Phish “Kill Devil Falls” (2009)
I’m by no means a Phishhead. But over the years I have grown to respect the musical abilities of this unusual 4-piece out of Burlington, VT., and the incredible improvisation, range and versatility they exhibit as a band. Over last years “Baker’s Dozen” run of 13 shows at Madison Square Garden, they played a total...... Read More
Diner “Strip Joint Piano Scene” (1982)
Long before Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David created “A show about nothing,” a first-time director and seven utterly unknown actors made a movie about nothing. The year was 1982, and the film, without question my favorite one of all time, was Diner. It was directed by Barry Levinson, a resident of Baltimore, MD. where the...... Read More
Earth, Wind & Fire “Gratitude” (1975)
There have been plenty of songs over the years about giving thanks. The odd pairing of Led Zeppelin and Dido both had big songs named ‘Thank You,’ while ZZ Top and Bonnie Raitt personalized things with their versions of a tune entitled ‘I Thank You.’ Alanis Morissette left a couple letters off with her song...... Read More
Blackberry Smoke “Let It Burn” (2016)
They’re the keepers of the flame. For those like me, who basked in the glory days of Southern Rock music, who gobbled up as many southern rock jams as possible and maybe chased them with a little Southern Comfort, who consider the classic southern rock bands to be as much a part of our essential...... Read More
Hozier “Nina Cried Power” (2018)
“It’s not the waking, it’s the rising” With that softly delivered line, Hozier begins one of the hardest-hitting songs I’ve heard in a very long time. “It’s a song about protest songs,” he says, “It’s a thank you note to the spirit of protest.” Hozier vaulted from obscurity to international acclaim with the roof-raising, anthemic...... Read More
Fabulous Thunderbirds “My Babe” (1982)
There’s an accepted code among musicians: Don’t horn in on another band’s gig. This rule is pretty absolute, and even more so if the prospective offender is already a known douchebag. My friend Tom “Clump” Clifford has been in bands most of his life; He’s fronted The Thangs, The Mistreaters, and currently King Soul, playing...... Read More
Gary Clark, Jr. “When My Train Pulls In” (2012)
In 2013 Eric Clapton presented the last – at least at the time it was announced as the last – of five iterations of what was billed as the Crossroads Guitar Festival, so named because they were events held to benefit the Crossroads Centre, a drug treatment facility in Antigua founded by Clapton (and, perhaps,...... Read More
Van Morrison “Wavelength” (1978)
I think most music observers who are fans of Van Morrison – and could there be any who are not – consider this song a bit of a trifle, given the outrageous output that Morrison had already assembled at the point that ‘Wavelength’ was released in the fall of 1978 (just for example, ‘Brown Eyed...... Read More
Lynyrd Skynyrd “I Know A Little” (1977)
There are probably few bands as associated with wailing guitars as Lynyrd Skynyrd, and fewer still as identified with a single song featuring a seemingly endless wall of such wailing guitars (ah, that would be ‘Freebird’ if you’re wondering). Yet, I think my favorite section of a Lynyrd Skynyrd song ever. ... Read More
Lucero “For The Lonely Ones” (2018)
I recently saw the band Lucero in concert at Warsaw in Brooklyn, a cool venue in a former Polish community center where I had a kielbasa sandwich and some tasty pierogies during the show. I’m relatively new to Lucero, a 20-year veteran band out of Memphis, that’s in the country/punk family and lately has been... Read More