Gregg Allman “My Only True Friend”
The Midnight Rider's final ride: with "My Only True Friend" Gregg Allman wrote his own farewell song.... Read More
My Morning Jacket “I’m Amazed” (2008)
During my years working at Madison Square Garden, I’d occasionally be passing through the arena during the day for one reason or another, and once in a while I caught some pretty cool behind-the-scenes stuff. One of the coolest of those that I can remember was basically witnessing the actual moment a band was seeing...... Read More
Still with Weezer, none the wiser
These are very confusing times to be a Weezer fan... Read More
Rolling Stones “Dead Flowers” (1971)
There’s a lot of talk nowadays about what’s “real” country music. Personally, my views fall pretty much in line with a righteous fellow named Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos, whose website “Saving Country Music” has been around for over 10 years, and whose mission seems pretty self-explanatory (clue: It starts with something like Waylon & Willie, not...... Read More
The Mavericks “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” (1995)
I’d be hard pressed to come up with a song that has a greater disparity between its dreadfully dour lyrics and the unmitigated joy of its music than this one. While singer and bandleader Raul Malo is crooning the oft-repeated depressing title line, he’s also leading his band through one of the happiest... Read More
The Kinks “Better Things” (1981)
It seems to me the turning of the annual calendar means not only the onset of a new year but the inherent wish, whether recent times have been good or bad, for things to get better. And on that theme there are many good songs from which to choose, but some are just, well, better...... Read More
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers “Heal Me” (2017)
See if the following three sets of statements shake you. 1) Sarah Shook is arguably one of Country/Americana music’s biggest current stars; she was born in the not-quite southern stronghold of Rochester, NY. 2) Shook was homeschooled and grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family where, among other things, music was severely restricted; she is...... Read More
Cee Lo Green “Run Rudolph Run” (2012)
‘Run Rudolph Run’¹ is a song recorded in 1958 by Chuck Berry (and melodically identical to a more famous one he’d release one year later, ‘Little Queenie’). Since then it’s been covered by a remarkable array of artists – from Keith Richards, Dave Edmunds, Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, Billy Idol, Reverend Horton Heat, Foghat, and...... Read More
Bruce Springsteen “Land Of Hope And Dreams” (2000)
This marks my 100th post for SoMuchGreatMusic.com and in the months since I started it I’ve consistently put off, over and over, writing on one of the favorite and most important artists in my life, Bruce Springsteen. Really, more than just put it off, I’ve been wholly intimidated to try to cover him. I mean,...... Read More
The White Buffalo “Modern Times” (2015)
Here’s my quick description of the video to follow: Burly, long-haired and bearded man dances frantically in front of a tattered, wood-paneled wall. That’s not exactly selling you? Please, give it two-and-a-half minutes, I’m confident you won’t be disappointed. This is Jake Smith, a singer/songwriter performing for roughly 16 years under the moniker The White...... Read More