an ‘80’s English new wave band, seemed to have it boiled down to a pretty tight outline. There it is, on their biggest U.S. hit, a philosophy in four words..... Read More
The Guess Who “No Time” (1969)
A stoner soundtrack, The Best of The Guess Who, for an unforgettable night that was immediately forgotten.... Read More
B.B. King “I’m Moving On” (1991)
..The King Of The Blues, Mr. B.B. King, resplendent in a glittery tux jacket and wincing in apparent pain at the impossibly high note he’s managed to hit on his renowned Gibson guitar “Lucille”..... Read More
Creedence Clearwater Revival “Molina” (1970)
..I’d like to revisit the topic here to award an equally important title for the longest single fake ending duration – call it the qualitative title – to Creedence Clearwater Revival. In their 1970 hit ‘Molina,’ the band held their false finish for a full, time-stopping..... Read More